Having stumbled upon some pics posted at another site by "Alaskan Logger" I discovered he was a regular here and contributed many photos to this thread as well. So, I introduced myself over there with the following, modified somewhat to accomodate this venue. My history....more or less...
So I came to this site and was blown away by the variety of pics of machines I used to buy parts for as well as the guys I know in the industry who were mentioned in the pages I've read...so far.
I started in logging in 1969 when I became the Warehouseman for Tahsis Co. Ltd. at their Gold River Logging Division. I spent four years there and watched the evolution of yarding change from high lead to grapple yarding right before my eyes. When I started we ran six sides but soon bought a couple more yarders (Washington Skylok was one) and then we double-shifted four grapple yarding sides so we were essentially producing 12 sides worth of production by 1972 or so. The best one day production back then was 42 loads to the beach, most carried on P-16s or HDX's although we did have a few smaller Pacifics that ran 4640 Timkens and 1200x24 tires rather than 91000 Clarks and 1400x25 tires. Loaders included a TL-5, a TL-6, a TL-15, a Bucyrus 30-B and another American we called the "Fair Harbor American" which was an electric over air over hydraulic set-up with a centre tube that had about 20 electrical connections on it, each of which controlled air valves that then activated the hydraulics. Naturally I may be slightly off in my recollections so feel free to correct me on technical details but that's how I remember that machine. It came to us from Fair Harbour and was a project we worked on in the shop at Gold River one winter.
Lots of other machines there of interest but like most people I didn't take pics or think it would ever end. We had the first SST Skagit Grapple Yarder ever built, serial #1001 there (Side 6) as well as a Sparmatic, some Madills and a Washington Skylok Hydraulic Tension Yarder.
Can't remember what else we had for yarders and loaders etc. 'cause it was a long time ago.
Some of you might know a fellow named Bob Bagley, mechanic for Trican for many years. He was an apprentice mechanic at Gold River Logging when I worked there, some 41 years ago.
From there I went working for a small gyppo in Campbell River for a few months then went to Juskatla for MacMillan Bloedel as the Warehouse Supervisor there. Pretty standardized fleet there with mostly all 90' Madills and American loaders. P-16 log trucks as I recall. No Cats bigger than a D-7 and much shovel and pad work building roads up there too.
From there I went to BCFP Ltd. at the Renfrew Logging Division as their Warehouseman/Buyer. I spent eight years there and it was much the same as most logging camps back then. They had Skagit SST Grapple Yarder serial #10003 and I think Chum Carley from that area had serial #10002.
Those Skagits mostly ended up at Lemare Lake Logging in Port McNeill where they served a variety of functions for the Duke and his boys many years later.
I got caught in the squeeze of the '80's and was bumped off in 1984 from BCFP and barely survived the next year or so before going to work for Dave Husby at Eden Lake in the Charlottes in 1986. He had six of those Mack CL350-ST logging trucks working as well as a couple of Pacifics and a Hayes.
MB at Menzies Bay had 13 of those Macks as I recall. There were only 26 ever made and I think they all came to BC. He also had a fleet of International dump trucks that had originally been built to work in the desert but were part of the embargo on stuff gpoing to the Middle East during the Reagan years so became available here. Designed to work in the desert and ended up in one of the wettest places in BC. I always thought that was ironic for some reason.
From there I went to work for Island Mack Truck Sales out of Nanaimo and opened a one man store at Sandspit in the Charlottes selling heavy duty truck parts and stuff to MB, Crown, Alliford Bay Logging, Frank Beban, (I was there when he died), Edwards and Associates and a few other small contractors there.
In 1990 we shut that store down (South Moresby Lyell Island diminished market etc.) and I moved to Campbell River where I still live.
I spent four years on the road for Island Mack all around the northern Vancouver Island area and knew many of the loggers/contractors during that time. Sold lots of parts to Butch Carrol, Dennis Dystant, Borer Trucking/Logging, MB Menzies, Canfor at Woss and others too.
Thanks a lot for posting your pics here, those of you that have them. Brings back a lot of memories from the '60's right through to 2000 of my time in and around the industry.
I appreciate your efforts.
Take care.