Steam Logging Operations

Southern Unionist

First Sergeant
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Location
NC
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Civil War veteran Ephraim Shay (1839-1916) was very unhappy with the state of log transportation in mountain areas, shortly after the war. Rubber tired logging trucks didn't exist yet, and conventional railroad technology was incompatible with remote mountain terrain, requiring sharp curves and steep grades. Technical limitations on trains led by 4-4-0 or the more freight-friendly 2-6-0 steam engines restricted them to 5% grades, but economic limitations limited them to something closer to 3%. This made it nearly impossible to log mountain slopes in the Northeast or Southeast and economically deliver those logs to sawmills, except on lower portions of the mountains where logs could be skidded down to rivers.

Shay's answer to this dilemma was the invention of the Shay steam locomotive, around 1877. Made just for logging, the Shay was (and is) able to climb grades of up to 13%, while turning unbelievably sharp curves, at around 4 to 6 miles per hour. As shown above, in a more advanced design than the original, it has three vertical travel steam cylinders on the right side. The crankshaft powers each and every axle on the engine and tender by way of a long, low driveshaft with universal joints and telescoping sections before / after each swiveling wheel truck, with an extremely low gear ratio for high torque. This design allows easy access to all the high maintenance drivetrain components, for inspection, lubrication, and repair. Also note that the coal bin (yes, coal in a logging area, for space conservation and increased range) is built on a frame extension, while the swiveling tender is for water only.

They are amazing to hear. Due to the gear ratio, when they're coasting downhill at a blistering speed of 8, a Shay sounds like a conventional steam engine doing 60!

Shay's invention revolutionized the logging industry in the Reconstruction Era and well beyond, greatly expanding the acreage economically open to logging, all over the eastern states that are not mostly flat, and out west. Thousands of these locomotives were built, and tens of thousands of miles of logging tracks.

No invention is perfect, and the Shay's biggest flaw was its lack of symmetry. To compensate for all that extra weight on the right side, the boiler had to be mounted off center.

DSC03912.JPG


That resulted in a center of momentum and inertia that was higher on the left side than the right, and sloshing water in the boiler also had offcenter effects. As a result, Shays loved to climb over the outside rail on a curve, especially on the right side. Water lubrication of flanges helped somewhat, but didn't cure the problem, especially on low quality tracks that were more or less standard in the logging industry. This led to the invention of two alternate designs.

Before we look at the Climax and the Heisler, we'll look at the rest of the steam logging system and culture in future posts.

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In case you want to see these beauties in operation, the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia operates every summer and fall. Nearest civilized lodging and food is at the Snowshoe ski resort. Cass has the world's largest collection of operating Shays, the only operating Climax, and was working on a Heisler restoration the last time I was there.
 
Note that the Shay shown in my first pic has a two stage air compressor and a large air reservoir on the right side. Logging trains were among the first to receive air brakes, due to the risks of runaway trains in the mountains and the extreme hazards of walking on wet or icy logs to set hand brakes.

Another novel feature of the Shay was the steam siphon, for sucking water out of mountain streams where there was no water tower. Old tenders were sometimes buried near wooden trestles to accumulate water for the siphons where stream flow was low in summer and fall. An old joke claimed that a Shay could drink water faster than a logger could drink beer, but just barely. :D

The most basic log loading operation was to lift logs onto minimalist frame cars using a steam crane, as shown below:

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Most commonly, a temporary siding would be built so that log cars could be positioned beside the crane for loading. When logging was completed in that area, the siding switch and rails would be reused at the next location.

These simple 4-wheel cabooses were used both for logger transportation and for logging train crew use:

DSC03922.JPG


Later on, a more advanced loading technique involved a steam powered car known as a skidder:

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Not shown in this example is a tall metal pole near the left end of the car, secured in all four directions by guy wires attached to large stumps or mature uncut tree trunks. A steel cable extending from the top of this pole in any direction (ideally, uphill) was used as an aerial track for a dolly with a pulley that could provide a hook to lift and move a large log to the vicinity of the skidder, for loading on a train. In some locations, the high cable extended so far from the mast that the log had to be lifted at one end and dragged or "skidded" closer to the train, before it could be fully lifted. As with the crane car, the skidder was typically parked on a temporary siding until logging in that area was completed.

Here is a picture and explanation from that period, showing a skidder with mast:

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Can you imagine living a logger's lifestyle in the late 1800's? Surely, some of the older ones thought back on fond memories of their Civil War camp life, when far less work was expected in winter.

Logs were typically delivered to belt-driven company sawmills, for the lumber to be cut up and shipped east. Belt-driven plants were often sites of gruesome amputations and fatalities. The belts were so dangerous that the US Department of Labor no longer allows historical displays of such operations. Here's the ruins of such a mill, after a fire:

DSC03897.JPG

One of the driveshafts is fully intact. This would have been near ceiling level.
 
Note that the Shay shown in my first pic has a two stage air compressor and a large air reservoir on the right side. Logging trains were among the first to receive air brakes, due to the risks of runaway trains in the mountains and the extreme hazards of walking on wet or icy logs to set hand brakes.

Another novel feature of the Shay was the steam siphon, for sucking water out of mountain streams where there was no water tower. Old tenders were sometimes buried near wooden trestles to accumulate water for the siphons where stream flow was low in summer and fall. An old joke claimed that a Shay could drink water faster than a logger could drink beer, but just barely. :D

The most basic log loading operation was to lift logs onto minimalist frame cars using a steam crane, as shown below:

View attachment 170527

Most commonly, a temporary siding would be built so that log cars could be positioned beside the crane for loading. When logging was completed in that area, the siding switch and rails would be reused at the next location.

These simple 4-wheel cabooses were used both for logger transportation and for logging train crew use:

View attachment 170529

Later on, a more advanced loading technique involved a steam powered car known as a skidder:

View attachment 170530

Not shown in this example is a tall metal pole near the left end of the car, secured in all four directions by guy wires attached to large stumps or mature uncut tree trunks. A steel cable extending from the top of this pole in any direction (ideally, uphill) was used as an aerial track for a dolly with a pulley that could provide a hook to lift and move a large log to the vicinity of the skidder, for loading on a train. In some locations, the high cable extended so far from the mast that the log had to be lifted at one end and dragged or "skidded" closer to the train, before it could be fully lifted. As with the crane car, the skidder was typically parked on a temporary siding until logging in that area was completed.

Here is a picture and explanation from that period, showing a skidder with mast:

View attachment 170533

Can you imagine living a logger's lifestyle in the late 1800's? Surely, some of the older ones thought back on fond memories of their Civil War camp life, when far less work was expected in winter.

Logs were typically delivered to belt-driven company sawmills, for the lumber to be cut up and shipped east. Belt-driven plants were often sites of gruesome amputations and fatalities. The belts were so dangerous that the US Department of Labor no longer allows historical displays of such operations. Here's the ruins of such a mill, after a fire:

View attachment 170534
One of the driveshafts is fully intact. This would have been near ceiling level.
Thanks for all the good photos and information
 
View attachment 170518
Civil War veteran Ephraim Shay (1839-1916) was very unhappy with the state of log transportation in mountain areas, shortly after the war. Rubber tired logging trucks didn't exist yet, and conventional railroad technology was incompatible with remote mountain terrain, requiring sharp curves and steep grades. Technical limitations on trains led by 4-4-0 or the more freight-friendly 2-6-0 steam engines restricted them to 5% grades, but economic limitations limited them to something closer to 3%. This made it nearly impossible to log mountain slopes in the Northeast or Southeast and economically deliver those logs to sawmills, except on lower portions of the mountains where logs could be skidded down to rivers.

Shay's answer to this dilemma was the invention of the Shay steam locomotive, around 1877. Made just for logging, the Shay was (and is) able to climb grades of up to 13%, while turning unbelievably sharp curves, at around 4 to 6 miles per hour. As shown above, in a more advanced design than the original, it has three vertical travel steam cylinders on the right side. The crankshaft powers each and every axle on the engine and tender by way of a long, low driveshaft with universal joints and telescoping sections before / after each swiveling wheel truck, with an extremely low gear ratio for high torque. This design allows easy access to all the high maintenance drivetrain components, for inspection, lubrication, and repair. Also note that the coal bin (yes, coal in a logging area, for space conservation and increased range) is built on a frame extension, while the swiveling tender is for water only.

They are amazing to hear. Due to the gear ratio, when they're coasting downhill at a blistering speed of 8, a Shay sounds like a conventional steam engine doing 60!

Shay's invention revolutionized the logging industry in the Reconstruction Era and well beyond, greatly expanding the acreage economically open to logging, all over the eastern states that are not mostly flat, and out west. Thousands of these locomotives were built, and tens of thousands of miles of logging tracks.

No invention is perfect, and the Shay's biggest flaw was its lack of symmetry. To compensate for all that extra weight on the right side, the boiler had to be mounted off center.

View attachment 170519

That resulted in a center of momentum and inertia that was higher on the left side than the right, and sloshing water in the boiler also had offcenter effects. As a result, Shays loved to climb over the outside rail on a curve, especially on the right side. Water lubrication of flanges helped somewhat, but didn't cure the problem, especially on low quality tracks that were more or less standard in the logging industry. This led to the invention of two alternate designs.

Before we look at the Climax and the Heisler, we'll look at the rest of the steam logging system and culture in future posts.

View attachment 170520

In case you want to see these beauties in operation, the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia operates every summer and fall. Nearest civilized lodging and food is at the Snowshoe ski resort. Cass has the world's largest collection of operating Shays, the only operating Climax, and was working on a Heisler restoration the last time I was there.
Douglas, you have a brilliant thread here. Thanks for sharing.
 
The forum is railroads and steam locomotives. A lot of us CW buffs on here have an interst in trains as well including myself. The reason this forum was created and appreciated by quite a few of us.
Technically it is in a forum collection ->The Long Dusty Road<- including post war times. This collection includes
The Ladies Tea,
Hauntings of the Great Rebellion
Four Footed Friends of the Civil War
Post Civil War History, The Reconstruction Period
Foods of the Civil War
"What if..." Discussions​
and therefore is more fun than serious.

If any one wants a serious civil war discussion, the light is always on at the Politics and Secession forum.

That said. No diesels
 
Technically it is in a forum collection ->The Long Dusty Road<- including post war times. This collection includes
The Ladies Tea,
Hauntings of the Great Rebellion
Four Footed Friends of the Civil War
Post Civil War History, The Reconstruction Period
Foods of the Civil War
"What if..." Discussions​
and therefore is more fun than serious.

If any one wants a serious civil war discussion, the light is always on at the Politics and Secession forum.

That said. No diesels
JG, if you're not careful I'm going to give you a big wet kiss on the cheek. :wink:
 
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