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

[J&R_INC.]

Thunderbirds are great built machines I hope that Madill (Nicholson) doesn't give up on them. There seems to be an awful lot of them out there

 

[Roadswitcher]

Colour and Cab anomalies

Interesting paint scheme-- She has the orange fairlead/gantry tip (early Ross colors) and the later forest green/burgundy (they started using these colors in later 1996, first on the 1240/1242 shovels) on the lower structure.

This is a great picture- and I like the paint scheme! Was it painted by Ross Corp do you know?

Usually (later) the boom tips were painted the burgundy color but I like this orange alot better.

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

 

[J&R_INC.]

Great pics roadswitcher

They must of had a new cab on hand. It is kind of weird that the earlier machine had the later cab style. CL should know. I was around a 6155 with the new cab and the visability was much better, especially when landing a turn

 

[J&R_INC.]

For using a grapple I think it's better to use the second sheave. It keeps the distances between lines better

 

[Contract Logger]

Great pics roadswitcher

They must of had a new cab on hand. It is kind of weird that the earlier machine had the later cab style. CL should know. I was around a 6155 with the new cab and the visability was much better, especially when landing a turn

The truth is I dont know. These Ross boys were flexible, experimental, and very open-minded. Most of what they did was experimental, and most of what we see today was the result of the successful trials- there was also a good bit of 'unsuccessful' equipment that was built, tried, and then cut-up.

One that comes to mind was a GIANT feller-buncher machine built using a TB 940 shovel frame, front-shovel styled buncher boom, with a modified/experimental Risely Roto-Saw that would fall 40+ inch timber.
With all the guarding, etc this thing weighed around 110,000 and had a Cat 3406B for power. It caught on fire and burned, and was cut up quickly so everybody wouldnt see it or whatever. I talked to the guy that used it and he said it was a timber-falling beast! Ross approached him after the fire with a price for a new on and he said he thought hard about it. Bottom line was it was REALLY expensive, and most timber that size he had could not be reached by a non-tilting buncher. The USFS was dealing with the spotted owl (this was in 1989) and contracters were nervous anyway. The 3406B was cranked to the max and fuel consumption on this thing was off the charts as well- too much constant traveling and swinging. Customer went back to using his 'smaller' Cat 245B buncher with 36" Roto-Saw.

The cab was probably an experiment- one that was tried first, loved, then designed and integrated into the production line over time.

I wish I had pictures of that big tan/orange buncher! They wouldnt let me take any........

Another thing really impressive to watch are the Thunderbird 1146 and 1148 shovels with Waratah 626's on them that Allen & Gibbons is using. Huge machines with big horsepower, big flow, and tons of reach. Fuel consumption is the downfall and will kill them off eventually.

 

[Contract Logger]

TY-90 yarding sand/rock in Saskatchewan.

Here's a recent picture of a TY-90 doing dredge work with a Sauerman bucket in Canada.

This is the GriffeyLog > Jensen & Grove > Hamilton > Wallace machine that sat next to I-5 at Toledo Washinton for a year or 2.

 

[Contract Logger]

Weyerhaeuser was always a large Thunderbird buyer. In the late 90's, Weyco Longview traded 4 Thunderbirds in to Madill for 4 new 172's. 2 of the trades were TMY-70's (Weyco Longview Yarders #254 and #255). Here are some pics at Kalama after Madill painted them to sell.

Also with these 2 yarders were a single-axle jeep and single-axle booster built by Whit-Log for moving them over the highway.

The other 2 trades were TSY-255's- I'll post those pics later.

 

[Contract Logger]

Here are some pics from 1994 of a TY-90 rebuilt by McPaul Machine for Weyerhaeuser Cosmopolis. Sorry for the quality, bad pics then bad scans.....

 

[Username]

TY-90 yarding sand/rock in Saskatchewan.

Here's a recent picture of a TY-90 doing dredge work with a Sauerman bucket in Canada.

This is the GriffeyLog > Jensen & Grove > Hamilton > Wallace machine that sat next to I-5 at Toledo Washinton for a year or 2.

They baked a head on the KT last summer in the heat, burned up the brakes on the mainline and haulback drums before they got things figured out.

 

[Contract Logger]

Here's a nice machine!

Mike Plaas of Eatonville Washington picked up a used TY-90 on T100 trailer in the Morton Wa area and brought it in to be re-built. In the meantime, Sholes Logging of Aberdeen sent an old Skagit BU-90 on a T-100 Self-Propelled to RB Auction, and Mike Plaas and Bill Paulson (and myself) happened to be standing there looking at it. It was agreed that if it sold cheap enough, the T-100 SP could be re-built and the TY-90 hoist mounted on that instead. It did.
Needless to say, the Skagit BU-90 was pulled off and the Self-Propelled carrier was rebuilt and a downdrive was added to the TY-90 to make it run the carrier. The Skagit trailer that originally carried the TY-90 was sold off, and the new yarder emerged from the McPaul shop as it appears below. The paint was automotive-quality with 2 coats of cover clearcoat at a cost paid by Mr Plaas of $18,000.00.

Mike Plaas logged with it at Kapowsin for several years before selling it overseas.

The rebuild took place in the winter of 1995/1996.

 

[Contract Logger]

They baked a head on the KT last summer in the heat, burned up the brakes on the mainline and haulback drums before they got things figured out.

Oh No! Well that was an expensive lesson.....I would hat to even think of the cost to rebuild a KT right now, and the Eatons aren't cheap either!

 

[Contract Logger]

Here's a nice machine!

Mike Plaas of Eatonville Washington picked up a used TY-90 on T100 trailer in the Morton Wa area and brought it in to be re-built. In the meantime, Sholes Logging of Aberdeen sent an old Skagit BU-90 on a T-100 Self-Propelled to RB Auction, and Mike Plaas and Bill Paulson (and myself) happened to be standing there looking at it. It was agreed that if it sold cheap enough, the T-100 SP could be re-built and the TY-90 hoist mounted on that instead. It did.
Needless to say, the Skagit BU-90 was pulled off and the Self-Propelled carrier was rebuilt and a downdrive was added to the TY-90 to make it run the carrier. The Skagit trailer that originally carried the TY-90 was sold off, and the new yarder emerged from the McPaul shop as it appears below. The paint was automotive-quality with 2 coats of cover clearcoat at a cost paid by Mr Plaas of $18,000.00.

Mike Plaas logged with it at Kapowsin for several years before selling it overseas.

The rebuild took place in the winter of 1995/1996.

More Plaas yarder.

 

[Contract Logger]

Here are the 1st 2 pics of the machine taken in the woods-- with line on, cab on, steering tires on, gooseneck off, and ready to head into the mountains under her own power!

 

[Contract Logger]

Here are some pics taken several months later. The super-single steer tires proved not to be wide enough to hold the machine up out of the road, so by now the 4 'fat steers' have been replaced by 8 '12:00x24' tires on the steering end. The tires can be seen loose around the front of the machine.

 

[Contract Logger]

Finally, here we have 2 pics of this machine working 'down-under' just recently.

It is looking used, but still a nice machine! and the 8 steering tires are obviously still there and going strong! The machine is currently for sale, though the price is very high.

Going into 2011, and last time I saw her in person was in 1997- some 14 years ago....
My how time flies!

 

[Contract Logger]

Here are some old pictures I took at Cathlamet Washington in 1987.

This is either the 1st or 2nd TY-90 ever built, and was purchased new by Jerry Debrie Logging in 1984. This one has the KT Cummins in it and that engine is getting some attention this day. Also a good view of the gooesneck (extra long on this one) and the dolly to pull it around behind a D8 Cat. Mounted to a Skagit T-100 Trailer.

DeBrie Logging has used/owned 4 TY-90 yarders and still has this machine in 2011.

 

[Contract Logger]

Here's another TY-90 owned by Debrie Logging, pics taken by me about 1992 at Cathlamet. This machine was new at that time.

 

[Contract Logger]

Same machine- different day.

It looks good against the blue sky!

 

[Contract Logger]

Here are some pics taken at DeBrie Logging in 2001 of one of their Thunderbird TY-90's.

 

[Contract Logger]

This dandy new Thunderbird TY-90 on a Skagit T-100 Self-Propelled was parked at Ross in Eugene waiting for someone to come along and buy it. It was a beauty! Later I heard who bought this machine but today I cannot remember, and I didnt get a serial number. I do have the list, but dont know which machine this is.....

In the background one can see a Thunderbird 700RB Roadbuilder, but not very well. Also a used Komatsu someone traded in on something.