Report No 45 - Single Strand Gravity 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 45 details an extraction ropeway at the budget end of equipment costs designed by a Canadian. The type of wire used is not fully detailed but has a diameter of 0.16 inches and is possibly a larger gauge fence wire – 6 gauge? The wooden blocks used instead of pulleys are novel and the system of drilling a hole on top of the block and filling with oil to reduce friction on a gentle slope – very neat!
Costs of extraction down the line was calculates at around 10 – 11 pence per cu ft plus another 11 pence had to be added for felling and hand dragging the timber to the rack way.
The point is made that even though this is one of the cheapest costs achieved for ropeways, extraction by horse or tractor is normally much cheaper.
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Groups: Forestry Mechanical Engineering Reports , Timber harvesters, processors, forwarders and cable cranes