The History of Logging Railroads — Why America Built 15,000 Miles of Track Just to Move Timber
Kronoset
44,755 views
America once built a hidden railroad network through its forests - more than 15,000 miles of temporary track made to haul timber out of the wilderness and then vanish. 🌲🚂 In this video, Kronoset explores the rise of logging railroads, the brutal lives of the workers, the geared locomotives that conquered impossible terrain, and the environmental destruction these forgotten lines left behind. A lost chapter of American industrial history that reshaped the landscape and then nearly disappeared.
If you enjoyed this story, like the video, subscribe to Kronoset, and leave a comment with the forgotten history topic we should cover next. 👍
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#loggingrailroads #americanhistory #industrialhistory #railroadhistory #steamlocomotives #shaylocomotive #heisler #climaxlocomotive #westvirginia #appalachia #pacificnorthwest #timberindustry #lumberhistory #foresthistory #conservationhistory #americanindustry #forgottenhistory #historicaldocumentary #kronoset
00:00 Intro
02:54 Why Logging Railroads Were Needed
05:00 The Birth Of The Logging Railroad
06:30 Geared Locomotives That Conquered Mountains
09:16 Dangerous Track, Trestles, And Switchbacks
12:14 Southern Pines And Pacific Northwest Expansion
14:40 Deadly Work And Life In Logging Camps
18:38 Deforestation, Fire, And Environmental Ruin
21:52 How Logging Railroads Sparked Conservation
23:40 Decline Of The Logging Railroad Era
25:09 Traces, Museums, And What Remains
29:30 Outro
11 Comments
The History of Logging Railroads — Why America Built 15,000 Miles of Track Just to Move Timber
Kronoset
44,755 views
America once built a hidden railroad network through its forests - more than 15,000 miles of temporary track made to haul timber out of the wilderness and then vanish. 🌲🚂 In this video, Kronoset explores the rise of logging railroads, the brutal lives of the workers, the geared locomotives that conquered impossible terrain, and the environmental destruction these forgotten lines left behind. A lost chapter of American industrial history that reshaped the landscape and then nearly disappeared.
If you enjoyed this story, like the video, subscribe to Kronoset, and leave a comment with the forgotten history topic we should cover next. 👍
Turn on notifications so you never miss a new deep dive into American industrial history 🔔
#loggingrailroads #americanhistory #industrialhistory #railroadhistory #steamlocomotives #shaylocomotive #heisler #climaxlocomotive #westvirginia #appalachia #pacificnorthwest #timberindustry #lumberhistory #foresthistory #conservationhistory #americanindustry #forgottenhistory #historicaldocumentary #kronoset
00:00 Intro
02:54 Why Logging Railroads Were Needed
05:00 The Birth Of The Logging Railroad
06:30 Geared Locomotives That Conquered Mountains
09:16 Dangerous Track, Trestles, And Switchbacks
12:14 Southern Pines And Pacific Northwest Expansion
14:40 Deadly Work And Life In Logging Camps
18:38 Deforestation, Fire, And Environmental Ruin
21:52 How Logging Railroads Sparked Conservation
23:40 Decline Of The Logging Railroad Era
25:09 Traces, Museums, And What Remains
29:30 Outro
When I was much younger than I am now, a man then in his 70's that was a neighbor told me that his grandfather floated white oak logs down the White River in Indiana all the way down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where the logs were sold and then walked back home; he said about a 4 month trip. As I recall, his grandfather was 13 when he first started doing it, pretty normal in the 1800's.
I'm 7th generation timberman myself on this continent, as it bares certainty my ancestors were also woodsmen in German before jumping off the boat in America in 1680.