MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. Red & White Iron, Past and Present....

[HDmechanic23]

M&b

Dear Steve,

I grew up in port alberni and was forchanate enough to see some of the final days of Macmillan bloedel, my father worked on the booming grounds for the pulp mill. Anyways when m&b sold out he was able to grab a few pieces of m&b memorabilia. I was wondering if you might have anything you'd might want to part with as I'm trying to collect anything m&b related any leads would also be greatly appreciated. Also does the name Hugh Ferchette ring a bell? Please message me if you can help me out thank you.

 

[Blk prince]

RCP57,well Reg,you have been very quiet. Any projects on the go?

 

[RCP57]

RCP57,well Reg,you have been very quiet. Any projects on the go?

Hey Ian. Yes, a few things on the go but nothing relative to here. Working on a dump trailer at the moment and it is finally nearing completion. I also converted a couple of new 1/16 "Bruder Toys" Cat compactors to remote control last month. They are very detailed plastic models so they're a good starting point. Besides adding drive motors and steering, I bought some more scale looking rubber tires and then machined aluminum wheels that look like the 1:1 Cat stuff so that we could ditch the generic looking plastic tires. I added nearly 2lbs inside each drum as well as a vibrating motor(The models are about 6lbs total). The vibrator is turned on and off via a switch on the radio as is the rotating beacon on the roof. The blades are remote controlled as well. Kind of a fun little unit I guess. I built one for a customer and the other for myself but I may get rid of both as I don't really need a compactor for my logging road.lol



I was asked if I could add a shovel to the front of the trailer I am building at the moment so I quickly made this up last night. You get a glimpse of the trailer in the video as well.

[video=youtube;JVEaeGQeQ-k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVEaeGQeQ-k[/video]

 

[HDX]

HDmechanic23 You have to make or add two more post's on the forum here, then I will be able to PM you and we can BS . Hugh is a long time friend. Probably one of the most experienced mechanics still in the business. He is also THE ONLY mechanic ever to be a Pacific Truck and Trailer apprentice. I did not know that till he showed us his papers. Very well respected guy by those that care. Does it matter what M&B stuff it is? I do have decal sets that I have had for years in the hopes that what happened at Christmas would happen. Now I don't know if I want to use them and have new "Fresh ones" made for the doors. The decal material is changing all the time and getting better, Something to ponder when the time is right LOL

 

[RonG]

Just lovely work there.I have a lot of miles in a triaxle dump trailer with a Freuhauf tub.32' as I remember pulled by a DM600 Mack.Keep up the good work.Ron G

 

[RCP57]

Just lovely work there.I have a lot of miles in a triaxle dump trailer with a Freuhauf tub.32' as I remember pulled by a DM600 Mack.Keep up the good work.Ron G

Thanks!

 

[Blk prince]

RCP57,well Reg I am very impressed. The whole unit is awesome. Well done

 

[camptramp]

RCP57,well Reg I am very impressed. The whole unit is awesome. Well done

Reg you do unbelievable work , but check with the driver , he might want the shovel on the driver side of the trailer where its handy to get at when he steps out of the truck .

 

[RCP57]

Thanks guys! Al, It doesn't make much sense but that seems to be the place the real trailer manufacturer mounts the shovel because on the drivers side there will be a ladder which leads up to the tarp mechanism. I think it would make more sense to have the shovel on the truck or maybe even the trailer frame. It's seems to me that if the box was up and you needed the shovel it might be a little hard to reach when it's 20 odd feet up.lol

 

[HDmechanic23]

Can anyon shed some light on this abandoned tower? It's
Located in port Neville I believe

 

[loggers son]

wow still guyed up ..... just waiting for the trees to grow again

 

[callingtheshop]

HD 23, that is so cool! There used to be one in the Sayward Valley, a wooden tree, so they're both in the neighbourhood of one another. Does anyone know if the one in Sayward is still standing? I took photos of the Sayward one but the regrowth stopped me from getting any good photos. Probably around the late 80's? Everything was there, even some split firewood for the boiler. And the whistle batteries, the tall cylinder ones with the knurled nuts on top. The crew just walked away from it, everything was there, guylines, butt rigging, chokers, donkey. Everything.

 

[dunwurken]

HD 23, that is so cool! There used to be one in the Sayward Valley, a wooden tree, so they're both in the neighbourhood of one another. Does anyone know if the one in Sayward is still standing? I took photos of the Sayward one but the regrowth stopped me from getting any good photos. Probably around the late 80's? Everything was there, even some split firewood for the boiler. And the whistle batteries, the tall cylinder ones with the knurled nuts on top. The crew just walked away from it, everything was there, guylines, butt rigging, chokers, donkey. Everything.

The first time I walked into the wooden spar on Mt Kusam (1977) there was a tea kettle still sitting on the boiler along with everything you mentioned. I think it was taken down to Glen Duncan's museum at the Cable cafe.
As to the one at Port Neville if I remember correctly in the later 70s there was a major road washout between the beech and the spar. Between the cost of road repair and value of the timber that was left plus the spar the contractor walked away. I recall talk of flying pieces out with a helicopter but I don't think much happened. Probably the bank still owns it. I vaguely remember the guy that looked after the talkie tooters and radioes in Kelsey Bay walked into it to take the radios off it.
The picture looks quite old as I would think the 2nd growth must have about swallowed it up by now. I flew by it in a helicopter in the 90s. We did a couple of laps but weren't able to land anywhere near it.

 

[HDmechanic23]

I'm not sure who exactly owned the harder in the picture but it leaves me wondering why they would just walk way from it forever like that? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[RonG]

It has been said that the road washed out that they would have used for access and it would cost more to fix the road than the equipment was worth.Ron G

 

[Jumbo]

Can anyon shed some light on this abandoned tower? It's
Located in port Neville I believeView attachment 152879

I did not see a shovel, was it abandoned also? In the 70s I would also expect to see a landing cat possibly abandoned also.

 

[Sidney43]

Just guessing, but if there was a landing cat they could have walked it around the washout, maybe a shovel also with a little road building. The tower would need a much more substantial road to get it rescued and cost could have become a major issue. Shame to see that machine just sitting there, but I guess it is essentially worth scrap value these days??

 

[diamondtguy]

Yes its a shame to see it sitting there but Its better than hearing they made a thousand toaster ovens out of it in China.Hopefully the scrappers will never get it and it just stay there and keep a watch over things....

 

[075]

There is 09 and a 500 series American sitting just north of Port Hardy on the mainland ,In a landing with wood piled around it. Been there for years,Looks like they went broke and just walked away

 

[Sidney43]

Just for something to do, I used Google Earth to see if I could find this tower among the second growth timber and had no success. Tried to follow old overgrown logging roads, but there is a lot of country up there and the resolution is not too good. I might have been looking too close to Port Neville, which is not a huge town.