SKIDWAYS AND STORAGE SITES 
141 
For Wagon Haul. — Skidways are seldom made for wa^on 
hauling. The logs are bunched in the forest in a place accessible 
to the wagons and are loaded with the crosshaul and taken to a 
skidway along the railroad or direct to the mill. 
For Railroad Haul. — These vary in character depending on 
whether the logs are loaded on cars by animals or by power. 
Skidway sites for animal loading with the crosshaul should 
not be lower than the track because it is too difficult to handle 
Fig. 27. — A Skidway or Loading Dock along a Logging Railroad in West 
Virginia. The logs in the structure arc later loaded and hauled away. 
the logs. A straight "get-away" of 40 feet should be provided 
on the side of the track opposite the skidway where the loading 
team can travel back and forth. An area several hundred feet 
in length along the track may be cleared for storage, especially 
if the stand of timber is heavy and hauling precedes rail transport 
by some weeks in which case the skidway can then be used but 
once. When hauling is simultaneous with rail transport, skid- 
ways are filled repeatedly and less storage space is required. 
With animal loading it is essential that the logs be carefully 
decked parallel to the railroad track. ^ The skidways have 
two continuous rows of poles placed about 8 feet apart and ex- 
1 See Figs. 55 and 121. 
