Steam Donkeys in the wild

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Trailboss

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
8
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Location
California
Hello Gentleman

I just joined your forum, my interest lies in old steam logging history. Im a Steam Donkey enthusiast I like to search out old abandoned donkey engines in the wood and document and photograph them. I did a search and have seen there has been some interesting threads started on the subject. Is there any of you familiar with the California back country and might know of any abandoned donkey engines still out in the woods. Most of the original donkeys which were readily accessible had been pulled back in and scraped in the 40s for the WW2. scrape iron drives .Most all others have been stripped down by the steel scrapers.

But amazingly there still are many donkeys engines still sitting on their sleds right were they were abandoned still rigged up hiding in remote areas of the woods all over the Pacific North West, Alaska and BC. Im also always looking for locations of donkey engines that had been extracted out of the woods and that are now on display at public parks and museums

These photos are of a almost fully intact 1916 Willamette Humboldt Yarder abandoned in the Stanislaus NF woods by West Side Lumber Co of Tuolumne, Ca. It was pulled out of the woods in 66 and is currently on display at the old WSLCO MillIMG_8582_edited.jpg IMG_8591_edited.jpg IMG_8612_edited.jpg IMG_8607_edited.jpg IMG_8603_edited.jpg IMG_8587_edited.jpg IMG_8586_edited.jpg ill
 
Buckley WA has a couple, and the Pomeroy steam farm? not sure what they call it, but they have or had a couple that would run once a year at their steam up, one a yarder yarder the other set up to load
Thank you Northmanlogging I know of the operation and have seen many photos of the Donkey demonstrating
 
We found a sled on one of our timber sales recently and named the sale "Steam Donkey" in its honor. The yarder itself was gone, of course. My guess was that they built a new sled on-site and transferred the hardware before moving it.
Yes its alway cool to find an abandoned sled, usually pretty deteriorated but all the iron rods, bolts and hardware still survive
 
Not being a gentleman, I'm not sure if I should post. There is an old steam donkey fairly near here though.
Slowp how intact is it, share the info show me pics of the old girl and I will show you another wild Donkey in the woods also...lol. Thanks
 
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