Berger Manufacturing- Logging Equipment Built in Seattle

[BCC Tyee]

E mail returned. Thanks a million.

 

[bear claw]

Russ the mechanic?

 

[Redwood Climber]

Berger Mark 6

I've read and viewed this thread numerous times.......compulsive Big yarder freak here....and I've not seen any specs on the Mark 6. I see that there were only 2 built, and that Dahlgrens have both. The skyline is 1&3/4 by what length? And how about line speeds? What size skidding and haulback.......lengths? What is the drum pull on these monstrosities...How much haywire? Size of guylines......I see they are 2 part guylines.

Ok, let's move on....how much does she weigh? I know heavy, but how much. I believe that CL posted that the tower with the guyline drums weigh 65,000 lbs. What's the tube diameter? Is it 110 foot? When moving it over the highway, tower has to come off I'm sure, hoist slid off onto a lowboy, is the carrier then legal weight? It looks real heavy. Jeep? Booster?

I've seen the flying Cats video a number of times.......that is way too cool.

Ok, now let's log with her.....if they run a big Boman carriage, it must have had sheaves built special for the 1&3/4 skyline I would think. I've worked with a Danebo skycar and Danebo slackpulling carriages years ago, but I've never worked with a Boman, they look big. I'll check there website to learn more about line and weight of turn capacities.....

A BU 199 takes most of a day to tear down and move if things go right, even if you pre rig the guylines....how about the Mark 6?
It looks to be much larger than a 199. I'd sure like to see them side by side....I believe the 199 weighed in around 250,000 lbs with all the lines and rigging....tell me about the Mark 6........inquiring minds want to know......

 

[JTL]

Well Climber, here ya go. Shot these pics in Brooks, Oregon last summer. Hope they help!

 

[Redwood Climber]

Thanks JTL........this is perfect!!!

Well Climber, here ya go. Shot these pics in Brooks, Oregon last summer. Hope they help!

Wow!! 800 horses! So I must be mistaken on the weight of the 199, No doubt that the Mark 6R is much heavier. Just the tower is at least half again as heavy. Probably much more.

It has BIG time bare drum pull......wow! And it has good line speed for a machine that big and for that age...I could go on and on.....but I'm drooliing too much..

So a question Mr JTL....this manual, is it possible to view, or is it in a private collection?

Thank you Sir! This is just what a Big yarder spec addict needed. Thanks again...this is so cool..........but I'm going to be late......

 

[JTL]

You're welcome! I saw one of Dahlgrens M6's all tore apart for transport a few years ago. Quite the machine, and I didn't have a camera other than my cell phone on me. So no pictures worth a squirt!ointhead

The manual was in a big binder, along with a bunch of other brosures for Berger, Washington, Madill, etc at The Pacific Northwest Logging Museum in Brooks, Oregon. I don't know if a private party owns it and was just displaying it there, or if the Museum ows it.

 

[log big]

the M6 is bigger then the 217 washington maybe the same weight?

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Wow!! 800 horses! So I must be mistaken on the weight of the 199, No doubt that the Mark 6R is much heavier. Just the tower is at least half again as heavy. Probably much more.

It has BIG time bare drum pull......wow! And it has good line speed for a machine that big and for that age...I could go on and on.....but I'm drooliing too much..

So a question Mr JTL....this manual, is it possible to view, or is it in a private collection?

Thank you Sir! This is just what a Big yarder spec addict needed. Thanks again...this is so cool..........but I'm going to be late......

I've added some of my Berger pictures and literature to a gallery at PBase- http://www.pbase.com/rustygrapple/berger_yarders

I have a long way to go, but slowly getting there.

 

[lg junior]

I really like the Berger yarders, probably because they were the first real machines that I worked around. The M2 had oil-bath gears, (no tacky lube) it ran really smooth and quiet. It also had a Gearmatic transmission and sat on a flat-top trailer with airplane tires. I'd been to the top of the 110 foot tube once looking for a bad bearing, wouldn't even think about doing that today. Worked around bigger ones and even the 25Y but the M2 was simple and efficient,back when things were not as complicated.

 

[JTL]

Looky what I found today!

 

[JeremyM70]

Dahlgrens Marc6? Very nice! Didn't get to see either of them when I was up with them last year.

 

[JTL]

Yup! I'm working in Port Angeles now and went for a drive out west today to have a look around. This one was sitting across the road from their shop.

 

[JeremyM70]

If you get out there again you should stop in and say hi to John and Pete, they are great guys! Tell them Jeremy says hi, I hope to make it out again this year sometime. Still trying to get down south to see a BU99 in operation down near Cottage Grove too.

 

[Easy Money]

Ok, I'm looking at it and it doesn't look like a north bend system. It looks to me like the haulback is hooked to the back of the carriage. Am I seeing things? Not sure what you would call it.
It seems I remember this or some tower similar having a write up in Loggers World once with a picture of that tall tower you mentioned. Maybe a different one although you wouldn't think there would be too many like it.

There was an out fit called Skycar Log had one of them skyline drum machines around here but a little different. I thought it was homemade, maybe not. They had a skagit, banjo top tower to skid with. I think I remember it being a BU80 but they went out along way with small lines on the skidding machine. 6000' one setting.

I noticed the oddity with the North Bend rig up, too, with the haulback attached to the back of the carriage. Then it dawned on me, if this was an interlock yarder, the turn would be locked in position at the carriage by the interlock system and there would be no need for the haulback brake to hold the turn up in the air.

 

[lg junior]

Here is how I remember the northbend setup!

 

[Easy Money]

OK, this thread has become slow so I will be adding alot of material to it over the next weeks again I suppose.

So this yarder was one-of-a-kind built for a specific job, for Summit Timber (G&D Logging) out of Darrington WA. to log in the North Cascades.
It worked and worked well.

The mobile skyline drum was built by Washington Iron Works to be used with a Model 408 Skyflyer which is very similar to this. It is anchored by deadmen at the rear and has its own tie-back drums. Seems to me it held close to 7,000' of 2" skyline. At least 2 of these were built. See pic 1.

The main yarder was Berger built and held huge capacities of big line, but the specifics escape me. Had big big water brakes on it too- note the size of the radiator there. 5th wheel dollies under both ends to move from either direction. See pic 2.

Next we have the small Berger 125' banjo-head tower, free standing, which is the smaller tower of 2 towers for this, depending on need and job. The also built a 217' (yes, two-hundred seventeen foot, I said) tower for this rig which I have seen, but never seen standing. I'll post pics of that when I can find them. Anyway, pics of small tower, see 3rd and 4th.

That is a big turn of logs there, old growth yellow fir wood.

Mike Walch of Ranier Rigging owns this setup along with around 70 other yarders, many are just as impressive as this. He owns the 'Ranier Skyline Excavator' rigs worldwide for dreging, etc and does very well with all things yarder. He actually bought the last Berger built- a 1989 M2A, self-propelled, brand new out of the Oregon logging show and has never even put line on the drums. Just for a collector I guess, lol.

Anyway enjoy the pics and tell Mike I said hello if you run into him. He never answers the phone........

.....

 

[Easy Money]

Here is how I remember the northbend setup!

Oops, my last post I tried to quote the pic of the skyline rigging on page 3 of this thread, but all I got was the text. Anyways, the North Bend setup you show in your diagram is how we did it, too. As you know, if you went ahead on the skidding line and kept a brake on the haulback, the fall block and turn would be tightlined to the carriage.

However, in the photo, the skidding line passes through a lead block at the front of the carriage, through the fall block, anchors to the carriage in the normal fashion but, instead of the butt rigging and haulback attaching to the fall block, there appears to only be a group of chokers attached to the fall block and the haulback is attached to the back of the carriage. What keeps the fall block and turn up to the carriage while the turn is going in? I theorized it was an interlock yarder and the synchronization between haulback and skidding line did the trick.

I did notice it would not be possible to sideblock with this setup as you would with the North Bend setup.

Can anyone explain the setup on page 3?

 

[furpo]

That looks like a veriation on the Lidgerwood system. I think they would lower the skyline to the turn to be hooked, hook the turn then raise the skyline. Tension is held on the tailrope (haulback) to lift the turn from the ground. I have done something similar when shotgunning and it allows a larger turn to be pulled without having to use a lot of power to raise the skyline.

 

[Redwood Climber]

Big Berger....Big Logs!!

It's been a while since I've seen it used, but isn't that a south bend logging system? Someone out there knows....

And how about the size of wood in that HUGE turn! Good job boys!

 

[furpo]

south bend is similar but differs to the photo in that the tail rope (haulback) runs to the rigging and not the carrage.