RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION 303 
The cars are loaded by shovelers, each handUng from 15 to 
18 cubic yards daily. ^ 
Steam Shovels. — Several types are used on logging railroad 
work where deep cuts or high fills are to be made or heavy ditch- 
ing done. When a large quantity of earth is to be moved and the 
work is more or less continuous the standard swinging type of 
shovel with a l|-cubic yard bucket is preferred. The shovel 
with a self-propelling mechanism, may be mounted on trucks, for 
use on rails, or on wheels. This type of shovel is best adapted 
to moving dirt and broken rock, although sometimes it is used 
for removing logs, windfalls and other debris from the right-of- 
way. When mounted on wheels it tends to bog down in soft 
places and, therefore, some difficulty is experienced in using such 
a machine on logging operations. 
Shovels mounted on caterpillar treads and equipped with a 
f-yard dipper often are preferred to either of the types first 
mentioned because they can be moved ahead of the completed 
track. Those operated by a 30 horse-power gasoline engine have 
proved satisfactory, especially in places in which it is difficult 
to secure water for a steam-operated machine. The daily gaso- 
line requirement is approximately 12 gallons, which amount can 
be readily packed to the shovel from the end of the railroad line. 
Such machines have an average capacity of from 20 to 25 cubic 
yards of material per hour, and on easy work the maximum may 
be from 40 to 48 yards. 
When a general utility machine is desired, the so-called ditcher 
type often is used. This is a combination crane, steam shovel, 
pile driver and wrecker which operates from rails laid on top of 
cars or on the ground. This type of machine has the same dis- 
advantages as the standard steam shovel in that it can be used 
only at or near the rail head. The cost of moving earth and rock 
by means of some form of shovel is less than by hand methods 
when the cut or fill is large. Shovel work often compares favorably 
in cost with hand methods even where the yardage is small. 
Power Drag Scrapers. — These sometimes are used in making 
heavy cuts and fills. Power is provided by a two-drum yarding 
engine which operates a main line attached to the fore part of 
the scraper which pulls it forward and a re-haul which returns 
' The figures on the amount of work performed and costs are based on data 
contained in "Earthwork and its Cost," by H. P. Gillette. 
