188 



BULLETIN 711, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



the same way, the material from the cuts being mostly wasted and 

 that needed for the fills borrowed. 



Pick and shovel work is usually done by day labor, as are all other 

 parts of railroad construction, contract work not being regarded 

 favorably by most operators in the region. The cost of digging and 

 spreading dirt by pick and shovel is commonly about $0.15 to $0.25 

 per 3^ard for common loam and $0.30 to $0.35 for heavy soils. 



In large cuts the dirt is moved to adjacent fills with wheelbarrows^ 

 two-wheeled hand dump carts, or push cars. The cost of such work, 

 where rock is not encountered, ranges from $0.30 to $0.50 per yard. 

 In very large cuts it is sometimes the practice to lay a temporary 

 track and remove the dirt by shoveling it by hand on flat cars, the 

 cars being hauled out on the line to a point where the dirt can be 

 used as ballast. 



Many operators supplement the pick and shovel with power scraper 

 work. The labor cost of this work ranges from $0.10 to $0.25 per 

 yard, depending on the length of haul and the class of material moved. 

 The cost of moving dirt at one camp with a power scraper during one 

 season ranged from $0.28 to $0.38 per yard. The equipment con- 

 sisted of a logging engine, Bagley scraper, lines, etc., the crew and 

 the wages per day being approximately as follows : 



Engineer $3. 40 



Fireman 3. 00 



2 wood bucks, each . 2. 75 



Hook tender . 4. 25 



1 or 2 riggers, each 3. 25 



The following record shows what is included in the cost of power 

 scraper grading at this camp, also the method of keeping track of the 

 cost: 



Power scraper record. 



Time. 



Items of cost. 



Total 

 cost. 



Cost per 

 yard. 



Hours. 

 60 



85 



235 



2.35 



235 



Moving m^achinery to place 



Chunking right of way 



Laying water line 



Rent on machinery, at $1.50 



Engineer, at $0,315; fireman, at $0,275; wood buck, at $0.25 



Hook tender, at $0.50 



Rigging men 



Laborers (finishing work) 



Yarding wood logs 



Total cost moving 3,927 yards 



$37.50 



262.50 



40.50 



3.52. 50 



206. 39 



117.50 



153. 43 



69.33 



16.55 



$0. 0095 

 .0668 

 .0103 

 .0897 

 .0525 

 .0296 

 .0390 

 .0176 

 .0042 



.3192 



Average amount of dirt moved per hour of actual scraping time, 16.7 yards. 



Ground, average conditions. 



Alignment, 40° curve. 



Remarks : Because of the alignment this cut was scraped from each end. 



