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Steam donkey
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Steam donkey, or "donkey engine" is the common nickname for a steam-powered 'hoist' widely used in past logging operations, though not limited to logging. They were also found in the mining, maritime, and nearly any other industry that needed a powered winch.
This article concentrates on the self-contained equipment used for logging.
m donkeys acquired their name from the animals they replaced.
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Encyclopedia
Steam donkey, or "donkey engine" is the common nickname for a steam-powered 'hoist' widely used in past logging operations, though not limited to logging. They were also found in the mining, maritime, and nearly any other industry that needed a powered winch.
This article concentrates on the self-contained equipment used for logging.
Design and usage
Steam donkeys acquired their name from the animals they replaced. They were classified by their type (simplex, duplex, logging engine, 3-drum, 2-drum, etc.) and their different uses (high-lead yarder, ground-lead yarder, roader, snubber, incline hoist, etc.)
A steam donkey comprised at least one powered winch around which was wound hemp rope or (later) steel cable, and usually a boiler. They were usually equipped with skids, or sleds made from logs, to aid them during transit from one "setting" to the next. The larger steam donkeys often had a "donkey house" (a makeshift shelter for the crew) built either on the skids or as a separate structure. Usually a water tank, and sometimes a fuel oil tank was mounted on the back of the sled. In rare cases, steam donkeys were also mounted on wheels. Later steam donkeys were built with multiple horizontally-mounted drums/spools, on which were wound heavy steel cable instead of the original rope.
Method of operation
This describes the use of a steam donkey for logging operations. In the simplest setup, a "line horse" would carry the cable out to a log in the woods. The cable would be attached, and, on signal, the steam donkey's operator (engineer) would open the regulator, allowing the steam donkey to drag or "skid" the log towards it. The log was taken either to a mill or to a "landing" where the log would be transferred for onward shipment by rail, road or river (either loaded onto boats or floated directly in the water).
If a donkey was to be moved, one of its cables was attached to a tree, stump or other strong anchor, and the machine would drag itself forward.
History
John Dolbeer, a founding partner of the Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company in Eureka, California, invented the donkey engine in August 1881. The patent was issued April 18, 1882. On Dolbeer's first model, a 150-foot, 4½ inch manila rope was wrapped several times around a gypsy head (vertically mounted spool) and attached at the other end to a log.
The invention of the internal-combustion engine led to the development of the diesel-powered tractor crawler, which eventually put an end to the steam donkey. Though some have been preserved in museums, very few are in operating order. A great number still sit abandoned in the forests, rusting in the spot where they dropped their fires not so long ago.
An operational steam donkey is on display and occasionally operated at Fort Humboldt State Historic Park in Eureka. A non-operational steam donkey accompanied by a plaque explaining the history of the machine is on permanent display at Grizzly River Run, an attraction at Disney's California Adventure.
Other uses
Steam donkeys were also found to be useful for powering other machines such as pile drivers, slide-back loaders (also known as slide-jammers), and cherry-pickers (a sled-mounted crane used for loading logs, that a grading crew had cut down, onto railroad cars).
An auxiliary engine on a sailing craft (which does propel the vessel) is still sometimes informally known as "the donk".
See also
External links
- – (image)
- – Steam & Engine of Australia
- – Pacific County Historical Society and Museum
- :
- :Over 1000 images by commercial photographer Clark Kinsey documenting the logging and milling camps and other forest related activities in Washington State, ca. 1910-1945.
- :Includes images of donkey engines.
- :Images from the period 1890-1939, documenting the logging industry in Washington State.
- :Includes images of loggers and logging camps, skid roads, donkey engines, loading operations, logging trucks and railroads.
- :Online museum exhibit based upon the Clark Kinsey Logging Photographs Collection and the recollections of Harry C. Hall, who worked as a logger on the Olympic Peninsula in the early 1900s.
- :Includes a video on the Hobi family logging history (late 1800s – early 1900s).
- :Includes many images of donkey engines.
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