x. The Introduction of Crawler Tractors to the Logging Industry

Special Features
The Introduction of Crawler
Tractors to the Logging Industry
40,000 acres at Kretam between November 1949 and March
pronounced it suitable and 3 Caterpillar D8s were ordered and
eventually delivered in November 1950. Karen and Pakistani
operators were brought in from Burma prior to their arrival 1.
The use of tracked bulldozers in logging operations was
not exactly new technology. The first steam powered track
layer appeared during the Crimean War in 1854, but its
real development in logging started in America with the Holt
Tractor Company in 1908. By the time that Holt and C.L.
Best merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company in
1925, tracked logging tractors were well distributed in North
American logging operations. The success of the Caterpillar
Tractor Company from 1925 and through World War II (and of
course until this day) made the trade name “Cat” synonymous
with tracklaying tractors of any manufacturer. Both the new
and the old logging companies in North Borneo had by this
time seen the effectiveness of bulldozers in wartime and post
war reconstruction so the choice was obvious—or it should
have
been.
Plate 1. Kuda - Kuda. Hand extraction prevailed from the 1880s until the
The Caterpillar D8s shipped to Kretam were equipped
introduction of tractors. Photo B.C. Allen. 1951
with Hyster winches and Caterpillar hydraulic, angle bulldozer
blades. (Plate 2) The engines were naturally aspirated,
fter the steam yarders were finally abandoned in 1934
6 cylinder Caterpillar diesels with a bore of 53⁄4 ins. and a
no further attempts were made to mechanise and the
stroke of 8 ins. which developed 148 HP. The engines were
industry, which was almost entirely controlled by the British
started using a hand cranked auxiliary gasoline engine. The
Borneo Timber Company (BBT), continued to rely on kudaCaterpillar D8 of 1950 had a manual 5 speed transmission
kuda (Plate 1) and light rail with some diesel and steam
with an oil bath clutch, and complete with winch and bulldozer
locomotives until the Japanese occupation in 1942. In a visit
blade weighed about 25 tons. These machines were each
to Sandakan made in April 1946, R.E. Forester, of the Bombay
equipped with a Hyster tracked logging arch (Plate 3) and a
Burma Trading Corporation Limited (BBTCL) reported that the
number of skid pans had also been ordered.
same primitive methods of extraction were still being employed
as had been reported by another BBTCL executive, H.W.
Macaulay who had visited some fifty years earlier in 1892.
After a second visit in 1948 Forester concluded in his report to
Rangoon, that employing the experience with mechanization
that BBTCL had recently gained in India and postwar Burma,
could revolutionise the industry in Borneo. The problem was
gaining entry to the industry which was still controlled by the
monopoly on all forests in Borneo awarded to BBT in 1920.
However, the end of this monopoly was under discussion.
Immediately after the Japanese surrender the British North
Borneo Chartered Company, lacking the resources to rebuild
the damaged infrastructure, had been forced to hand over
the government of North Borneo to the British Colonial Office
and the new administration was more receptive to the advice
of the Conservator of Forests, H.G. Keith and others, that
this monopoly had stagnated the industry, and change was
needed. In July 1948, Streatfeild of the Bombay Burma Trading Plate 2. Caterpillar D8 Tractor North Borneo Timbers Ltd, Kretam
Corporation Ltd (BBTCL), met the Governor of North Borneo Operations, 1951. Photo O.C.Finch, Bombay Burma Trading Corporation
in London and was advised that steps were being taken that Ltd.
might lead to its termination. This prompted BBTCL to have
another look at North Borneo and, after registering their
There are no details of this first experiment with tractors.
interests in forest concessions with the Conservator of Forests
Photographs show the machines operating in flat terrain, with
in Sandakan in their own name, they concluded protracted
and without the logging arches, apparently with logs yarded
negotiations with the North Borneo Trading Company in London
direct to the river (Plate 4). There is no indication that the skid
and Sandakan, which eventually resulted in the formation of
pans which had been ordered were ever used. The problem
a new Joint Venture company, the North Borneo Timbers Ltd
with skid pans (flat steel sleds attached to the draw bar of the
(NBT), in February 1950. This company was established by
tractor by a chain which in theory would support the butt of the
BBTCL with the specific intention of introducing tractors to
logs and thereby decrease skidding resistance), is that they
Borneo and demonstrating their effectiveness in the logging
restricted the movements of the tractor in reverse. Logging
industry. O.C. Finch and D.T James surveyed an area of
A
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The Introduction of Crawler Tracters to the Logging Industry
Plate 3. Caterpillar D8 Tractor with Hyster
Logging Arch. North Borneo Timbers Ltd, Kretam
1951. Photo O.C.Finch, Bombay Burma Trading
Corporation Ltd.
arches also restrict tractor maneuverability too; but once logs
have been bunched their use significantly reduces skidding
resistance and allows the tractor to tow a much greater load
at higher speeds, over longer distances. However, the tractor
logging arch combination does not prove effective when taking
logs from stump. Logs have got to be stumped and bunched
using another tractor before the logging arch is employed. If
another tractor is not available the arch has to be uncoupled,
which is a difficult and time consuming process. Despite this
there is no doubt that tractors were a success. The Forestry
Department Annual Report for 1951 records that production
by British Borneo Timbers in their direct operations declined to
2,326,195 Hcft whereas their sub-licenses which included the
NBT Kretam operation, increased to 2,321,799 Hcft (Hoppus
Cubic Feet) from 1611,035 Hcft in 1950 and concluded: “—it (Kretam) is a satisfactory and complete logging and has
proved their (tractors) value in the North Borneo forests”. The
fact that the same report states that “they (NBT) and other
firms have large quantities of equipment on order” proves the
point.
1951 also saw the issue of formal notice to BBT that their
monopoly would expire in July 1952 and by 1952, in addition
to the British Borneo Timber Company (BBT), new 1000 sq
mile concessions had been granted to the Bombay Burma
Trading Corporation Ltd (BBTCL), the North Borneo Timbers
Plate 4. Caterpillar D8 Tractor with Hyster Logging Arch. Logging
direct to river, North Borneo Timbers Ltd, Kretam 1951. Photo J.D.H.
Hedley, Bombay Burma Trading Corporation Ltd.
Ltd (NBT) and the Kennedy Bay Timber Company (KBTC).
All these companies now recognized the fact that the existing
combinations of kuda-kuda with rail were not productive
enough, too labour intensive, or even applicable to their
new areas, and began to place orders for new equipment,
predominantly bulldozers and trucks, although delivery was
protracted and machines did not arrive until the end of 1953.
The NBT tractor operations at Kretam continued to haul
logs direct to waterside but they were obviously becoming
aware of the high wear and tear on the tracks and rollers of the
tractors and the arches, as haul distances increased. Tracks
and rollers do not tolerate high speed continuous long haul
operation, particularly in dry conditions, and failures would
have been frequent and expensive.
In an attempt to overcome these problems BBTCL
purchased wheeled logging arches and a Le Tourneau
rubber-tyred log skidders (Plates 5 & 6) in 1952 or 1953 but
neither were successful. The single axle wheeled logging
arches were unstable particularly, on soft ground, and turned
over regularly. The Le Tourneau log skidder was driven by
independent electric motors in all wheels as well as the winch
and blade mechanism, all of which were powered by a diesel
generator. This was too complex a system for its day and it
was never successfully operated.
The British Borneo Timber Company was not to be left out
but, remembering the problems they had experienced with
their commitment to steam yarders some 20 years earlier,
proceeded with more caution. In 1951 Bob Macpherson
was sent to the USA and the Philippines to study the
options for mechanization available. His report 2 submitted
to management in December 1951 went into considerable
detail and concluded that “while conditions in Borneo may
not be ideal for tractors, it would be very difficult indeed to
find a suitable substitute or alternative”. Most importantly,
Macpherson immediately recognized that tractor hauls should
be kept short and to achieve this they could only be operated
successfully in conjunction with a road transportation system
– and if roads were used tractors would also be needed to
construct them.
Macpherson also emphasised to his management that
in addition to the capital cost of tractors they would have to
accept that they would need to make a considerable initial
investment in spare parts and maintenance facilities if they
were to operate efficiently and economically. Moreover,
Borneo was at the end of the supply chain; there were no
equipment dealerships with spare parts depots in the region,
and any company operating heavy equipment there would
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Special Features
Plate 5. Le Tourneau Log Skidder being
delivered to Kretam, The exact date of
delivery is uncertain --- probably late
1952. Photographer unknown. G.S Brown
collection.
Plate 6. Le Tourneau Log Skidder being used as Loader. Bombay
Burma Trading Corporation, Kalabakan operations, 1958. By this time
this machine had ceased to be effective as a log skidder. Photo David
Brameld.
have to be self sufficient.
British Borneo Timbers took delivery of their first tractors
at Mostyn operations at the end of 1953. Although their first
choice had been Caterpillar 3, because of the long delay in
delivery, they opted for International Harvester TD 24s fitted
with Carco winches and Pullman Logging arches. These
machines were also fitted with Isaacson Cable Controlled
Angle Dozers. (Plate 7) Cable controlled blade systems used
a winch system mounted on the front of the tractor to raise or
lower the blade. Unlike hydraulic controlled blades they could
not exert a positive down force and relied on the curvature of
the blade to dig in. It is possible that International Harvester
had yet to develop a hydraulic blade system at this time, but
cable controlled bulldozers were already dated technology.
BBTCL’s new operations at Tawau commenced in 1953
and three units of Caterpillar D8, similarly equipped with Hyster
logging arches arrived at the new camp on the Kalabakan River
at the end of the year. As at Kretam they were again used
to drag logs direct to the log dump at Kalabakan for distances
said to be up to three miles (Plate 8). In these conditions
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Plate 7. International Harvester TD-24 with Pullman Arch. British
Borneo Timbers Ltd, Mostyn circa 1953. This tractor is fitted with an
Isaacson Cable controlled bulldozer blade. Photographer unknown,
Probably G.S.Brown.
undercarriage wear would have been horrendous. Another
Le Tourneau skidder was brought in but once again failed to
perform satisfactorily. Three more D8s arrived in Kalabakan
from Sarawak after BBTCL closed its operation at Similajau
in April 1954 and a start was made on road construction in
anticipation of the arrival of three Leyland Super Hippo logging
Trucks with Dyson Trailers which arrived at the end of the year
together with a Skagit SJ4RT mobile loader.
By the end of 1954 the Forestry Department reported the
following equipment operating in the state: Heavy Tractors
Light Tractors
Locomotives
Logging Trucks
Cranes and Winches
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25
7
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6
6
The Introduction of Crawler Tracters to the Logging Industry
Tractors were established; and either in combination with
road haul operations or to rail heads rapidly replaced
kuda-kuda. The effect on production was dramatic. In the
10 year period prior to the outbreak of World War II, and
up to 1950, production averaged about 6.0 million Hcuft
(216,000 m3) about 80% of which came from BBT or
licenses directly controlled by them. In 1953 production
rose to 10.2 million, by 1957 it was 26.4 million, by 1960
it had reached 59.6 million Hcuft (2.15 million m3 ) and by
1965 it had doubled to 115 million Hcuft (4.16 million m3)
Caterpillar remained the most popular brand, with the
D8 model being retained for road construction, while by
the 1960s in extraction operations the smaller D7E, which
at 180HP was more powerful than the early D8s, had
gained popularity (Plate 9), and this was followed by the
D7G, and in some cases the D6D. Other manufacturers
had a small share of the market. Having been unable to
get delivery of Caterpillar tractors in 1952-3, BBT stuck
by International Harvester until they closed operations in
the 1980s. A few units of Allis-Chalmers and Terex were
sold, but Caterpillar dominated the market until Komatsu
entered the scene in the 1980s. At the peak of the industry
in 1978 there were 8745 crawler tractors registered in the
Sabah forest industry.
Plate 8. Caterpillar D8 with Hyster Arch, Kalabakan, 1953. Bombay Burma
Trading Corporation was still dragging some three miles to the river. The blade and
C-frame has been removed from this tractor for some reason. Photo O.C. Finch.
Plate 9. Caterpillar D7E Stumping Logs, 1967. Luasong Operations, Kalabakan Forest Reserve. At this time tractors
stumped logs in the woods during the day which were then dragged out by night shift crews. Authors Photo.
References
1
. The Bombay Burma Trading Corporation Limited 1863-1963, A.C, Pointon, Millbrook Press, Southhampton.
2
. Report on Mechanised Logging. R.M. Macpherson. Unpublished report to British Borneo Timbers, 18th December 1951
3
. R.M. Macpherson, Personal communication
Note: The author of this article, Ross Ibbotson, is researching material for a comprehensive book on the History of Logging in
North Borneo and would appreciate any information or copies of photographs pertinent to this subject.
Please contact by Email: [email protected]
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