Even in the early days of railroad logging they had steam shovels and pile drivers, as well as all kinds of skidders and yarders. You'd be surprised how fast one of these bridges could be built. After all, if they can get the logs onto the cars, they can get them into a hole. By the 1920s, when these pictures were apparently taken, they had quite good machinery.
Notice the Northern Pacific log car? Not all of the Northwest loggers had their own cars.
Here's another picture from the same line, with an even odder bridge. One post under the under the middle with some angled braces to keep it from falling over? Or did they have to splice the middle of three or more logs?
Title Log train, Apex Timber Company, ca. 1925
Photographer Kinsey, Clark
Date 1925~
Notes Caption on image: Apex Timber Co. C. Kinsey Photo, Seattle. 24
PH Coll 516.27
Contextual Notes
Apex Timber Company was headquartered in Pe Ell, Lewis County ca. 1923-1926. It may also have had operations in Ceres, a small settlement in the Chehalis River Valley 11 miles west of Chehalis in west central Lewis County. The name was chosen by W. C. Albee, superintendent of South Bend branch of Northern Pacific Railway when the branch was built. Ceres in Roman mythology, is the goddess of agriculture. Evidently, Albee was quite impressed with the valley's fertile soil.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/clarkkinsey&CISOPTR=30And a link to the entire collection:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/clarkkinseyweb/index.html
