Washington Iron Works and thier machines

[HILINE]

Iam trying to find out how good a grapple works with a washington 88 swing yarder, I have heard pros and con about them, if anybody has any information would be appreciated. thanks

Change out the haul back pinions to sprag clutches and you would have one of the fastest yarders out there.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Yes, I for one would love to see much much more of the coolest looking fellerbuncher ever! I remember when Washington first came out with this rig. If I can remember right.....BIG if here....... seems like they were claiming it could work on 70% slopes! I was amazed at the concept and thought man this is way ahead of it's time! I always wondered what happen to this rig, I knew it couldn't have gone too far or we'd have seen more of them. I've often talked of this machine and it's possiblities and people look at you like you're nuts! No way they'd say, it can't be done. 70% ???

So yes, Mr. Grapple, I would really enjoy seeing much much more of this truly unique machine! I love some of the things that people can come up with to solve (hopefully) the next set of problems......

Put it this way, if Washington Iron Works built it for logging, I want to see it!

YES.... YES... YES!!

All of my personal pictures and experience are involving the later Allied machines- I'll have to scan them as I was using 35mm 800 speed in those days. Allied sold the last machine (I believe it was #11) at auction new and unused with a big Rotosaw, and the buyer was toying with the idea of installing a 624 Waratah on it. We pulled it into the Madill shops a Kalama and did some investigative digging into the hydraulics and I even shot some cool pics inside and apart.

We determined we could do it, but the customer nearly had a stroke when he saw the estimate so that project was over right then.

Those machines would go literally anywhere, and more than once I was in the cab and thought I was certainly going to die.
They would auto-level to 70% and after that you could manually override beyond. I've seen an expert operator cut insane ground.

Ken Fallon at Tillamook, Oregon ended up owning all but one the Allied machines eventually (some he aquired new and others used) and Allied put that last new machine in the auction believing Kenny would buy it. He did not (which surprised all of as actually) and another individual picked her up.
Ken was helping with demo/development of the Madill 24" hotsaw at that time and I was around his cutting crews non-stop for about 3 years with a prototype Madill head. It was there that I really got to watch the Allieds and I have lots of film of the Allied and prototype Madill cutting side-by-side with the operators trading between machines. Those Allieds have to be seen in action to be believed! No buncher built today will cut ground that rough.

I'll start putting info together for you guys on these monsters.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Allied ATH at Day's End.

Allied ATH resting at the end of the day. Picture taken in 2004 near Grand Ronde, Oregon as the operator was changing teeth on the big 30" Rotosaw.
For size reference see the Playmate cooler sitting in the sawhead mouth. Late-style boom design also clearly visible here.
I had scanned this picture a few months ago for another project and had it handy to post.

 

[oregon96pd]

I would love to see more of these...especially if most were run in Oregon, i grew up in willamina so i like looking at pictures of equipment in that area.

 

[Redwood Climber]

Washington Feller Buncher

Wow!! was I way off on the gradeability of this machine. 150% is tough ground to climb on let alone manuvring a 70,000lb machine! Unbelieveable......and that was 20 some years ago!! Must have been something of a controlled slide!!



We know that Washington folded, but the feller buncher went on under the Allied name. So what was the demise of this beauty? I would guess that it was an expensive machine to purchase, but wow what capabilities!

On to the machine, did she articulate for turning? I'm guessing hydraulic drive on the tracks? What did she have for power and how many pumps did she have? How did they hold up under severe use? How was she on fuel? how much $ were they back then?

Much much more info is needed here........

 

[Vigilant]

My guess for power: 4-71, or perhaps a 6V-53. I would imagine it was some form of a 2-cycle Detroit back then.

 

[lg junior]

I forgot I had this. My brother found this carriage still hanging on the skyline about 30 years ago.

 

[lg junior]

I

Wow!! was I way off on the gradeability of this machine. 150% is tough ground to climb on let alone manuvring a 70,000lb machine! Unbelieveable......and that was 20 some years ago!! Must have been something of a controlled slide!!



We know that Washington folded, but the feller buncher went on under the Allied name. So what was the demise of this beauty? I would guess that it was an expensive machine to purchase, but wow what capabilities!

On to the machine, did she articulate for turning? I'm guessing hydraulic drive on the tracks? What did she have for power and how many pumps did she have? How did they hold up under severe use? How was she on fuel? how much $ were they back then?

Much much more info is needed here........

I talked with a buncher operator this week about the Washington. He said they were very impressive but a huge pain to move. He thought they never took off because they needed to be dismantled to be moved.

 

[Redwood Climber]

Washington / Allied Feller Buncher.........thread

Washington Iron Works pioneered many, many machines for the timber industry. They built multiple-drum logging engines (steam-powered machines) as early as 1890, and between 1910 and 1920 built gasoline-powered logging trucks for work around Seattle. They built blocks and rigging and even designed an built a geared locomotive (similar to a Shay or Willamette). They built giant steel tower-skidders in the 1930's (Similar to the Lidgerwoods) and big electric yarding engines for Long-Bell and Weyerhaeuser- rail mounted monsters they were.

In the 1960's Washington developed hydraulics and though primitive the Washington TL-5H was one of the very first purpose-built hydraulic log loaders ever put into regular production.

The 1980's were a time of great turmoil in the timber industry, but Washington Iron Works pushed forward with this big, tilting all-terrain buncher anyway. I was lucky to know a few men on the design team and this thing was way, way ahead of it's time indeed. Only 2 were built under the Washington brand, and the company was completely bankrupt by 1986.

After the bankruptcy the plans and rights for this buncher were purchase by Allied of Portland, Oregon and more machines were built under the Allied name. The last one built was donated to the Camp 18 museum recently and can be seen there today. All the other (and older) machines have been scrapped, so it is the last one in existence.

I have been lucky enough to spend some time around these (Allied) machines, and have run them on several different occasions. I have enough pics for a dedicated thread if you guys are interested enough?

Here's the second Washington machine on display at the OLC Eugene Log Show in the mid 1980's.

Well, Mr. Grapple, I have been on sitting on the edge of my seat........checking the forum every day just hoping that you might find the time to help a feller out. See I NEED to see that long ago promised ( Feb. 5, 2012) thread on the coolest feller buncher ever made. Over twenty years ago I first saw one and I immediately knew that this was the most futuristic machine on the planet........it could have been on Star Wars!! So I guess I'll just go back to sitting on the edge of my seat and wait....Wait....WAIT!!! I hate waiting.......So if you could find the time in your busy schedule and help an iron addict out, it would be way cool.

 

[Ben Baker]

i was wandering if by any chance u could make me a 1/50th scale yarder like a 737? and if so how much would it cost to do so?

 

[Scott S]

I talked with a buncher operator this week about the Washington. He said they were very impressive but a huge pain to move. He thought they never took off because they needed to be dismantled to be moved.

We were following one of Fallon's on a lowboy travelling hwy 26 heading for the coast when the cab hit a overpass, bits and pieces went flying...

 

[skadill]

Washington Trakloader Super Snorkel

Took this along the Coquihalla Highway 20 years ago while building some log road up there.This was around 20km up the hwy past Hope.Think it was owned by Archie MacLean from Hope,B.C. It was clearing the Coquihalla river of a build up of logs from a massive flood that fall season.There a Thunderbird hydraulic loader heel and grapple can be just seen at the right corner,didnt photo it though unfortunately.Time does move quickly. http://youtube.com/user/skadill

 

[075]

Took this along the Coquihalla Highway 20 years ago while building some log road up there.This was around 20km up the hwy past Hope.Think it was owned by Archie MacLean from Hope,B.C. It was clearing the Coquihalla river of a build up of logs from a massive flood that fall season.There a Thunderbird hydraulic loader heel and grapple can be just seen at the right corner,didnt photo it though unfortunately.Time does move quickly. http://youtube.com/user/skadill

Hey Rusty Grapple!! that looks like it might be TL15 more than a TL6 what do you think. Never did see a Tl with a very long snorkel on it, so that is very neat to see that.Good picture skadill.

 

[Rusty Grapple]

Hey Rusty Grapple!! that looks like it might be TL15 more than a TL6 what do you think. Never did see a Tl with a very long snorkel on it, so that is very neat to see that.Good picture skadill.

What a great picture! I can't tell what it is, but the first thing I noticed was the boom- doesn't look like the usual Washington heel boom. I wonder if Washington designed the boom differently for the super-snorkel, or if it's an aftermarket boom of some kind. It looks alot like a TL-6 but the cab looks off somehow and the side window is really small too. Is it on rubber, and if so which carrier I wonder? There were 4 different carrier styles.

I saw a TL-6 on rubber with a long snorkel in BC recently (a picture on Facebook taken in BC someplace) but wasn't a super-snorkel like this.

As usual Skadill comes out with another treasure!

 

[skadill]

What a great picture! I can't tell what it is, but the first thing I noticed was the boom- doesn't look like the usual Washington heel boom. I wonder if Washington designed the boom differently for the super-snorkel, or if it's an aftermarket boom of some kind. It looks alot like a TL-6 but the cab looks off somehow and the side window is really small too. Is it on rubber, and if so which carrier I wonder? There were 4 different carrier styles.

I saw a TL-6 on rubber with a long snorkel in BC recently (a picture on Facebook taken in BC someplace) but wasn't a super-snorkel like this.

As usual Skadill comes out with another treasure!

It was on a rubber tired carrier,buts that my extent of info.

 

[Redwood Climber]

Washington Trackloaders

Mr. Bushman1....or anyone else with knowledge. Do you know what happened to the two old Washington Trakloaders that Arcata Redwood had? They were both there when I left Klamath. One was mostly original. It was bought new in 1950 or '51. They loaded with it for years then started yarding logs with it. It was my introduction to cable logging. It still had the old 220 Cummins and the heel boom. The grapple riser was removed & it just had the big tommy moore sheave. It was also on tracks.

The other one was highly modified i'm guessing by Myrmo & Sons, though I don't know for sure. It had a 40' lattice boom, they added a skyline drum and it had two guyline drums. It was mounted on a three axle self propelled carrier, duals all the way around. Rear axles were chain driven. It had a 671 jimmy that sounded so cool down in the hole....when she was pulling her guts out it sounded like a can of mad bees....

These were the first two machines I ever tended hook on, they were definetely a learning experience. It was not brute power but finesse that got the logs to the landing. You had to learn to have detached curiosity to solve all the problems and hang ups...you had to look at the problem..whatever it was...from the outside. Otherwise it would drive you crazy, anything that could go wrong went wrong!! I loved these two machines, I'm sure they were scrapped, just wondering if you or anyone knew.. thanks....

 

[bushman1]

Mr. Bushman1....or anyone else with knowledge. Do you know what happened to the two old Washington Trakloaders that Arcata Redwood had? They were both there when I left Klamath. One was mostly original. It was bought new in 1950 or '51. They loaded with it for years then started yarding logs with it. It was my introduction to cable logging. It still had the old 220 Cummins and the heel boom. The grapple riser was removed & it just had the big tommy moore sheave. It was also on tracks.

The other one was highly modified i'm guessing by Myrmo & Sons, though I don't know for sure. It had a 40' lattice boom, they added a skyline drum and it had two guyline drums. It was mounted on a three axle self propelled carrier, duals all the way around. Rear axles were chain driven. It had a 671 jimmy that sounded so cool down in the hole....when she was pulling her guts out it sounded like a can of mad bees....

These were the first two machines I ever tended hook on, they were definetely a learning experience. It was not brute power but finesse that got the logs to the landing. You had to learn to have detached curiosity to solve all the problems and hang ups...you had to look at the problem..whatever it was...from the outside. Otherwise it would drive you crazy, anything that could go wrong went wrong!! I loved these two machines, I'm sure they were scrapped, just wondering if you or anyone knew.. thanks....

funny stuff about that motor screaming sounded like it was pulling the world apart but you could walk faster than that log was moving.oldest one was bought in 53 i have a washington catalog with it in it mounted on pedestal at old mill before they put under carriage on it.weird i just spoke to mr. miller and he is sending me a bunch of pics. of that era thats one of them.it was scrapped years ago. the other one was done by henry bastian(skyline drum,)both were sold by him first one as W.I.W.salesman cant recall what happened to it but will find out.

 

[SPMiller]

Because teasing is good.

 

[trakloader]

Hey Rusty Grapple!! that looks like it might be TL15 more than a TL6 what do you think. Never did see a Tl with a very long snorkel on it, so that is very neat to see that.Good picture skadill.

Kinda hard to tell, but it almost looks like they put in a bigger rad or something, maybe it has a bigger engine? They also added extra counterweight of course! I think it is a TL-6 though, it looks a bit small to be a TL-15. Never seen one with a super snorkel before! Also notice that it has the American boom, and no guarding, so it must have been brought up from the States.

 

[075]

Kinda hard to tell, but it almost looks like they put in a bigger rad or something, maybe it has a bigger engine? They also added extra counterweight of course! I think it is a TL-6 though, it looks a bit small to be a TL-15. Never seen one with a super snorkel before! Also notice that it has the American boom, and no guarding, so it must have been brought up from the States.

I just imagine what it was like to swing it around with jacks up. Your butt would be bunching up the seat cushion real quick.