Berger Manufacturing- Logging Equipment Built in Seattle

[Contract Logger]

Here are a few pic's of Ralph Wakefield's Berger at work near Willamina Oregon in 2003.

 

[Contract Logger]

And here are a couple taken near Hebo, Oregon in 2002. On this job they were loading with a Koehring 6630 that has 'Fetter Logging, Buckley Washington' still painted on it. Buckley is a ways from Hebo, presumably Mr Wakefield picked this machine up used someplace......

 

[Contract Logger]

Here we have a Berger M2 Highlead Machine (no skyline drum) owned in 2001 by Herb Olstedt Logging and parked on Longview Fibre ground near Mist, Oregon- where the machine had been de-rigged and left when the job was finished. Olstedt runs several yarders and can use the yarders best suited to the work he is doing at the time. He was also logging for LV Fibre 15 miles away from this job with a Berger C-19 and Hitachi shovels on this day.

Power for this beast is by Cat, Undercarriage is Cat D8, and tower is 100'.

 

[Contract Logger]

Berger from Debriae Logging in Cathlamet, WA last spring.

Ran across some pics I took of that same yarder back in 2001 parked at Jerry's in Cathlamet.

It's a Berger T-23 and someplace I have a bunch of pics of it rigged up and working- but I haven't found them yet. It's only a matter of time......

 

[Contract Logger]

Here's a Mack R Series tractor with a Berger line hoist on her! These hoists are necessary when you use a large tower for moving and storing the guyline and skyline extensions, etc.

This one belonged to George Churchill Logging when I took the pics in Tillamook Oregon in the later 1980's.

 

[Contract Logger]

Check out this Berger sled-mounted highlead yarder on a Mack cabover truck. I took this pic in Forks Washington around 1992 and have no idea who owned this outfit.

The deck on the truck was obviously designed to pack this little yarder.

 

[Contract Logger]

Nygaard Logging of Warrenton Oregon has a bunch of yarders- several smaller machines but a few big ones-including 2 Thunderbird TY-90's and a Skagit 739. For those yarders this Berger hoist is useful when moving and rigging up. Mounted on an old Kenworth W900A tractor.

 

[tyee33]

Ha! that little berger sled is out at the shop still in Forks. I just messed around and got it running the other day just to make sure it was alright.

 

[Contract Logger]

Ha! that little berger sled is out at the shop still in Forks. I just messed around and got it running the other day just to make sure it was alright.

It's a cool little outfit! Is it yours, or if not, whose- and what do you know about it?? I always thought it would be an awesome rig-up machine!

What about the Bergers at Winney's? Or those out at the old sawmill? Or at Ernie Nielson's place? Are they still around?

 

[tyee33]

Yes, its mine and my dad. We have 2 of them, one is a skagit one a berger. Hoh River timber used them for pullin trees on a bunch of high dollar forest service sales. We got one for big road changes with our skookum and they wanted us to take both if we got one. The price was right so we got them both.

 

[Contract Logger]

Cool! You've gotta post some pics from your logging, past AND present!

Hoh River- brings back memories of green, white, and big wood! They had a American 35A painted green and white loading under one of thier Skagit BU-739's I saw one time in the high country. Wish I had pics of that setting! Beautiful old-growth fir and STEEP ground show!

 

[dirty4fun]

Thanks CL and everyone else, I sure have enjoyed the pictures and stories that go a long with them. I have learned a lot and still have a long ways to go, to understand all the terms. Hope to some day be able to see some Yarders working, as the country where they will be working is very enjoying to see also.

 

[Contract Logger]

On a wet and muddy day in 2002 I was on-site at Herb Olstedt Logging's Berger C-19 yarder side, and they were moving that morning. Loading machine was a nearly-new Hitachi ZX200F, and the Carriage was a brand-new Boman. Logging was for Longview Fibre near Clatskanie Oregon.

Enjoy the pics.

 

[Contract Logger]

Moving up the road!

 

[Contract Logger]

And on to the new landing.

 

[Contract Logger]

These were taken a few weeks later, after they had a bunch of wood on the landing. A Joel Olson chunk truck is being loaded with tops and chunks for recycling.

 

[Jumbo]

I had myself fooled into thinking I knew everything, now I see chunk truck. New name for mule train?? Or is it a truck with a 50 yard dumpster??

 

[Contract Logger]

I had myself fooled into thinking I knew everything, now I see chunk truck. New name for mule train?? Or is it a truck with a 50 yard dumpster??

With the advent of tree-length logging and prcessors on the landings, the accumulation of tops and butt-cuts becomes overwhelming quickly. Hence, the chunk-truck arrives to haul all this to a puld mill, firwood yard, or wherever. When I was logging in the 90's we sorted like this: wood lenth under 8' goes in chunk truck- wood under 24' goes on the mule trains, and wood 24'+ goes on the long loggers.

We used them always and from our White River and Snoqualmie sides (in your neighborhood) we sent alot of chunk loads over to LV Fibre Bullfrog at CleEllum for chipping. Chunk trucks can be 40' end dumps or a pair of open-top contaiers (one on the truck, one on the trailer).

 

[isx525]

We used them always and from our White River and Snoqualmie sides (in your neighborhood) we sent alot of chunk loads over to LV Fibre Bullfrog at CleEllum for chipping. Chunk trucks can be 40' end dumps or a pair of open-top contaiers (one on the truck, one on the trailer).[/QUOTE]

so you logged on the white river tree farm in the 90's, eh?

 

[Vigilant]

My father wrote his thesis on the Berger-Rees air tong at Washington State University, in about 1951. He still has it in a dresser drawer, and I have asked to have it when he leaves this world. I read the whole thing years ago.

In fact, Contract Logger, you and my father probably know each other. He built the smaller of the two docks (the one upstream) at the Bay City Yard in Cosi. I was there too, as a wee lad. He was also Superintendent at Vail from 1968 to 1972, and was the last Mayor of the town ov Vail. He was also the one who bought Art Smythe a brand new stacker to replace that antiquated cable reload powered by the old Washington Iron Works loading donkey at Vail. How good is your memory?