224 BULLETIN 711^ U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUBE. 



Fig. 73. — Hoisting blocli, two-line rail- 

 road incline. 



matically release and pick up the line when the lowering car passes 



that point. 



The operation of this system is as follows: The friction on the 



hoist is released and the weight of the lowering car takes the line to 



the bottom of the grade, except 

 where the grade is slight. Over 

 such grades the car propels itself 

 by means of its gasoline engine. 

 The lowering car is attached to 

 the empties, and the hoist pulls 

 them up the incline. The lateral 

 spurs being reached, the hoist is 

 stopped, and the empties are 

 dropped on a siding where the 

 locomotive operating on that spur 

 can get them. When the cars are 

 loaded a locomotive takes them to 

 the point where the spur joins the 

 incline. The hoisting car is then 

 lowered, as before, and is used to 

 pull the loaded cars up the grade 

 past the switch and upon the in- 

 cline ready for their trip down the incline. 



When operating the 4,000-foot incline, which had a maximum 



grade of 17 per cent, four cars scaling 32,000 feet were lowered at 



one time, and it was felt that 40,000 



feet would not have constituted an 



excessive strain on the engine or 



line. The company, however, made 



a practice of lowering only three 



loaded cars and taking back six 



pairs of empty trucks, since their 



operation did not demand that more 



loaded cars be handled at a trip. It 



never took more than 10 minutes to 



lower the three loaded cars. Dur- 

 ing the time this incline was in use 



no cars were derailed or logs lost. 



In the case of the fi.OOO-foot incline, 



which had a maximum grade of 18 



per cent and a 12-degree curve, 



26,000,000 feet of timber was lowered without a derailment. On 



this incline as many as five cars, or 50,000 feet, were lowered at a 



trip. In the case of the 4,800-foot incline, which was laid on a 



Fig. 74. — Hoisting block (top plate 

 detached), two-line railroad incline. 



