Large Scale Central

Long Bell Logging Video

Videos
#1

Here is a nice video of logging on the Long Bell Rail Road I ran across on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aWszU7S4Ug

Stephen Cutting found this in a dump and had this to say:

“Weed & Tenant - last of the steam railroad days - rescued from Black Butte Dump years back from a Video Cassette and converted to digital. Shows logging train leaving Weed to Tenant, rail construction, cutting trees with electric chainsaw, taking logs via tracked arch behind a bulldozer to landing, loading with McGriffert loader, and hauling to Tenant, some camp scenes including meal, train of logs heading to the Long-Bell Sawmill in Weed California. There is NO SOUND, as it was originally recorded with a 16mm camera.The years and seasons are unknown. It is understood the company photographer died and the family took all his films to the dump. Had I known that those reels of 16mm film contained the information they did, I would have grabbed them too but it was too late when I discovered what was there and the landfill bulldozer had buried them that night.”

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I found this to be interesting review of a hard working logging outfit.

Doc Tom

#2

Tom,

thanks for sharing. this has to be one of the best (content wise) late day logging video’s. you often see pictures of things like track laying machines and log loaders, great to see them in action.

Al P.

#3

Tom, That was great. thank you

#4

Great video Tom, thanks for sharing.

#5

Tom,

outstanding find, I wasn’t aware of the existence of this film. Weed is just up the highway and I have been to Tenant many times walking old grades. In fact I have 15-20 old snapshots of the LB equipment at Tenant,early 1950’s, mostly locos obviously.

That is just outstanding footage of the cats/arches delivering the logs to the landing so the McGiffert can load the flat cars. Watching this makes one wonder how any of those choker setters lived to work another day.

As for the date of the film my guess would be early 1950’s, possibly very late 1940’s. Abner Weed founded Weed Lumber Company and the town of Weed in 1900 and it was a very successful operation but by 1904 Long Bell Lumber out of Washington started buying up company stock. By 1920 Long Bell owned a majority and took over full control and ownership in 1923 and the name was changed to Long Bell Lumber CO. Weed Division. The camp of Tenant was established in 1920 by Long Bell and became the base of their rail operations lasting until 1956 when all rail operations were shut down and everything was turned over to the trucks, yuck!!!

Anyway thanks for posting this I will share it with all the local guys.

Rick

#6

Rick Marty said:

Tom,

That is just outstanding footage of the cats/arches delivering the logs to the landing so the McGiffert can load the flat cars. Watching this makes one wonder how any of those choker setters lived to work another day.

As for the date of the film my guess would be early 1950’s, possibly very late 1940’s.

Anyway thanks for posting this I will share it with all the local guys.

Rick

Hi Rick,

I am glad you liked this film. Thank you also for dating the film by your very good knowledge of the history of Long Bell.

I too was amazed by all the heavy logs flying around with all the cables etc. Very hard and as you noted very dangerous work.

It does look like the crews ate well. Even appears the cook house had a wait staff.

Thanks for looking and sharing this film with your fellow train/logging nuts.

Doc Tom

#7

Tom - Thanks for the find. I enjoyed it.

Rick - Thanks for the history lesson! Now I know how the arches were used. Much different then I imagined.

#8

In looking at this thread again this morning it dawned on me that Tennant was misspelled. I didn’t catch it last night just used it, I guess old guys shouldn’t be allowed to stay up so late.

The camp was named for J. D. Tennant, Vice President of Long-Bell and General Manager of Western Operations.There we got that fixed.

John,

What you saw was one type of operation using arches. Remember this was very late in their development when they were extremely versatile and robust. The Cats also had been developing and becoming more powerful for the last 25-30 years, then factor in the somewhat small size of the logs and you have the footage you saw.

Try to imagine that cat and arch hooking up to 2-3 ten foot diameter Redwoods Or Doug Firs and flipping them around like that, not gonna happen.

Great film footage, sent it out to several local historians and so far nobody was familiar with it.

Later

Rick

#9

My favorite part of the country.

thank you for sharing.

#10

Well this thread goaded me into getting off my duff and digging out those Long-Bell pictures I mentioned having. I scanned three of them that are something a little more than Locomotive portraits. Hope you enjoy them.

Locomotive #100 switching log cars to be loaded by the McGiffert steam loader at Hilltop.

Locomotive #100 working the yards at Tennant, CA.

The yards at Tennant are pretty quiet during the winter but get very busy in the spring through fall. Log trains are made up here and taken the 5 miles to Leaf over Long-Bell’s own lines, they are handed off there to a Southern Pacific loco and crew for the 25 mile run down the Cascade Line to the mill at Weed, CA.

Posting these pictures made me remember that I have one posted over on the Baldwin Logging Mallet forum here is a link to the Long-Bell #1001 if your interested.

http://loggingmallets.railfan.net/list/lb1001/lb1001.htm

Rick