Cable crane training - Isachsen Winch
Training event in Glengarry with Hugh Thom and Alec Sandilands as instructors about 1971. Note the forester's jacket with the red collar. The Ferguson 35 tractor is kitted out with a double drum winch developed in Scandanavia (powered winch drums out of sight). The tower folds down for travelling at a point just above the tool box. The drum on the right hand wheel is loaded with about 350m of 19mm rope for the skyline. The drum on this side is loaded with about 700m of 6mm polypropelene rope which is manually taken up at the set up of a new rackway and around the top pulley and back down a side rack to the tractor and attached to the 6mm wire haul back rope. The tractor is jacked up on one side, the drum is locked on the stub axle, forward gear is engaged, brakes applied to the other side and the polyprop rope is hauled back in but pulls out the 6mm wire rope to begin cable winch set up proper. A new set up could take a hard 4-8 hours depending on terrain, distances, quality of rack alignment and the quality of selection of support and spar trees.
Groups: Forestry in Action, Other Vehicles and Machines