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

[Contract Logger]

WOW. Contract Logger I can hardly keep up with the reading. How are you managing with the writting.

I'll jump on the TY90 band wagon. This machine has come up for sale. I don't know who it belongs to. It is located in Northland, New Zealand. I am sure it will be familar to someone.

I got into my Thunderbird picture box. Haven't even made a dent in that box on this thread yet! I'll still be posting out of it in 5 years.
The TY90 above was built/rebuilt for Mike Plaas at Eatonville Wash in the 90's and I posted some pics of it ahead of you last night. I have a bunch, she was a dandy!

 

[Contract Logger]

Here's an early Thunderbird 838 with 3 Pullmaster 25H yarding drums on it. I'm not sure which one this is, several were set up as 'Yoders' though we never called them that.

 

[Contract Logger]

This TY-90 was sold new to Shirley Laird Logging at Gold Beach Oregon, and when he retired it was purchase by Von Logging at McMinnville Oregon. Von used it for a few years and ran out of work for it. Still logging, just using smaller machines (they had a new Madill 172 and saved the TY-90 for long-span work).

Here it is seen stored in a dry heated shop at Von Logging waiting for a job to come along. I took this pic in 2003. It hadnt worked in a couple years and maybe still hasn't.

 

[Contract Logger]

Thunderbird TY-80 Slackline on Skagit T-90 Trailer, 1990.

Sold to Pacific Lumber and Shipping out of Randle Washington, this yarder was parked at a Weyerhaeuser sort yard at Mineral Lake when I took the pic. Still has the 2-axle booster on it from the highway portion of the move.

Only a few of these TY-80's were built, I think 4 Slackline and 2 highlead machines.

 

[JeremyM70]

Here's a TY-90 on Skagit T-100 Self-Propelled working near Sweet Home, Oregon for G&H Logging in 1996. This machine was owned by Chilton and Preston of Woodland Washington in 2009, and presumably is still there.

Hiked up to this one and got lots of pictures last year working east of Woodland above Lake Merwin.

 

[TorkelH]

Now this is so fantastic, pls take a break a couple of days CL so I can have some sleep at night!

 

[Roadswitcher]

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

I agree JR plus the swivel fairlead is a better option anyway. However my main concern was that on a 6255 SLR the spare sheave under the swivel is grooved 1 1/8" for skyline and thereby would be flattenning the 7/8" haulback.

RS

 

[furpo]

Tmy70 r-7057

Another TMY70 based in NZ.

Sorry about the bad photos. My camera was not playing ball that day.

 

[Roadswitcher]

Re - the reproduction of company hats on Madill thread

I will be interested to see if those reproduction hats are as good as the originals, particularly in the style of the one on the left in the pic - my favourite - it's over twenty years old and clocked up a few miles to boot.

 

[Contract Logger]

No, they arent. They are the 1997/1998 version - black cordouroy with the TB logo in burgundy. This is one of the new ones that was sent to me. I liked the one you show on the right better than any of the others. I only have one of those so I keep it tuckes away......

 

[rockhaul]

When this yarder was new, it was working out of Yachats, Waldport, and up the lobster valley on hwy 34. Logging big, long span, high volume Federal Forest Service sales for Fort Hill lumber and Hampton.

 

[rockhaul]

The Hopkes 90

 

[J&R_INC.]

TSY 155 #s-5117

Here is a photo of her just before we brought her home for the repower and some of the repower in process. As the project goes on I will try to post the progress

 

[J&R_INC.]

Tsy 155 #s-5117

One more

 

[Vigilant]

Couple questions, if y'awl don't mind. First, is Ross Murray any kin to the folks who own Murray Pacific?

Also, my dad worked years ago with a first class gent named Red Moore, who ran the shop at Cosmopolis. Since the name is so similar, I have to wonder if Fred Moore is any kin to him?

From what I recall my dad saying about him, Red Moore was a very gifted man in his own right.

 

[Murrconst]

First it's Murry not Murray and not related
Ross Murry started in the equipment business but Mike Murry, Jim Murry, and Dennis Bottem ran the company from the early 70's to the sale of the company

 

[OSULogger]

Here are a few more pics of that Thunderbird TY-90 Yarder, Washington Iron Works Carrier and Tower. If you dont have many highway moves these were great. Over the highway moving is tough, as the tower has to come off, cab, steer tires are removed and a 5th wheel gooseneck installed to pull the whole works behind a lowbed tractor.

It is fun to see pictures of the old girl. What a beast. With the 90 hoist she had speed and power. One yarder operator pulled a 1-3/8 skyline in two. They were spooling the line onto the drum, needed a little more pull, put er in first gear, and parted the line at the top of the tower. Damn near killed the chaser.
Moving was a real chore as well. With the over sized drive tires we could permit the drive axle up to 52,000 pounds. It was fun to pull into the weigh shack as the axle was 10' wide. The outside tires would be off the platform. Typically it would show the weigh master that it only weighed about 34,000 pounds. They would come out scratching their heads.

Several shows we had out over a mile of skyline. One show up out of Carlton, a military helicopter came down the canyon we were operating in and stopped just short of the skyline. He stayed there for a while. Not sure if he was trying to pick up the skyline on radar, or just there enjoying the logging scene.

 

[dirty4fun]

Glad to see and hear it is getting another lease on life and will be back out in the timber where she belongs. Thanks for the pictures, looking forward to more when she is going back together, and of course the finished product.

 

[Contract Logger]

It is fun to see pictures of the old girl. What a beast. With the 90 hoist she had speed and power. One yarder operator pulled a 1-3/8 skyline in two. They were spooling the line onto the drum, needed a little more pull, put er in first gear, and parted the line at the top of the tower. Damn near killed the chaser.
Moving was a real chore as well. With the over sized drive tires we could permit the drive axle up to 52,000 pounds. It was fun to pull into the weigh shack as the axle was 10' wide. The outside tires would be off the platform. Typically it would show the weigh master that it only weighed about 34,000 pounds. They would come out scratching their heads.

Several shows we had out over a mile of skyline. One show up out of Carlton, a military helicopter came down the canyon we were operating in and stopped just short of the skyline. He stayed there for a while. Not sure if he was trying to pick up the skyline on radar, or just there enjoying the logging scene.

There were 4 of these TY-90's mounted on Washington SP carriers. Wimer got 2, Fred Moore got 1, and Bill Bremmeyer got 1. Bremmeyer's was yellow- and the only TY-90 hoist painted yellow from the factory. it was striped in orange and black just like the others- what would normally be tan was just yellow instead. The orange really popped- wish I could find my pics... It was pulled over at Greenwater and the hoist was pulled off the Washington and put on a Skagit. Bent the frame on the carrier, bent both sections of tube.....

After the re-built the whole works was painted tan- standard TB colors and Skagit T100 SP tower...

 

[JeremyM70]

There were 4 of these TY-90's mounted on Washington SP carriers. Wimer got 2, Fred Moore got 1, and Bill Bremmeyer got 1. Bremmeyer's was yellow- and the only TY-90 hoist painted yellow from the factory. it was striped in orange and black just like the others- what would normally be tan was just yellow instead. The orange really popped- wish I could find my pics... It was pulled over at Greenwater and the hoist was pulled off the Washington and put on a Skagit. Bent the frame on the carrier, bent both sections of tube.....

After the re-built the whole works was painted tan- standard TB colors and Skagit T100 SP tower...

Road trip tomorrow, see if I can make it out to Astoria and see if it's still hanging out at Browning's shop. Maybe a swing through DeBriae to see if anything is in the yard as well If I get really motivated I will head up to Chehalis and visit Ramsey's.