Yosemite Lumber Company Logging Inclines With Jack Burgess

[@TheJagjr4450]

My Grandfather received a color 8 mm video camera for high school graduation in 1940 the videos are something to behold...

[@robertnewton8555]

As a retired logger, I found this video very unique. Excellent job in the making of the video. People these days don't have any idea of the hard work that went into these logging jobs.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@terrystotzheim9719]

Amen to that!!!

[@MrGaryGG48]

My grandfather started in a logging camp about 1920 in northern Washington and then British Columbia, and eventually in Southeastern Alaska. He worked at one logging job or another for the next 50 years. At the beginning of that time he worked with the draft horse teams that pulled the logs. Eventually he operated the steam donkey engines that replaced the draft horses. The steam donkeys probably made the work even more dangerous due to the increased power the steam engine produced. Grandpa talked about the injuries and the men killed when a steel cable would snap and went through anything within range like a modern day weed eater! I believe the bulldozers came in during the md-thirties but I'm not certain of the dates. Choke setters had one of the most dangerous jobs in the business. They were the new guys that fastened the steel cables around the downed logs, and if they lived long enough, they moved into slightly less dangerous jobs. For a logger from the early 20th century to survive to retirement with all his limbs intact was an accomplishment. My grandfather was born in 1898 and passed away on October 14, 1990, in his early 90s. He still had all the limbs he was born with. He said he'd been very careful but was also pretty lucky. Grandpa and I spent many hours talking after he had retired, about his history. Those fascinating hours could easily have come straight out of one of Jack London's stories! You're certainly right, Robert. Unless you've experienced it or had exposure to one of the men who lived in those times and survived the extremely dangerous life, you just couldn't grasp that reality.

[@terrystotzheim9719]

@@MrGaryGG48 that is sooo awesome! Glad you had your grandfather for such a long time!

[@MrGaryGG48]

@@terrystotzheim9719 Thanks Terry. I appreciate the thought. He was a very warm person when I came along... a bit stubborn! My dad said that's genetic among the Swedes...all the while, my Mother was standing behind him nodding her head with a smirk, quietly agreeing, "he got that right!"🤣👍

[@gillafunk]

What an absolutely phenomenal presentation. Exemplary descriptions. Stellar media content. Beautiful model display design. Well done. Just perfect. Mr. Burgess, my hat goes off to you, Sir.

[@bobpaulino4714]

Incredible engineering for the time period -- even regenerative braking! Wonderful layout. I look forward to seeing more.

[@garyhartley3680]

dynamic breaking

[@aprilgeneric8027]

@@garyhartley3680 he said the logging company put the power back into the electric companys grid, dynamic puts that excess into resistors that get fan cooled as heat waste. looking at the truck sets i do not see any motor components to be able to dynamic break. also with the cable and the cable engines there's very little reason to invent dynamic breaking for their set up. i did see some swirl on the inside of the wheels sets tho but that looked like helical gearing, but again none of the photos showed any electrical motors, so i imagine it is possible they did, but i can't tell from the photos.

[@winstoncampbell1776]

The Shay locomotive was originally built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. My father was a service repair technician with the company for Shays. The company was bought by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and became Baldwin Lima Hamilton building cranes and power shovels. My entire family except mother worked there for different periods of time. In the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan is another Lima Locomotive, one of the largest steam engines ever built.

[@laughton57]

A Berkshire? Is the large engine a Berkshire. IIRC, Baldwin/Lima built them.

[@andyharman3022]

I went on a search in Lima, Ohio for remains of the Lima Locomotive Works many years ago. None of the works buildings exist anymore. But I did find a Shays locomotive on display downtown.

[@francisschweitzer8431]

Northern Illinois Railway Museum has a working Lima Shay #14

[@bruceb3786]

Great story.

[@wvboy0311]

There are 2 or 3 shays at cass scenic railway in wv

[@kenmunozatmmrrailroad6853]

Both the story of the railroad and the model are astounding.

[@nigelphillips2682]

What a great presentation. Learned a lot about mountain logging.

[@thomasbritton640]

I'm 70 years old my friends and I used to hop freight trains that ran through the town I grew up in have been a rail all my life this is a great presentation well done never realized how logging was done on the gre!at northwest ill say it again what a great 👍 job !!!

[@rafenatho5406]

Finally something worth watching on you tube!!

[@LarryWGrant-dw6jo]

I always enjoy watching Jack Burgess and I like learning about logging operations. Thanks John!

[@dgarvin57]

Thanks so much for creating this great video. I was thrilled to see pictures of my great uncle Jim Law. I visited him many times growing up and was always fascinated with his home at the bottom of one of the old inclines nestled next to the Merced river. My grandfather, Bob Jirsa, was a conductor on the YV from the 20s until it shut down in the 40s. Sad day when they ran the last train out. My great grandfather (Jim Law’s father) worked for the lumber company and raised his family on top of the incline in a tent cabin during the season. Story is told that my grandmother would ride the empty cars down to the bottom. She met my grandfather Bob Jirsa riding on the YV and had a wonderful life together. So thank you again for helping appreciate what their work life was like.

[@yvfan]

Dan... Thank you for your kind comments. I have been researching the YV for the past 50 years and first met Jim Law in the early 1970s. We would visit Jim every time we visited Yosemite NP and he would tell us interesting stories. I have built an HO scale model railroad of the Yosemite Valley Railroad and it includes most of the buildings which were in Incline including Jim's house, the station, etc. It has cast figures representing both Jim and his father. They are included in a KZbin video of my layout: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs You might find it interesting... Jack Burgess

[@miker2002]

What a wonderful history and engineering lesson....along with Jack's mindblowing research and modeling!

[@yvfan]

If you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack

[@roberts3942]

Outstanding history lesson about the men, equipment, and organizations that helped to build our country. Kudos!

[@nwpioneer2551]

What a fantastic layout. So much more than the regular bridges, tunnels stations, etc.

[@another_unique_username]

Man, you’ve outdone just about everyone else on KZbin with this. There was only problem as I saw it, it ended way too soon

[@ThomasWLalor]

This was MY pleasure to view. Thanks

[@Iancad1]

Absolutely fascinating!! I lived in Groveland back in the 1980's and remember the mighty sugar pines so well. You have done a great service by recording the glory days of California logging. KZbin at its very, very best.

[@cdouglas1942]

What a treasure those old photos are. Give life you your excellent oral description. Your HO efforts not too shabby either. Well done, thanks.

[@Vrod1432]

Awesome history lesson ! Thank you John and Jack.

[@denjhill]

I have a hard time imagining the amount of labor required to construct one of these operations. From roadbed building to hoist house construction to all the ancillary structures. Amazing. Great video.

[@uweschmidt4636]

Thanks!

[@tsgmultimedia]

Thank you, too!

[@thomasgrider6697]

That's pretty neat.👍🙂..I'm a sawmill worker myself..trimmer operator..and..i like seeing and learning the history of this type of work from back in earlier times..

[@popps2502]

Wow! Great presentation! Thank you for your time and work in making this video, injoyed watching.

[@Palmit_]

Utterly fascinating. I can only express my genuine thanks.

[@TomokosEnterprize]

Thanks so much. You have a great piece of our logging industry here.

[@barbaravickroy7563]

Thank you for this video....so interesting...l'm in my 80s, and Yosemite is a huge part of my girlhood, so tho living in the Ozarks now, a trip down memory lane is most welcomed.

[@livingadamman7994]

WOW the wonders of days gone by, some bloody nice logs there well worth the effort !

[@tomedgar4375]

Wow! Great presentation, thank you

[@georgeantonaros5580]

Absolutely a Fantastic Presentation of America’s History !! 😊

[@hsmallwood40]

thank you for your time to put this video together...

[@haroldchoate7497]

Thank you, that was a very entertaining presentation. The engineering involved in these systems is very impressive and sophisticated. The distance, weights and volumes were huge. They apparently operated for close to 40 years. The scale boggles my mind. Again thank you,

[@yvfan]

Thank you Harold! I totally agree with you! I was a civil engineer as was the designer of both inclines but he also was able to design the wire ropes used on the inclines as well as the loads on the rollers between the rails at the top of the incline as a loaded car started down the incline! Jack Burgess

[@OdeeOz]

One of the Marvels of Engineering Construction for its time. Thanks for sharing this with us all. 💯👍👏

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Thanks my friend.....This is outstanding awesome in ever way.....Your models are truly awesome in every way to....Work done logging is l thing the hardest work of all....Beautiful pictures of the way it was back many years ago....Once again thanks....!

[@yvfan]

If you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack

[@bruceb3786]

Positively incredible presentation and narration. Makes it like I was there ! The engineering and ingenuity of those folks 100 years ago still is astounding ! My respect and admiration.......Thank you.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@robertmarcotte4652]

Great job recording all of this for the sake of history. And presentation of the video 👍thx

[@orchidhouse297]

I was absolutely enthralled by the history wrapped into the video.. What impressive engineering.

[@1musicsearcher]

What a great video and narrative. Jack, I love your photos, they really show what “when men where men” meant.

[@jamesleem.d.7442]

Absorbing account, great photographs, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Cake41579]

Wow. Such a magnificent presentation and editing skills shown here. I Especially enjoyed the models. The attention to detail is unbelievable

[@travelingman484]

This movie was absolutely priceless to me. I was never one for the lumber railroads history and never really understood how they worked. I am totally taken back by the incredible ingenuity and backbone of these railroad men. This work was not for the faint of heart for sure. Thank you for a great education.

[@rossmurphy7675]

Thank you, thanks Jack, this is the best videos i have seen on this type of logging. I absolutely loved the photos and video as well.

[@yvfan]

I'm glad that you liked it so much. Jack Burgess

[@guillermoszittyay4969]

Excelent job! Very good fotos and beautiful model in HO scale!!! Thank you, that is a very entertaining presentation. From Rosario Argentina.

[@Crazy.Rocketman]

Awesome job sir! who the hell would give this a thumbs down? both my Grandfathers logged from about 1915 into the 60's I never new about the incline logging, now I do thanks to you.

[@johncowper-smith1169]

I am very impressed. A lot of work putting this together. Thanks

[@Wilett614]

Your HO model Railroad of YV is Outstanding ! Very well done and scaled . Great Craftsmanship ... Thanks for the Video too

[@neilwilliams2409]

Very interesting video. Credit to you excellent presentation. Really enjoyed watching. As a young lad I used to walk up a lane that followed the line of the first incline plane in the UK. Nothing like those on your presentation 👌.

[@keithsorrels6903]

Thanks so much on your excellent presentation about logging and especially inclines. I visited a Diamond Match incline remains on Butte Creek in Butte County CA some years ago. It was certainly not nearly as long as the one in incline, CA, and seeing it raised a lot of questions that you answered. I also was able to ride the cable car incline on Lookout Mtn just west of Chattanooga TN. It was interesting to see the cable and supporting structures in action. Your modeling looked real, amazing. Thanks again, k

[@bobschwarz3133]

Outstanding information. Good old Yankee ingenuity. I love it. Thank you so much.

[@w00dw0rks101]

Very much enjoyed this presentation and your knowledge of the lumbering operations. The lift house photos made me thing of the Basswood brake shoe I made for the Avery Island Salt mine in Louisiana. Still in use today I expect.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Not only was this incredibly interesting and educational, but the photos and your models are incredible, especially the guy signaling from the roof of the caboose and the line shot with the canyon photo in the background.

[@thomaswalla4210]

Fascinating video of a logging railroad and also great model work! Thanks for sharing!

[@yvfan]

Thanks Thomas...If you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack Burgess

[@WaltScrivens]

Amazing video and models. Thank you for sharing this!

[@joakiminnala2264]

Many thanks for the very interesting film. Very nice model railway.😃👍👍

[@yvfan]

Thanks...if you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack

[@jimhammond2396]

Absolutely a wonderful video to watch and a look t your remarkable hobby thanks for sharing

[@wideyxyz2271]

Brilliant piece very well presented with some fantastic history and amazing engineering. Fabulous modeling too.......

[@tsgmultimedia]

Many thanks!

[@mikemalliski8380]

Just a great video of how men really worked at one point in our country, so interesting and beautiful in that rugged terrain, thanks so much for making this video.

[@coltheesacker5656]

Very Cool!!!!!! Love the whole thing from the history, to the restored films to the models at the end!

[@normansilver905]

Thank you for posting this. It is a real part of the history of El Portal area.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@deeppurple3489]

That was a real cool presentation! Thanks so much!!

[@berkeleygang1834]

Outstanding job. Great production. Thank you very much.

[@johnhirtle4300]

Thank you for this wonderful glimpse into an amazing period of American history! Your model is spectacular!

[@michaelsouza3582]

One of my favorite drive's from Turlock. You nailed it.......

[@TheBobservations]

Truly outstanding and wonderful presentation. Thanks Jack.

[@mygarden365]

Thank You for presenting this video.

[@stevenpeaketrainsandstuff3682]

Excellent yarn mate. Enjoyed every minute of it. Amazing engineering skills to move loads up and down steep inclines.

[@dewiz9596]

Thank you. Very nice stuff. I learned a lot, which makes life worth living.

[@johnanthonygreen4684]

Very informative, and excellent presentation. Thank you.

[@tonydeleo3642]

Jack, thanks for the response and information!

[@TIMMEH19991]

Fabulous film! Thanks so much for making it and uploading it.

[@jerroldkazynski5480]

Nice work. Thanks for the yeoman efforts to collect the photos and film, then create this video, and your HO modeling. I live along the Fresno River, just a bit south of Yosemite.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Cool, thanks!

[@tracymesser296]

What a beautiful place to live! I’ll bet the views are breathtaking!!

[@southoripper]

Fantastic job on this film! I've watched lots of old train documentaries here on the tube but I've never seen one that was about this vertical logging... I had no idea it existed! Thanks for posting, and your models are really cool!!

[@yvfan]

If you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack

[@johnhirtle4300]

Thank you for this captivating exploration of California history. Especially enjoyed your beautiful modeling of the Railroad and incline!

[@deecooper1567]

As. Child growing up, my father worked in the logging industry. He was a Jack of all trades…. Meaning he did several different jobs from running heavy equipment, climbing trees, cutting down, even hauling to the mills. I remember the ponds overflowing with logs waiting to be cut or transported somewhere else. I was only allowed to go with him at certain times & had to stay in the truck. A Very hard job & many accidents. Thank you for sharing this. 👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@johnbarham7718]

Yes I really did enjoy the presentation.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Awesome, thank you!

[@charliemessenger6537]

My grandfather worked there in the late ‘30’s. He ran a donkey at one time. He had his knee crushed loading either a flat car or a truck, I don’t recall. Not a convenient place for a major injury. Thanks for this video.

[@charleshaggard4341]

Great work...what a passion this is for you and it shows....I enjoyed your video very much...

[@yvfan]

Regarding my passion, check out the video on my Yosemite Valley Railroad layout: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack Burgess

[@johnmoyer2255]

Awesome ! Thank you for sharing this video !

[@ohkeydokey]

Marvelous work, many thanks for showing this!

[@daveaharonian5541]

A fascinating operation. Thanks for sharing this!

[@bobocaterpillar3697]

this is so COOL!! i had no idea they did it like this. GOOD JOB on the documentation!

[@maccourt8230]

Thank you Jack, incredible work and amazing modelling. Cheers Mac

[@yvfan]

Mac...if you are interested, the video of my entire layout is at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs Jack

[@thehamelsduck1600]

What a really informative video. Very cool story of incline logging. Awesome job on the video.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Thank you very much!

[@jeffreymcconnell6794]

Excellent work! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

[@tsgmultimedia]

My pleasure!

[@loganpe427]

Yeah, a world I'm fascinated by but have never had the opportunity to get involved in, wonderful!

[@michiganhoosiers03]

Great video. Loved your modeling of the actual rr. Thanks for sharing this, it was very informative and interesting!

[@skydiverclassc2031]

It always amazes me just how much preparatory work went in to getting the logs out to the mill. Hoist houses, rail lines, bridges, trestles, cables, all that stuff. At around 13:00, I would imagine that wooden bridge would have to be removed at the end of each season for it to be useful as lumber. It would rot pretty severely if left out there for a few winters until they were done with it. Have you ever heard of the Diamond Match Co. railroads in Butte and Tehama Counties in Northern California? Very extensive railroad system up til about 1953; now replaced by dirt roads. A good book called Matches, Rails, and Flumes details the history of the railroads. It featured a double incline, meaning the loaded cars were let down one side of Butte Creek Canyon, and then hoisted up the other and hooked into the mainline to Stirling City. Thanks for the presentation and the history lesson.

[@skipgilbert1190]

I enjoyed the video of the logging operation in Yosemite. I have visited Yosemite twice and always wondered how the logging operation worked. As I travel and hike in the Rocky Mountains I would think similar logging methods were used to log the forest. As I hike In the mountains I look for the big trees but realize that they were all logged back in the early 1900’s. Great research and documentation of a long gone industry.

[@MrRangeley]

Outstanding work! both in chronicling and modelling. Thanks for sharing. I never knew about the cable trams in the Yosemite area. amazing engineering, consrtruction and operation.

[@markdeschane4467]

I was always interested in your log Incline, Jack. To see how the real ones operated is a real treat! Thanks Jack!!!

[@pnwRC.]

Great video. THANKS for sharing!

[@tsgmultimedia]

You're welcome, and thanks for watching!

[@ablemagawitch]

Thank you for such an educational video. I don't was more enjoyable the eye candy in the photos, that you explained & drew attention to in the photos or the rest of educational content about Shay engines and how the entire cable system worked. Had to go to highest quality and full screen on the computer to watch this one... Didn't want to miss anything. Hopefully all the content you digitized and transferred from old films will be download and reproduced to numerous sources, so they propagate on what ever the next new digital viewing form is and storage methods.

[@jccolmenero1499]

What a great, and informative video! Thank you!

[@jamestommasin6542]

Thank you Jack, enjoyed it.

[@terrystewart2070]

Thank you Jack that was great!

[@kenzodrow9604]

thank you you have outdone most videos that i have seen, coming from a logger and the changes i have seen, anytime you think you have it rough just look back at how these folks lived

[@cadmanchannel]

That was great! Thank you for sharing.

[@NorthRunner64]

Thanks for the history, great video and story, your models must be a great pleasure.

[@yvfan]

Yes, my hobby is actually scratchbuilding models of the Yosemite Valley Railroad structures and equipment. There are about 100 scratchbuilt structures on my layout (no kits at all) and I have finished all of the equipment on the YV in August 1939 (the month and year that I model) except three passenger cars. If you are interested, you can see my entire layout on KZbin at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mqnI1-gdZ0grs John Abatecola (who owns TSG and who puts these videos together) and I have also put together 15 other KZbin videos ranging from scratchbuilding with styrene to modeling details using historic photos. You should be able to find those videos by searching for "Jack Burgess TSG". Jack

[@localcrew]

An amazing slice of history. Thanks for sharing this unique place.

[@1GirlieGirl]

I was just in Jackson Hole & we drove the Teton Pass to Victor, Idaho. The most breathtaking scenery. The mountains are crazy steep. This is incredible.

[@toddwmac]

Thanks for sharing you passion....much appreciated.