Lots of Berger machines around left over from the heyday. Anyone have any pics or info to share? Here are some Berger pics from 1960's/70's advertising.
Berger model C-19 Yarders built until 1984 They built about 15 of these, both on AC crawlers, then later versions on D8 Cats. Tower stood at 50', yarding distance was about 1,800 feet with 1 1/8" skyline.
I think the frist and last pic are at seaside oregon early 60s
Definitely Crown Zellerbach somwhere- I always assumed Clallam Bay, but had no proof of that- could be Seaside for sure. Got any good pics from that area to post? Love to see them if you do.
Some more Berger yarders..............
Awesome pics again! The Spolestra Bros machine is quite the find. I happen to know a man by the name of John Sploestra who operates the 5110 excavator for the comapny I work for! Spolestra Bros was owned and operated by his dad and his uncle. If you dont mind I want to save those pics and show them to John. I'm sure he would get a kick out of it. Is the big Berger on your last set of pics Dahlgrens Mark 6?
No-its a T-23 in Roseburg OR, but Dahlgrens have T-23's too! (Sorry to hear about Ingrid). I have lots of Mark 6 pics, but all on film, and all in Washington. Someday I'll spend ayear scanning so we can all enjoy those too. I have the original Berger sales brochure with the Spolestra machine featured in it. Actually I have several and would love Mr Spolestra to have one. Ernie Nielsen still had some Bergers there on the Bogachiel also- are they still there?
Pics of the Mark 6. Well heck yeah take the time to scan and post! I got the chance to see one of Dalgrens Mark 6's sitting at thier shop a couple years ago. It was all tore apart, for transport I suppose. I didnt get any pics of it though. Thier other one was working on the Phist Tree Farm, and I didnt feel like hiking 12 miles in the rain to go get some pics of it. I'm sure you know they own the only two of those ever built. So I'm sure the pics you have are all of thier machines. John might have one of those old brochures around. If not, I'm sure he would love to have one. I would love to see one! I'll give him a call later today, as we are working on differnt jobs right now. As far as Nielsen's iron, I heard he was pretty much done. Has been for quite a few years. On that note- Another guy that works for the company, helped to build what was called the D7 carriage for Nielsen back in the 70's. We have quite a few old loggers from the Forks, Port Angeles area working for the company. I'm not from that area myself, but spent about a year working over there so I have heard alot of stories, met some neat people and seen some awesome old pictures that they had. Usally over adult beverages!:drinkup On weekends I would head over towards Forks and Sieku to look for logging jobs. Most all of the areas where locked up tight, and it would be raining, so walking was out the question!
Just want to say Thank you! for all the great logging pictures in the differant threads you have posted. Keep them coming.
Another northwest based machine I always liked was the Garrett skidder.From Enumclaw Wa.My dad told me they started to build them from surplus truck parts,after WW2.
This was from a Caterpillar ad but through the fog behind that Cat 245 with the Spruce is one hell of a Berger yarder. One-of-a-kind, built custom for Ernie Nielsen, but huge. She spooled 6,000' feet of 2" skyline and they hung a winch cat on it for a carriage. I have lots of pics of this rig at my Washington residence, but here this old Caterpillar ad will have to do. Ernie ran a fleet of 245 log loaders under his yarders.
CL, thanks for sharing...very interesting photos and equipment that I myself do not get to see often if ever...just due to the location in the country. Thanks and looking forward to more. Trbo
Berger Logging Conversions to American Hydraulic Excavators in the late 70's and early 80's Berger made log loaders out of alot of American hydraulic excavators to compete with Bucyrus-Erie, Link-Belt, Caterpillar, etc.
Berger with Skagit T-100 Guylines and Tower, Pretty Cool. Havent posted in this thread for a bit, so here is my contribution for the week-- This is a Berger self-propelled slackline yarder, an M-2A I think, with the rear frame modified and mated to a Skagit T-100 tower and guyline drumset/base. The Berger had a free-standing 100' tower with the guydrums built into the base originally, but it was just to heavy and troublesome to move (you had to remove the tube completely to travel over the highway). This set-up allows for quick rig-ups, tear-downs, and one-piece moves. Machine is currently owned by Papac Log Alaska, and was still parked in Klawock (on West Princeof Wales Island) this morning at 9 am. Pics are a week old.
A few detail shots for you. I'll take some more on Monday if the weather is decent at all. This machine is capable of yarding long, long distances, so parked there along with it are two line trucks to support it. One has guyline extensions (sections of 1 1/4" a couple hundred feet long) and the other has 1 3/8" skyline extensions, 4 of those- 700' each. She can reach out there!
More pics, including the line trucks. Line trucks are usually old and trashed ex-log trucks that stay with the yarder just to store needed or extra line. A necessity for any large yarder crew to have on the job! (This line is too heavy to move or handle by hand). In this case we have an old Mack (ex-Weyerhaeuser) and an old Pete (ex Shaan-Seet Native Corp). Rough trucks.
On a side note- do a You-Tube search for 'Papac Logging' and you can see a yarder working, alnog with other equipment- not this yarder, a different Papac Machine in Washington State.
Berger MARC IV Tower-Yarder Here's a 2-page sales brochure from 1966 for the Berger MARK IV. Note the second page unde weight: 'with customer-furnished D-9 undecarriage' it says.
Thats awesome. I'm defintley gonna have to show these to John!
Berger Marc III Tower Yarder Berger Marc III Tower Yarder on D9 Undercarriage. Sales Literature, etc.
Baerger Marc III-R Here is th Berger Marc III-R, or the 'Rubber' mounted version of that machine. 4-Axles, self-propelled, gets around under its own power. Also- check out the Northwest shovel with Young heel boom and grapple.
If that Beger/Skagit hybrid is the machine I think it is, it was modified by Diamond Manufacturing in Chehalis. We looked at buying it a few years back. If I remember right, they put the Skagit pole and drums on it and the shortened the frame to make it a one-piece move. That Mack line truck was also part of the package. Interesting stuff, thanks for posting.
Bill Paulson did the work at his shop, not sure if it was for Diamond. Moerke out of Chehalis ended up buying the machine back then. Same rig, yes.
Berger line truck hoist, built for Simpson at Grisdale WA, currently in Wrangell Alaska at Silver Bay Logging. Mounted on and old Kenworth, still has Simpson stickers on it. Berger built quite a few of these, I have pics of most of them somewhere.
Berger Bridge Crane for unloading logging trucks. From a 1953 magazine ad.
1962 Magazine Ad. Berger square-tube 100' non-telescoping tower on sled. Yarder is a triple-drum Carco on a crawler tractor, as you can see. Looks like an early LS98 loading logs.
Clipping from a 1962 Alaska Loggers magazine, shows another square-tube Berger 100' setup. Caption and pic says it all......
1968 Advertisment highlighting a 'snorkel boom' attachemt for the TL-6 Trakloaders with heel booms.
I mistakenly posted this 'Washington Trakloader' ad to the Berger section.... Anyone know if or how i can move it to the right (Washington) thread??
1953 Berger magazine ad.
That particular 245 looks a hell of a lot like my dad's, Russ, he worked for Ernie for a long time. I seem to remember they lost one of his bigger machines to a brake failure in the 80s, during a move down the hill but I cant remember if it was this machine or another, I was just a kid at the time. Be interesting to see if this monster is still around somewhere.
I remember your dad. Both the 2 original 245's Ernie had do exist- one is in Forks with trees grown up through it (on the Bogachiel River), the other at Mike Walch's place in Auburn Wa. Ernie is living in Auburn as well.......
My hat is off to you, Contract Logger! :notworthy The stuff you post just can't be found anywhere else! Washington, Skagit, Madill, Berger, they're just too good to be forgotten. Someone has to keep their memory alive. I hope to start a thread on Tyee soon, once I get my material scanned.
I will take all of my hats off to contract logger and all of you for the awesome pictueres and comments. I am in the process of setting up to scan pics of 50 years of logging and construction. Does anyone have pics of Gray River Logging, Willapa Logging, Lone Pine and other SW WA outfits? Lone Pine had a new Berger Marc2R that was caught in the Mt. St. H blast, was retrieved and I have lost the trail on it in 82. I have probably met you CL but dint know who you were. JFYI my Great Uncle Oscar had the first patent on the lowly choker bell of which I have several in my yard display with the family name cast into them. Oscar also designed a 2-Speed Steam donk which later was incorporated into the Washington Iron Works line. I have many stories gleaned from listening to my Dad and old loggers sitting around talking about old times. This site is something that is invaluable to all of us and again I wish to thank everyone for contributing. Keep em coming.
Thanks for the info! I'm a bit surprised (happily) to know Ernie is still around. Do you know roughly where on the Bogey that 245 is? I'm coming up in September and would like to photograph it. In addition, I was wondering if you know what became of the yarder in the background of that photo. I remember being on Owl mountain as a kid when they used that machine, on one of the last large old growth cedar cuts....this was one or two logs to a truck. Mid 80's or so. At any rate, I seem to recall a yarder accident soon after that, they were moving it and the brakes went out. I seem to recall they saved the tube, and Raineer or ITT bought it, but wrote off the yarder. I'm not sure if it was Ernie's custom machine (I think it was called a Mark 6) or one of his mark 5's. At any rate, thanks for all the information and all the great photos! It really takes me back to see this stuff, and makes me miss home
The yarder in the background AND the 245 are both sitting at Ernie's house/shop there, before you get to Dahlgren's, and on the other side of the road. Lots of gear there to see- tons of trucks, etc, and 2 Northwest 80D shovels with dipper stick booms and Berger air-tongs!
Berger Super-Yarder OK, this thread has become slow so I will be adding alot of material to it over the next weeks again I suppose. So this yarder was one-of-a-kind built for a specific job, for Summit Timber (G&D Logging) out of Darrington WA. to log in the North Cascades. It worked and worked well. The mobile skyline drum was built by Washington Iron Works to be used with a Model 408 Skyflyer which is very similar to this. It is anchored by deadmen at the rear and has its own tie-back drums. Seems to me it held close to 7,000' of 2" skyline. At least 2 of these were built. See pic 1. The main yarder was Berger built and held huge capacities of big line, but the specifics escape me. Had big big water brakes on it too- note the size of the radiator there. 5th wheel dollies under both ends to move from either direction. See pic 2. Next we have the small Berger 125' banjo-head tower, free standing, which is the smaller tower of 2 towers for this, depending on need and job. The also built a 217' (yes, two-hundred seventeen foot, I said) tower for this rig which I have seen, but never seen standing. I'll post pics of that when I can find them. Anyway, pics of small tower, see 3rd and 4th. That is a big turn of logs there, old growth yellow fir wood. Mike Walch of Ranier Rigging owns this setup along with around 70 other yarders, many are just as impressive as this. He owns the 'Ranier Skyline Excavator' rigs worldwide for dreging, etc and does very well with all things yarder. He actually bought the last Berger built- a 1989 M2A, self-propelled, brand new out of the Oregon logging show and has never even put line on the drums. Just for a collector I guess, lol. Anyway enjoy the pics and tell Mike I said hello if you run into him. He never answers the phone........
As you can see they are North Bend logging here! Should have pointed that out.
Ok, I'm looking at it and it doesn't look like a north bend system. It looks to me like the haulback is hooked to the back of the carriage. Am I seeing things? Not sure what you would call it. It seems I remember this or some tower similar having a write up in Loggers World once with a picture of that tall tower you mentioned. Maybe a different one although you wouldn't think there would be too many like it. There was an out fit called Skycar Log had one of them skyline drum machines around here but a little different. I thought it was homemade, maybe not. They had a skagit, banjo top tower to skid with. I think I remember it being a BU80 but they went out along way with small lines on the skidding machine. 6000' one setting.
Contract Logger, Do you go back far enough to remember those big hand wheels you used on the guyline drums on Bergers. Norhtwest Log had a tower we had to use the hand wheel on when I worked for them the first time. Loved that thing! Any pictures of one maybe?
Heres a link to an atricle I found about Dahlgren Logging in Forks, WA. Im sure that just about everyone has seen or heard about them flying the Cats out into the brush, but for those who havent-here ya go! There is also a link in the article to see the youtube video of it. If you do some searching on youtube, there is also a couple videos of them bringing the Cats back in. http://www.forestnet.com/TWissues/Sept-Oct/FlyingTxt.html
Some of the greatest pics I have seen in eons. Keep it coming contract logger! I remember boxes of pics and brochures of this stuff when I was a kid but it all seems to have been left behind. I'm going digging though!
Berger from Debriae Logging in Cathlamet, WA last spring.
Berger Marc IV Builder's Plate I bought at an antique store a heavy cast builder’s plate for a Berger Marc IV Teletower which I thought was kind of neat and probably somewhat uncommon. The builder’s plate is about 3/8-inch thick cast aluminum and measures about 10 inches high by about 19 inches wide. I was wondering if anyone knows how many Berger Marc IV logging yarders/towers were manufactured? Any information would be greatly appreciated, to learn about the industrial history of this neat artifact.
Berger M2 Here's a Berger M2 car logging somewhere out of Neah Bay, Wa
cont. M2 eye on skyline broke and damaged the skycar
M6 Here's some pic's of the M6 as well, even if it's not working at the moment. Comes with a nice 1 3/4 skyline.
M6 con't one more..
Now that there is a big yarder. It is the biggest tower/yarder ever built by an actual 'manufacturer'. Bigger hoists were built, and a few bigger tower/yarder combos were one-offed by Tillman and others, but not factory-designed like these Marc-6R's were. Very cool pics.
Berger MARC-6R Here are a few more Berger Marc-6R pics. I took these at Dahlgren's in about 2002 I guess. They have 2 of these (twins), and the only 2 built. In these pics, one of them had just come in for winter storage, and is in moving mode.
More Berger @ Dahlgrens.
Moving the tower. I just looked at the brochure and it shows the weight of the tower alone at 65,000 lbs, without lines and blocks. The Peterbilt logger has 10' bunks, and the tower makes a load, all the lines and blocks are on it here.
Berger square-tube 2-piece tower graces the cover of Canada Lumberman magazine in May 1961. Shovel is an Insley, and logging truck is a Euclid.
Berger Hydraulic Log Loader Ok CL, lets see if you have a brochure on this monster. In the late 70"s Lone Pine Log did a job for Burlington Northern near Skykomish. On a trip to the Berger shops in Seattle to inspect the new Marc 2R 120 Foot yarder being built for him my boss was offered a brand new Berger Loader at a price he couldnt refuse. I personally ran it for a time in the old growth DF and it was a monster. I remember loading 30k plus logs with ease. Some of the specs I remember are, 50 foot bom, 1 1/2 D7 Cat tracks on each side, a cab one could have a meeting in, atf fluid for hyd. oil 200 gals, huge hoses not tied down that jumped like snakes when operating, 14 ft width and heavy. Controls were air over hyd with a manual swing control and various other Rube Goldberg features. I cant remember the weight but seems like 140K. Clyde Sprague had one at Enumclaw and Wayne at Berger told us only 6 were ever built and that the person who designed it used Brtish WW2 Battleship Gun Turret technology for the basic design. So, I do have some pics and will post someday lol. Any brochures anywhere? Best regards, Allan
This is great! Your Dave H. of Lone Pine was logging with THAT Berger Marc 2R near Mt St Helens when she blew in 1980. I have some great pictures of the Marc 2 AND the big Berger hyd loader you speak of covered in ash but mostly unscathed. The yarder was sold by Lone Pine (When Dave went down to the Soloman Islands to log) to Wayne Browning (Browning Timber) and is currently owned by Dahlgren Logging at Forks. There are pics of THAT same yarder in this thread, Posts #45 and #46, still with Browning Timber on the door. I had breakfast with Wayne Browning 3 weeks ago and he still considers that machine to be the best yarder ever built. Thos pics are in a box in Longview Wash at a home I have there (closer to you than to me, lol), but will se what I can find in the meantime. PS- I had no idea they built 6, I wouldnt have guessed that. They were huge and lots of iron. I remeber holes cut out of the boom and stick to reduce weight??
I just dug through my 'Berger' box here in Alaska, and dont find anything on that beast. I know I have seen a brochure on it someplace, might have been a a friend of mine's place. He lives in Winlock, and has files/literature on EVERYTHING logging. We are considering putting together a website where the public can go and download color PDF's of all the old sales literature, advertisements, etc. Berger, Skagit, Washington, Madill, Thunderbird, stuff, etc. Between about 10 people I know we have about everything I think, trick is finding the time to scan it all....... One of these days there WILL be that website, but not today I suspect. PS- If you go to Modern Machinery, there's a spot on the Madill section where you can download PDF brochres of all the last stuff Madill built.
More Berger news Amazing CL, Dave gave me and 2 other men the job of removing the the 2 Bergers, D8H, FMC Fire Truck and other odds and ends in July of 1980. But let me digress to 1978 when the yarder was new. One friday in 1978 when the yarder was a few weeks old I ran it for a 11 hour shift near Roy Fillas shop on Weyco property. Weyco had shut us down and on friday of that week we sent 53 loads to the Weyerhauser lgvw yard and had logs left over. To quote Dave, Lets teach them a lesson. They were all loaded by Charley Stornetta with one of the then newer Liebherr 961 loaders. I later got that loader, D8H, Edco yarder and other odds and ends as a patrner with Dave and worked for Weyco at Aberdeen for Kelly Stanley for 5 years in the early 80"s. That Marc2R yarder was an absolute animal and would shotgun 2 DF meatblocks and 2 bigger bunklogs at a whack with ease. I have 2 albums of pics of the salvage operation and count it as one of most dangerous and foolhardy things i have done, however as I was told if you want to eat this winter it needs to get done. I have a brochure from Lloyds of London telling about the event and saw a check for 969K for the loss which in turn Dave bought the entire lot back for 100K. It cost about 100K to remove the iron and it was a memorable event, lol. I think you and I CL are going to sit down some day and compare notes. Sorry for the ramble but when one opens worm cans stuff ccomes out. Thanks for the info on the M2R. I can still hear that Cat roar as it pulled with a big turn. More later, lol, Allan
PS- I am enjoying your Loggers Worlds and extras, lol. I'd love to buy you lunch one of these days. I have a bunch of Liberty Logging pics to post one of these days, from Ostrander to Ryderwood from the Skagit/Tillman to the 171. I have a great pic of the Liebherr you speak of taken near Ryderwood (I think around 83' or 84'). I always took pics.......glad I did now!
Anyone have much experience with Log Loaders with grapples working in the Millyards? I'm looking for a good log grapple to handle 16' logs being loaded into the Sawmill. The loader is a 980G. Anyone have much info?
Millyard Grapple Here are 2 places you should try. Cascade Trader at 360 748 1182 and Zender Equipment Co at 360 319 7973. These are both in Wa state. Contract Logger on this site also may be able to help. Good luck, Allan
Cat built the 980G as a 'Forest Machine' they called it, and there are quite a few around. Lots in BC/Vancouver Island country. It certainly can be done. The forestry version had a few modifications regarding linkage, boom, etc, as well as counterweight, so it would be a good idea to consult with your Cat dealer before buying a grapple, just to see what you're modifications might be. You will need 3rd function hydraulics to run the clamps for sure. I just looked at MachineryTrader.Com and found some grapples for you. On the home page, scroll down to click on 'attachments and components'. I entered 'Grapple, log' in the item box, and '980G' in the model box, and found a few. This one looks very good, pictures but no price. Theres another for $8500 but it looks a little rough in the pics. Grapple, Log 980G Call AB, CN Stk #: ATP288; Good used Balderson Quick attach log grapple to fit Cat 980G; Headwater Equipment Sales and Parts Phone: 18773278311 or (403)327-3681 Details & Photo(s) Good Luck!
I don't recall a G model that had much of any mods for logging. Usually it was just heavier counterweight on the back and an aftermarket set of logging forks from Medford or Young along with the third valve. Most of the loggers I had anything to do with were 980Bs. There are quite a few of those around with bucket installed now. They make good diggers but all I've seen in the last few years are well worn out. There are some G models around but a company would have to be bankrupt before they would part with one at this time. The 988 models though were a whole lot different. The booms were shorter and the tilt cylinders were larger. There was a whole lot more counterweights on the back of those. You might find a 988F around. I believe Cat made their own logging forks for the G and H models but I'm sure you could still get the Medford or Young fronts also. If you are searching, be sure to check CatUsed.com. These will be pricey but you will usually get some photos and descriptions. There are machines as CL says that may be dirt machines with a logging fork installed. It may or may not do what you want.
One piece move Berger SP-23 that I used to own here in New Zealand, used to find the nose of machine very light with the guy drums out that back and up high. Going onto our transporters she would pull a wheel stand...
Gents could you tell me what model of Berger this is and how long is the pipe? Didn't have time to crawl around on it or the 6250 sitting close by, the other 2 in the car didn't seem to have time (women) it's under the Longview Bridge on the Or side. HDX I just bought a brand new tin hard hat, the good old USA:usa
I think this is a Berger in action! just a few miles out of Clatskani Or on the rd to Vernonia, Skyline over the hi way. I went for lunch at Camp 18. I guess the women aren't so bad hey CL, love the 160 ft wooden spar tree etc...
I have a picture of that 6250 on page 10 of the T-Bird thread, it's been sitting there a while Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm about 20 miles south of Longview.
This is a Berger T-23 (one of the first T-23's built) and was ordered new in 1983 by Herb Olstedt of Jewell, Oregon. It was delivered by famous Berger salesman 'Jim Hay' (we called him 'Berger' King!) to a job Herb was logging at Forks Washington, along ways from home at Jewell. Herb traded in a Washington 127W on a tank bottom for this rig. (I'll post pics of Herb's 127 someday- it's currently parked at Bremmeyer's in Ravensdale). Herb ordered this yarder with the one-piece 80' tower "so we could move quicker between landings". He felt that the telescoping process just made tear-downs and rig-ups take "to damn long"- Herbs words. Most of the T-23's had a 100' telescoper rather than this long 1-peice stick. Has a KT Cummins for power. Herb had a gorgeous 1960's B-Model Mack restored and painted to match this yarder as the line truck- it had a big Berger line hoist on it and a beautiful pair they made! When new, this T-23 hoist was orange with blue trim. The cab was white with orange trim, and the tower was blue with a white top- beautiful yarder. 'BERGER' was painted white and trimmed in orange on the light blue tower and rigged up againtst the old-growth fir looked amazing. From Forks Herb took her to work the big timber south at Roseburg Oregon(working for Roseburg Forest Products) and then things turned bad in the NW. Herb dumped most of the gear and came up to Alaska logging with his whole family but not the Berger. We lost track of the machine until Harve (Bighorn Logging at Vernonia) bought it for a long-span job in 2001. They used it a year or so and it's been sitting at the bridge since about 2002. Herb Olstedt has a thousand or more pictures of this yarder new and I never managed to borrow and scan any of them- someday I will. He also logged on the Mt St Helens cleanup in 81/82' and has a ton of cool pics from all that mess (logging with his 127W and a Tyee). Been a year or so since i spoke to Herb, but he was logging then right around the North Oregon Coast and running 4 or more yarders. (Madill 071, Washington 137W, Diamond, and some Yoaders. He also owns a dandy Berger MARC 2 on D8 with a 110' tower, but uses it sparingly as it is a nightmare to move.) Hope this helps a little with the T-23 Berger history. Glad you enjoyed Camp 18-- Wish I had been there- I'd buy you lunch anytime!
That's a Berger alright! Looks like a newer Cat loading there too. In that neighborhood there arent too many possibilities--as I said above Herb Olstedt has the 110' telescoper, it could be that machine. Also- Evenson Logging at Clatskanie Oregon was using a Berger Mark 3 (trailer mounted, highlead-only machine) for some of thier longer-span jobs. This might be Evenson's Berger. Both Olstedt and Evenson own late-model Cat shovels and use Boman carriages, so the clues we have arent doing much good here! Beautiful day and beautiful setting nonetheless. Sometimes it's more fun just to wonder....
Thanks for that info!! I noticed the one piece tube right away, I like the mat set up on the bottom of the tower can you lean the tower ahead like you can with the Madills ?
Berger Free-Standing Towers- Many of the Berger towers were free-standing (right on the ground) with the big 'foot' pad underneath, and guyline drums mounted right onto the tower itself, along with raising and telescoping drums. The yarder carries the tower on top of it to the landing, stands it up with the raising line, telescopes with the telescoping line (if it telescopes), and tightens the guylines all with the 2 (1 hydraulic supply and 1 return) lines off the yarder engine-driven hydraulic pump. Then a pin or 2 (depending on the model) is pulled, and the yarder hoist pulled a few inches away from the tower for yarding. The tower is connected to the yarder ONLY by the 2 hydraulic lines, therefore none of the structural stresses (or vibrations) of the yarding process is transferred into the yarder hoist, carrier, or operator. Also- the tube can fall away from the yarder in any direction -except straight back- and not damage the yarder at all- only the tower. Still a bad day. Since most Berger towers were big and heavy they needed to come off the yarder anyway to get legal for highway moves (all the drums with lines- guylines, raise, and telescope line is heavy and stays ON the tube), the hyd. lines had quick-couplers in them. Usually the tubes were moved on a log truck with some bunk-logs down. it did require a big shovel to remove and re-install at both ends of the move. After rig-up, if you un-pinned, un-coupled the hyd lines, and un-shackled the raising line- you could drive off the hill with the yarder and leave that tower standing there all by itself! No big deal. Some of the bigger players had spare Berger towers and a Berger trailer without a hoist on it just for pre-rigging the towers. Simpson did this at Grisdale. The lowbed truck and trailer/tower would go in with a rig-up crew and stand the tower up using a big (higher flow) PTO setup on the truck. The tower would be standing there ready on a setting, (with haywire run up through all the sheaves and back down of course) ready for the yarder. The trailer was left down the road in a wide spot -or taken to get a tower from some other setting that had finnished up. Usually the rig-up crew also had a truck-mounted 2-drum hoist for pulling the haywire, guyline extensions, etc. The moved-in-later yarder could be anything- even a triple-drum on a Cat D8, or a big Skagit on a tank, trailer, or a sled. Needless to say even at the Grisdale closing auction in 1984 the had alot more Berger towers than Berger yarders! Sorry to ramble, but Berger (and the contractors/owners) did some really neat and innovative things to keep production up. The 80' tower on on this T-23 (above) can stand there all by itself, yes. Attached are 2 pics from a hydro-project where a Berger 110' telescoper was used as a tail-tree, all by itself, no yarder deal. Yarder/Tower was a Skagit BU-98 on the other side of the canyon, they were skylining 42" pipe.
Thanks for taking the time to explain this system awsome!!!! I spent the first couple of yrs. of my career on a 009 and then on to GYs I could see that working great for yarding down hill(a canadian thing) get the yarder and operator out of the bight, how many degrees could you yard without turning the tower around or could you just move the winch to the other side???360
I found what must be an artist's rendering of this machine tonight- here it is! Doesnt look far off from the real one.... Quite the beast they were! Wonder if any exist today?
Kiwi C-19 Here are some pictures of a C-19 I found down here logging in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. The picture of the build plate is not very good however it appears to be #1077. Enjoy
Could that be a Tyler system?
I was up late last night and found those Evenson Logging 'Berger M2' pictures. Here are some taken near Clatskanie Oregon in 2000. I believe this was the yarder Murk saw on his trip.
Evenson M2 yarder.
Here's a good-looking Berger M2A belonging to Mike Walch of Ranier Rigging (Auburn Wash) and dredging at Monroe Washington in 2001. This machine came from Simpson's Camp Grisdale operation and was purchased at the closeout auction there in 1984.
Chilton and Preston of Woodland Washington logged with this Berger T-23 for several years before buying a Thunderbird TY-90. The Berger was sold to a contractor working near Monroe Oregon and I got a couple shots of it being towed down I-5 behind a Shermann Brothers tractor doing 65+ mph! The T-23 is a one-piece move if you use a 2-axle jeep and 2-axle booster, as seen here. This would have been about 2004.
Berger M2A Slackline Yarder- Trailer mounted machine with a 100' tower. Good looking yarder, parked in a millyard South of Lyons Oregon when I took the pics in 1999. I have no idea who the owner was, It was parker near Freres Lumber.
In 2001 I was in the Oregon Coast Range -Southeast of Lincoln City- and ran across Ralph Wakefield who was moving his Berger highlead machine to a new setting. Yarder is being pulled by a Shermann Bros Freightliner tractor and assisted by Ralph on his D7. They 'got er done' as they always do! I have a bunch of pics of this machine logging and will post more later. I think it's a Berger Marc 2 and it is trailer mounted with a 90' tower, all Berger.
Here are a few pic's of Ralph Wakefield's Berger at work near Willamina Oregon in 2003.
And here are a couple taken near Hebo, Oregon in 2002. On this job they were loading with a Koehring 6630 that has 'Fetter Logging, Buckley Washington' still painted on it. Buckley is a ways from Hebo, presumably Mr Wakefield picked this machine up used someplace......
Here we have a Berger M2 Highlead Machine (no skyline drum) owned in 2001 by Herb Olstedt Logging and parked on Longview Fibre ground near Mist, Oregon- where the machine had been de-rigged and left when the job was finished. Olstedt runs several yarders and can use the yarders best suited to the work he is doing at the time. He was also logging for LV Fibre 15 miles away from this job with a Berger C-19 and Hitachi shovels on this day. Power for this beast is by Cat, Undercarriage is Cat D8, and tower is 100'.
Ran across some pics I took of that same yarder back in 2001 parked at Jerry's in Cathlamet. It's a Berger T-23 and someplace I have a bunch of pics of it rigged up and working- but I haven't found them yet. It's only a matter of time......
Here's a Mack R Series tractor with a Berger line hoist on her! These hoists are necessary when you use a large tower for moving and storing the guyline and skyline extensions, etc. This one belonged to George Churchill Logging when I took the pics in Tillamook Oregon in the later 1980's.
Check out this Berger sled-mounted highlead yarder on a Mack cabover truck. I took this pic in Forks Washington around 1992 and have no idea who owned this outfit. The deck on the truck was obviously designed to pack this little yarder.
Nygaard Logging of Warrenton Oregon has a bunch of yarders- several smaller machines but a few big ones-including 2 Thunderbird TY-90's and a Skagit 739. For those yarders this Berger hoist is useful when moving and rigging up. Mounted on an old Kenworth W900A tractor.
Ha! that little berger sled is out at the shop still in Forks. I just messed around and got it running the other day just to make sure it was alright.
It's a cool little outfit! Is it yours, or if not, whose- and what do you know about it?? I always thought it would be an awesome rig-up machine! What about the Bergers at Winney's? Or those out at the old sawmill? Or at Ernie Nielson's place? Are they still around?
Yes, its mine and my dad. We have 2 of them, one is a skagit one a berger. Hoh River timber used them for pullin trees on a bunch of high dollar forest service sales. We got one for big road changes with our skookum and they wanted us to take both if we got one. The price was right so we got them both.
Cool! You've gotta post some pics from your logging, past AND present! Hoh River- brings back memories of green, white, and big wood! They had a American 35A painted green and white loading under one of thier Skagit BU-739's I saw one time in the high country. Wish I had pics of that setting! Beautiful old-growth fir and STEEP ground show!
Thanks CL and everyone else, I sure have enjoyed the pictures and stories that go a long with them. I have learned a lot and still have a long ways to go, to understand all the terms. Hope to some day be able to see some Yarders working, as the country where they will be working is very enjoying to see also.
On a wet and muddy day in 2002 I was on-site at Herb Olstedt Logging's Berger C-19 yarder side, and they were moving that morning. Loading machine was a nearly-new Hitachi ZX200F, and the Carriage was a brand-new Boman. Logging was for Longview Fibre near Clatskanie Oregon. Enjoy the pics.
Moving up the road!
And on to the new landing.
These were taken a few weeks later, after they had a bunch of wood on the landing. A Joel Olson chunk truck is being loaded with tops and chunks for recycling.
I had myself fooled into thinking I knew everything, now I see chunk truck. New name for mule train?? Or is it a truck with a 50 yard dumpster??
With the advent of tree-length logging and prcessors on the landings, the accumulation of tops and butt-cuts becomes overwhelming quickly. Hence, the chunk-truck arrives to haul all this to a puld mill, firwood yard, or wherever. When I was logging in the 90's we sorted like this: wood lenth under 8' goes in chunk truck- wood under 24' goes on the mule trains, and wood 24'+ goes on the long loggers. We used them always and from our White River and Snoqualmie sides (in your neighborhood) we sent alot of chunk loads over to LV Fibre Bullfrog at CleEllum for chipping. Chunk trucks can be 40' end dumps or a pair of open-top contaiers (one on the truck, one on the trailer).
We used them always and from our White River and Snoqualmie sides (in your neighborhood) we sent alot of chunk loads over to LV Fibre Bullfrog at CleEllum for chipping. Chunk trucks can be 40' end dumps or a pair of open-top contaiers (one on the truck, one on the trailer).[/QUOTE] so you logged on the white river tree farm in the 90's, eh?
My father wrote his thesis on the Berger-Rees air tong at Washington State University, in about 1951. He still has it in a dresser drawer, and I have asked to have it when he leaves this world. I read the whole thing years ago. In fact, Contract Logger, you and my father probably know each other. He built the smaller of the two docks (the one upstream) at the Bay City Yard in Cosi. I was there too, as a wee lad. He was also Superintendent at Vail from 1968 to 1972, and was the last Mayor of the town ov Vail. He was also the one who bought Art Smythe a brand new stacker to replace that antiquated cable reload powered by the old Washington Iron Works loading donkey at Vail. How good is your memory?
Haha- Not that good. I didn't get to Vail until the early 90's. I am from Longview and we ended up there for just a job or 2 and you know how that goes. Weyco asked us to come up from Longview for a minute and so we did. Then to Snoqualmie Falls, then to Enumclaw. Never agree to do anything like that cause it never ends! We were simultaneaously working from Longview to Sultan/Startup and it was insane there for a few years.... Completely stopped everything and got out of the business in 2000. Have never looked back and live in Alaska happily now with the bears, fish, and eagles.
Did Weyco ever sell the pulp mill at Cosi, or is it still dormant? My dad had an office in the forestry building beside it for several years. He did a lot of Weyco's original surveys, and they say his name is still on a whole lot of the maps they use, after all those years.
Berger SP23 IN NZ
Pretty clever way to deal with short wood and slash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbHg_S2SdFI Ran across this video looking for something else today. I remember reading about this setup in Timberwest at on point. Hard to forget the neon green bins. I think he is a forester and part owner of a logging company in Montana.
Doesn't really show the yarder but in the background you can see the Berger MK2. It was a cold day and the old MK2 was being stubborn and had a few air leaks so we started a toasty riggin' fire.
I found a box of these (a full dozen) left over from the days when Howard-Cooper was the Berger dealer- 1980's. I found a bunch of really cool old stuff (over the last month or 2) I've had stored for years....Stay tuned.
I got a pretty cool Berger hat from Modern Machinery. Tyee33 what outfit do you belong to in Forks?
CL would you happen to have some pictures of a MK 4 in action?
This old piece of iron looks really familiar. I have a hunch it spent about 10 years on the Oregon Coast logging big spruce between Tillamook and Seaside before being retired (sold to someone up the canyon) in the mid 1980's. In fact I have a hunch I may have even spent some time in the cab, but mostly on the landing chasing while going to college. It was a 100' tower with 7 guylines, cat engine, 1 3/8" skyline, 7/8" haulback, 1" skidding line. If it is same one, I think it was one of the sides featured in Loggers World in 1977 (Nov?). It was pretty cool to see all the work you guys put in to keep the history going!
Allen Logging Company Forks,WA Not sure if the yarder is a Berger looks like a Berger tube though.
Washington Model 207 Highlead Yarder - Mounted on Berger Tank/100' Tower Now this (above) is an awesome picture! I'd say taken in the later 1960's and that Skagit loader looks great too. An awsome picture indeed! (Do you have more??) The hoist is a Washington Model 207 and was sold new as a sled-mounted machine. Not long after (couple or 3 years) Allen's sent it to Berger in Seattle and had the tower with tank bottom setup put under it. Washington didn't really have a good option for re-mounting until later- the mid-70's. The Berger was a nicer setup and easier moving and far more popular in the Forks area even though Allen's were longtime Washington buyers (They bought one of the 1st ever Trackloaders built and may still have it). This was common and Ernie Nielsen had a yellow Madill 009 tank mounted with the orange Berger front/tower just like this too - it was still parked on the Bogachiel in 2004. Anyway a friend of mine owns this machine today and here are pics of it taken in 2008. I saw it a month ago but didnt take any pics- was busy BS-ing....
I'll have to look around and see if I have anymore pictures of it.
http://www.vimeo.com/21280475 Here is a short film clip of a Simpson Timber Berger Slackline machine working out of Camp Grosdale in the early '80's just befor the camp closed.
Berger SP-23 working now Dahlgrens SP-23 working in Merrill & Ring's forestlands March 14 2011. Gravity yarding with Boman, as usual with Dahlgren very smooth and nice operation, good setup. Sorry for the dark pictures, it was 7.30 in the morning.
More pictures of Dahlgrens SP-23 Parked in May 2011, pictures of cab is earlier published wrong as the M6. I will post that later. I will also post video of this machine yarding on Youtube. Manufactured in Oregon..??
Berger SP-23 more...
Berger Mark-IV Dahlgrens Berger Mark-IV working now! Video on Youtube will follow!
Mark-IV more... more...
Yarders is not a Mark-IV but an M2A, I think!
Berger M6 One of Dahlgrens M6 working
More M6 more...
M6 More. Yarding second growth, so most of the area has been logged before. Anybody knows what the iron behind the carriage is? The Dahlgren crew found it close to the road while yarding.
The "scrap" iron looks like a slip, I do not really know the difference, except that animals pulled a Fresno (horses, mules or ox,) and a small chunk out donkey was used to pull a slip. I would assume, that found in this location it was used for rough grading of a railroad grade when M&R came through here in the early 1900s. An early predecessor to the gravel yarders we see in other threads.
We just moved the M6 last Tuesday...I'll have to post some pictures of it. I was working under the Mark 2 now I'm under the 124 on a different side.
Hello hurn13, say hello to Pete! I will post some movies of the three machines yarding, but it takes some time. Would be nice to see pictures from moving of the M6.
Im wondering if the Mark IV is Spolestra's old machine. John was saying after they sold it in the late 80's, it went to 3 or 4 different loggers in about the same amount of years, then he lost track of it. Awsome pictures, by the way Torkel. Thanks for posting!
Only I think it is an M2A, Dahlgren bought this new.
M2a An M2A parked in Chehalis for service...
What is the purpose of the engine in the carriage? I'm assuming there used to be carriages that were not motorized.
Is that North ForkTimber's yard just west of Ramsay's?
Yes, closer to the interstate, Ramsey's are on the same road about 300 ft west. Are you going there tomorrow? Exciting to see what you find! Say hello to the Ramseys from me!
Main purpose is to handle out line to the chokermen, making it possible to yard logs from up to 150 ft latteraly to the skyline road. It's 2 types of motorized carriages; 1) slackpulling devices, that pull out the main line from the yarder through the carriage, and 2) carriages with their own winch containing dropline. In the last one it is the engine and winch in the carriage doing the latteral pull (like the Bomans), in the slackpulling device it is the yarder that does pull in. That means you also should have some device to prevent the carriage from coming up against the yarder when pulling in, this may be a hydraulic skyline clamp or a haulback line. I also have a thread here for carriages. In europe we even uses selfpropelled carriages, that means you don't need a yarder, only some device to thightening up a skyline.
Thought I recognized that yard, yup hope to be up there tomorrow.
I worked under this yarder for Craig & Andy. John Schmidt (siderod) was trying to get me to leave the cutting crew and tend hook under it. I declined as I didn't like his approach to hooking and just really liked the cutting better for the pay and hours. We sold that yarder as the thing took about 3-4 hours longer to move than a TY-90 since it had those damned block purchase guylines. It was a good machine if you weren't in a hurry and liked to work yourself to the ground rigging it up. The best move they did was replace it with one of C&H's old TY-90's.
I was wondering, does the number BE324 ring any bells? I'm told it was the serial number off of the first Berger swing yarder ever. And the man who own it is the same man that owns the Sparmatic 110! I will post pictures of the weird plate he gave me once I take them.
Here it is! What is it!?
Looks like a cable weight to me, could be wrong though.
The only thing that this has against that is that it is a threaded bolt, so it would wreck the threads if it slid on the cable. Anyone else that might know what it is?
Mk2r Gisbourne, NZ based MK2R. Machine is currently for sale.
Great pictures!
Berger T-23 owned by Duane Bruner from Castle Rock Wa. Taken up germany creek in 2009.
Unknown Burger Tower I dont know much about this machine other than it has been sitting near the Kinlieth mill for a few years now. There was a Brightwater built BE85 sitting next to it for a while. Hopefully someone will recognise it from the cab which is either sliding or on the opposite side to usual
Looks like a T-23 to me and all the cabs were on that side of those machines that I have seen.
Berger M2R 1 More pics from my trip to Forks the week before last. Thanks again to the Dahlgren's for showing me their operation!
Berger M2R 2 More pictures, of a Berger M2R with a pair of Madill 3800C's on the landing. They were switching from the Boman to butt rigging in the first picture and moving a guyline.
Berger M2R 3 And a couple more pics showing the Berger and the next patch of ground they would be yarding. Their Marc 4's and Marc 6's were not working at the time I was visiting and were in the woods farther north towered down. They were just running this side, the Madill 124, and the Madill 172.
In the process of uploading some videos of Dahlgren's Berger M2R. http://www.youtube.com/user/jjeremyryy
This yarder is now in process of being prepared to log again around Gisborne. Build plate etc is gone, or at least I cant find it any where. But has C-23 on it. I will post photos next couple of days. Also a new purpose built cab going on it.
As my post above. This yarder has tidied up quite well. Looks like it has had a bit of money spent on it.
nic hat
Who ended up buying the berger yarder from Tokoroa NZ? Nice straight winch that was in need of going to work..
I have brought this yarder,it will be working in Gisborne with RAD Logging Ltd( www.radlogging.co.nz)It is a C-23 Berger on D8 tracks.80foot Brightwater converted telescoping tower. Run with a Detroit 12V71T engine(12.7L V12).All new ropes 1"1/4 sky,7/8"main,3/4"tail. We are shifting the machine tomorrow to Gisborne to start work with it.Should be a good machine Have had the machine at active equipment in Rotorua for the past 6weeks,had the yarder fully stripped down and worked over and a new purpose built cab added too with it set on rails so cab height can be altered cab upright for legal transportation without having to tilt the cab over. Will post some pics of it when I get time,don't think I can do it off my phone though.
I think you just need to do five posts and then you can upload pictues to the website. Usually the easiest way to get pictures off a phone is to email them to yourself. Otherwise if you can transfer them via an internal memory card with an adapter to your computer or many phones you plug directly into the computer and the phone is viewed as an external storage device. Just depends on the kind of phone you have. Looking forward to seeing your yarder.
Here is a link to an obit for Orley Hunter who owned the Berger and Prentice dealership in Eugene. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/registerguard/obituary.aspx?n=orley-r-hunter&pid=154275895
Good news. This was always a machine that I wondered why it was not working every time I drove past. Im looking forward to your pictures. I must have just missed it as I was at Actives on Wednesday.
Can anyone tell me (us) what this machine is?
Well....No, actually. At least I can't anyway. Here's what I do know: In the mid-1980's Berger was teamed up with 'Amhoist' which was the old 'American Hoist and Derrick'- the American crane people. I think what you have here is an older American crane that was originally (1970's) converted to log-loading shovel. I say that because it wasn't uncommon for American's like this to be mounted on that 60-Ton 4-Axle Pierce carrier you have there. (On a side-note, I've never seen a 60-ton Pierce that did not have the Clark planetary rearends. This Pierce here has either Rockwell or Timken planetaries, I can't tell which- but not the usual Clarks). Berger was a good and capable carrier-builder, so I think this conversion probably took place earlier, long before the merger. If you can find a Serial-Number ID Tag on that carrier we can determine the year it was built, but early 1970's would be my guess. Anyway I suspect someone decided they wanted to convert this thing to a yarder in the 1980's, and drug her into Berger/Amhoist to get the drums enlarged and the guylines/gantry added and maybe a new yarding boom built. It looks like it was also re-powerd and a bigger radiator added at some point too. Likely at that same time it was re-painted and re-stickered with the Berger logos. I wonder how it worked? That American crane upper was a pretty reliable setup in it's day. Its a really cool looking machine- great find! Did you see the boom around there anywhere, or get to talk with anyone who might know something about its history? If anyone else has an idea feel free to jump in here- I'm guessing on the whole thing.
Thanks Rusty! No I didn't see any other booms laying around. There wasn't anybody around the shop either, even though the shop truck parked out back next to the TimberJack buncher was wide open, with tools scatterd about. I also couldn't find any serial number tags on either the carrier or the upper. I have learned to look from all you guys on this site! The machine wasn't sitting there back in Febuary when I drove this road into Spokane. (I shot these pics 3 weeks ago)
Does anyone have the specs ie: line pulls and cable sizes for a m3? I'm looking at buying one. Are these good machines? I'm new to bergers. Thanks for any info.
Just sent you an email regarding that machine and the specs!
E mail returned. Thanks a million.
Russ the mechanic?
Berger Mark 6 I've read and viewed this thread numerous times.......compulsive Big yarder freak here....and I've not seen any specs on the Mark 6. I see that there were only 2 built, and that Dahlgrens have both. The skyline is 1&3/4 by what length? And how about line speeds? What size skidding and haulback.......lengths? What is the drum pull on these monstrosities...How much haywire? Size of guylines......I see they are 2 part guylines. Ok, let's move on....how much does she weigh? I know heavy, but how much. I believe that CL posted that the tower with the guyline drums weigh 65,000 lbs. What's the tube diameter? Is it 110 foot? When moving it over the highway, tower has to come off I'm sure, hoist slid off onto a lowboy, is the carrier then legal weight? It looks real heavy. Jeep? Booster? I've seen the flying Cats video a number of times.......that is way too cool. Ok, now let's log with her.....if they run a big Boman carriage, it must have had sheaves built special for the 1&3/4 skyline I would think. I've worked with a Danebo skycar and Danebo slackpulling carriages years ago, but I've never worked with a Boman, they look big. I'll check there website to learn more about line and weight of turn capacities..... A BU 199 takes most of a day to tear down and move if things go right, even if you pre rig the guylines....how about the Mark 6? It looks to be much larger than a 199. I'd sure like to see them side by side....I believe the 199 weighed in around 250,000 lbs with all the lines and rigging....tell me about the Mark 6........inquiring minds want to know......
Well Climber, here ya go. Shot these pics in Brooks, Oregon last summer. Hope they help!
Thanks JTL........this is perfect!!! Wow!! 800 horses! So I must be mistaken on the weight of the 199, No doubt that the Mark 6R is much heavier. Just the tower is at least half again as heavy. Probably much more. It has BIG time bare drum pull......wow! And it has good line speed for a machine that big and for that age...I could go on and on.....but I'm drooliing too much.. So a question Mr JTL....this manual, is it possible to view, or is it in a private collection? Thank you Sir! This is just what a Big yarder spec addict needed. Thanks again...this is so cool..........but I'm going to be late......
You're welcome! I saw one of Dahlgrens M6's all tore apart for transport a few years ago. Quite the machine, and I didn't have a camera other than my cell phone on me. So no pictures worth a squirt! ointhead The manual was in a big binder, along with a bunch of other brosures for Berger, Washington, Madill, etc at The Pacific Northwest Logging Museum in Brooks, Oregon. I don't know if a private party owns it and was just displaying it there, or if the Museum ows it.
the M6 is bigger then the 217 washington maybe the same weight?
I've added some of my Berger pictures and literature to a gallery at PBase- http://www.pbase.com/rustygrapple/berger_yarders I have a long way to go, but slowly getting there.
I really like the Berger yarders, probably because they were the first real machines that I worked around. The M2 had oil-bath gears, (no tacky lube) it ran really smooth and quiet. It also had a Gearmatic transmission and sat on a flat-top trailer with airplane tires. I'd been to the top of the 110 foot tube once looking for a bad bearing, wouldn't even think about doing that today. Worked around bigger ones and even the 25Y but the M2 was simple and efficient,back when things were not as complicated.
Looky what I found today!
Dahlgrens Marc6? Very nice! Didn't get to see either of them when I was up with them last year.
Yup! I'm working in Port Angeles now and went for a drive out west today to have a look around. This one was sitting across the road from their shop.
If you get out there again you should stop in and say hi to John and Pete, they are great guys! Tell them Jeremy says hi, I hope to make it out again this year sometime. Still trying to get down south to see a BU99 in operation down near Cottage Grove too.
I noticed the oddity with the North Bend rig up, too, with the haulback attached to the back of the carriage. Then it dawned on me, if this was an interlock yarder, the turn would be locked in position at the carriage by the interlock system and there would be no need for the haulback brake to hold the turn up in the air.
Here is how I remember the northbend setup!
.....
Oops, my last post I tried to quote the pic of the skyline rigging on page 3 of this thread, but all I got was the text. Anyways, the North Bend setup you show in your diagram is how we did it, too. As you know, if you went ahead on the skidding line and kept a brake on the haulback, the fall block and turn would be tightlined to the carriage. However, in the photo, the skidding line passes through a lead block at the front of the carriage, through the fall block, anchors to the carriage in the normal fashion but, instead of the butt rigging and haulback attaching to the fall block, there appears to only be a group of chokers attached to the fall block and the haulback is attached to the back of the carriage. What keeps the fall block and turn up to the carriage while the turn is going in? I theorized it was an interlock yarder and the synchronization between haulback and skidding line did the trick. I did notice it would not be possible to sideblock with this setup as you would with the North Bend setup. Can anyone explain the setup on page 3?
That looks like a veriation on the Lidgerwood system. I think they would lower the skyline to the turn to be hooked, hook the turn then raise the skyline. Tension is held on the tailrope (haulback) to lift the turn from the ground. I have done something similar when shotgunning and it allows a larger turn to be pulled without having to use a lot of power to raise the skyline.
Big Berger....Big Logs!! It's been a while since I've seen it used, but isn't that a south bend logging system? Someone out there knows.... And how about the size of wood in that HUGE turn! Good job boys!
south bend is similar but differs to the photo in that the tail rope (haulback) runs to the rigging and not the carrage.
SP 23 Berger salvage Logging on Mt. Hagen Rd.May 1992.
Yes, it definetly looks like one of the fall block systems. I believe it's the Modified North Bend (aka "Block in the Bight") configuration, only that the haulback is connected to the back of the carriage rather than the butt rigging as furpo noticed.
Howdy all. New to the forum but figured I'd chime in. I've seen Dahlgrens Marc2 in post #144. Same job too. I was up in Forks that summer working every now and then. I'm from Montesano, Grays Harbor country. I'm actually up the Wynoochee about halfway to Grisdale. The old man has a loggin 8 and arch out of Grisdale. I recognize a few companies mentioned on here but I'm just a young buck. Know of/worked with some of the newer outfits around. Kevin Colburn, Ed Bryant, Craig Carter (well wife owns it now...), worked for Pete Muller chasin on a shovel show; R.L. Smith, Newman Creek Log (formerly Jackson Timber Inc.), Dell Carter (NDC), Jack Dilley. Some owners I've met personally but interacted with the shovel ops and processor guys. Never met Finlay Hayes but did meet Joe McMeekin, and he told us about camp 18 (went down there probably 15 years ago.) If any of you Lewis county guys are still on here you may know Bowes out of Adna. Great oldtimer and family friend. I'm not a logger just a technical forester going after my Bachelors who's worked in the brush a little. Oh and I have a penchant for old/big iron. Probably what got my started down the forest operations end of things.
Welcome! Since you're from that area, do you know if the Schaefer family cabin (Schaefer Bros Logging) is still standing up north of Elma? I camped there once as a Boy Scout. I was in the Scouts with John McMeekin's son, Jamie. Used to LOVE the County Fair at Elma as a kid in the Sixties.
Do you mean the stuff at Schaffer state park? or some of the game farm stuff? I knew there was a house years ago but thought it had burnt down. I was not aware of a Schaefer cabin. Right on! John was a very cool guy. The Grays Harbor Packrat. Unfortunately he has passed and so has almost all of his stuff. I imagine they all found good homes if not actually at Camp 18. I saw in some of your posts that your dad worked for Weyco. Pretty sad state of affairs now. Not many company sides anymore. The Cosi mill sold to Smirfet or however his name is spelled. Renamed Cosmo Fiber. Great that the mill is back in operation. Grays Harbor Paper just started back up again after filing for bankruptcy. Canadian outfit bought them out. There is a "new" Schaefer Bros movie out. It's their first one called "A story ofWest Coast lumber." It can be found on Youtube or if you want the dvd through the WA State archives. Black and white silent movie. Back in the steam days. And thanks for the welcom! Maybe I should do a little introductory thread and show the old loggin arch we have out of Grisdale Wes
Check out the htread about cable shovels. Some good stuff about Roberts Bros. from Monte there. I recall one story about the time Sam Rikalo (from Friend & Rikalo) jumped up om a D8 and proceeded to change the channel of the Wynoochee so they could keep digging rock out of a gravel pit. Sam was a good man. He died young. John's nickname was Oakville Johnny. He grew up there with a gent named Ray Damitio, who was the last owner of the Brooklyn Tavern that I know of. My Dad worked with John at Weyco Cosi, but the word was that John was a bit reckless for Weyco's taste. At one time, John wanted my dad to go into the gyppo business with him. I'll check out the Shaeffer movie. I have no idea where the cabin was. Wish I had taken some photos. It was my understanding that was the original family homeplace. I have been to Shaeffer State Park many times as a kid, and once again as an adult back in 2002. Went to Swinging Bridge Park many times also, when it was still in existence. Did you know that Vaughan manufacturing in Brady was originally Shaeffer Bros' headquarters and shops? My dad bought a six-foot misery whip there when they auctioned everything off. I still have that saw in the garage plus a few handles. Swam at Lake Silvia many times. It was our favorite place in the summer. Caught my first fish there. Back in about 1966, I also locked my dad in an outhouse on the side of Mount St. helens that later blew. That did not end well for me.
If you have the book on Grisdale, look up Ira Blackwell, aka Hippo. We lived right behind him in his twilight years, on Fairway Terrace in Central Park.
Yupp Oakville Johnny. I did. Vaughns shop is the old Schaefer lokie shop. My buddy's grandparents are the Vaughns, and my cousins father inlaw works there; so does a buddy's dad lol Yupp Hippo was the son or grandson of Cy Blackwell, cant remember. I went to school at Wishkah and Minnie Kanadaline, or however the last name is spelled, lived right next to the school and was Cy's daughter. I'm sure you've heard of Cy... I believe he is credited for the first Dolbeer brought to the harbor country. I heard stories that when Schaefer's went to chainsaws they buried a whole bunch of brand new misery whips. But you know hoe those stories go. Wes
Cy was Ira's father. There is some discussion of Cy in the book 'They Tried to Cut it All'. Ira told my father that his dad Cy brought the first Dolbeer to the Grays Harbor area. Others say it was Polson who was first. I'm inclined to believe my old next door neighbor Mr. Blackwell. He was pretty patient with my little brother and me. We were both a couple of knuckleheads. We used to climb his apple trees, eat his apples, play in his barn, and watch with amazement as he cut alder firewood with a short crosscut saw. It has been said that Cy Blackwell also invented the haulback. I believe Ira's wife was a Whichard. (spelling?) Did you hear how it went down when Schafer Bros sold out? My dad told me the Schafer boys hated Weyerhaeuser with a passion and refused to sell out to them. So, they sold out to Simpson instead. Simpson turned around a week or so later, and sold Schafer's holdings to Weyco. I suspect the Schafer boys were not happy. If I can ever dig up my small book of photos, I have an 8X10 of Albert Schafer and some others standing in front of their shops with a couple of lokies. I'll shoot you a copy if I run across it. There is a pretty good bio of the Schafers in that same book, 'They Tried to Cut it All'. Another good book is titled 'Saginaw Timber', by the late Finley Hays. I used to fish Fall River with my dad, right through the woods from where Saginaw's old shop and headquarters was. One of my favorite places as a kid was Milton Benedict's yard. It was on the right, coming out of Monte toward Elma. The building was still there is 2002. He bought, sold and repaired log shovels. This was back in the day of cable shovels.
Okay knew it ws one of the two. My dad has a Dave James signed copy of Grisdale, a copy of They Tried to Cut it All, and a McMeekin signed copy of Saginaw Timber; And I've read em all. Actually read They Tried to Cut it All twice. I do recall that Schaeffers sold to Simpson and then Weyco got it bud didn't know the timeline on that one. I've worked in the Bay City yard checkin loads going to Pac Vaneer. I'll shoot ya a PM. I don't like publicly stating who I've worked for cause I don't like posting their pics. Sides don't need to clog up the berger thread lol The shop is now a small Pape shop still doing repairs. If it's the one I'm thinking of. Right next to Monte Square Motel. Theres another shop, non working now I believe, just down the street to the west. Wes
The Bay City Yard. Of the two ship's docks there, my dad designed and built the one upstream, with the help of Friend and Rikalo, in about 1966. I still have some photos somewhere. Okay, folks, back to your regularly scheduled programming. PM back atcha, Wes.
I found this thread you fellows have going. It's very interesting to me, as I worked with Berger, first in 1961, in Mahatta River, Quatsino Sound. The company then was, Rayonier Canada. My first Berger was a cold deck, sled machine I was chasing on. Then at age 17, I didn't pay enough attention to be able to tell you much about it. I can say that in all my years in the bush, that is the fastest yarder I've ever worked on. The engineer at that time, (Logger Bill Erwin) was one highball engineer. In '64 I was in Port McNeill building grade for quite a while running model 6 northwest. I became woods handyman doing whatever and so ran Madill tower, Linkbelt line loader, 80D Northwest line loader. There were either 2 or 3 Berger towers there. I never had anything to do with them. They had square telescoping pipes. I'm not sure whether they were 80 or 90 feet standing. They had a block purchase on their guy lines. Looking at all your photos here, I don't see anything real similar. These ones were mounted on, just like a lowbed, so that a tractor could just back into them and hook on to move them. If I remember right the hitch was not 5th wheel style, but just dropped onto the truck bunk. I had quite a lot of pictures from those early years, and unfortunately lost them all to a fire, in '68.
This Yarder?? This was a Rayonier tower from Moresby 1958.
Thanks Skadill. Those are the beasts I was talking about. I was up walking around old Moresby a few years ago. I gilnetted chums there in Cumshewa.
Or this from Port McNeill 1968, a Madill winch with Berger tower, 12V 71 on rubber carriage. Tugman i think you reckon the guy in the middle in pic # 2, pic #3 is Dominion loader, same place Sigurd
Hi again Sigurd. For most of '67 & '68 until about April, I ran the old Model 6 Northwest pit shovel loading trucks for road balasting. There is no doubt we ran into each other from time to time.
Big BIG Berger Yarder No, I'm not talking about the Mark VI R, yes it is HUGE!!! I'd like to hear more (or even SEE more) of the BIG Berger you guys speak of that Ernie Nielsen had or maybe still has? The former Mr. Contract Logger shared a picture of it in post 11 of this Berger thread. The skyline drum looks to be 6-7' in diameter at least. If a man compares it to the men on the ground...and the tower looks to be at least 48" in diameter maybe more. Was this the same size tower used on the Mark VI R? It sure looks BIG! If my memory is correct, I believe 1 & 1/2 inch cable weighs 4.04 pounds per foot. Tell me what does 2 inch cable weigh? 6 pounds? At 6 pounds per foot x 6000 feet..........that's 36,000 pounds of skyline! And tell us more about the winch Cat which was made into a carriage! How much and what size haulback? If your slacklining your going to want more than double the skyline........that's crazy!! Or did it just have the huge skyline drum? Now about the skidding line 1 &1/2? 7000 feet? Those are crazy numbers!! The machine musta weighed 400,000 pounds! Anyway, I have way too many questions I know. But someone out there has pictures and someone out there has the specs. Help us out a little here huh? What was it mounted on? Must have been a huge trailer I'm guessing. Ok, who knows some of the Mr. Nielsen's crew, they must know. Ok, Mr. Contract Logger, you said " I have lots of pics of this rig at my Washington residence". Perhaps I could plead with you to consider a trip to Washington to get those pics? Or perhaps we could take up a collection to expedite the process? Anyone want to kick in a little?
Last trip down home I grabbed about 40 years worth of old Loggers Worlds and I've been going through them putting all the loggers/contents on excel spreadsheets by year. There's an article on this yarder in an issue, I believe the year is 1976. I'll find it and get the specifics for you on that girl. As far as a trip, there's no money issue- for me it's a time thing! I have a zillion projects going on here and the phone never stops ringing. I'm trying to finish several Kenworth rebuilds for our 2013 4th of July parade but it looks like I may only get 2 knocked out at the rate I am going. These trucks will all make the round trip to Seattle & back for finish paint/striping so I'll be down several times between now and then I'm sure...
Big BIG Berger Yarder YES!! Thank you Sir!! I will be checking the forum often. I can't wait to see the BIG girl. I'm sure you are taking lots of pics of the progress on the trucks too, those would be cool to see. Keep up the GREAT work and thanks again Mr. Grapple.
Have you seen my video of the Mark 6? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA-uXqDFjNs . Sorry for the wind noise. I think I have some more video also at home. I also think I have posted some pictures of both the big yarders here, if not I will do tonight.
If Erine's shop is next to the hospital in Forks, then yes that big set of drums is still there. I was working in Port Angeles last summer and took a trip out that way to do some window logging. There was also a couple 245's in various states of dis-array setting around there. I pulled into the parking lot, but there was a big mean looking dog standing there, with no people around, and I really didn't wanna become a meal for him, so I never got out of the pickup to take pictures! (I snapped some of one of the Marc VI's on down the road. They are posted on here a few pages back.) As far as the winch cat/carriage goes, I know a man that helped Ernie design and build it. (I can't tell for sure, but he might be the guy running the 245 in that old Cat ad.) He used to work for the company I work for, but he retired a year or so ago. Anyway, a few of us were having some cocktails a few years back and got to talking about stuff. They called it the D7 carriage because it had a radiator and hard nose from an old 7, a Detroit of some sort for power wedged into an old truck frame with set of drums fabed on there. Now memory gets a little fuzzy, cause like I said we were having beverages! But something was said about a GT-3 setting up above the big Berger to run the carriage back and forth and someone setting on the carriage to run the drums on it when the electronics failed one time. I really wish I knew more to share with ya about it. I'm pretty sure Mr. Neilson is still alive, cause last summer when I was working over there, we were doing a fish pipe out on hiway 112. One day me and the project manager were standing there talking and this old Weyerhauser KW pulling an old bailing wired together lowboy with an equally wired and duct taped together Komatsu shovel came through the job. The guy driving was wearing an old Mac T hard hat, chewing on a cigar and looked older than dirt. I could almost make out the writting on the door that said Ernie Neilson, Forks that was wrote on there with a sharpie. I asked the pm, who has lived out that way his whole life if that was really Erine, and he said yes.
I'm heading to Sitka for a few days in the morning, so I'll dig up that article when I get back; In the meantime, a carriage pic, big yarder pic, and a picture I took of the man hmself in the Summer of 2000 when I convinced him to stand still. He is a Prince, and will help anyone who asks for help. He has forgotten more than I will ever learn. I believe he told me the sheaves on the carriage were 60" but my memory gets fuzzy; they are large at any rate.
Really excellent pictures. I am trying to locate some pictures, and in fact I don't know where any may exist. When I was 3 & 4 years old, our Dad ran a "sky hook". This was a carriage with the operator in it, that was our Dad. it yarded logs from the cold deck, right across the Squamish River. This of course was rigged on wood trees, in 1947 - 48. I still can remember it. What I remember very well was a little square house that Dad would lift in the morning with the riggin' crew in to take them across the river to the cold deck tree. I saw it a few times when Dad would take us over to see it I spoke with my older brother about this this morning, because it seemed to me years ago our mom, (now deceased) had told me the name of the company who owned it. Unfortunately I can't remember and my brother couldn't either. I wonder if there is any one who knows of it.
I believe I've seen Ernies truck around town or in the brush before. Also out past the hospital is Dahlgren Logging's shop. You might have seen their Marc VI. They have some older cat shovels too. I've heard that they own both Marc VI's now but this may not be true. Anyone else know if Ernie still owns his?
Trucks: Several of us in here Southeast Alaska have been buying up the 'better' old trucks that have local area history/historic value due to ownership, etc. I have a half dozen trucks here I've picked up, all in useable/running condition and all will be easy restorations. This is the latest and is an ex- Ketchikan Pulp Company Kenworth 'Brute' tractor that I liked and I have been after it for several years. This picture was taken this morning upon her arrival in Juneau, and tonight she is asleep in a warm heated shop. It will be a neat worthwhile restoration and a fun truck to have around. WAY off topic, but he asked and I love vintage timber trucks!
Thats the truck and thats the man I saw driving it! The carriage looks a little differnt than I imangined it. Pretty awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing Rusty
D7 Carriage and BIG Berger! Thanks Mr. Grapple, those are cool pictures. That carriage is so cool... what loggers can think of and build. It looks as if it could pack a monster of a turn of logs! So I'm wondering if they used forward or reverse on the winch? Reverse looks as though it would line up with the sheave for the drop line. It must have had some kind of radio control....Talkie Tooter? I love the huge line separation between skidding line and skyline.....way fewer wraps to fight. The drums on the yarder are HUGE!! The picture is deceiving on the size of those drums. I see two air pots for brakes on the skid drum, I'll bet it needed them. I'll bet there were lots of times it pulled a whole truck load of logs in one turn easy!! She must have had a pretty good sized powerplant to do all that pulling. I wonder what kind of line speed it had. Did it have a model number or just BIG son of a BERGER? Lots of questions...this forum is so cool...thanks again for the pictures....I keep on drooling...
BTW that is a heavy duty lookin carriage there!
Good lookin KW! Doesn't look like much will have to be done. Maybe a few specs? Did they haul logs with it or did it pull other duties?
Rusty Grapple. On Forestry operations here, there is the thread "West Coast camps , barges etc.. After looking at your site, you may want to have a look at that thread. I've posted several pictures there of logging equipment and trucks. Many you may find interesting of my older brother Howie's A-Frame & cold deck operation from 1972. We call that a "Pile & Swing" operation. I had to just take pictures of them on my wall they are framed pictures that can't come apart. I like the old steam pot on your home page. I still know where there is a couple of them. One sitting right on the beach in Mereworth Sound here on our coast. Also an old steam train engine. On the top end of Vancouver Island here, (west coast side) is a little village called Coal Harbour where I lived in 1970. There used to be a coal mine there and the coal was delivered to the ship loading by train. While hunting one day way back then, I was fighting my way thru' some real high salal brush and ran right into this old engine left out in the middle of nowhere.
The sky hook I mentioned across the Squamish River, I haven't found any pictures of "yet". However I did remember the name of the loggers in Squamish. Drenka Brothers and found some history on line. For those of you who may not have seen these there are great youtube videos. If you jsut google Squamish Valley Logging Lore you get to see steam donkey logging in action and steam train hauling logs away. Cat & arch logging, and every manner to today. on the side bar there are sevral other good logging videos as well.
Big Son of a Berger... I sure been looking at and drooling over the BIG Berger and D7 carriage of Ernie Nielsen's. Thank you again Mr. Grapple for posting pictures. I believe the sheaves on the carriage are very close to 5' in diameter. If you compare the height of the D7 hardnose to the sheaves...it's very close. I don't know the exact measurement of a D7 hardnose, but it's right up there. I believe we can see the dropline coming off the winch, up over a sheave maybe 2' in diameter and down & out the middle of the bottom of the carriage. It looks as though reverse on the winch is used as the inhaul for the dropline. Forward being the outhaul. Man, with a 7/8 or 1 inch dropline you could really pack the wood. The winch looks like a Hyster. I can't tell about the engine. The rectangular box on top of the winch looks about the size of a talkie tooter setup. Man would I liked to have seen this one in operation.......or even worked on it. I'll bet it about worked a crew to death!! I'm guessing this was mid to late 70's...so Mr. Nielsen couldn't get anyone to build what he needed so he built it himself. She looks real stout. A question about the tracks that the Big Berger is mounted on. They look a little extra long, longer than standard. Maybe D9? Maybe added onto? Boy sure would like to take a trip to Forks to look this baby over.......guess I'd need some extra tasty dog biscuits...JTL says that Ernie's dog is BIG, and looks extra mean....
Climber, From what I remember Denny saying that day we were having beverages, that it was all Talkie Tooter controlled. He said he thinks he still has the wiring schematic somewhere. I also heard a story from another guy that worked in the rigging for Ernie back in the 70's. They had an old school bus they used for a crew bus/lunch room/rigging shack. Ernie came in the one morning and said "Listen up! You guys smoke that weed at night and do that speed in the morning!" Then got off the bus and went to work.
Any chance you have info on the C23 and the M3 Berger's, currently in the process of putting together a summary spec sheet for all NZ yarding machines currently operating in NZ; hp, tower etc. Finding information on some of the equipment is hard to come by.
oh and it seems the C19, M2 and T23
What kind of crawler tractor chassis is this? It looks like something from the M48 Tank family.
RAD Logging, C-23 Berger, East Coast NZ
Last pic is of a mates SP23 working down the road from us.
Guy line Question on Berger Yarders. On the Berger SP 23.........self propelled I'm guessing and the C 23.....Crawler....again I'm guessing. I see the C 23 has single part guy lines and the SP 23 has the beloved two part pain in the neck block purchase guy lines. The only Berger I have ever worked around was a truck mounted drum set we used for pulling trees, so my knowledge of Berger yarders is quite limited. I'm guessing again that these two Hoists are nearly identical. The difference in the carriers and the guy line setup is obvious. So was it the early model tower had the two part and the later towers were single part? Thank you Mr. RAD for posting the pictures of the two Berger 23 yarders.
Both those machines are of the same vintage! However the C23 tower has been modified by Brightwater NZ it originally came out with a non telescopic 80ft tower! They may have also changed the guy set up!
The C23 brochure that I have states that the c23 tower is a one piece 92 foot 6inch pole from bottom of the tower to top of the haulback fairlead,it is powered by a 553 horsepower detroit 12V71T engine, And the guyropes were standard inch and a quarter, unsure why the others are double purchased, perhaps they did this once the pole got over 100 foot in height, just guessing there though.I will put the Brochure up that I have at some stage.I don't know to much about this yarder and it's history, apparently at one point someone tried shifting the yarder with the tower up or partially up and dropped the tower denting it, which was why Brightwater cut that piece out and converted it to a telescoping tower.I don't know how true the story is but it seems to add up anyway. Also yes sp23 is self propelled, I helped them shift it when they moved in near us, it got stuck in the river for awhile on it's way, rescued it with our bulldozer though, I will also post some more pics of the sp23 torn down shifting at some point. C23 is crawler base and T23 is trailer based. Essentially they are all the same machine as in the winch sets as far as I am aware, just with a few minor difference e.g this sp23 has a sliding cab.
I'm sure someone out there will have a whole heap of knowledge out there on these machines,maybe even how many were built etc.You can't find anything on them on the net,well I haven't anyway apart from on here and the rustygrapple website perhaps contract logger/rusty grapple can help out with some more info?
you just need to learn to pull some decent tallies breva
Big Son of a Berger... Well, Mr. Grapple, I understand you are quite the busy fellow right now, but I happen to be a very curious fellow, especially when it comes to BIG yarders........... I know you've got them used vintage timber trucks you are making into beautiful show trucks. (By the way, we haven't seen any progress pictures of them either!) July 4th is a long ways for a feller to wait for more pictures of Ernies GIGANTIC yarder. So if you could take a few minutes and just throw this here dog a little bone........just to help me make it until JULY 4.......it would be so appreciated...Thank You Sir!
M2A I found this lonely soul that has a new owner... Scott S
The machine in post 81 of this thread is the one my company recently bought. I am currently restoring it and should have it back together in a couple of weeks. The machine is a M3E. I will try to post some picks when it's done. Its going to live its next life digging gravel. If anyone has some spare parts for this thing laying around that they would part with, let me know.
With a handle like that, I have to ask, are you from the PNW?
Nope. Lol. I'm from Illinois. We yard gravel with a highly modified 114 tyee, soon the M3 Berger, and 2 German built machines. The deadpan for the Berger is a D9Gdon with a D98a hyster winch on it.
Berger Tube & Triple Drum Here's an old square Berger tube with six guy line drums on it. It's about 70' tall.... or long as it's laying down..... Pic 4 shows the machine it came off... an old TD 25 or 30 with a triple drum....help me here someone. It sat near highway 101 south of Fortuna, Ca. I believe it has been scrapped.
Red. I went by there Saturday and it is definitely gone.that did belong to 3 star out of crescent city, and it ran when he parked it.and it was complete all the pieces were there.too bad it gone was fun to look at.
Great pics! Thanks!
Nice!!! Thanks!!1
Mr. RAD is this your mates SP-23?
That is Eastside loggings SP23. (Just down the road from RAD logging) Originally it was brought in to NZ in the early 90's by Sunrise logging "Doug Peacock" It has no ID plate on it , I think it was one of the last ones built. Would one in the USA, know any history on this machine. i.e. Who had it in the USA? I have lots of photos of this machine, the picture of the machine going under the bridge... It is going into a block called "the Island" Big wood, no lift. Hard logging. The other shot of SP23 is in Kawakawa Rd "The RIP Forest" That was quite a good block, good lift...
2 shots of the square Berger tower in Nimpkish 1975
My M3 digging.
To bad I have no idea how to rotate the pic. Lol
The sad end to a Berger tube, no idea where the rest of it went or when. This is out at Bremmeyer's.
I would love to have the sheaves out of that thing! I'm trying to collect spare parts for mine.
Went back out there today, sheaves are spoken for, there was one guyline sheave left, for good reason, had a chunk missing.
Thanks for checking. I really appreciate it. If anyone ever runs across some parts or knows were some are, let me know. I wouldn't mind buying a whole parts machine if I could find one for the right price.
I'm interested in manuals also. Berger M3E and Tyee114.
There is a Tyee 114 on MLS, been on there for a while. http://www.mylittlesalesman.com/ForSale/Details/113660/1979_Skookum-Tyee-114-Slackline-Yarders
Try http://www.rainierskylineexcavators.com/index.html , they should have parts I would think.
Well this was a gift from one of my logging contractors; they found it on the job. Initially she was froze up but i got her freed up. There was still grease in the grease holes. One ear for the top strap pin is torn and the body has been worn. Thinking about building her up and what not. My question is, what color did berger paint their blocks? Oh and this is an 8-28. Did berger make a full line of blocks or just blocks used on their machines such as a guyline block? I think this is an older block that hung around until this stand was logged in the late 70s and it was so wore out they just left it. Wes Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Doug Peacock had that machine and logged out in the Estacada/Molalla Oregon areas with it doing long span units for the forest service and BLM.
wrong thread...
I dug out my old Berger block looking for any remnant of paint and could not find a trace. Maybe Berger orange would be appropriate?
Thanks! Yeah what I was thinkin. At least it is berger lol Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Does anyone know what the color code or paint code would be for Berger orange? I tried matching it at my local Napa that mixes paint but we couldn't get a good match with the pic I had on my phone. Best way they say is with a paint chip. I'm almost thinking I'd have to go somewhere that has even more color options for mixing paint and that just isn't gonna happen. Thirty six bucks for a custom mixed rattle can is a little too pricey.
Call Bill Paulsen at McPaul Cat & Crane in Centralia. He could tell ya and may even have some.
Good point didn't think about that. Maybe when I'm home on Christmas break, just got back to Idaho. The bugger is probably gonna get painted hammerite green while im gone... oh well it all wears off in the end anyways lol It's in pretty rough shape but the old man is gonna weld on er and get the cheek plates squared away. The bearings, shaft, and seals are all good. Thanks for the help!
No problem!! You guys loggers on the harbor?
Well I've spent a lil time out in the brush chasing on a shovel side for a Harbor outfit but I'm a technical forester and finishing up my 4yr forestry degree. I got that block up on Queets ridge from one of the contractors we had working for us. Just a summer forester for now lol Sorry for the late reply. I'm going to shoot you a PM wondering if we know some of the same folks.
Berger line winder on a Kenworth, NW Oregon.
Is that the "before" photo?
Haha, I think an after. Didn't even realize it had been on its side till I seen the pictures later that day.
how did berger go under
Berger T-19 Couple other Bergers, not sure on makes.
I need that T-19!
I'm pretty sure that's Mike Walch's new yard. He has Ranier Rigging. It's for sale.
Someone has been to Entiat!
Yep! Made a side trip on the way home to swing by there.
I have not seen much activity down there yet? They have cleaned up a bunch, planted some grass, and put up a great entrance sign! They payed good money for the property, so I guess they plan on steying!
Northwest Log, Inc., Hoquim WA These two photos were taken in 1975 at a setting in the area of Camp Govey, Wa. This was a Berger slack-line yarder but I do not recall the model no. The owner of Northwest Log, Inc., was Earl Whiting from Montesano, WA. Earl was a great guy to work for and would come out into the brush occasionally. While in the brush, he would sing a song with the lyrics "Ka-Ka-Kaddy, into the moonlight...." On this setting, Earl decided to roll a big rock down the hill. As it was rolling a Forest Service pickup truck came around the corner. You should have seen Earl's eyes. They were say Ah F!!!. Fortunately, the rock crossed the road ahead of the pickup. The rigging crew was Kurt Rudy, Matt Flock, Mark and Rob Kirkwood. As I recall, the chaser's first name was Rono. The shovel operator was Wally Vincent but I do not recall the name of the yarder engineer but I know he was from Montesano.
Ah, Monte. The home of Gene's Stop & Go. Those two cats in the last photo need a haircut. ROFL!
They need them ALL cut!
Nice seeing these machines and old Seattle addresses. It wasn't that long ago, but it seems like a different Seattle
And the Beehive. And yes I agree, the hair cuts were not a good look. Fortunately, we both got it cut. Makes me wonder what people will think forty years from now when they look at their permanent tattoos. The attached photo shows the chaser-Rono (can't remember is last name). He had a better haircut.
Thanks, Rob. I feel better now. No tattoos here. Had a golden opportunity, and I passed. No regrets.
Now you've got me craving one of them thar great big extra huge chocolate ice cream cones from Gene's...... My folks used to stop there and get us a treat after we had been to Lake Sylvia. Caught my first fish there, and I still have the photo.... somewhere....
deron1967 well asto uncle ernie, he is still going strong!just talked with him today when we picked up our dozer from im.
By the photos above it is obvious that they don't have overhead power lines in New Zealand! Future log I believe was owned by Christian Futures and he is back here in Oregon now.
The skids over the cab are for those. Minimum power wire height is 5m so not a problem for most machines on a transporter. That burger was owned by John Ray and is now with another masterton contractor
2 years is long enough to go without an update. My Berger-fu is weak, I have not been around them in person until this last month, so might need correction on model numbers. They are an impressive machine and the free standing tower is very interesting. Dahlgren Logging, Forks WA June 2020 near Clallam Bay Marc IV or M2A (?) with a Cat 1693 in her. Sounds pretty sweet when you give her the full ahead. Old Hyster was set out about 5000 on next ridge but they were working maybe 2000-2500 while I was there for the day. Helped move a guy line and did a road change, still not sure how it was done exactly I'll stick to the swing yarders and grapples...
Dahlgren Logging, Forks WA June 2020 Marc VI broken down for transport and stored in the shop. 220,000 transport weight, tube is 65,0000, fully assembled is over 300,000. They had a scale slip for it somewhere. 800HP VTA1710 Cummins motor, 5000ft of 1 3/4" on there and the frame is actually notched for the bull gear You'll just about need a new pair of shorts when you see it in person.
More Marc IV
The other VI was across the street and didn't see it, but Pete Dahlgren showed me around for over an hour and man what a guy. 168hp or 240hp custom Boman carriages are a sight to see as well. No photos, sorry. Guess they made a 9200ft pull at some point too; asked how far out they ever made it. Dahlgrens are actually on a job right now that could have a Marc VI on it, but one was last out in 2012 and the other was 2014. They flew those Cats on one of those jobs. I hope to see one of them in action at some point in my life. Anyways, here's their SP23 ~ 600hp 1150 Cummins, whole thing is pretty mint still since the rebuild. Has 5th wheel tongue attached for transport.
Dahlgren SP23 motor and nice logo
Rainier Skyline Excavator (Mike Walch) in Entiat WA Marc IV or M2A I believe? Not sure about the machine on the left. And no clue about this trailer mounted unit.
Rainier Skyline Excavator Bergery looking drums and maybe 3-4 tubes + a Thunderbird on the ground
Rock Island WA outside of Wenatchee. Was actually looking for a Rainier machine but found this Berger instead; got to see it work a bit and wow, about as fast as a frightened turtle. I think it is again a Marc IV or M2A? Had a Cat 1693 in it as well. No builder plates on it.
Rock Island Berger
Rock Island Berger Backline was a sauerman style machine, looks like an American maybe. I'm not a crane guy.
Like a dummy I didn't take any photos of the builder plates on the Dahlgren machines even though I looked at them. Will get em next time. Hope someone else might have some recent Berger shots and we can keep the thread going, otherwise you know what they say, fake it til you make it A Berger orange West Coast Falcon [?] (model WC6S) near Lake Wenatchee turn off - thought it might had been a T19 at 70mph. Still has a Detroit in it, which was orange as well.
Whoops... Post #284 I meant to post these Berger drums, not the trailer unit again.
Excellent photos & info! Pete's wife told me at the Log Show that the Mark 6's & a 172 are for sale. They have a new Log Champ 625 being built.
This would be correct! Log Champ has been on order and is coming eventually. The Corona thing has thrown everything off, but it should be delivered by the end of the year, hopefully November. I'll be back to photograph that machine for sure, and drool on it. Pete said they were thinking about letting one of the VI go, so if anyone is dying to have one.
Haven’t posted anything here in forever but here’s a Berger from Jerry Debriae’s in Cathlamet, WA a few weeks back.
The ol T-23. Spent lots of time with that yarder!
Great video,sure like hearing the stories from guys like Ernie. Things just got built in the shop and went to work. Love his boneyard. now most of the big outfits wont have a boneyard might drip alittle oil on the ground .Loggers ingenuity at its best .
Ernie has done and seen some amazing things. Those were the days when a handshake meant something, your financing was your word and men had pride in themselves. Gone are the days of fabrication & ingenuity. Boneyards are no more as the gear would never see its sweet 16 these days.
They still have them? I've been hoping to get out there and see the mark 6s for years now beep watching this tread leaning bit and peices where I can I'm just a east coast blue ridge mtn boy with a lil old 071 but love the big yarders
question for Contract Logger , or maybe Hallback - what became of the berger Winney logging from forks had ? I believe they bought it and a 235 cat brand new in '76 ?
I thought the Winney machine got the gas axe.
UPDATE!! I don't know why I never put 2 and 2 together but Tom Vanwell down in Dallas Oregon bought both of Winnie's bergers and his cats and some other stuff when he shut down.
just was wondering- they were in loggers world about 1980 - curt,joe , and ray winney- road contruction , branched out into logging
Berger MT-2A 110ft tower 650hp Cummins. updated/ rebuild. APPM, Gisborne, NZ If the FB etc allows. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=691282491997197
Looking at the video, just what is left of the original Berger? Undercarriage and drum set? It sure does not look like any Berger I have seen. Quite the updating and modernization it appears. Can you really still call it a Berger?
Well, the hoist & frame is there so it's still a Berger!
Kind of amazing that they would rebuild all that on a wore out set of tracks. Bob
I thought the same
A D9 UC is pretty simple to drive though.
Well the two mighty Mark 6 Bergers have found a new home in Montana. They will become rock drags.
Sad to see that they are leaving
Moutere Logging listed a Madill 124, Madill 171, T-Bird TMY70, and Berger C-19 in recent days. (on their FB) C-19 specs C-19 Berger - FOR SALE Upgrades: Telescoping 70 FT tower, Static guy ropes removed with hydraulic tower stabilizer cylinder fitted, Eaton 318 water-cooled brake fitted to skyline shaft, Extended tail rope shaft with extra bearing support at the clutch end, Scrolled skyline drum, Bigger main rope clutch fitted Twin Disc PO324, Reconditioned radiators, New Hydraulically tilted air-conditioned cab, New electronic hauler controls, Excavator tracks fitted with new hydraulic pumps, New pneumatic control valves and plumbing, New track clutch, New electrical wiring, FFE Falcon Claw control
Funny you posted this, Dale just called me a bit ago & we were on the phone for a good half hour. He is a great guy.
It's a shame but a lot better than going to the scrap yard.
Pete hasn't run that yarder in close to 10 years now and the second one hasn't been run in nearly 20
How about the style Tack Logging was bringing to the job. Sun Visor, Spot Lights, and Train Horns. They were put on everything they ran! Most of the visors they fabricated themselves and sent off to be chromed. The top of the tube also carried the Tack Logo as well as a giant Pepsi logo( working on getting that photo up). Believe this was a self propelled M2A.
The Pepsi logo was actually on their 009. Will put some pictures up on that thread!
Didn't that M2 get parked about 25 or 30 years ago and not run since?
I am not sure if it ever logged again. Tacks had several yarders over the years. I don’t know what order they used them. They sold their equipment after one of the brothers passed away years ago. I have logged with Jimmy since I was in high school. He retired last year but still helps out if we get short handed. He is one of the most talented guys I know. Not a lot of that generation left. Just happy he took some of these photos