June 2015 - Alberni Valley Heritage Network

July 24-26
‘Steam Up”
McLean Mill
Spot news
Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society
Issue 59
June 2015
Builder’s photo of 1923 ‘Baldwin’ - “112”
See P. 6
Replacing the saddle tank on the ‘No. 7’ at the APR Roundhouse (March 2015)
Michael Stewart (l.) and Dave Newman guide the tank into place.
K.G. Campbell crane performs the lift. [Inset: Lift almost complete.]
ALBERNI PACIFIC RAILWAY
After the visit of Lieutenant-Governor in early February, the rails were quiet for a couple of months, while
winter maintenance on the ‘No. 7” resumed, cosmetic
restoration of the ’Two Spot’ continued and the “CL&R”
crew speeder got a refurbished motor.
The saddle tank of the ‘Baldwin’ was lifted off for
painting and this allowed some work on the boiler’s
exterior. (Right) Ted Mollet and Dave Newman have
removed the smokebox cover to be able to check the
front end of the boiler.
In March, Jim Isnor (“Kodiak non-destructive Testing”) came to test the boiler, before the visit of the
Boiler InPhotos: P. Hooper
spector, who ‘OK’d’ it for 2015.
There were several charters this spring. The big
Yellow speeder was used by Green Party leader,
Elizabeth May, for a trip to the Mill while the completion of the Kitsuksis Creek diversion at the Mill
was celebrated by a charter and event. One hundred twenty “Heritage Fair” children rode behind the
‘No. 7” on an excursion, and there were two Cruise
ship charters out of Nanaimo, too.
The two diesels—the 1954 ‘ALCO” and the 1942
‘‘No. 11’ - both got a workout during the nine-day
‘Conductor Training’ practicum for BCIT in late May.
Twenty-one students attended the session, which was the second one this year.
About 200 ties were replaced—at the Roundhouse and between Stamp Avenue and Roger
Street—as well as a timber on the abutment of Kitsuksis Creek
Bridge. [Photo—bottom left]
Dave Newman (r.) painted all
of the wheels and the trim on the
“No. 7”. Frank Holm, as well as
brushing along the tracks, primed
all of the new siding for the CN
(Macdonalds) caboose.
The ’Port Sub Railroaders’ have
been keeping the tracks clear on
the East side of the ‘Hump’ while
several members, including Pete,
TRACK REPAIR on Port Sub
Michael, Matt, Chris,
Windfall removed and track repaired.
Frank, Bill and
Photo: G. Grenon
Marylou, have been
cleaning up between
the Station and the
McLean Mill.
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((Top left)
Saddle tank being swung
back onto the ‘No. 7” after
patching and painting.
(r.) Frank Holm painting
Caboose siding.
—Page sponsored by “L&B Woodchoppers”—
OPENING OF M&B CAMERON DIVISION FIFTY YEARS AGO
“I’m getting you down out of those trees, Jesse,” said Dave Turner. Jack James—who
was called ‘Jesse’ in the 1950s —remembers Turner saying this as he was preparing to climb a
new spar tree. James was ‘high-rigger’ at ’Macmillan-Bloedel’s ‘Stillwater’ logging Division
south of Powell River while Turner was the Area Manager (Logging). In those days, James
was rigging a new tree almost every week, just to keep ahead of the logging crews. Turner did
not like the accident rate for ’high-riggers’. He went on to become V.-P. (Logging) for Macmillan-Bloedel in the 1960s.
In 1965, Jack James was brought to
the Alberni Valley by M&B as Assistant
Woods Foreman, to help open up ‘Cameron
Division’ - M&B’s new logging operation in
the Cameron Valley, east of the city, at the
base of Mount Arrowsmith.
The forest industry was booming. MB,
the largest company on the Coast, was
prospering and cost was no object. A new
logging Division? - new equipment! Dave
Turner kept his word and eight new “Madill
S-90” steel tower yarders were ordered from
FIRST LOAD OF LOGS 1965
the factory in Nanaimo. No wooden spars
“J. Borer Trucking” “Kenworth”
or ’high riggers’ would be needed in
Andre’ Borer, driver. 1991 MB Cameron calendar
Cameron Division. The modern logging era
started with a bang at Cameron.
“New” was the key. Along with the eight steel spars, new log loaders were purchased—
eight ‘American’ and one ‘Skagit’; four ‘Hayes
HDX” and four “P-16” “Pacific” log trucks were
ordered in Vancouver for log hauling. Other
auto dealers shared in the bonanza as three
‘crummies’ and fourteen ‘Econoline” vans were
bought for crew transport, plus eleven ‘Ford’
pickups. Then, there was the new roadbuilding machinery… And so it went.
The start-up was gradual. Road grades
had to be built. Log-hauling was by Joe Borer,
who used to run two trucks at ‘Stillwater DiviNEW EQUIPMENT in Cameron Yard
sion’. He bought eight new ‘Kenworths’ to take
‘Madill’
steel
spars, “American’ log loaders, some of
on the Cameron Division hauling contract. M&B’s
Joe
Borer’s
“Kenworth”
trucks.
trucks came on stream as they came off the pro(below) Joe Borer’s 2-bay Shop & trucks at Cameron.
duction line at the shops of “Hayes” and
Photos: Jim Falconer Collection
“Pacific” in Vancouver.
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New “Pacific P-16” leaves Vancouver factory
Photo: The Truck Logger, March 1966
—Page sponsored by “Macdermott’s Insurance Agency”—
OPENING of CAMERON DIVISION (cont.)
The ‘Madill’ spars arrived one-by-one from Nanaimo, delivered on
flatcars to the Alberni railyard, where there was an unloading ramp at
the end of one track. Moving these heavy tracked machines from
downtown Port Alberni to the Franklin River (and Cameron) logging
road at the south end of town, without destroying the street and dragging down the power lines “was quite a production”, recalled James.
After running the machine along the waterfront ‘Industrial Road” to APD sawmill, the
yarder had to move up Bruce St. to Anderson
Avenue, and from there, south to the edge of
town—a total of about one mile. To avoid
damage to the pavement, James and his
crew had to lay tires in front of the tracks.
One mile of humping tires was an interesting
exercise. Jack was involved with moving two
of the machines to the edge of town.
A new office and shops were built at
the junction of the road to Franklin River
Camp “B”, with staff to man it. It was called
MB’s “19th logging division” at the time.
The Manager was Don Dowsley and Ed
High Riggers
on wooden spar tree
Herman was the General Foreman. The new
Aaron Thom (top);
Division was formed to log a block of the
Gerard Martin
“E&N Railway” timberlands bought from the
CPR in 1964. There was a lot of beautiful
(r.) Madill steel spar
old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock, esperaised & operating,
cially in the valley bottom. With expansions
with a loader beside it.
BC Lumberman , Jan. 1967
at MB’s ‘Alberni Pulp & Paper Division’ and
their other mills in
New “American’ log loaders in Yard
Port
Alberni,
there
was a ready market for the timber in
Note booms on ground, fabricated by ‘Alberni
those days of integrated forestry companies.
Engineering’, yet to be rigged onto the other
machines.
Photo: J. Falconer Collection
“Madill” steel spar parked at Cameron Yard.
Photo: Jim Falconer Collection
Editor’s Note:
Thanks to Jim Falconer for the use of photos
and memorabilia from his Collection. Thanks, too, to Hank Suderman, for giving permission to
use photos from his Web site. A ‘tip of the hat’ to Jack James for his recollections from the
‘Cameron’ start-up and, to the late Dave Turner, who passed away in February. The Editor
had hoped to gather much more information from this generous source of information.
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(To be continued…)
MEMBERS at WORK
Wigen Brothers testing their new velocipedes.
‘FLAG LADY’
The train
stopped to salute Sally Anderson on her 70th
birthday in
June. (below)
(below)
Michael Stewart led the
restoration work on the
‘CL&R’ crew speeder’s
engine. P. Geddes & C.
Duncan worked on the
controls & electronics.
(above)
Bob Dingsdale (r. ),
Don Watt (l.) & Hank Bakken (all
drivers of log trucks) cast critical
eyes on the 1958 “Hayes” that Bob
was preparing for the 2015 ‘oldtime logging show season.
Photos:
D. Hooper
Co-op Members’ Day
Les Stevens
& Mike
Hobson with
the “Railroad
Mack”.
(l.) ‘TWO-SPOT’
Rod Gledhilll has
been restoring the
old locomotive. Air
pump now painted.
(r.) WOODPILE
ADSS students came
to pile the fire—
wood for the Steam
Donkey.
Photo: D. James
EDITOR’S NOTES
I.H.S. President Gary Murton has stepped down to deal with some serious health issues. We wish for his
safe recovery and return. Work continues on several fronts, some of which are shown in this issue. The
Logging Crew are building a new sled for the McLean Mill dump machine. (We gratefully acknowledge
the donation of two logs by ‘Western Forest Products’.) “Thanks’ to ‘Alberni Glass’ for the windshield
for the 1926 ‘Federal’. A big “Thank You” to Coastal Community Credit Union, the sponsor of the
5 “Steam Up & Antique Machinery Show” in July; to Alberni District Co-op for their ongoing support
and to BC Ferries Corporation for their support of the “Steam-Up” - much appreciated!!
— This page sponsored by “American Truck Historical Society (Vancouver Island Chapter) —
THE ‘112’ (1923 ‘Baldwin’ ) - from Beaver Cove to Port Alberni
On March 11, 2015, “Nickel Bros.”, the house and heavy equipment moving specialists,
loaded the old locomotive onto their 32-wheel lowbed. At 8 p.m., they headed south for Port
Alberni. After 43 years mouldering away in the rain forest, the ‘112’ was en route to its new
home, where it arrived at 4 a.m. the next day. The night
run was to satisfy Highway Dept. regulations.
On March 24, the ‘Nickel Bros.” crew returned to unload
the engine from the lowbed. First, it was jacked up clear of
the lowbed and blocked up. The lowbed was pulled away
and a ‘crib’ of four steel beams was built under the loci.
Two long beams (yellow in the photos) were laid at right
angles under the ‘crib’ then, on a set of roller plates, crib
‘112’ loaded and ready to leave
Beaver Cove on March 11.
(below)
Above photo: Sandy Macham
“112” on arrival in Port Alberni.
The ‘112’ is being slid/rolled along the two
yellow steel beams from the road over to the
track. Note the lowbed in the distance.
and loci were slid into position
over the Diesel Track to the APR
Round-house. Then, the loci was
lowered into place on the rails.
The project drained the I.H.S.
coffers but the $10,000 donation
from the BC Railway Historical
Society was of great assistance.
‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!’
(l. to r.) Dan Gledhill, “Soup” K. G. Campbell, Gordon Blake in front of ‘112’ at its
new home on the Diesel track.
(Missing: Sandy Macham)
(above right)
Alan Nickel supervises as the engine is
jacked high enough for the lowbed to be rePhotos:: D. Hooper
moved from under.
Ed. Note:
Sandy Macham has written a wellillustrated account of the salvage and move
of the ‘112’, and its history. If you would
like a copy, please contact me or him.
Want I.H.S./ truck T-shirts? - Contact me.
6
—This page sponsored by “Probyn Log” (Larry Spencer)—
GROWING UP IN FRANKLIN RIVER CAMP—1940s, 1950s
Education was often an issue back in the day when logging camps were scattered through
the coastal forests in the last century. Some camps were strictly bunkhouse affairs for single
men—single in fact or having left their families back in town—but others, especially the larger
camps, had ‘married quarters’, hence children.
Franklin River Camp ‘B” first got a school at the Corrigan Creek site. A bunkhouse became
the school-house. By the 1950s, there were more than fifty families in the “Married Quarters”
of the last Camp “B” (Coleman Creek) so a tworoom school was built.
Shirley (Ostergard) Maxwell grew up in a
house at the edge of the Married Quarters, next
to the Light Plant so, she remembered the constant noise of the generator. Her Mom was in
the Ladies’ Fire Brigade. Shirley started in the
one-room school but moved to the new tworoom school when it opened.
Heather (Petit) Blinston’s house was in the first
row of Married Quarters, a quieter place. Her
father, ‘Blackie”, was a Donkey engineer. He
One-room school with May Day bike parade on the
and his brother George were French-Canadians.
Boardwalk.
Photos: Don Watt Collection
Don’s house was in the middle of the second
row—#135. (House numbers started at #100.)
After Grade 8, parents had to make the big deciDon Watt and his first wheels, with dog, ‘Rex’.
sion of how and where children would continue
at Old Camp ‘B’ (Parsons Creek) 1944
their education. Shirley’s parents sent her to
Queen Margaret’s Girls School in Duncan; Don’s
parents sent him to stay with his aunt and uncle
in Courtenay. Heather’s parents moved to Burnaby so that the children could finish their
education.
Don with neighbour, Kathy Semko
The Watts and Semkos were neighbours at Camp
“B” (Parsons Creek) and at “New” Camp ‘B’.
Don remembers that the community was
‘like a big family. Everybody knew everyone
else. The big kids looked out for the small
kids.” Most mothers were ‘stay-at-home
moms” and parents were not as worried
about their children’s safety as in 2015. Don
noted that almost every family had a dog so,
there was always a group of kids, with a lot
of dogs, whenever they were out of school. Parents did not worry about wildlife.
The boardwalks that linked all corners of the Camp were a playground for the younger
children on trikes, wagons and bikes. Older kids might range farther afield. In the first years of
Camp “B”, the boardwalks got you out of the mud of the recently-cleared industrial site. Don
remembers that, “You did not want to fall off!”
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-This
page is sponsored by “Probyn Log” (Larry Spencer)-
Don admitted that there were places that kids were not supposed to play like, ‘Stay out of the
creek.” and ‘Stay off the trestle.” He remembered coming home one afternoon and Mom asking suspiciously, ‘Were you in the creek?” (The dog was still dripping!) But parents also knew
that the kids were in a group, with bigger kids, so they did not get quite so panicky.
As well as allowing children to be part of the education received in the ‘outside world’, the
school was a social center of camp life. Heather and Don remembered “May Day” as being a
really big deal, an all-day event and celebration, involving all of the children and many parents.
It was actually held on the May 24th holiday. Heather recently found the Programme for the
1949 event. Here it is:
1.
Parade
MAYPOLE DANCE
2.
Crowning of May Queen
The children practiced long and hard
3.
May Pole Dance
to learn the steps to
4.
Bicycle Drill
make the intricate
5.
Presentations
patterns on the May6.
Field Events
pole. (1949) Photos:
7.
Childrens Dance
Heather Blinston Collection
8.
“Royal Lancers”
9.
May Queen & Court
Heather was named “May Queen” that year. She remembers that children dressed up—girls
in white dresses; boys in white shirts and black shorts. It was likely the only day of the year
that boys dressed like that. The ’May Pole” dance, with its complicated steps, took a lot of
practice, as did the ‘Royal Lancers’. Don remembers a lot of decorations went into the parade—crepe, ribbons and streamers. He recalled the cardboard tabs that kids used to attach to
make a ratchetty noise on the bicycle spokes.
Photo: H. Blinston Collection
There were foot races for all ages. Although 24
school-children were listed, in two teams—the
‘Ravens” and the ‘Silver Streaks’ - it was not just
for the school-children. It was a community affair. There were events even for toddlers, who
did a “10 yard race”.) There were Ladies’ and
Men’s “novelty races” - ‘chokerman race’ for the
men; “Nailhammering”
for the ladies
There were
MAY QUEEN DEBRA BRUCE & COURT 1950
(l. to r.) Heather Petit, Dianne Bell, Delores Sandstrom events like 3Mary Jane Delmarkour, Queen, Eric Sandstrom,
legged race for
Robert Hoar, Billy Marshall, Don Watt, Barry Lawler
mothers & their child. There
were Sack races, Three-legged
races, Egg and Spoon races,
and the Broad Jump. The
grand finale was the ‘Tug ‘O
War”.
Ed. Note:
Thanks to Don Watt, Heather
Blinston and Shirley Maxwell
for sharing their memories
and photos of ‘those days’ at
Franklin River Camp ‘B’.
(above) May Queen Heather and Maids of
Honour on the verandah in front of the new
two- room School. Shirley (Ostergard) Maxwell on far right, Anita Robinson. Heather
(with crown), Diane Bell.
(l.)
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—Page sponsored by D. Grisdale—
Photos: Heather Blinston Collection
May Queen Heather—1949
with Jerry Erickson
AT THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE CENTRE
Restoration of 1926 ‘Federal” truck (cont.)
A crew continues to work on the finishing touches on
this vintage truck. Since February, the motor, cab, dash,
seat and rear deck have been completed. The photo (left)
shows its sad appearance when Vic Laughlin hauled it to
Port Alberni. The photos should be viewed counterclockwise from that point.
J. Laughlin photo
Radiator & cowling, engine, firewall,
steering & wheels and frame—all restored and primed. The boom is installed. Bob Pf. Inspects the work.
A NEW CAB
Russ McCoy did
the woodwork. (l.)
(r.)
Running Boards
Les Stevens fits a
running board.
V. Laughlin did
engine work;
M. Hobson—wiring
& metal work.
AT THE TRAIN STATION
(l.) Jake Heid with McLean Mill model. He has
been preparing displays in the Truck Bays
and here in the Waiting Room.
Model Trains
Display
Dave Taberner
with components
for a layout that
visitors can view
at the Station.
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—This page sponsored by “Southside Auto Supply” (Don Mallon)—
Photos:
D. Hooper
INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE in PORT ALBERNI
RIDE THE STEAM TRAIN!
1917
“Farquhar”
To the McLean Mill National Historic Site
& Steam Sawmill.
Starting June 27th Thursday to Sunday
Reservations recommended.
‘STEAM-UP” & ANTIQUE MACHINERY
at the McLean Mill
July 24-26
For Information & Schedule :
Check the Website: alberniheritage.com
Telephone: 250-723-1376
1929 “Baldwin”
“Number 7”
OLD TRUCKS!
Display & Restoration
Check them out at:
The Industrial Heritage Centre
At 9th & Dunbar - Tues. 7-9 p.m.
Sat. 9 am.– noon.
Train Station “Truck Bays” from June 27
Thurs. & Sat.
Telephone: 250-724-5509
Photos: D. Hooper
STEAM DONKEY
OLD-TIME LOGGING!
Every Friday & Sunday at 11 a.m.
from June 28 to August 31
and special events
Steam yarding & loading demos at
the Spar Tree
McLean Mill National Historic Site.
Michael Dean painting
More detailed Schedule—250-723-1376
We wish to acknowledge the Government of British Columbia for supporting ongoing restoration projects of the I.H.S. and the maintenance and display of equipment that has already been
restored. This is accomplished with funds provided in a ‘Community Gaming Grant’. Ed.
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MEMBERSHIP IN THE W.V.I.I.H.S.
$15 / year
Cash or cheque to:
Barry Miller
6601 Golden Eagle Way
Nanaimo V9V 1P8
Tel. 250-390-7508
“SPOT NEWS”
“SPOT NEWS” is published thrice yearly and is a benefit of
membership in the I.H.S…. and you are supporting the preservation of Industrial heritage on Vancouver Island. Send queries or
material for articles to D. Hooper
Tel. 724-5509
or E-mail: [email protected]
- This page sponsored by Kingsley Trucking (Scott Robinson)—