m the railroads was the lumber industry. The railroads needed the lumber for ties during the construction of their lines. Because this was an enormous expense, this need also meant that the railroad companies had to acquire their own forest land to supply timber for construction of the railroads. This opened way for development of the Pacific Northwest forests by people such as Frederick Weyerhaeuser who bought 900,000 acres of timber form the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1900.21 The Railroads were essential to the development of a region which was, until perhaps the development of the automobile.The whole significancein western railroad history was their importance as a period of transition from pioneer conditions to those of the present day. Problems of construction and engineering gave way to those operation and manipulation State legislation gave way to federal regulation conditions had become such that the present-day user of the railroad have found himself pretty much at home. The pioneer had given way to the permanent settlers.22...
