Hi All, Just finished scratchbuilding this might beast. I found a photo of the original, and I think, (Might be wrong) it's some sort of Duplex? put me right people please if it aint. Anyway, I liked the look of it so went ahead and made me one for my logging layout. I love it -- Paul [ 26 May 2002, 14:05: Message edited by: Paul Templar ]
Looks like a dual steam donkey platform that can be used in either direction, so they don't have to turn it around to use it.... or it is for pulling two pieces of Atlas sectional track together (SIC)
These were used to pull logs through the forest by dragging, move rail cars, and lift logs into stacks; all on one end. The other end was usually used on the hi-line (or flying lift) as some called it. A cable was strung between two tall stout trees, and pulled tight, making the "hi-line". A traveling dolly would roll along on this hi-line, moved by cables attached to stem donkey below. Another cable ran from the steam donkey up to a pulley on this dolly and then hung down to hook onto a log for lifting. Once lifted, the log could be "flown" across a valley hanging from the dolly riding along on the hi-line. There were several winches on these steam donkeys. There was a firemen that tended the boiler, and sometimes one or more carriers to haul wood. A winchman was required at each end to operate the respective winches. These were quite fastenating to watch in operation. There were two steam whistles on this kind. One low toned whistle was used to signal moves for ground work, while the high shrieking toned whistle signaled the hi-line operations. It was the only way to signal the men without confusion, and because the men were too far away to see hand signals. When time came to move this rig to another place, one of the cables was paid out and fastened around a large tree trunk toward the direction they wished to go. Then "skidders" would place wood slabs in front of the donkey's iron frame, and the donkey would real in the cable thus pulling its own weight along until it reached the destination. Sometimes, as your excellent model represents, the donkey wound pull its self into the air and a truck would be run under. They would let that end down onto the truck, lift the other end, set it on a truck, then haul the whole rig miles away. There would then be flat cars with huge drums of cable lashed securely to prevent rolling off. Then chains and all kinds of pry bars, wedges, jacks, and other hardware. the huge pulley blocks, the dolly and spare hooks, slings, nets, and long boxes of spikes would be loaded in a gondola. If the whole camp was moving, they would make a whole train out of it, depending upon the grade, and weight they had to move. I liked this type the best because all the guys on the whole train would wave at us as they went by, and we got to get up fairly close. There were some much larger than this that could not be transported on a rail car too. They had horizontal boilers and may have one or more steam donkeys side by side, all on one set of skid frames. These had to be dismanteled for moving and were usually around a sawmill or loading dock or some other more semi-permanent setting.
Hi Watash, Thanks for the story on this, glad to know. By the way, the original in the photo was on trucks, but sadly, this one was just left to rot. Paul [ 26 May 2002, 14:06: Message edited by: Paul Templar ]
