LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION. 233 



other, which can be operated independently, is used for miscellaneous 

 purposes. 



This method is slower when the locomotive is used to spot the 

 cars and to furnish the power in unloading than when the power used 

 to operate the parbuckle line is furnished by a separate engine. With 

 the former source of power it takes from 2 to 3 minutes to unload a 

 car of logs ; with the latter, from 1 to 1^ minutes. 



GILL POKE. 



(1) One of the simple gill-poke devices is as follows: The track 

 on the entire length of the dump is slightly superelevated. Parallel 

 to the track on the land side, and about 5 feet above the level of the 

 track, there is a timber with notches cut at proper distances. The 

 arm of the poke is a stick of wood 4 by 3^ inches by 6 or 8 feet, which 

 is shod with a sharp steel prong at the pointed end and has a collar 

 at the blunt end. In operation the pointed end of the poke is placed 

 against the logs and the heel is inserted in one of the notches in the 

 timber, the positions of the poke being such that it will push the logs 

 from the car when the car is put in motion. Thirty-two cars, con- 

 taining 150,000 feet, have been unloaded with this method in 20 

 minutes. 



(2) Another gill-poke device is shown in figure 77«, &. The top of 

 the center pile, to which the arms, or sweeps, are hung, is about 12 

 feet above the level of the track. The arms are about 30 feet in length, 

 the center pile being so located as to enable them to reach across the 

 track when the machine is in operation. The four piles which sur- 

 round the center piling are bound together with a 1-inch wire cable 

 and serve no other puropse than to brace the center pile. In the case 

 shown in the figure, the distance from the arms to the ground is about 

 12 feet. If the distance is greater than this, additional piling is neces- 

 sary. There are 2 or 3 inches of play between the center piling and 

 the points where the arms are joined together, making it possible to 

 raise or lower an arm preparatory to engaging a load of logs. A 

 heavy plate of iron is bent half around the center pile at the point 

 where the arms press when in operation. With the chock blocks 

 tripped, the train crew can unload several cars of logs per minute. 

 Under ordinary conditions the total cost of this device installed 

 ranges from $600 to $800. 



(3) Two arms are sometimes used. In one case they are 17 feet 

 long and made of channel and angle iron. They are 18 inches wide 

 except at the ends, where they are made 36 inches wide to give a 

 broad surface to repel the logs. They are bolted opposite to each 

 other on a 24-inch journal, and braced with a turnbuckle. The arms 

 and journal are set on a shaft 11 feet long and 10 inches in diam- 

 eter, cut down to 8 inches where the journal is fastened to admit 



