324 
LOGGING 
Rails are sold by the long ton. Although the standard rail 
length is 30 feet, shippers reserve the right to include 10 per 
cent of from 24- to 28-foot rails in a given order. 
Narrow-gauge roads use 25- or 35-pound rails; and standard- 
gauge 35- or 45-pound rails on spurs, and from 45- to 70-pound 
rails on main lines. The lighter rails are an advantage on spurs 
because they can be handled more readily. 
The long tons of rails of different weights required per mile 
of road may be found by multiplying the weight per yard by 11 
and dividing the result by 7.^ Ordinarily the weight of the rail 
in pounds per yard should equal the number of short tons carried 
on all the drivers of the heaviest locomotive that is to be used. 
Fig. lOS. — Form.s of Rail Fawteninj^s. a, angle bars, b, fish plates. 
For exami)lc, a locomotive having a weight of 80,000 pounds 
on its drivers should not be operated on less than a 40-pound 
rail. 
Lumber companies may buy or lease second-hand rails from 
trunk-line railroads. The latter practice was common in some 
sections, where trunk lines had second-hand steel, which accumu- 
lated when a change in the weight of the rails was made on their 
lines. The lease of steel at low rates served to encourage the 
development of the lumber industry along the trunk line because 
it reduced the lumberman's investment in equipment. 
Rail Fastenings. — Either angle bars or fish plates are used to 
strengthen and brace the rails at the joint. 
Angle bars, which are of several patterns, are bolted on each 
side of the joint with from two or three bolts in each rail head 
(Fig. 108a.) They are used both on main-line and spur logging 
roads. 
1 Example: 
640 pounds. 
weight of rail, 60 pounds per yard; then 
60 X 11 
= 94 tons, 
