226 BULLETIX 711^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



particularly true of the balance as it relates to the cost of railroad 

 transportation. It is obvious, therefore, that the method, equipment, 

 and improvements to be used in a given case depend on a number of 

 factors. There is also, of necessity, a relation between the character 

 of the improvements and equipment and the method used. 



As a general tiling the train crew constitutes all, or the major part, 

 of the help used in unloading. Tliis means that the train is held at 

 the dump until the logs are unloaded, the time depending on the 

 speed of the method. When the railroad haul is short and the output 

 small, a slow method with simple improvements and equipment is 

 the cheapest, all things being taken into consideration. If the log- 

 ging train is crowded because of a long haul or a large output, a more 

 elaborate method may be necessary than may seem to be justified by 

 the unloading operation in itself. 



If the water is deep and has a current, the dump may have only 

 one track and be comparatively short, making it possible to use a 

 stationary unloading rig satisfactorily, since the logs will float away 

 as soon as they are dumped. While still, deep water does not greatly 

 increase the difficulty of unloading logs, it does constitute a draw- 

 back. If logs are dumx)ed rapidly into still, deep water, the dis- 

 turbance caused by their falling will not be sufficient to keep the logs 

 from piling up, necessitating in some cases the employment of an 

 extra man. Shallow water is a serious drawback. Where the un- 

 loaded logs do not float away, more or less breakage results when the 

 logs are thrown on the pile that forms. This is especially true in the 

 case of cedar logs. Then, too, a jam of this kind increases the work 

 of the boom man. Under such conditions, a long dump in connec- 

 tion with a portable unloading machine, or some other device for 

 unloading the logs at different points along the dump, is generally 

 used. 



DUMPS. 



Where the track is built along the bank of a stream or pond, an 

 inclined dump, over which the logs roll into the water, is generally 

 used. The length, breadth, pitch of skids, strength, etc., depend on 

 the topography and soil formation of the location, the size of logs, 

 the method of unloading, etc. The dump may consist of a frame- 

 work composed of three parallel sets of stringers, spaced about 8 feet 

 apart, which extend to the water's edge for 60 feet or more. The 

 outer stringer, possibly the middle, projects over the water's edge 

 and is supported on piling or timbers that rest on solid bottom, 

 while the other stringers are supported on round or square uprights 

 placed from 4 to 6 feet apart. Heavy timbers, generally round, are 

 placed on top of and at right angles to the stringers. These timbers 

 are generally laid flush, forming an unbroken floor, with a pitch of 



