286 LOGGING 
RIGHTS-OF-WAY 
The right of loggers to build railroads across the lands of others 
is not recognized by the courts except where the roads have been 
chartered by the State. In the latter case the right of Eminent 
Domain is granted, and a line can be forced across foreign hold- 
ings by condemnation proceedings and the payment of just com- 
pensation to the owner. ^ 
Many logging roads are not incorporated because the route 
does not tap a section in which any .tonnage, other than that 
of the owners, originates. Further the incorporation of the 
road subjects it to regulations governing the hours of labor for 
train crews, use of air brakes, height of draw bars on the equip- 
ment, filing of tariffs, and the submission of reports to the 
State Railroad Commission. 
Chartered roads must be prepared to handle freight and pas- 
senger traffic, and many logging companies do not feel justi- 
fied in maintaining the necessary equipment for this purpose, 
especially since the handling of outside traffic at times interferes 
with the operation of logging trains. 
Where the owner of a non-chartered road desires a right-of- 
way across the property of another the land may be bought at 
private sale, although this course is seldom desirable unless the 
road is ultimately to become a "common carrier," inasmuch as a 
narrow strip of property is of little value to the owner and is 
difficult to sell at the conclusion of logging operations. The 
more frequent practice is to lease land for a right-of-way for a 
period sufficient to permit the removal of timber. Such leases 
can usually be secured on terms satisfactory to all parties, al- 
though exorbitant rental is sometimes demanded, when the 
topography compels the location of the road within restricted 
limits, such as in a narrow valley. 
When timber rights are purchased without the fee to the land, 
the contract of sale should specify that the purchaser has the 
right to construct such roads as are necessary to secure the 
1 In the case of Healy Lumber Co. vs. Morris, 33 Washington 490, the 
Court held that a logging company performing no public function was without 
power to condemn a way for a logging railroad, notwithstanding the legislature 
had purported to confer on it that power. The state constitution grants the 
right to take private property only for private ways of necessity and, therefore, 
such necessity must be proved. 
