Mining.
—The building of railway tracks to mines was at one time a very expensive part of a railroad’s business. It required much expert knowledge on the part of the railroad officials to determine whether or not such a road would pay. In fact a great many miles of such tracks have been abandoned and very likely the loss to the railroad has been equal to that of the mining companies. Motor trucking is to a large extent doing away with the enormous track building that formerly went on in the mining communities. This eliminates the switching charge which seldom paid the railroad, and possibly the trucking is more convenient and cheaper to the mining company. Here again the use of trailers, special bodies, and mechanical loading and unloading devices will greatly expedite the work. When the mine has grown so that the quantity of ore or coal taken out will pay for it a railroad track may be laid without risk of loss to either railroad or mine.
The hauling of mine products a long distance is not altogether uncommon. Transporting borax from Death Valley, California, was formerly done by twenty-mule teams. It is now much more expeditiously and cheaply hauled by motor trucks. And the transport of supplies from point of purchase to interior and isolated mines, or to depots from which they may be continued by pack horses is common practice.