Here’s some really cool roadside rust and this wheeled monster is an old log loader found in the remote mountain community of Beaton British Columbia. It’s a small settlement, so far off the map and hidden away that it might as well be on the moon. Not that it’s a bad thing.
This machine sits off to the side as you enter the tiny community and it’s such an interesting rig, to us outsiders anyway, that one can’t help be curious. We sure were, but who knows if our readers will be as enthusiastic (don’t email!). A big old hunk of metal like this, to us, is a drug, so we could babble on about them endlessly and sometimes do. But not everyone agrees.
Roadside Rust: Heel-Boom Log Loader: now a makeshift swingset. Wandering remote backroads with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
In the industry this is known as a heel-boom (or snorkel) log loader, popular in the old days, but in more recent times generally usurped by excavator-type machines with hydraulic grapple ends. In the case of this one, it’s got the body and machinery off a Koehring Crane, modified with a specialized Ross boom and mounted on a wheeled chassis.
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The design and features of this one suggests it may have been a late model example (1970s?) but we could not find any in old literature that matched it exactly. These were generally pieced together using parts from several manufacturers, by a number of firms specializing in forestry equipment.
For rougher terrain, these might be tracked but for models that kept to the road, rubber was more practical. There’s four axles, two driven and two for steering and we suspect these didn’t move fast.
This one must have been kept busy in the local area and given the almost rain-forest like conditions in the hills around, things were and are very productive. The forest is thick and grows well in the cool, moist conditions.
Who knows when this one was retired and parked, unless a local chimes in. Its second life is that of a makeshift…swingset? Wooohooo! Welcome to the logger’s playground.
Machines of this type were used to load trucks, stockpile logs in the yard or with snorkel extension, usually a long wood pole fitted into that round attachment above the boom, function as a yarder. That is it could drag trees from far away to the loading zone and in this capacity function as dual-purpose machine.
The operator and radiator are both well protected. The chassis has retractable outriggers and these are extended when the machine’s working.
In practice, the grapple would hook on to a log nearer the end, pull it tight against the boom, which would force it horizontal and then lower onto the trailer or pile. The boom riser at the end acted as a pocket for the grapple so it tucked away when at full lift.
And now you know.
Look these machines up on YouTube to see them in operation and when we saw the old footage, it appears to us that it took a fair bit of skill to operate one safely and efficiently.
Beaton is not really a town in any sense, anymore, but a scattered group of homes. At its peak, during the mining boom of the late 1890s and early 1900s period, the population stood at perhaps seventy or eighty. It functioned as supply and transportation hub but is now a quiet backwater.
”Thank you so much for your fantastic articles and photos. Alberta and BC are dear to my heart. I could spend 24/7 here with you!…” Joanne Winchester Honer.
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
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