62 BULLETIN 440, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
lifted and relaid three times. Where they are left in place the 
customary sawed fir ties must be entirely replaced in five or six years. 
Cedar ties last considerably longer. 
INCLINES AND LOG HOISTS. 
Inclined tracks for lowering or hoisting logs are becoming an 
important engineering feature in connection with logging railroads. 
At points where the country rises rapidly and it is necessary for the 
continuation of the logging railroad to be at a considerably higher 
level, an incline will satisfactorily reach the upper level and obviate 
the construction of switchbacks or detours. Timber may often be 
opened up by an incline where the cost of a continuous logging 
railroad would be prohibitive. Furthermore, it usually costs less to 
operate an incline than several miles of heavy-grade railroad. Fre- 
quently inclines can be used advantageously for hoisting logs out 
of coves or pockets below the level of the main track. 
Existing inclines have proved that, their use may be extended and 
that no engineering conditions are likely to be met with in construc- 
tion which will prove insurmountable. A common type is one in use 
in the central Sierras for lowering logs to the main line from a short 
narrow-gauge line higher up the mountain. The total length is 
4,770 feet and the total descent is 840 feet. Thus the average grade 
is 18 per cent, with a maximum of 35 per cent and a minimum of 14 
per cent. The line is a tangent for 3,600 feet, but there are two 
short 5° curves near the bottom. The track is 36-inch gauge with 
40-pound rails, and narrow-gauge ties spaced about 10 or 12 per rail. 
It is well ballasted with dirt, and apparently no other provision is 
made to prevent the track creeping downhill. Both the initial cost 
of construction and the maintenance of way are less than for an 
equal length of railroad, because no provision need be made for the 
pounding action of a locomotive. The lowering equipment consists 
of a 10 by 12 inch hoisting engine connected with a steel drum about 
the same size of that on a large roading engine. A wheel about 
6 feet in diameter is attached to the drum for braking. The cable 
used is ordinary 1-inch wire logging rope. Two skeleton log cars 
are lowered at one time, each with a load of 3,000 feet board measure. 
The average time of a trip is from 20 to 30 minutes. The loaded 
cars come down by gravity, controlled by the brake, and when 
unloaded are hauled up by the engine. 
The largest incline in use in this region is one about 8,000 feet 
in length, which has a fall of 3,100 feet, or approximately 45 per 
cent. The grade is very uneven, however, varying between a 
maximum of 78 per cent and a minimum of 10 per cent. The track 
is standard gauge and is well ballasted. The upper half is double 
track and the lower half single track. Including gravity switching 
