Thunderbird Yarders, Loaders, and Etc from the Murray's in Eugene Oregon

[Roadswitcher]

Reply to username, post 435

Well done on the diagram – I marvel at the capacity of the forum to unearth such scarce/waning data, specs etc of these bygone companies and their products.

From the diagram - yes, for mine, it is a reconfigured ‘70’ drumset with the haulback repositioned to the rear. I’m guessing it was raised a little to accommodate the altered input shaft arrangement.

 

[furpo]

We use what I call a Squirrel Block to hold the skidding line up out of the way of the processor on the landing, the straw line is used to hold it in place. Using a motorized slack pulling carriage if the line is slack it drapes through the "chute" and can slow the processor down. On this landing the 255 is on a perch about 25 feet higher than the landing.

Serial # 5119 first purchased by Weyco, we are the second owner.

Neat idea, I like it.

How does it work with lineshifts? Do you just take the squirel block off?

 

[Scott S]

Neat idea, I like it.

How does it work with lineshifts? Do you just take the squirel block off?

If we just flop the skyline over to the next road we leave the carriage and block on. It hard to see from the photo but the block has a really heavy hinge on one side between the two sheaves with a 1" pin holding the other side secured in place with a molly. We lower the skyline, undo the molly, pull the pin and the block assembly is flipped off over the skyline. One man can do it easily.

Our yarder engineer pulls the block up to the tower when drifting the carriage back to help keep line wraps to a minimum, he then lets the block drift back to just over the edge of the landing when the processor is working in the chute keeping the skidding out of the way. When the turn comes in the carriage bumps the block back toward the tower.

 

[TorkelH]

Ty-40/tmy-40

I love all these pics. and brochures on these T'birds but where do you get more serious details and specs. on the machines I'm looking into a small clean-up and partial cut yarder and the 40 series seems like the ticket but serious info. is scarse. My main interest is in the TY40 and TMY40 but I can't find any good information on the different options and configurations of these yarders. Any idea on wherennto dig up what I need.

Chris

Here is the brochures and some measurements which you probably already have?

 

[bc_outpost]

TMY 40 and Other 40's

Here is the brochures and some measurements which you probably already have?

I had some of this info. but not all so THANKS. It is a start to my quest for more detailed information and specifications. There has got to be some more factory sources and history by serial number out there if one looks or gets help from people who have already been there. So again thank you, Torkel, and thanks in advance to other out there looking into this.

Chris

 

[Hallback]

My friend Rob Fritzie owned a trailer mount version of the 40. flopped it and sent it back to Madill. IDK who has it now.

 

[furpo]

Try whoever was the local Thunderbird agent at the time. Down here it was Goughs and they still have all their Madill and Thunderbird service manuals.

 

[JeremyM70]

TSY255 rebuild 1

Found a TSY255 serial # S5106 over the weekend at Modern Machinery Portland this weekend on the way to Kennedy School McMenamins (great pizza and beer BTW!) So stopped by there this afternoon to ID and snap some pics of it.

 

[JeremyM70]

TSY255 rebuild 2

Apparently it is in for an engine rebuild as you can see by the big empty space where an engine used to be.

 

[Hallback]

I have cut for that yarder many years off and on. The Evensons own all their own timber and land around Clatskanie oregon. Great guys to work for.

 

[Diamond Danebo]

Yes CL, this is how it arrived direct from Ross Corp. Perhaps the tower/gantry had been made and painted earlier. A TY 40 came out on the same shipment and that was still in orange but a TTY 6170 that arrived a couple of months later in September 96 was complete burgundy and green, tower tips in all. I don't have any other shots of 6155's down here (indeed, if there are any others) so have been looking through a few pix of 6255's for a colour example and noticed also that of the four that I'm aware of down this way, only one had the raised cab and that was one of the earlier ones. I don't know if is relevant but it was also the only one with single lever control. On reflection, it may have been a customer option.


A couple of pics to compare cabs and view the complete burgundy look - they are both SLR machines.

The first pic #S5214 Dec 1999 (me thinks the haulback is in the wrong sheave at top of tower - it should be in the top swivel fairlead)

Second pic #S5190 Feb 1998 (this is the one with the single lever control) Untill recently anyway, it had only ever shotgun with Maki carriage.

RS

View attachment 72610View attachment 72611

Hey is that last photo Steve Rosin's 6255 in Tumut AU ?

 

[log big]

do you have more pictures of TSY355 what a monster yarder

 

[Roadswitcher]

Hey is that last photo Steve Rosin's 6255 in Tumut AU ?

Yes - not sure if Steve still has it. A couple of years back his brother Peter was considering using using it up at Oberon.

 

[Diamond Danebo]

Yes - not sure if Steve still has it. A couple of years back his brother Peter was considering using using it up at Oberon.

where was that picture taken ?, these days it doesn't have the murial anymore. Steve was saying that this december he's gonna set it up in the yard once the tailhold digger is finished and get the Grapple going, then relocate to a new life in the hills : ) im kinda stoked to get involved with rigging it up for a grapple test run!

 

[Diamond Danebo]

Weyerhaeuser is currently using at least 3 TY-90's on the PeEll operation as well. In the 1st pic 2 of them are visible and working.

Here are some pics.

Is Donny Ward still running Yarder for Weyerhauser in PeEll ?

 

[Roadswitcher]

where was that picture taken ?, these days it doesn't have the murial anymore. Steve was saying that this december he's gonna set it up in the yard once the tailhold digger is finished and get the Grapple going, then relocate to a new life in the hills : ) im kinda stoked to get involved with rigging it up for a grapple test run!

As I remember, that was about 20K east of Tumut on its' first setting. Yes, Steve has been threatening for years to try the running skyline/grapple - he just needs someone there with the confidence to carry it through which sounds like he has in your good self. I'm also well aware of Steve's disdain of logging companies and retirement away from it all - sounds like nothing's changed there. LOL

 

[nzlogging]

have u got the rite numbers for the 1st 6255 i have seen photos of a diffrent yarder with #S5214 on the tags

 

[Hallback]

Not sure but we did all the hand falling on the farm up until May. I can ask but the name isn't familiar.

 

[Roadswitcher]

have u got the rite numbers for the 1st 6255 i have seen photos of a diffrent yarder with #S5214 on the tags

Realised I got it wrong when it was too late to edit - should have been #5208

 

[nzloggaar]

Kiwi Logger, do you have anymore pics of your TSY6355BC ?