|
Zuni Mountain Railroads Cibola National Forest, New Mexico
|
|
Appendix C
APACHE NATIONAL FOREST RAILROAD EXTENSION
Excerpt from Report on Timber Conditions and Feasibility of Railroad Operation, New Mexico Division, Apache National Forest, by D. M. Lang, Logging Engineer, June 1928.
Possibility of Railroad Extension
In order to reach this division, railroad extension would have to be made from the south end of Mt. Sedgwick to Quemado and then several branch lines would have to be constructed to tap the different units. In order to arrive at some conclusion as to the feasibility of the project, I have tabulated the railroad necessary to tap the several units within the division. In general, railroad construction from Mt. Sedgwick to Quemado is feasible and not particularly difficult. It must be borne in mind, however, that such extension would pass through no timber of commercial importance between the south end of Mt. Sedgwick and Quemado, which is a distance of approximately 75 miles. Extension from Quemado east and south up Mangas Creek is also not difficult, although the 26 miles necessary would be through open country and the woodland type. The extension from Quemado west and south to Luna would not be particularly difficult. Branch lines from this main spur would tap Saw Mill Canyon, Agua Fria, Gallita & Bull Camp and Toriette Lakes. The feasible route would be directly through Jewett Gap down Center Fire Creek and finally into Luna. Much of this railroad would be through open country or scattered un-merchantable timber. In order to reach Hell Roaring Mesa, E L C Flat and Alpine Valley extension would have to be made west paralleling the Ocean to Ocean Highway and then south up Coyote Canyon to the Mesa. This part of the construction would not be particularly difficult.
All of this country is either open land or woodland type. Topography is rolling and a good many canyons would have to be bridged. In order to reach Alpine Valley, the railroad would have to be extended down Stone Creek and through the box on San Francisco River. Here construction would be extremely difficult and very expensive. This, however, is the most feasible route that could be located. The railroad necessary and the approximate cost of construction follows:
| From Mt. Sedgwick to Quemado — 75 miles: | |||||||||
| Cost grade and culverts | $3,500.00 | ||||||||
| Ballasting | 1,000.00 | ||||||||
| Laying and spiking steel | 700.00 | ||||||||
| Ties | 3,000.00 | ||||||||
| Fittings | 500.00 | ||||||||
| Cost under steel | $8,700.00 | ||||||||
| 75 miles at $8,700.00 | $652,500.00 | ||||||||
| From Quemado to Mangas — 26 miles: | |||||||||
| Cost grade and culverts | $2,000.00 | ||||||||
| Light Ballasting | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Fittings | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Lifting and laying | 900.00 | ||||||||
| Ties used twice | 1,500.00 | ||||||||
| $5,000.00 | |||||||||
| 26 miles at $5,000.00 | $130,000.00 | ||||||||
| From Quemado to Luna — 100 miles: (including spurs to Sawmill Canyon, Agua Fria, Gallita, Toriette Lakes, etc.) | |||||||||
| Grade and culverts | $3,000.00 | ||||||||
| Lifting and laying | 900.00 | ||||||||
| Light Ballast | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Fittings | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Ties, used twice | 1,500.00 | ||||||||
| $6,000.00 | |||||||||
| 100 miles at $6,000.00 | $600,000.00 | ||||||||
| From the Quemado-Luna Spur to Alpine — 76 miles: | |||||||||
| 73 miles at — | |||||||||
| Grade and culverts | $3,000.00 | ||||||||
| Light Ballast | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Lifting and laying | 900.00 | ||||||||
| Fittings | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Ties | 1,500.00 | ||||||||
| $6,000.00 | |||||||||
| 3 miles through Frisco Box — | |||||||||
| Grade, bridges & culvert | $75,000.00 | ||||||||
| Lifting and laying | 900.00 | ||||||||
| Ballast | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Fittings | 300.00 | ||||||||
| Ties | 3,000.00 | ||||||||
| $79,500.00 | |||||||||
| 73 miles at $6,000.00 | 438,000.00 | ||||||||
| 3 miles at $79,500.00 | 238,500.00 | ||||||||
| Total Alpine spur | $676,500.00 | ||||||||
| Total cost main spurs Mt. Sedgwick to timber. | $2.059,000.00 | ||||||||
Steel necessary — 90# steel figured on—
| |||||||||
| Steel figured at $40.00 per ton— | |||||||||
| 157—1/2 tons per mile at $40.00 = | $6,300.00 | ||||||||
| 190 miles at $6,300.00 | $1,197,000.00 | ||||||||
| Cost of grade, ties, etc | $2,059,000.00 | ||||||||
| Total R. R. Cost | $3,256,000.00 | ||||||||
| The calculated cut available from the several units is tabulated as follows: | |||||||||
| Mangas Unit | 34,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Sawmill Canyon Unit | 15,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Agua Fria Unit | 12,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Jewett Gap | 10,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Gallita & Bull Camp Unit | 20,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Toriette Lakes | 20,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Luna Valley | 30,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Lower Trout Creek | 7,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Centerfire Unit | 7,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Hell Roaring Mesa | 40,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Total New Mexico Division | 195,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| Alpine Unit | 56,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| E L C Flat M ft. | 35,000 M. ft. | ||||||||
| Total available | 286,000 M ft. | ||||||||
| It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that extension to this area is at present not at all feasible. In order, however, to further bring out the writer's opinion as to feasibility, a rough calculation of costs follows: | |||||||||
| Felling and bucking | $1.50 | ||||||||
| Brush Disposal, lop & scatter | .45 | ||||||||
| Felling snags | .10 | ||||||||
| Skidding & hauling | 2.75 | ||||||||
| R.R. spur charge | 1.25 | ||||||||
| Landing expense | .12 | ||||||||
| Roads | .15 | ||||||||
| Maintenance logging equip | .60 | ||||||||
| Logging supervision | .50 | ||||||||
| Moving camp | .15 | ||||||||
| Total stump to track | $7.57 | ||||||||
| Hauling woods to mill — | |||||||||
| Loading on cars | .50 | ||||||||
| (7 engines and crews will be required on this haul.) | |||||||||
| 7 crews at $65.00 per day including overtime | $455.00 | ||||||||
| Prorated on 125 | $3.64 | ||||||||
| Santa Fe charge | 3.00 | ||||||||
| Maintenance Railroads — 15 crews required: | |||||||||
| 15 foremen at $3.50 | 52.50 | ||||||||
| 75 laborers at $2.50 | 187.50 | ||||||||
| Supplies | 75.00 | ||||||||
| 315.00 | |||||||||
| Prorated on 125 M | 2.52 | ||||||||
| Maintenance R. R. Equipment | 1.25 | ||||||||
| Water expense | .30 | ||||||||
| Unloading in pond | .10 | ||||||||
| R. R. Supervision | .30 | ||||||||
| Total R. R. charge | 11.61 | ||||||||
| Total cost logs in pond | $19.18 | ||||||||
| Based on a cut of 40,000 M per year there is sufficient timber to last the mill 7 years. | |||||||||
R. R. Depreciation except steel mould be:
| |||||||||
Steel Depreciation would be:
| |||||||||
| Railroad Depreciation would be $353,993.00 per year or on a per M basis | $8.85 | ||||||||
| Depreciation on plant, logging and railroad equipment, etc. would amount to | 1.50 | ||||||||
| Total Depreciation | 10.35 | ||||||||
| Manufacturing and overhead log scale | 10.83 | ||||||||
| Total Cost — | |||||||||
| Logging | 7.57 | ||||||||
| R. R. Charge | 11.61 | ||||||||
| Depreciation | 10.35 | ||||||||
| Manufacturing and overhead | 10.83 | ||||||||
| 40.36 | |||||||||
| Stumpage | 2.00 | ||||||||
| Margin | 6.00 | ||||||||
| Total | 43.36 | ||||||||
It should be borne in mind that the estimates given as to volumes of timber and as to cost of production are approximations only, but represent the opinion of the writer based on a rather careful size-up of the situation. Under the foregoing the writer has concluded that the fob mill selling price of lumber would have to reach at least $45.00 per M with costs remaining as at present before this scheme could be considered at all feasible. The average selling price for the region for the past 4 years has been $26.81. Therefore in my opinion, with the approximate $20.00 differentiation between present selling price and the selling price necessary to render this scheme feasible, it will be probably many years before the lumber market mould reach a point that would warrant extension into this region for timber alone. Col. Breece may, of course, have other things in mind, such as the extension of a main line from Grants, the point on the A. T. & S. F. R. R., where his present Mt. Sedgwick logging road joins the main line, to the mining region around Silver City. If such a line were ever constructed much of the timber on the New Mexico division could be exploited by spur extension to come out over this line, although it is the writer's opinion that even with a main line constructed for other purposes, the timber in the region could best be handled by a series of small mill sets with the product being hauled to the shipping points by auto trucks.
| <<< Previous | <<< Contents>>> | Next >>> |
|
cibola/cultres6/appc.htm Last Updated: 02-Sep-2008 |
Electronic edition courtesy of the Forest History Society. |