LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR EEGION. - 179 



minimum carload established by the railway company. The next 

 year this company, through more careful loading, kept the actual 

 rate equal to the quoted rate, This was not easy, however. The log- 

 ging superintendent found that the loaders did not see or appreciate 

 the effect of underloads on the actual rate and in turn on the cost of 

 logging. The mere telling the loaders to be sure to put the minimum 

 carload on a car did not remedy the evil, neither did discharging the 

 loaders. It was only when the superintendent, with the scaler, 

 Avorked with the loaders, pointing out the underloads on the ground 

 and demonstrating by mathematics the increased cost of transporta- 

 tion per thousand feet because of specific underloads, that the evil 

 of the underload avss gotten away from. 



As a rule, logging operators pay for log transportation on the 

 basis of the railroad company's scale. This scale in most cases ap- 

 proaches a gross scale, while the logging operator sells his logs and 

 estimates his logging cost on the basis of a net scale. Where the logs 

 are sound, the difference between the quoted and actual rate is small. 

 In some cases, however, the difference amounts to considerable. One 

 operator, shipping on a quoted rate of $1.25 per thousand feet, found 

 that the cost actually amounted to $1.55 ; another company, shipping 

 on a quoted rate of $1.50 per thousand feet, actually paid $1.85 per 

 thousand feet. 



LOGGING RAILROADS. 



LOCATION. 



The locating of the main-line railroad and primary spurs is the 

 most important step in the logging operation. Failure to open up 

 tract of timber at the right point may spell failure. Mistakes in 

 connection with other steps can be corrected. It is not so in the case 

 of the railroad location. 



In general the location and character of a logging railroad depend 

 on the amount of timber it is to handle and the time it is to be op- 

 erated. The longer any railroad is to be used and the heavier the 

 traffic, the better it should be constructed. In any case, the cost of 

 construction should be the smallest amount consistent with reasonable 

 •operating and maintenance costs. Logging railroads are invariably 

 constructed more cheaply than even branch trunk lines, a shorter 

 operating period making heavier grades, sharper curves, and a poor 

 roadbed practical. The amount of traffic that is to pass over the 

 main line and each of the spurs, the total rise and fall which must be 

 overcome (as indicated by a topographic map or a careful reconnais- 

 sance), and the speed with which the timber is to be removed are 

 guiding factors in deciding on the character of roadbed that should 

 be built and the kind and amount of motive power that should be 

 used. 



