I was recently surfing the Internet and came across an interesting map showing approximations of burned areas from forest fires in the Adirondack region during the spring of 1903.
Looking at these blob and patches that represent fire scarred lands, there are some patterns that immerge.
One of these patterns is the proximity of railroad lines to several of the burned patches. This made me wonder: How often where locomotives responsible for initiating forest fires? What other factors contributed to these fires? And how many, if any, major Appalachian fires were started by locomotives?
The map I found of the Adirondacks shows a narrow bead of burned area following a meandering line from it’s southwest edge to the north center. This line coincides with the Adirondack & St. Lawrence Railroad.
The Adirondack & St. Lawrence RR, or the Adirondack RR, was completed in 1892. The line replaced another that was abandonded decades before.
This particular railroad was one of the first to cross directly through the heart of the Adirondack wilderness, significantly improving travel and trade between New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Canada. However, it also improved access for loggers looking to take advantage of the abundent timber in the region.
Exaserbating Fire Risk
Fires have always been an important aspect of temperate forests like those found in the Adirondacks. But, they became more frequent and severe as people moved from eastern cities into the rugged landscape of the mountains.
Logging would have been fairly common during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the region. Many logging operations took advantage of the Hudson River to float logs downriver to markets on the East Coast.
These operations would remove large tracts of forest and leave in their wake scrap woody debris along the rail lines.
As spring and summer temperatures rose, the debris would dry out, becoming perfect fuel for wildfires.
A passing locomotive only needed to throw a spark from their wheels to turn these debris fields into raging infernos.
During the early 1900s, the railroad industry was booming. However, access to the more remote regions of the mountains was still limited. Logging, both legal and illegal likely led to more intense fires during the warmer months.
Other Appalachian Fires Ignited by Railroads
I found little written about specific fires started by passing railcars in Appalachian railroads. That being said, the above map shows that it was certainly an issue.
We already know that railcars would have contributed to forest fires and this map makes that clear.
During the time period spanning the early 1800s through the early 1900s, most fires were a result of carelessness of loggers and farmers.
In fact, a report coming from North Carolina dating 1894 implicates the clearing of pasture land as the major driver of forest fires for that year. Though fires resulting from railcar sparks were less common, this report also mentions their role in smaller fire events.
I enjoy looking at old maps like the one in this article and if you do too, let me know below.
Also, if you come across or are familiar with any other maps that show fires associated with rail lines, please share them below.