CHAPTER XVIII 
RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION 
The construction of the roadbed for a logging railroad usually 
precedes logging by a few weeks, although it may be several 
months or a year in advance which is an advantage because the 
roadbed has an opportunity to settle before the steel is laid and 
the road operated. This gives a more stable track and one that 
is cheaper to maintain. In regions subject to heavy rainfall 
and where the earth washes badly, this practice is not desirable 
since the roadbed will suffer through erosion. 
CLEARING THE RIGHT-OF-WAY 
Previous to starting the grading of the right-of-way, it is 
necessary to cut and remove the standing timber, brush and 
stumps which will intefere with the roadbed. This work often is 
done by contract at a stated price per acre, with or without an 
additional payment for all merchantable saw logs cut. 
Main line rights-of-way are generally cut 100 feet wide in order 
to prevent the track from being covered with 'down timber" 
during wind storms. On spur roads the right-of-way is from 18 
to 50 feet wide. In the South, however, rights-of-way for spurs 
often are made 120 feet wide in order to provide skidway space 
on each side of the track. The right-of-way crew fells the timber, 
removes the stumps from the roadbed, if necessary, and cuts 
the brush from the skidway site. The timber adjacent to the 
roadbed usually is not felled until the surrounding area is logged, 
because insects seriously damage felled timber that remains in 
the forest during the warm months. When the skidway sites 
are cleared by the skidding crew the cost is greater than when it 
is done by a special crew both because of the enforced idleness 
of the teams and the low efficiency of teamsters when performing 
swamping work which is usually distasteful to them. 
The timber cut from a right-of-way may be used for saw 
logs, culverts, trestles, bridges, corduroy and for filling in low 
places to reduce the amount of earth required for fills. Material 
of merchantable value both from green and " dead-and-down " 
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