Flora Logging Company Part 3

Flora Logging Company Pt. 3

Created12/9/07

The first spur from Camp One is to the south and is a long one, about two miles long, and has a switchback on it. Most of this grade has been
turned into an atv trail through the years. However, the switchback itself was not used. As a result it has the most stuff left on it.

This unknown piece of metal was found on the grade just after the switchback. (3/25/00)

This wire mesh, possibly part of a spark arrestor, was found on the grade just after the switchback. (3/25/00)

This is a tie that is part of a short section of ties still in place with their plates and spikes still attached. The section lies at the
end of the switchback tailtrack of the spur, where there is also an old hayrack boom lying on the ground. (3/25/00)

Here are two of the ties with their respective plates and spikes still in place. Unfortunately, as the picture shows, the area has
become quite inundated with water, eroding the roadbed, and rotting the ties. (3/25/00)

Here is a spike still in place in one of the ties. (3/25/00)

Here a row of the ties still in place with their respective rail plates and spikes still in place. As you can see, the area has become
quite swampy, and has rotted some of the ties away. The stretch of ties still in place lies in front of an old spar tree and fallen
hayrack boom. (3/25/00)

It is not very often that you find something like this. The snag in the background is all that remains of an old spar pole. The
haryrack boom that used to operate off of it is buried underneath the moss. One of the logs for it is easily visible, while the cross
members and other log are harder to find. (3/25/00)

This stump with the cable wrapped around it is located uphill from the old spar pole. It was obviously used as a tieback stump for
the spar pole. (3/25/00)

This rail marks the end of this spur line on Trask Cutoff Road. (3/25/00)

The second spur from Camp One also was a long one, but was shorter than the first one, only about a mile and a half long. Running alongside
the last half mile or so are old telephone poles that used to carry the telephone line from the Trask Mountain Lookout, to the valley. These
telephone poles have long since been cut down since they were not needed. Also, at the end of this spur is the evidence that a donkey wrecked
place, as there are parts everywhere.

Here is one of the cut down telephone lines that run along this spur at its end. Note the two sets of cross arms, and the insulator
mounts. (3/26/00)

A close-up of the telephone pole pictured above. (3/26/00)

Here is the remains of another telephone pole. This one however, is not in as good shape as the one pictured before. (3/26/00)

The last telephone pole that I took a picture of is this burned one. Completely different that the ones pictured above. It is more than
likely that the telephone line was caught in the Tillamook Burn of 1933, and if not that one than definitely the Burn of 1939.
(3/26/00)

Here is a donkey drum that lies mostly buried in vegetation. This is part of what looks to be the site of a donkey wreck, and
salvage as there are various pieces of metal, and this drum, lying about. (3/26/00)

Here is the same donkey drum from a little bit of distance to show the amount of vegetation that originally surrounded it. (3/26/00)

This burned out stump with cable wrapped around lies directly uphill from the donkey drum, which probably means that the donkey
was traveling uphill when it possibly flipped for some reason. All metal pieces are uphill of the railroad grade meaning that the
wreck must have occurred while it was moving itself. It could also have been a boiler explosion. (3/26/00)

This unknown piece of metal has the inscription "NO 182 FRONT" on it. It lies just to the east of the drum, about 10 feet away or
so, and is surrounded by other different metal pieces. (3/26/00)

Here is an unknown band of metal. (3/26/00)

Here is the same drum as above, without the vegetation surrounding it. It is unclear which drum this is, or what type of donkey it
came off of. (3/26/00)

This is a close-up of the uncovered drum. (3/26/00)

This unknown piece of metal appears to be a flange
of some sort, but I don't know for sure. (3/26/00)

This final piece of metal at the wreck site appears to be a handle of some sort, possibly for one of the levers. (3/26/00)

Striations shown in grade after the grade leaves Trask Mountain Road just before it joins into Toll Road. (10/21/07)

Here is the same stump again a few years later. (10/21/07)

These two photos show the drum after I rediscovered their
location during hunting season. Unfortunately, this area will
probably be logged again in the next 10 years. With things the
way that they are, these donkey parts might be destroyed in the
harvesting process. (10/21/07)

Here is the same band of metal again, more recently, with a firebox brick that was found close by. (10/21/07)

This photo shows a different view of the piece of metal that I was once again able to find when I revisited the site in 2007.
(10/21/07)

Another more recent shot of the piece of metal. The fact that the donkey pieces lie near the end of the spur, but just up the hill
from the grade indicate that this was not a donkey that rolled down the hill. It maybe that this donkey exploded or rolled over after a
line snapped. Or, with the with The Tillamook Burn, it might have been burned in place and everything else was scrapped.
(10/21/07)

This barrel was found between the donkey pieces and the railroad grade. (10/21/07)

This bit of cable was found on a short siding that ran alongside of the grade just before the switchback. From the amount of cable
nearby it seemed like a loading spur. (10/27/07)

This unknown piece of metal was found along the grade just after the siding. Its purpose is unknown. (10/27/07)

This unknown piece of thin metal was found wrapped around a tree shortly after this spur took off from the Flora Mainline between
Camps Murphy and One. (10/27/07)

This pipe ran for a ways down the side of the grade, and was buried in mud for awhile also. It is 2 inches in diameter and led from a
very wet draw to a stream down the grade. (10/27/07)

Here is a close-up of the 2 inch diameter pipe. (10/27/07)

This stump was in the aforementioned draw that the pipe led to. It is obvious here that a lot of spikes were needed to hold the
cable in place. Unfortunately, I did not have a lot of time to look around here and see if there were any donkey sleds or other
objects left in place. (10/27/07)

Camp 1 To Camp Murphy Continued:

Here is a more modern look at the ties still in place in the tailtrack of the switchback. As you can see, this area has since been logged since I
last visited it. The odd thing though is that the loggers went to a great effort to leave this stretch of grade as undisturbed as possible. When
they reopened the old atv trail from the wye to the switchback, they piled a lot of dirt and rock to make sure that no equipment could roll over
the tracks. The log in the picture shows the amount of iron that was found at the site by the loggers and was placed up here so that it would
not get buried in the mud. I'm pretty sure that the long spike sitting on the log came out of the hayrack boom since it's sitting just a little ways
away. (10/20/07)

Here is the spar tree snag in the previous photo, at present time. Unfortunately, it was cut down when the area was logged. The
fact that it is laying next to the stump, and knowing how rotten it was, It would seem that it was cut down because it posed a hazard
to those working on the ground around it. (10/20/07)

Here is a current look at the hayrack boom as in the above picture. The boom lies in the area that was undisturbed by the loggers,
and as a result is still buried under mud and hillside. (10/20/07)

Back to Part I Of Flora Lgg. Co.