106 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



of lighted cigars and cigarette stubs from passenger trains during 

 extremely dry weather. 



Associated Oil Company, San Francisco, Cat. — ^Answering your 

 inquiry in regard to fire danger when oil is used as locomotive fuel, 

 I am pleased to state that this Company has no knowledge of any 

 forest or grain fire caused by locomotives consuming fuel oil, and as a 

 matter of fact, it is considered that the use of oil for such purpose has 

 practically eliminated the danger of such fires. At the present time, 

 practically all of the railways in California, with the exception of 

 logging roads in some of the inaccessible districts, are using oil as fuel. 

 In fact, the logging companies, whenever located at points where the 

 delivery of oil is possible, are emplo5ang same as fuel for their locomo- 

 tives as a measvire for the prevention of forest fires. 



Regarding the question of prices : At the present writing the cost 

 of fuel oil is ninety cents (90c.) per barrel of 42 U.S. gallons (231 cu. in.) 

 f .o.b. cars Seattle. It is likely that we will be able to arrange to load 

 cars at Vancouver at approximately the same figiire, although at the 

 present time it is impossible to promise an arrangement of this kind, 

 and before giving you a fixed quotation at either point, it would be 

 necessary to go more fully into the question of necessary tank car 

 equipment. 



The price of oil has slowly risen for about a year past, — a result 

 of the unusual demand for oil following the period of depression in 

 prices due to a temporary overproduction. In all probability the price 

 will advance still further owing to heavy demands likely to be made 

 upon California fuel oil in anticipation of the early opening of the 

 Panama canal. 



Manager of Fuel Oil Department, The Texas Company, Houston, 

 Texas. — I have never heard of a single instance where fire, such as 

 would be communicated from a coal burning locomotive, was communi- 

 cated to a right-of-way or any property from an oil burning locomotive. 

 As a matter of fact, roads having oil burning locomotives in this terri- 

 tory handle cotton in open cars, and it is no uncommon sight to see 

 such railroads as the Southern Pacific system, International & Great 

 Northern, and Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe handle from ten to twenty 

 cars of exposed cotton in their trains behind an oil binning locomotive, 

 and I have seen probably two or three hundred cars of exposed cotton 

 in the yards of these companies at Houston and Galveston, in which 

 yards the switch engines are. equipped for burning oil. 



The rule in this territory is in handling exposed cotton, where they 

 meet an opposing train, if the opposing train is being hauled by a coal 



