One other point, it is important to distinguish common carrier railroads from industrial tramways. A common carrier railroad is a corporation which operates a railway which is regulated by the government (by the Interstate Commerce Commission post 1887) and provides shipping services to all individuals. Rates, schedules, and maintenance activities were all regulated by the ICC and/or the FRA on common carriers which could be of any gauge. In fact, common carriers could range from 2' gauge all the way to 6' depending on the geographical location and time period. Common carriers are real railroads where as industrial tramways are created merely for the transportation of materials and/or personnel for a parent corporation's needs. Thus, there is much less oversight on the part of the government, no need for fixed schedules (although some had them), no rates or fares (as the railroad was not its own corporation, thus made no profit), etc. Again, these could be any gauge the co!
mpany decided. Many industrial tramways such as the Pickering Lumber Corporation's line to Soap Creek Pass were originally incorporated as common carriers in order to acquire ROW since they were considered almost a public utility (who says the US was not a bit socialist!). Following construction, these railroads were absorbed by the parent company and their common carrier status lapsed which was again of a benefit as it made operations more focused on logging or whatever was the profitable enterprise it was originally built for. The distinction between common carrier and industrial tramway is the deciding factor for the morphology of section, logging, tie, etc camps rather than gauge. The DRGW in Colorado might have been 3' gauge but was fully mainline in its construction and operations since it was a common carrier. Conversely, the Santa Cruz Lumber Company was standard gauge but lacked all aspects of common carrier operations as it was built only to harvest redwood. I hop!
e that this is of some interest and not beginning to range into the es
oteric! :-)
Stathi
______________________________________________________
Efstathios I. Pappas, MS
Doctoral Student
Department of Anthropology/096
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV 89557
(775) 323-5730
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: Railroad/logging-Tie Hack Camps
The following link has some excellent photos of logging railroads and
logging camps, primarily in the Northwest. These are narrow gauge lines,
which is what you'd expect for logging (even here in Kentucky). Some of
the lines mentioned below are standard gauge mainlines, which will vary
substantially from narrow gauge in the amount of associated personnel,
buildings, equipment, capital, length of occupation, etc.. A few narrow
gauge lines back here in the east even used wooden rails for logging
operations and grades that would be impossible on a standard gauge line.
I've seen a photo of a geared locomotive (A Shay, in this case) in use
in Tennessee on rails made of wooden poles, with a grade that looked
like a roller coaster.
http://www.steaminthewoods.com/RRImages.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Efstathios I. Pappas
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 3:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Railroad/logging-Tie Hack Camps
Carl, I have not done anything with Tie Hack camps before although in
my readings on the railroad industry, a few trends seem to be relevant
to your work. I assume you are referring to camps where railroad tie
material was harvested? Very early in railroad history, the procurement
of ties shifted from employing individuals or teams to harvest tie
material to buying from specialized companies or suppliers or the
formation of separate divisions within the company. In any case, as
railroad companies reached corporate maturity, tie procurement became
formalized, systematized, and large scale. For smaller, shortline
railroads, sometimes locally produced ties were purchased from locals on
a piece-rate basis in small quantities which may coincide with the
physical remains you describe. However, these individuals were usually
not directly employed by the railroads most of the time and operated as
independent contractors. Typically, the era of rough/hand-hewn ties
ended in the peri!
od of ROW renewal following construction as hardwood/treated ties
became desirable to increase longevity, durability, and axle loadings.
On the Central Pacific, this period began as early as the 1870s
following the flurry of construction activity and resulted in the
creation of an entire system within the Southern Pacific for tie
harvesting, treatment, and company-wide shipment. Either way, it was
very big business considering the hundreds of thousands of ties required
per year with a lifespan of barely 10 years depending on conditions. I
hope these musings and observations are of some help!
Stathi
______________________________________________________
Efstathios I. Pappas, MS
Doctoral Student
Department of Anthropology/096
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV 89557
(775) 323-5730
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 9:29 AM
Subject: Re: Railroad/logging-Tie Hack Camps
Stathi -
Have you had any experience with Tie Hack camps?
If so, what physical indicators were you seeing that indicated it that
was
a tie hack camp?
For exmaple, was there large acerages of stumps at a uniform height
nearby?
Carl Barna
Lakewood, CO
"
A
Stathi
______________________________________________________
Efstathios I. Pappas, MS
Doctoral Student
Department of Anthropology/096
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV 89557
(775) 323-5730
________________________________________________________________________
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