Old Ford truck at work

3

37 truck

Senior Member
In some family archives I found this old Ford truck. Thought it was pulling its weight with that load.
 

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I think that's a '36 and it looks to be working here in the Pacific Northwest. Still had mechanical brakes and we have a lot of steep grades in the mountains and foothills here. Some of the log bunks and trailers were converted to air brakes. If they didn't go that route they at least did a drip water system on the truck's rear drums in an effort to keep them cool. I read an account of a guy on Vancouver Island, last guy to leave down the mountain with his load that night. They had converted to air brakes and the driver wasn't used to them. On the first switchback he hit the brakes hard and the load shifted forward right up against the cab. No steering after that. As told he had an axe and had to chop each log short behind the cab or spend the night on the mountain. . That is a GREAT photo!
 
I would guess that's a Spruce. Perhaps somewhere on the coastal side, near Forks??? The bark doesn't look like Cedar nor Doug Fir. GB, your guess? Nonetheless that is a lot of tree for that truck. SPF weight is calculated at 3lbs/BF for engineering purposes. Take a guess at diameter and length and I'll calculate its approximate weight.
 
tomcarman said:
I would guess that's a Spruce. Perhaps somewhere on the coastal side, near Forks??? The bark doesn't look like Cedar nor Doug Fir. GB, your guess? Nonetheless that is a lot of tree for that truck. SPF weight is calculated at 3lbs/BF for engineering purposes. Take a guess at diameter and length and I'll calculate its approximate weight.
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I'd say 35 feet long by 6 feet diameter?
 
PeteVS said:
I'd say 35 feet long by 6 feet diameter?
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Using those dimensions that works out to somewhere between 35 and 36 thousand lbs, or between 17 and 18 tons. If that is a Spruce of that size it could have been anywhere between SW Wa on up into Alaska. I'm sure Steinway pianos or Martin guitars would have been interested.
 
That picture would have been taken around Preston Washington in about 1936. The loggers would chop the trees down standing on spring boards several feet off the ground. Whip saws were then used to cut to length. This photo is my father and grandfather falling a big one.
 

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37 truck said:
That picture would have been taken around Preston Washington in about 1936. The loggers would chop the trees down standing on spring boards several feet off the ground. Whip saws where then used to cut to length. This photo is my father and grandfather falling a big one.
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That fits the description of location. Some of the biggest trees in the world grow in that zone, namely Spruce, Douglas fir and Cedar. When I was in High school Dad had a rattle trap '59 Ford shortbed pickup I used to pile a bunch of friends in and go out in the Willapa hills near that area to fish in the fresh mountain streams. There are still many stumps left with springboard holes that are quite literally large enough to park a car on. The tree pictured appears to be DF. Note the difference in the bark vs the one on the log truck. As far as the old '59 Ford it always brought us home. Until my brother got his license. "Dad, we were out fishing and I swerved to avoid a deer and ran into a tree. The grill is caved in and the radiator broke". Dad went out to get it and not surprisingly noticed all the donut marks on the logging road. He towed it home, took the radiator out, threw a chain around the grill and hooked it to the car and pulled the grill out. Put a new radiator in and we were good to go. I'd forgotten that but I bet my brother hasn't! LOL
 
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cas3 said:
i do not recommend arm wrestling with those guys
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Probably not a good idea. Despite the myth of the giant Paul Bunyan most loggers of that era were of short stocky brick outhouse stature. In those days loggers stayed in a camp and worked from sun up to sun down. Logging was primarily done in the winter months when the sap didn't flow. Imagine swinging an axe all day and/or using the crosscut saw, AKA misery whip all day, every day. Arms of steel and a head to match, HaHa!
 
37 truck said:
That picture would have been taken around Preston Washington in about 1936. The loggers would chop the trees down standing on spring boards several feet off the ground. Whip saws were then used to cut to length. This photo is my father and grandfather falling a big one.
Click to expand...
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GB SISSON said:
I think that's a '36 and it looks to be working here in the Pacific Northwest. Still had mechanical brakes and we have a lot of steep grades in the mountains and foothills here. Some of the log bunks and trailers were converted to air brakes. If they didn't go that route they at least did a drip water system on the truck's rear drums in an effort to keep them cool. I read an account of a guy on Vancouver Island, last guy to leave down the mountain with his load that night. They had converted to air brakes and the driver wasn't used to them. On the first switchback he hit the brakes hard and the load shifted forward right up against the cab. No steering after that. As told he had an axe and had to chop each log short behind the cab or spend the night on the mountain. . That is a GREAT photo!
Click to expand...

My uncle told of how some logging outfits were stingy about maintaining the trucks. Whatever it took to keep them running up to the cutting side but no so much about safety coming down the mountain. He had brakes fail a couple times and could only save his life by cranking the wheel into the mountainside, kind of like carving your own escape ramp. If you did it right, damage to the truck was minimized and the load was still in the bunks. You were lucky twice if you didn't get fired.
 
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