Railroads in the Woods

Download or read book Railroads in the Woods written by John T. Labbe and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the early days of lumbering, the railroads went where the timber was - right up to the "spar tree" at the head of cutting operations - and locomotives performed many of the chores formerly handled by horses and oxen. To reach the timber, railroads had to climb nearly unsurmountable grades (some in excess of 70%), cross nearly impossible ravines on improvised timber trestles hundreds of feet high, yet be so flexibly constructed that trackage could be shifted constantly to "follow the timber." Operations of such lines required special types of equipment, many of which were improvised right at the camps, plus a special breed of men. They came out of the deep woods of the Northwest, of Michigan, of Wisconsin and even the Scandinavian countries, to write a thrilling chapter in the history of the iron horse." --From inside of jacket