Skagit Iron and Steel Works, Sedro Wooley, Washington

[kw60]

I rembember 1 at auction in eugene belive murrey auction was originaly owned by christion bros.i think the story was they sold out and the people who bought them went under. several yarders of theres were there even a skideel.

 

[lg junior]

Redwood Climber regarding 199 Skagits:

I remember three 199's in the Eugene area at one time. One was owned by TM&R, I don't know any history of where they got it or where it went, only that it was powered by a 16V71 detroit. Two others were owned by Clausen Christian, Future Logging. One was bought at the Laird Logging auction in Lakeside by Clausen, it was powered by a V-12 Cummins and was yellow. The other one came from John Tack it also had a 16V71. I have a picture of the engine and trans when it was overhauled for John Tack, at that time twin turbos were added. I hope this might help. Sorry I can't figure out how to erase my brother from the picture!

 

[Rusty Grapple]

I wish I knew exactly where these machines went, and where they are today. We have struggled to come up with Skagit's records and serial number lists but so far not much luck. I've been asking people these same questions since about 1985 and everybody has a different answer and admits they don't clearly remember. The general consensus is that there were 13, and at one point in the later 1980's I was standing on what was supposed to be the first one built (near Scappoose Oregon and in a rock pit with blackberries growing over it). The drum arrangement and line capacities were a little different on this machine and I cannot remember the details and like a complete moron I did not take pictures or write anything down. I was in a hurry moving something and told myself I would go back on a better day. I did, but was unable to find the place and have not been able to since. There were 3 big Skagit's there rusting in those weeds that day. I have scoured Google Earth and see nothing out there now (was between Hwy 30 and the river, out on a big flat plateau- it was a very inconspicuous spot). Probably a housing development by now.
The Fred Moe machines were scrapped, and I recently heard the big orange/white machine that I saw auctioned at Chemainus about 2004 was also scrapped. I hope this information is incorrect. I wish I could be of more help.

I have been told there are 2 BU-199's working on the Southern Oregon Coast, but I have requested pics and none ever seem to arrive. We'll see.

If not for these mysteries, then what would keep us going? Sometimes it's fun to still be curious and wonder- at least for me it is.

Like I've always said, for every answer I can give I have a hundred questions to follow it with....I'm counting on all you guys to help me learn!

Sometimes one picture will answer 10 questions. Other times, it just raises 20 new ones. I still have lots of questions.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Skagit BU-199 at Mike Graves

Sorry if I've posted this before, but this is the last picture I took of Mike Graves' Skagit BU-199. It was taken in 1988 near Randle, Washington on a USFS sale Mike was logging for Stimson Timber of Forest Grove, Or.

Not long after this yarder came to Alaska (Hobart Bay) where Mike was working for Klukwan Forest Products. When Mike quit the yarder went to Canada and Mike went back to Oregon.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Skagit BU-199 at Louisiana Pacific- Big Lagoon, California

This is the LP machine as seen in 1975-

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Skagit BU-199 at Chaemainus Auction (2004, TimberWest)

Here's the orange/white machine that was auctioned at Chemainus, BC. I heard recently that this machine was scrapped but don't know for sure.
That smaller machine to the left is a Skagit BU-739 on T-110HD Self-Propelled.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Skagit BU-199 for sale at Ross Equipment Eugene, 1991-

I caught this machine at Ross in Eugene about 1991 and I took a whole roll (roughly 24) of pictures but cannot seem to find them. I remember it clearly, and had just 2 of these pics in a Skagit photo album so for now that's all I have. This machine was featured in many Ross ads that year in the various magazines.

I'll be somewhat frustrated until those other pics turn up. They're in a file-box here someplace I'm sure......

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Skagit BU-199 Spec Sheet

I guess I'll close the evening with this- the Skagit BU-199 Spec Sheet.

The most impressive statistic of course is the ability of the hoist to spool and store 2,800 feet of 1 1/2" skyline on the drum- that's big line!

Also- the footprint of the hoist itself: 25 feet long and 14 feet wide. Nearly 80,000 lbs without line, fuel, water, etc- good times.

As a logger knows, you can hang as far as you need with extensions and hanging distances with this machine is limited mostly by tailhold ability.

 

[Redwood Climber]

Still missing them 199's

Thank you kw60, lg junior & Rusty Grapple for the input on the 199's. Thanks for the pics, I have seen all of them before, but I don't tire of seeing them. When I was working on them back then I knew they were huge, some of the largest yarders made. We had to tear one of them down to move from Redwood Creek to Klamath, Ca. The US government decided that we needed to lock up all the old growth Redwood in the Redwood Creek drainage so they spent $600,000,000 dollars (yes that's 600 million dollars) of OUR money to put US out of work. It's called the Redwood National Park. Aka the unemployment park. Funny, almost 30 years later and I still can't let it go.....
anyway we had to slide the hoist off onto a lowbed, pull the guyline blocks, jerk the tower off. It went on a long logger with a bunk load of logs, pinned the gooseneck onto the carrier, (this was a self propelled carrier), pulled the steering tires, hook it up to a truck and away we went northbound to Klamath. Crossing the Klamath river bridge the utility drum (extra haywire drum on right side) nearly scraped the bridge railing the whole way. It looked like that thing was 16 feet wide... but I believe it was 14 foot. We got to Klamath and put her back together. It joined the other 199 they had bought new and was delivered there. Had I been smart enough to take pictures I could have shared many many amazing things with you folks. Sure wish I had. Keep up the search boys, we may just find some of them yet, hopefully they aren't all doomed to be Chinese steel......

 

[TorkelH]

Wonderfull! So now we are at least 4 or maybe even 5 people on the earth's surface looking for BU199's! Like Rusty Grapple I've also been trawling Google Earth looking for some of these machines! I'we also been looking for the Arcata/Simpson Madill 044 with no luck. OK - what I do now is making a list of all known observations of BU-199's and we try filling it out.

Rusty Grapple - the 199 in Chemainus is NOT the same as the scrapped MMB BU-99 I have brought some pictures of. I have also some some specs on what I believe to be the Timber West Chemainus yarder from a source in Campbell River, it seems to have been overhauled in the US pretty close prior to the auction. May this machine be the same as Mike Graves?

Did you search for a production list in the Skagit archives - do you think it would be possible to find?

 

[TorkelH]

I found the paper on the BU-199 from Campbel River. It was earlier than I thought, from october 1999. It also had a sliding cab and must have been in fantastic condition: This machine was MacMillan Bloedell Eve River J104, BU-199 Skagit Longline. According to the MMB Eve River shop it was stripped bare and rebuilt from the ground up by JD & Sons Heavy Equipment Repair in Eugene, Oregon just before it was sold:

Tower rebuilt and magna fluxed.
Fairleads rebuilt.
New hydraulic motor for guylines
Guyline block pennant lines replaced
New tension meter (skyline)
Winch:
Haulback shaft replaced (Mermos machine shop)
Skyline shaft replaced
Skid line shaft replaced
PIP shaft replaced
2 new brake flanges
All clutches rebuilt
All brake bands relined
HB upgraded to 324 Eaton (new)
Remaining water cooled brakes rebuilt (Eaton)
gears rebanded and rehubbed as required
New winch drive chain
New down drive chain

Engine replaced, new Cummins KTA600
Trans rebuilt, DDA, Campbell River
New radiators
All hoses and valves replaced on winch
All wiring and electrical replaced
all hoses and valves replaced in cab

Cab modified so it can be moved to either side of the pipe. Cab windows replaced.

Carrier: New tires
Diffs and planets rebuilt
all brakes done
Steering axles rebuilt
All air and hydraulic plumbing replaced
All air valves & boosters replaced
Angle drive rebuilt
Air schedule updated to BC standards

I can try finding out where this machine went when it was sold.

 

[TorkelH]

I'm trying to make a little table of the info I have found on 199's:

1 Lousianna Pacific, Big Lagoon, CA #385 - same as in ad and maybe the first built, (same as RG saw in Scapoose?)
1 Eugene Ross 1991 picture in #387 may be same as lg junior mentions owned by TM&R - 16V71 ????
2 Fred B. Moe, Chehalis - these are scrapped - Pictures in Rusty Grapples pbase-galleries
2 Arcata later Simpson 1974 mod and 1977 mod Cat D398? May these still be stored there at Simpsons?
1 Chemainus Auction, Timber West 2004 #386
1 Mike Graves, Randle, #384 first Alaska and then went to BC Rock pit (where?)
1 MMB Ever River Vancouver Island sold 1999 (I'll try contact seller in Campbell River about this)
2 Clausen Christian, Future Logging. 1 bought in Laird Lakeside auction, 1 from John Tack. Both yellow, 16V71's (lg junior) maybe working SW Oregon?
1 unknown in BC - MMB?
1 Mike Walch?

This is 13 tough some machines may be mixed up. I guess Future Logging exists in Springfield, so it should be possible to get some more information about these two machines, and they may also be the ones RG have heard rumors about working on the South Oregon coast.

I don't know Redwood Climber, if Simpsons could "store" these machines somewhere - Google Earth is very useful if we have some ideas where to look.

Else the most probable fate for these yarders, if not scrapped is as dragline excavators.

Hope to get some comments on this list.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

This is good Torkel, the more info we can gather the better. There were many big Skagits that made thier way into Canada and at one point I was told that at least 4 of the BU-199's made thier way onto Vancouver Island. That BU-99 you have pics of is a different machine entirely and I suspect there were several of those up there as well.

The orange/white BU-199 at Chemainus was reportedly bought by a scrapper at that auction and scrapped on-site several weeks after close of auction. Sad and hopefully not true. The machine Graves had was sold to the rock-people while still in Alaska and went straight from Hobart to the quarry where it supposedly still resides (again, heresay and without pics to substantiate that....)

I was aware of Laird and TM&R having BU-99's but not 199's- I wonder also if there is some confusion among folks mistaking a BU-99 for a BU-199? They are both monsters but are designed quite differently and the BU-99 is an older and actually heavier machine than a BU-199- the 99 is much stouter and with larger gears, shafts, and frame design.

The BU-99 is a much more desireable machine for the rock/dredge crowd due to the sheer ruggedness of the frame and size of the mechanical works.

As for the Skagit Archives it was very disapointing in terms of build lists and serial number information- some early records (handwritten) but nothing at all from the era of the 1970's. I still do encourage you and/or Jeremy to have a look if the opportunity arises. The biggest eye-opener for me was that logging was a small segment of Skagit's business and that archive is full of more marine and oilfield equipment than anything else. In terms of logging, 90% of what was there I had actually already seen elsewhere and most of it I also have in my own collection...

So, the search continues- BUT after all the search is half the fun, right?
I was lucky to find all of you guys in my searching- and for that reason alone I am better for the search!

The more I learn, the less I seem to know.

Here are a couple more shots of the LP Big Lagoon machine for you guys-

 

[Redwood Climber]

Thank you TorkelH my Norway friend, lots of good Info there, I love the rebuild info on the 199 MMB had. I'll bet they spent a pretty penny on that! It must have been a later model, it had Eaton water cooled brakes. The two California machines both had Wichita brakes. I do remember we always had a rebuilt set ready to go as they needed repacing fairly often. CL informed us that the later models had the Eatons.

As for Simpson "storing" the machines, extremely unlikely, it would be well known around here. My Son works there now and would know. Their history is that they use the machines until no longer needed, then either trade them in or Auction them.

I do also know of a BU 99 here in Humboldt County that has not been used for a number of years, I have pictures of it, but I have not gotten the owners permission to post them yet. It logged all over the county here mostly on the Forest Circus. It also spent a couple of years logging in Klamath for Arcata Redwood and Simpson after they bought ARCO out. It was a HD110 self propelled machine also. I don't know what she had for power. There's not much paint left on her now. I believe the current owner bought her new.

 

[TorkelH]

RG has now found out that the Louisianna Pacific BU-199 is the same as Mike Graves and the same as the Timber West in Chemainus auction 2004! So the machine in post #384 to 386 is the same and probably also the same as in the Skagit BU-199 ad in post #393 (I see the ladder probably was rebuilt)!

Redwood Climber, is it possible for you to contact someone at Simpson that may know something about what happened with their 199's? Ask at the same time about the 044 grapple yarder they had! Ask also if they happen to have some papers or books on some of these machines!

I'll checked a little around and will hopefully get back with more info about the Vancouver Island big Skagits.

 

[Redwood Climber]

BU 199 History Search

This is great guys, slowly maybe we can piece the picture together. I will check with the logging Super to find out what happened to the ARCO machines. I don't know many people from LP, but I'll check that also. So Mike Graves must have bought the LP machine after the Government took the last of LP's old growth in the Redwood National Park expansion. They were already moving into their second growth timber and expanded it after that. Simpson bought the last 50,000 acres of LP's timberland and the pulp mill was sold to someone else. LP is no longer here on the north coast of Cal.

So now we know the LP machine went to Mike Graves, who took it to Alaska, then it went to rock pit in BC where we believe it is still. Anyone from BC have pictures or knowledge of this machine??

If any of this is incorrect or incomplete, please fill in the blank spots or line us out....

Cool. 12 more to go.

I'm not positive, but I had also heard that LP had a Washington 217.......detective work to be done on the Washington thread.......Yes!

 

[JeremyM70]

I do also know of a BU 99 here in Humboldt County that has not been used for a number of years, I have pictures of it, but I have not gotten the owners permission to post them yet. It logged all over the county here mostly on the Forest Circus. It also spent a couple of years logging in Klamath for Arcata Redwood and Simpson after they bought ARCO out. It was a HD110 self propelled machine also. I don't know what she had for power. There's not much paint left on her now. I believe the current owner bought her new.

I wonder if this 99 is the one that Wayne Stone just brought up to Oregon and rebuilt? It came from somewhere in Northern California.

 

[bushman1]

same BU 99 JeremyM70. Was owned by Bill Wold from hoopa, ca. he bought it around 1973 from E.E.(chic) Lucas from seiad valley, ca.

 

[BTC]

Skagits

I set chokers on the J-104 at Eve River in 1997. Don't have any pictures of it though sadly enough. What about the Skagits that were at Kelsey Bay?

The J-20 has been well documented on here, Kelsey Bay to Sprout Lake and then to The Duke.

How about the J-23 and J-22?

 

[Sidney43]

Interesting post on this thread. Chic Lucas took over the contract logging for Hy Ridge Lumber Co in Seiad Valley, CA from my Dad and his partner (Anderson and Neuenschwander) somewhere around 1960? as best I can recall and from talking to my brother who lives in Yreka, CA. I can recall seeing a high lead tower at the Lucas shops on the East end of Seiad Valley and later he moved his shop operation out to Yreka where Lucas got pretty large and my brother tells me he might have had three towers near the end. He was running so many sides that he had a helicopter to go back and forth. Unfortunately he was a bit over extended when the log market dropped off probably around 1973 or so and a lot of equipment was being sold to try and keep afloat.

My dad started logging for J.F Sharp Lumber Co in Yreka and at one time had a Skagit machine, either a J4, or a J8 but they had a lot of trouble with it and didn't keep it long. After that he never bid on a high lead sale and I know that at one point down the Klamath River up on Cade Mountain on the Seattle Creek sale an outfit from Medford named Klein was operating a tower because I watched them a few times. Don't have any pictures and don't recall what make it was, this was about 1960, or 61

This didn't really add anything to the thread, but it brought back some memories of when the Klamath River country was really booming with logging activity. I have some photos of the Skagit yarder and someone may be able to tell what model it was, although the photo does not show the entire machine.