Yarder

Last updated

A yarder is piece of logging equipment that uses a system of cables to pull or fly logs from the stump to a collection point. [1] It generally consists of an engine, drums, and spar, but has a range of configurations and variations, such as the swing yarder.

Contents

Clyde Skidder at Marathon Logging Camp near Newton, MS ~1921 Marathon Skidder.jpg
Clyde Skidder at Marathon Logging Camp near Newton, MS ~1921
Madill 124 Yarder. An example of modern yarders still being used in logging industry. Modern Yarder example.jpg
Madill 124 Yarder. An example of modern yarders still being used in logging industry.

Early Yarders

The early yarders were steam powered. They traveled on railroads, known as "dummylines", and felled trees were dragged or "skidded" to the railroad where they were loaded onto rail cars. Popular brands included Willamette, Skagit, Washington, Tyee, or Lidgerwood and Clyde, built by Clyde Ironworks in Duluth, Minnesota. [2] Although these machines appear to be large and cumbersome, they were highly productive. The Clyde was capable of retrieving logs from four different points at the same time. Each cable, or lead, was approximately 1000 feet in length. Once the logs were attached and a clearance signal was sent for retrieval, the logs could be skidded at a speed of 1000 feet per minute, which is around 10 mph (1MPH = 88 fpm = 26.8 meter per minute). Working conditions around these machines were very dangerous.[ citation needed ]

Modern Cable Logging

Cable logging, used primarily on the North American west coast, uses a yarder, loaders and grapple yarders.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logging</span> Process of cutting, processing, and moving trees

Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumberjack</span> Worker who performs the initial harvesting of trees

Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era when trees were felled using hand tools and dragged by oxen to rivers. The work was difficult, dangerous, intermittent, low-paying, and involved living in primitive conditions. However, the men built a traditional culture that celebrated strength, masculinity, confrontation with danger, and resistance to modernization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagonway</span> Railway using horses to pull goods wagons

Wagonways, also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways. The terms plateway, tramway, dramway, were used. The advantage of wagonways was that far bigger loads could be transported with the same power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burden Iron Works</span> United States historic place

The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel, had occasion to observe the wheel while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The iron works site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site in 1977. The Burden Ironworks Office Building was previously listed in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skidder</span> Type of heavy vehicle used in logging operations to pull cut trees out of a forest

A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. There they are loaded onto trucks, and sent to the mill. One exception is that in the early days of logging, when distances from the timberline to the mill were shorter, the landing stage was omitted altogether, and the "skidder" would have been used as the main road vehicle, in place of the trucks, railroad, or flume. Modern forms of skidders can pull trees with a cable/winch, just like the old steam donkeys, or with a hydraulic grapple either on boom or on the back of the frame (clambunk skidder).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane (rail)</span> Type of crane used on a railroad

A railroad crane is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary purposes: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way (PW) maintenance, and accident recovery work. Although the design differs according to the type of work, the basic configuration is similar in all cases: a rotating crane body is mounted on a sturdy chassis fitted with flanged wheels. The body supports the jib and provides all the lifting and operating mechanisms; on larger cranes, an operator's cabin is usually provided. The chassis is fitted with buffing (UK) and/or coupling gear to allow the crane to be moved by a locomotive, although many are also self-propelled to allow limited movement about a work site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam shovel</span> Steam-powered excavation machine

A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. Steam shovels played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads and the Panama Canal. The development of simpler, cheaper diesel-powered shovels caused steam shovels to fall out of favor in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swing yarder</span> Mobile forestry equipment for moving logs

A swing yarder is a mobile piece of heavy duty forestry equipment used for pulling logs from the woods to a logging road with cables. The swing yarder is also known as a grapple yarder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam donkey</span> Steam-powered winch or logging engine

A steam donkey or donkey engine is a steam-powered winch once widely used in logging, mining, maritime, and other industrial applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Continent Railway Museum</span> Railroad museum located in North Freedom, Wisconsin

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, United States. The museum consists of static displays as well as a 7-mile (11 km) round trip ride aboard preserved railroad cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cable logging</span>

Cable logging, also referred to as skyline logging, is a logging method primarily used on the West Coast of North America with yarder, loaders, and grapple yarders, but also in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Winch</span>

The Washington Winch sits in the forests of eastern Victoria near Swifts Creek and is also known as the Washington Iron Works Skidder.

The Great Southern Lumber Company was chartered in 1902 to harvest and market the virgin longleaf pine forests in southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. Bogalusa, Louisiana was developed from the ground up as a company town and was the location for Great Southern Lumber Company's sawmill, which began operation in 1908. Other company interests included a railroad and paper mill. The company ceased operation in 1938, when the supply of virgin pines was depleted. Bogalusa became the site of a paper mill and chemical operations, followed by other industry.

Class E6 on the Pennsylvania Railroad was the final type of 4-4-2 "Atlantic" locomotive built by the railroad, and second only to the Milwaukee Road's streamlined class A in size, speed and power. Although quickly ceding top-flight trains to the larger K4s Pacifics, the E6 remained a popular locomotive on lesser services and some lasted to the end of steam on the PRR. One, #460, called the Lindbergh Engine, is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It was moved indoors to begin preparations for restoration on March 17, 2010. On January 10, 2011, PRR #460 was moved to the museum's restoration shop for a two- to three-year project, estimated to cost $350,000. The engine is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan logging wheels</span> Skidders introduced in the 19th century

Michigan logging wheels are a type of skidder that was introduced in the 19th-century United States logging industry as a state-of-the-art technology for transporting lumber and timber over rough terrain. They proved most valuable in the winter months as they could extend the logging season since they were not dependent upon good seasonal weather conditions. It enabled a set of domestic labor animals to transport many heavy logs of various sizes over a long distance of uneven wet ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collier Memorial State Park</span> State park in Oregon, United States

Collier Memorial State Park is a state park in southern Oregon. The park is operated and maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It is located on U.S. Highway 97, approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Klamath Falls and 105 miles (169 km) south of Bend. The park covers 146 acres (59 ha) along the Williamson River.

The Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company was established to harvest and market the virgin longleaf pine stands of southern Mississippi during the early 20th century. The main sawmills were located in Wiggins and D'Lo, Mississippi. When the local timber supply dwindled, the company tried to utilize redwood trees from California, but that operation failed because of high transportation costs. Other attempts were made at promoting a more diversified use of the cutover timberlands; some ventures were successful while others were not.

The Caspar, South Fork & Eastern Railroad provided transportation for the Caspar Lumber Company in Mendocino County, California. The railroad operated the first steam locomotive on the coast of Mendocino County in 1875. Caspar Lumber Company lands became Jackson Demonstration State Forest in 1955, named for Caspar Lumber Company founder, Jacob Green Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soulé Steam Feed Works</span> United States historic place

Soulé Steam Feed Works is a historic business founded in Meridian, Mississippi in 1891 by George Soulé. The complex was listed as a contributing property to Union Station Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 under the Meridian Multiple Resource Area (MRA). It was listed as a Mississippi Landmark in 2003. The business, known for its many patented innovations in steam engine technology, reached its height around the turn of the century, producing products that were sold around the world.

SS <i>Columbia</i> (1880) American cargo and passenger steamship (1880-1907)

SS Columbia (1880–1907) was a cargo and passenger steamship that was owned by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and later the San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company. Columbia was constructed in 1880 by the John Roach & Sons shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

References

  1. "Miller Timber Services :: Logging / Harvesting". Millertimber.com. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  2. "UMD Library - Clyde Iron Works Company". D.umn.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2013-05-23.