History of the Columbia trailer company

[92U 3406]

That's what I've always called a float. Scissor neck with a roller at the back.

 

[Hank R]

Here are 2 Oil Field Floats, Not Columbia but all the same or close. Most did not have landing gear if they did it was a fold up as oil field trucks had a winch, to pick up trailer or winch up over the roller at back. Growing up in Edmonton watched many of these trailers load up tanks etc over the back with a winch.

 

[92U 3406]

Here are 2 Oil Field Floats, Not Columbia but all the same or close. Most did not have landing gear if they did it was a fold up as oil field trucks had a winch, to pick up trailer or winch up over the roller at back. Growing up in Edmonton watched many of these trailers load up tanks etc over the back with a winch.

View attachment 273279 View attachment 273280

That's why I love Alberta, you just don't see near the volume of big iron like that in BC.

 

[Welder Dave]

I worked at a tank shop building hooped safety ladders. I had to make a new ladder for 1 tank because it wasn't removed from the tank and the truck driver pulled the tank over on the ladder when tipping the tank over to load it. The tanks skid was made for float trailers. There was a skid lengthwise with the tank for transport and another skid at 90 deg's. for the tank to sit upright on when in service and/or move around a bit.

 

[Denis Bourk]

I was laid off when the aluminum container order was finished and 5 months later was brought back to the steel shop. No loss of seniority. I welded on flat deck trailers and some steel container trailers. Laid off after 8 months, I was brought back to the Aluminum shop. There I learned how to build and weld on Aluminum tanks. When it got slow, I was sent back to the steel shop and welded on 20 ton loggers, stakes, bunks, turn tables and walking beams. I think it was 1971 the Van Raden family bought Columbia, They were from Portland, Oregon and had owned Peerless trucking. The steel shop built these huge trailers for making asphalt runways. I think Boeing was a customer. I remember us getting blueprints from the States no one could read, even our best men.

 

[Denis Bourk]

I think that's what they called floats. Usually behind winch tractors for pulling skids, buildings and other platform type equipment on. The pipe roller at the back made it a lot easier. Most of the huge bed trucks had the rollers too.

That is what I welded on, never knew they were called floats. I was just a dumb kid back then, just did as I was told.

 

[Denis Bourk]

I can not seem to be able to find any history of this company on the internet other then a company with the Columbia name down south, is this the same company from Howe St in Vancouver?, I know they made a lot of off hwy trailers and on hwy log trailers but just can not find any history anywhere, Thanks

I hope you are still around to read some of the answers to your questions

 

[Denis Bourk]

 

[Denis Bourk]

Found this Pic on the internet, I have a feeling White Pass is not around anymore. When we built these containers, they were shipped out by train. These look exactly like the ones I worked on, but not 100% sure they are the same ones.

 

[camptramp]

Found this Pic on the internet, I have a feeling White Pass is not around anymore. When we built these containers, they were shipped out by train. These look exactly like the ones I worked on, but not 100% sure they are the same ones.

Just wondering if these rail cars were built for The White Pass R.R. at Skagway Alaska ?

 

[Hank R]

If I remember right the White Pass R.R. is a narrow gauge rail line. So my guess is that Columbia built the tanks to fit on the rail cars there and I think it does run May till September.

 

[Doug1966]

Yes , white pass is a narrow guage railway. Not completely sure but think it is still operating in summer. Snow burrys the line. Not sure how much frieght is moved but it is diffently a tourist attraction with the busy cuise ship bussiness. In the mid 80s my parents did the trip skagway to whitehorse, back then they had flat cars included with paasenger cars and would haul your vehicle. Mom took pictures of the pickup with camper being loaded.
There is tv show great train trips, they did an episode on the white pass.

 

[Denis Bourk]

Just wondering if these rail cars were built for The White Pass R.R. at Skagway Alaska ?

I don't know, Columbia shipped them out on rail cars, there was a rail spur and loading dock across the street where Costco is now.

If I remember right the White Pass R.R. is a narrow gauge rail line. So my guess is that Columbia built the tanks to fit on the rail cars there and I think it does run May till September.

As far as I know they were built to fit container trailers, possibly the same set up as the train cars. Back in those days I kept my nose to the grindstone, People got fired very easily if you were not a Journeyman. I didn't see them load the containers. I did see them testing the containers with a contraption that moved the containers up and down to see how long it would take them to have damage. My job was to weld the extruded parts on the plate at the ends of the open container. we had a jig built so I could rotate the ends for ease of welding.

 

[Welder Dave]

Interesting the apprentice's jobs were more on the line than the journeyman's. A lot of shops the 1st first people laid off are the journeyman because they get paid more. The shops backwards thinking is they're saving money. Often the J welders can get things done faster and better.

 

[92U 3406]

I've haven't seen that happen before. Then again most places I've been at were apprentice heavy, so they couldn't boot the journeymen and still maintain the 2:1 apprentice to journeyman ratio.

 

[Denis Bourk]

So I started setting up and welding the container ends. I was green as grass. some asshole told me I had to set up and weld two of the ends, a shift, or I would be gone. So I worked my ass off that day and only got 1 and 1/2 ends done. Worried, that same asshole told me he was only fooling. If anyone is wondering when I got hired I was paid $2.32 an hr, when I got my Aluminum welding ticket I got paid $3.12 an hr.

 

[Denis Bourk]

Interesting the apprentice's jobs were more on the line than the journeyman's. A lot of shops the 1st first people laid off are the journeyman because they get paid more. The shops backwards thinking is they're saving money. Often the J welders can things done faster and better.

Columbia trailers, Columbia-Remtec and Advance were the only Trailer Tank builders I ever worked at, they had the same belief. steel welders were a dime a dozen, Aluminum welders not so much, Journeymen tank builders and Journeymen fabricators were Valuable. I mentioned I was laid off twice before I got on steady. I was very lucky the best tank guy trained me. He didn't say much, I just watched and welded what he wanted me to weld. He was very competitive, he wanted us to be the best and fastest team and we were. he hated one of the other tank fabricators we had. They had worked together at West tank in Regina. I'll explain how we built tanks back in the day, some techniques are still used today

 

[Denis Bourk]

I've haven't seen that happen before. Then again most places I've been at were apprentice heavy, so they couldn't boot the journeymen and still maintain the 2:1 apprentice to journeyman ratio.

we did not have a real apprentice system, we had helpers, Production A and B welders, Fabricators, machinists shipping and receiving people, 5 engineers and drafting people. a Journeyman at Columbia trailers had to know 90% of the jobs in the shop and be an expert in one field. We were non-Union but we were paid 5 cents an hour more than our union competitor Willock to keep us that way, we got all the benefits Willock had but paid no Union dues. We never had a strike, The only time we had a walk out was because the new Aluminum shop built for the containers had no heat, that winter was cold. Don Trice who was a Senior welder got us to walk out, I was worried I might lose my job but decided I wasn't going to be known as a brown noser or rat. Fred Denisuk the man who hired me told us if we did that again we would all be fired. Don told him that's a **** poor attitude, next shift we had propane heaters in the shop.

 

[skyking1]

Denis, welcome and glad you found us. Those stories are priceless.
I worked a dump barge in the Duwamish river in Seattle in 2019, made by Zidell Marine. It so happens my neighbor got a job there and welded barges after he got back from the VietNam war. He probably welded on that dump barge, based on it's age. These stories are often the best that there is left.

 

[Denis Bourk]

I have a lot of stories, my memory is decent