which may be very serviceable during the summer months, giving ample time to clean up the timber before wet weather sets in. In such instances, road construction and maintenance costs are of very minor importance. In the larger operations and in the use of the motor truck as an auxiliary to railroad logging, there are many opportunities for the reduction of logging costs. However, it is impossible to discuss these problems specifically in a paper of this kind. They will need to be worked out on the ground with each case as a distinct problem. The fundamental problems covered in this paper will serve as a basis for the more detailed problems that must be solved on the ground.

Wherever the item of road construction is important, it may be stated in general that the time required and the cost of building roads for motor trucks are very much less than for a logging railroad. This is due to the lesser importance of grades, curves, ballasting, bridges and other construction work, all of which is much cheaper and takes less time. In case a pole road is built the material found adjacent to the right of way can be utilized for what it costs to fell it.

From the standpoint of adaptability the motor truck is very flexible. It can operate on grades and curves that are impossible with the railroad. The whole logging equipment, including the donkey engine, can be loaded on the truck and trailer and easily moved from one setting to another. By replacing the log bunk with a platform the truck can take out all the smaller marketable material, such as shingle bolts, poles and cordwood. The modern truck can also be provided with the necessary equipment for use in snaking out the logs in stands of small timber and when used with a winch and an “A” shaped boom, will load itself. If the truck becomes mired in a mud hole, the winch may be used to pull it out. Finally, the item of fire risk is practically negligible.

COSTS

In order to arrive at definite figures as a basis for a comparison between railroad and motor truck transportation costs, the following case is cited as an example representing average good conditions:[1] A 5-ton truck with trailer was used, operating on a seven and one-half mile haul over ordinary unpaved roads. An average of four trips a day were made and the actual running expense for hauling was $.901⁄2 per thousand feet. Adding to this the overhead expenses of interest, depreciation, etc., the total cost of hauling was $1.44 per thousand feet. The statement of this cost is as follows:

Actual Cash Outlay in Hauling 128,420 Board Feet of Logs

128,420 feet @ $116.37, or $.901⁄2 per thousand feet.

Total Expense of Hauling 128,420 Board Feet of Logs

Variable Charges

128,420 board feet of logs @ $186.51, or $1.44 per 1000 feet.

Following is a recapitulation of the work performed by a 5-ton logging truck, Jan. 20 to Jan. 31, 1916, inclusive. The logs were hauled from O’Neill’s Camp on the Bothell-Everett road 71⁄2 miles and dumped into Lake Washington at Bothell.