Post by Muleskinner on Nov 20, 2011 20:54:31 GMT -8
I thought Iwould post a few of the diagrams and drawings and a few pictures of the pieces of the real Lidgerwood, to prepare you for the posting I will be making of the Model Lidgerwood which I am finishing up. I hope these pictures are up to snuff to where you can see them, if not let me know and I will try and adjust them.
The following drawing is the basic unit which I built my Lidgerwood off of, using the provided measurements, of the drawing and a whole lot of pictures of the real thing at Camp 6 in Washington, State
This image shows a diagram of the first WISCO (Willamette Industrial Steel Company) unit built in Oregon and was the biggest monster of them all. In fact it was a little to big in 1/25th scale, to construct in the space I have to work in.
These two drawings show the basic rigging for High Lead and Skyline logging used in conjunction with steam donkeys right on up to the Lidgerwood. In the second picture if you replace the closest spar tree illustrated with the mast of the Lidgerwood, you would have the basic rigging for Skyline drop carriage rigging.
This image shows the standard friction choker brake used on the drum systems of steam driven winching system They were basically all the same except getting a little bit larger and heavier in build as the equipment grew in size and as the illustration shows they were foot operated most of the time. Took a large logger to stop a drum in this fashion or even strong arm fashion.
This image shows the sight glass and Pressure Gage which also were standard on a lot of steam donkeys and Lidgerwood type equipment and others. An item design actually borrowed from the logging railroads at the time. The sight glass showed the top safe water level of the boiler and the pressure Gage told the hooker how much steam pressure he was building. On some lidgerwoods these items were doubled and another set told the Fireman when to add more fuel and water to the Boiler.
Pressure release Valve and Whistle.
The whistle was the most essential piece in the operation of the steam era. Mounted on the steam unit, it had a Long line which was strung out and down to where the Choker Setters were working in the hole. It was in the hand of what we call a Whistle Punk who's soul purpose on the job was to relay messages to the hook tender on the Lidgerwood or the Donkey Puncher on the steam donkey when it was safe to move a turn or to stop a Any movement and so forth in the form if whistle tones. A good example would be like one toot when the carriage reached its destination in the hole, to stop. Two would indicate that the turn was ready and the choker crew was at a safe distance away from the moving turn. A solid blast would indicate a dangerous situation and to stop immediately. When each one of these signals were given the Hook Tender would reply with the same sound to indicate he understood and as a warning also for the ground section of the lidgerwood crew at the top of the hole.
Pressure release valve. These were used on the boiler itself to thwart any dangerous high pressure which built up in the boiler. There was one located at the boiler crown on the smaller steam donkey and on top of a long pipe which ran from the boiler steam area of the Lidgerwood and up through the Structural housing above the roof about three feet. It was mounted this way because the pressure was so high when it was released if a crew member was standing in the line of fire when it did go off he stood to be cooked and blown completely off the unit he was working. The pressure release unit was also mounted on the bottom of the water section of the boiler and in case of an emergency could be manually operated along with the steam unit, to release the boiler pressure by controlled water relaese in conjunction with the steam but with a minimal steam loss, and less time to get back on line again to normal pressure. But it had to be done with precision because one slip up could mean a major boiler explosion and the loss of a good Lidgerwood crew. This is why there were a lot of Older loggers in the operation position and the most experianced. From what I have researched a lot of the early operators came from the railroad becuase of their knowledge of working on the lokies. A lot of the early logging companies actually prefered to hire retired railroad engineers and fireman for the job of running the lidgerwoods.
This image is self explanatory because the old book I took them out was from the original manufacturer, was pretty explicit.
The following drawing is the basic unit which I built my Lidgerwood off of, using the provided measurements, of the drawing and a whole lot of pictures of the real thing at Camp 6 in Washington, State
This image shows a diagram of the first WISCO (Willamette Industrial Steel Company) unit built in Oregon and was the biggest monster of them all. In fact it was a little to big in 1/25th scale, to construct in the space I have to work in.
These two drawings show the basic rigging for High Lead and Skyline logging used in conjunction with steam donkeys right on up to the Lidgerwood. In the second picture if you replace the closest spar tree illustrated with the mast of the Lidgerwood, you would have the basic rigging for Skyline drop carriage rigging.
This image shows the standard friction choker brake used on the drum systems of steam driven winching system They were basically all the same except getting a little bit larger and heavier in build as the equipment grew in size and as the illustration shows they were foot operated most of the time. Took a large logger to stop a drum in this fashion or even strong arm fashion.
This image shows the sight glass and Pressure Gage which also were standard on a lot of steam donkeys and Lidgerwood type equipment and others. An item design actually borrowed from the logging railroads at the time. The sight glass showed the top safe water level of the boiler and the pressure Gage told the hooker how much steam pressure he was building. On some lidgerwoods these items were doubled and another set told the Fireman when to add more fuel and water to the Boiler.
Pressure release Valve and Whistle.
The whistle was the most essential piece in the operation of the steam era. Mounted on the steam unit, it had a Long line which was strung out and down to where the Choker Setters were working in the hole. It was in the hand of what we call a Whistle Punk who's soul purpose on the job was to relay messages to the hook tender on the Lidgerwood or the Donkey Puncher on the steam donkey when it was safe to move a turn or to stop a Any movement and so forth in the form if whistle tones. A good example would be like one toot when the carriage reached its destination in the hole, to stop. Two would indicate that the turn was ready and the choker crew was at a safe distance away from the moving turn. A solid blast would indicate a dangerous situation and to stop immediately. When each one of these signals were given the Hook Tender would reply with the same sound to indicate he understood and as a warning also for the ground section of the lidgerwood crew at the top of the hole.
Pressure release valve. These were used on the boiler itself to thwart any dangerous high pressure which built up in the boiler. There was one located at the boiler crown on the smaller steam donkey and on top of a long pipe which ran from the boiler steam area of the Lidgerwood and up through the Structural housing above the roof about three feet. It was mounted this way because the pressure was so high when it was released if a crew member was standing in the line of fire when it did go off he stood to be cooked and blown completely off the unit he was working. The pressure release unit was also mounted on the bottom of the water section of the boiler and in case of an emergency could be manually operated along with the steam unit, to release the boiler pressure by controlled water relaese in conjunction with the steam but with a minimal steam loss, and less time to get back on line again to normal pressure. But it had to be done with precision because one slip up could mean a major boiler explosion and the loss of a good Lidgerwood crew. This is why there were a lot of Older loggers in the operation position and the most experianced. From what I have researched a lot of the early operators came from the railroad becuase of their knowledge of working on the lokies. A lot of the early logging companies actually prefered to hire retired railroad engineers and fireman for the job of running the lidgerwoods.
This image is self explanatory because the old book I took them out was from the original manufacturer, was pretty explicit.