Second Prototype Power Operated Ropeway
Two files containing about 65 Head Quarters Mechanical Development Committee Reports from 1950 to 1958 were saved from destruction by Jim Christie former Forestry Commission HQ, Plant Engineer. Jim, from Crook of Devon, has kindly made the reports available for scanning and entry onto this website. Please open the PDF to see this full report.
Report No 13 describes a ropeway set up that relied on a fixed skyline on which ran a double carriage linked together. This was hauled up the slope by a thin cable wound in by a powered winch sited at the top of the rack. Once the timber was loaded and fixed to the carriage the load slid down the skyline by gravity but under the control of the winch brake to the bottom landing point.
Not detailed clearly but there is a hint that the winch and thin cable was used to haul timber from the forest to the rackway. How this was done is not elaborated but possibly by carrying the winch by hand up the rackway and stopping at points to haul the timber to the rack. There is no mention of side hauling to the carriage once set up which would have been revolutionary at this time. At 600 yards maximum this was a long set up and there would have been a fair bit of work to even manage the field telephone system.
A horse is visible in the back ground in one of the photographs and assumed to be doing the main extraction on the site. Cost comparisons were unfortunately not given.
Does anyone recall seeing this type of ropeway system?
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Groups: Forestry Mechanical Engineering Reports , Timber harvesters, processors, forwarders and cable cranes