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<z, b. 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 r cut down to 8 inches where the journal is fastened to admit 
