Tracks in the Forest: The Evolution of Logging Equipment

Rating:
Summary: TRACKS IN THE FOREST - The Evolution of Logging Machinery
Review: Of Logger's Dreams and Walking Machines: The adventure of men and machines in the forest.

This detailed historical account of the evolution of mechanized logging equipment describes how a special breed of inventive people, in various parts of the world, designed and built the tools needed to haul timber from the forest...

As a professional logger I thought this would be interested reading but I was surprised to find it surpassed interesting and quickly moved up a notch to fascinating. The book is extremely well thought out, following the chronology and evolution of logging equipment for the last 100 years, and even slightly into the future. In addition to superb photos and a wealth of technical information and details, the book is heavily annotated with sidebars from interviews of many of the people who were responsible for the great leaps in evolution of logging equipment. Stories of sketches drawn on napkins in smokey bar rooms by men with names like Prentice, Pettibone, McCullogh and others...

Like the Wide World of Sports, this chronicle covers the Agony of Defeat as well as the great success stories. A logger returns from a test outing with a prototype machine in the early 50's and tells the design engineer: "If I were you sir, I wouldn't show this to anyone!"

Not only does the history of logging equipment and machinery take you back in time, but the true history of logging evolves along with the accounts of the men and the machines. I'll leave you with a short anecdote from page 29, just to give you a taste of the historical interest and true logging stories...

" My father tells of one time when he was offered a job by a chap he always described as 'the white Frenchman', and handlogger of some renown. When they were about start out to work the first morning, they were going to try to free some logs which were stuck in the mud, my father was asked if he had a rope for his axe. He was told that he needed a rope for the axe because when the log was cut off and started to run he would probably fall into the water and they could not afford to lose the axe. Needless to say, my father did not take the job."

And by the way, if you want to know the meaning of the subtitle "Of Loggers' Dreams and Walking Machines", well... you're going have to get the book, because I'm not going to tell you here.END

Rating:
Summary: TRACKS IN THE FOREST - The Evolution of Logging Machinery
Review: Of Logger's Dreams and Walking Machines: The adventure of men and machines in the forest.

This detailed historical account of the evolution of mechanized logging equipment describes how a special breed of inventive people, in various parts of the world, designed and built the tools needed to haul timber from the forest...

As a professional logger I thought this would be interested reading but I was surprised to find it surpassed interesting and quickly moved up a notch to fascinating. The book is extremely well thought out, following the chronology and evolution of logging equipment for the last 100 years, and even slightly into the future. In addition to superb photos and a wealth of technical information and details, the book is heavily annotated with sidebars from interviews of many of the people who were responsible for the great leaps in evolution of logging equipment. Stories of sketches drawn on napkins in smokey bar rooms by men with names like Prentice, Pettibone, McCullogh and others...

Like the Wide World of Sports, this chronicle covers the Agony of Defeat as well as the great success stories. A logger returns from a test outing with a prototype machine in the early 50's and tells the design engineer: "If I were you sir, I wouldn't show this to anyone!"

Not only does the history of logging equipment and machinery take you back in time, but the true history of logging evolves along with the accounts of the men and the machines. I'll leave you with a short anecdote from page 29, just to give you a taste of the historical interest and true logging stories...

" My father tells of one time when he was offered a job by a chap he always described as 'the white Frenchman', and handlogger of some renown. When they were about start out to work the first morning, they were going to try to free some logs which were stuck in the mud, my father was asked if he had a rope for his axe. He was told that he needed a rope for the axe because when the log was cut off and started to run he would probably fall into the water and they could not afford to lose the axe. Needless to say, my father did not take the job."

And by the way, if you want to know the meaning of the subtitle "Of Loggers' Dreams and Walking Machines", well... you're going have to get the book, because I'm not going to tell you here.END