40 



Train crews should keep a sharp lookout for fires and 

 when one is seen they should report it to the first section 

 crew the train passes or to the next station* 



Oil as Locomotive Fuel 



Absolutely the best method of preventing railtoad 

 forest fires is to use oil fuel for locomotives dijring the 

 danger season* Electric drive has been used very little 

 except for interurban lines* Experience has shown that 

 oil locomotives very rarely start forest fires* 



The following is a note from American Forestry for 

 February 1916: A small railroad operating an oil burning 

 locomotive on the Tahoe Nation Forest in California had a 

 break dow^n diaring the past suramer and burned wood instead 

 of oil for one day* On this day fifteen fires started 

 along the right- of -i(iray* During the preceding year only one 

 fire occurred near the railroad and it was not thought that 

 the engine was responsible for this one* 



Allen (1911) says, **Much data has been collected 

 showing that with oil at a reasonable price its use is 

 economical from a labor saving point of view as well as 

 that from safety* It reduces expense for watchman, patrol, 

 fuel cutting, fire box cleaning and firing* And since it is 

 an absolute prevention, while all other measures merely seek 

 to minimize the risk, it is probable that even where the cost 



of the oil more than balances these savings it will save in 

 the long run by averting a costly fire*" 



The largest oil fields in the country are in southern 



