LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION. 203 



hewing and placing the caps and stringers, and the cost of the 

 material. The trestles averaged about 8 feet in height, the bents 

 being spaced 15 feet apart. The penetration of the piles was about 

 15 feet. Five thousand feet of lumber were used in the bracings, 

 which cost $14 per thousand feet; 41,400 feet of piling, caps, and 

 stringers were used, which cost $0.03 per linear foot delivered along 

 the right of way. 



The cost of labor for laying track was high, because 85 per cent 

 of the line consisted of heavy curves with short tangents between. 

 Fifty-six-pound steel was used. About 3,000 ties were laid to the 

 mile. All bridges were double guard-railed ; all curves single guard- 

 railed. The foreman was paid $3.50 per day; the laborers, $2 per 

 day. 



The track was surfaced with from 12 to 15 inches of broken-rock 

 ballast. This was blasted out of a pit, broken, and loaded by hand, 

 so that it was very expensive. 



MAINTENANCE OF WAY. ' 



Section screws are employed to keep the road ballasted up, main- 

 tain the gauge, keep the ditches open, replace broken or decayed ties, 

 and to make any other repairs that are necessary. The cost of this 

 work per thousand feet depends on several factors. The following 

 are the most important : 



{a) The cost per 1,000 feet is higher the greater the length of 

 line in use. 



(5) The volume of timber hauled per year is a factor which oper- 

 ators can very easily overlook at the start, and which market condi- 

 tions may make it difficult to control during the life of the operation. 

 Ordinarily operators arrange for sufficient timber to enable them to 

 write off the cost of railroad construction economically. The sup- 

 ply of timber does not, however, automatically take care of the 

 maintenance of way, since this cost is distinct from railroad con- 

 struction. While an exceedingly heavy traffic possibly requires more 

 of an expenditure to keep a railroad in condition, there is no ques- 

 tion that a small volume of traffic requires more proportionately. 

 Because of this, the tendency is to increase the annual cut as the 

 length of haul increases. Moreover, the recognition of this fact by 

 the industry is one of the reasons why operators continue to run 

 after market conditions suggest that they should close down. 



(c) The maintenance cost in some cases is unnecessarily high be- 

 cause the road was poorly constructed in the beginning, the result 

 being that the construction of the road really continues throughout 

 the life of the operation. The tendency at the present time is to 

 build better logging railroads. 



