Taylor family operating Lockhart's mills
Photograph courtesy of Alison Mackie of Aberchirder whose grandfather was Peter Taylor who worked in sawmills owned by Lockhart’s of Huntly.
Peter Taylor born circa 1876 had six of a family (oldest born c1906) who in their early years trailed around the country as Peter worked in mills which were moved and set up many times in locations as diverse as the BlackIsle, Laggan, Birnam and Kintore. In those day the sawmill and attendant camp were dismantled, loaded onto wagons and moved to a new forest location whenever the job or forest in one area was finished. Peter’s brother Bob (worked in Blackisle at a FC mill, Munlochy) and Tom (settled in the Forres area) may have worked (and their sons) with him in the early years.
The photograph year has been estimated as around 1910 from the photograph in Record No1026 which has a definite date of 1915 and believed to have some older versions of the same people in this image. The name board Conval Express is a nice ironic touch for the wooden rail bogie used to carry the timber from the heart of the felled area on Conval Hill outside Dufftown down towards the sawmill. There was a significant amount of work in laying a track and one assumes that this was a large, longer term clear fell. Horses would pull the felled timber from the stump to the track side where it was cut into product lengths and loaded by hand (via skids if heavy) onto the bogie. Note the chamfered ends of the butt end logs cut by the axe in preparing the tree for felling. The rail track would normally run by gravity down towards the mill but in this case the horse appears to have stopped on an upward pull and it may be that a section of the track was indeed up hill. The brake pad is firmly clamped against the rear bogie wheel but the handle mechanism is partially hidden by the boy holding the log or possibly on the other side. The swingle tree which links the horse traces to the chain fixed to the axle of the bogie, seems to be unusually close to the horse and at rest comes against the back legs. The picture gives a clear view of the head bridle, short rein, collar and hems and the modified back bands holding the trace chains up.
Most of the people in the photograph are unnamed but Margaret Grant, Huntly is fairly certain the man holding the name sign is a Taylor possibly her and Alison’s grandfather Peter.
It is possible that the people numbered 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 appear in the image following this one which may have been taken a few years later.
1. (Horseman?)
2. (Horseman)
3. (Taylor family?)
4. Peter Taylor
5. (Taylor family?)
6. (Timber loader and cross cutter?)
7. (Timber loader and cross cutter?)
8. (Taylor family?)
Any help to identify the people would be very welcome.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Groups of people, Horses at work in Forests, Other Vehicles and Machines, Sawmills, pulp mills, chipboard mills, Tools, equipment and clothing