LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR EEGION. 225 



straight line and had a maximum grade of 30 per cent, two cars 

 were lowered at a trip, 40 cars being lowered in a day. 



The operating labor cost per thousand feet varies, of course, with 

 the average amount of timber lowered on the incline per day, the 

 total daily labor cost being to a great extent fixed. The total daily 

 labor cost amounts to about $13 per day, as follows : 



Per (lay. 



1 engineer $3. 50 



1 fireman 2. 75 



1 brakeman 3. 50 



1 brakeman 3. 25 



Total 13. GO 



The life of the lowering line is not known, since no lines have been 

 worn out so far. One line has been used to lower 50,000,000 feet, 

 and it seems that it is not more than one-half worn out. 



The fixed investment in the incline equipment proper "is approxi- 

 mately as follows: 



Lowering engine, together witla the sled and small equipment 



used around the engine $7, 350 



Lowering car 1, 500 



Set of rollers 500 



12,000 feet IJ-inch cable 3,500 



Miscellaneous equipment 200 



Total 13,050 



UNLOADING. 



Logs as a rule are unloaded, or dumped, into mill ponds, streams, 

 or tidewater. Very small operators sometimes unload logs to, and 

 store small quantities on, the land. The latter is a very unusual prac- 

 tice in the fir region of the Pacific coast. 



A number of different methods are used. Only two principles, 

 however, are involved. The logs may be pushed from cars, or in con- 

 nection with a superelevated track they may be pulled from the cars 

 by gravity. 



As a rule, cars are unloaded by means of a rollv/ay, or dump, and 

 an unloading machine. When the logs are dumped into a mill pond 

 or stream, the dump, serving as a part of the railroad track, is gen- 

 erally built along the bank. To dump logs into tidewater it is nec- 

 essary to extend the track over the water. 



The aim of all operators, of course, is to unload logs as cheaply as 

 possible. The cost of this step, how^ever, must be considered in con- 

 nection with the cost of other steps in the logging operations. In 

 other words, a nice balance should exist between the total cost of un- 

 loading logs and the total cost of transporting the logs from the 

 landings to the dump and the cost of booming and sorting. This is 

 61861°— Bull. 711—18 15 



