I'm modeling a large lumberyard circa 1950's and would like to include a special lumber handling vehicle that would have been common at that time. I have seen photos and recently saw an example in an old Cary Grant movie of this special vehicle type. I would assume these were replaced by forklifts and other modern materials handling vehicles due to their more limited maneuverability and their inability to stack materials much higher than about 8 feet. About the only way to describe these vehicles would be a four-wheeled tractor on stilts. The operator would drive the vehicle over the material load with the load centered between the wheels. The operator could then grab and lift the load up to the tractor's belly, then move the tractor to wherever the load needed to be placed. I could swear that I've seen HO scale kits of these vehicles in older Walthers catalogs but can find nothing today. Anyone know what these were called so I can look up photos of examples? If I can scratch build HO Scale midget race cars, I should be able to model one of these vintage lumberyard vehicles.
Hornblower
Another Mystery.
Thank You.
I guess the term would be Gerlinger Lumber Carrier.
Lumber mills and yards used a variety of usually home-brewed equipment for handling logs, so my best bet would be scratchbuilding it.
The Gerlinger straddle carrier was one I hadn't heard of, so thanks for that Ulrich. I was familiar with the Hyster, but there were others like the Ross and Clark.
Keith Wiseman offers a model of the Gerlinger:
http://www.locopainter.com/store/product.php?id=363
IIRC, there's at least one more model. It's late, so maybe be later before I find it. Will post when I do.
EDIT: I'm thinking of the SS Ltd model, which is the one Keith is now producing.
The Ross was apparently the daddy of them all: http://www.rootsofmotivepower.com/lumber-carrier-ross-straddle-carrier
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
N Scale Gerlinger Lumber Carrier -very nice model
http://www.shapeways.com/product/2REJJ787G/n-logging-gerlinger-lumber-carrier-3-pcs?li=search-results-1&optionId=41134812
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
I love this forum! Thank you all for your responses, photos and even model source references. You guys nailed it! I love the fact that there were so many different versions of these vehicles. If you look closely at the first photo link provided by NDG, there are two more carriers in the background that look quite different from the carrier in the foreground. As I am working in HO scale, I will look into the Keith Wiseman offering but thanks for the reference to the N scale model, too. That just may be the link someone working in N scale might need for their layout should they read this thread. Again, a big thank you to you all!!
I just did a little more snooping (now that I know the right term to use in my web search) and found that the Gerlinger company is still making straddle carriers up to 90,000 pounds capacity. Other sites show huge straddle carriers used in intermodal facilities tall enough to stack several shipping containers atop one another. Looking at the various photos I found, my best guess would be that the carrier I saw in the Cary Grant movie was a Hyster MH3.
The Keith Wiseman model is of the 1923 Gerlinger lumber carrier shown in the photos Ulrich provided. I think such a model (or two) would fit nicely in my lumberyard scene.
Not directly RR-related, but might make an interesting load, since we're talking straddle carriers, they did have uses for all sorts of difficult to handle items, so keep them in mind for industrial size loads of things other than lumber. How about hydrogen bombs?
http://814thcds.com/nuclear-weapon-convoy-duty.htm
Yep, this one's a Ross.
In 1953/54 I had a model Hyster Straddle Carrier It was the 12" model:
http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/Strad2.html
Don't know what happended to it. It was a very rugged model. Much better than most toys availanle today.
At the steel plant where I worked, we had Ross Carriers for carrying coils of steel. A round battering ram-like protrusion slipped into the open centre of the coil to enable it to be lifted without damage - coils could be hot or cold. The capacity was probable less than 20 tons.I also recall seeing some for slabs, perhaps 40 ton capacity - two pairs of clamping devices grasped the bottom slab near the front and back to enable the pile to be lifted.
Later, the company used Kress Carriers of probably 100 ton capacity. These eventually replaced rail delivery of the slabs from the caster - the slab cars were converted from steam locomotive tenders, and had a capacity of 160 tons. There were over 125 of these Hi-Riser cars in service, all from locomotives scrapped (many from U.S. roads) at the plant.
Wayne
DSchmittIn 1953/54 I had a model Hyster Straddle Carrier It was the 12" model: http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/Strad2.html
That thing is just too cool.
Must've been an inspiration to you and anyone else who ever put a hand on one!
I presume very collectible now? Were these postwar? Or something older? Looks like somehow a firm that was trying to fill holes with their skillset, tools, etc previously devoted to war production with something as an alternative. I know nothing about such models, but the quality seems over the top compared to let's say Lionel? Not trying to start an argument about THAT, different forum I believe, but just trying to understand the genesis of West Coast manufacturing that eventually produced Athearn, etc.
Another story from the olden days:
When I was about 5 in 1950, I saw one of these drive past my house--on a fairly major city street east of downtown LA. It's the kind of thing that sticks in a little kid's mind.
Here's a picture of one in a movie (1952--Monkey Business):
You'll note there's a license plate. So this one, at least, was street legal.
Ed
Hornblower,
You might be thinking of the Cox lumber carrier: 6234-3
It was around 1975-76.
Hornblower, I heartily agree on both counts, the forum is great and a straddle carrier would fit nicely in a lumberyard scene.
Saw my first straddle carrier in a lumber yard as a boy in the late 50s. Saw several of them (Hysters) in use at an oil refinery carrying lots of different loads, heat exchanger bundles, pipe, scrap metal collection boxes, scaffolding and cribbing.
Thanks for the blast from the past, regards, Peter
mlehman DSchmitt In 1953/54 I had a model Hyster Straddle Carrier It was the 12" model: http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/Strad2.html That thing is just too cool. Must've been an inspiration to you and anyone else who ever put a hand on one! I presume very collectible now? Were these postwar? Or something older? Looks like somehow a firm that was trying to fill holes with their skillset, tools, etc previously devoted to war production with something as an alternative. I know nothing about such models, but the quality seems over the top compared to let's say Lionel? Not trying to start an argument about THAT, different forum I believe, but just trying to understand the genesis of West Coast manufacturing that eventually produced Athearn, etc.
DSchmitt In 1953/54 I had a model Hyster Straddle Carrier It was the 12" model: http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/Strad2.html
Have searched the net for info on Druge Brothers. Found no info. It appears the straddle carrier model was their only product.
Ad dated 1948 http://www.tnttoytrucks.com/StradLit1.html
Asking prices on EBAY $200+ Found an Actuion site where one sold for $150.
Yean, not much info out there. 1948 is suggestive of the scenario I laid out. Or maybe not. But that is a much more affordable than I suspected. And if one was found with the carrier platform, looks like aluminum and easy enough to scratch-up, just for appearance's sake.
Thanks for the info.
That's pretty cool that COX used to make a lumber carrier but since I know I saw a model listed in older Walthers catalogs, it must have been the model formerly made by SS LTD.
I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for one of the COX models though as I picked up a couple of COX caboose models at a train show a while back.
I ordered a couple of the Wiseman Model Services kits and received them in the mail on Saturday. I'm working through the first kit now and its definitely a challenge. The instructions are pretty brief consisting of a parts list, a few sketches and text instructions. Most of the time I've spent so far has been to file off flash, drill various holes and try to piece the puzzle together. The parts list does not include sketches of the individual parts and the parts are not numbered. Thus, you have to stare at the sketches a lot and try to figure out what goes where. Fortunately, I have a lot of automotive experience so some of the parts are fairly recognizable. I'm still scratching my head over others. The killer is going to be bending, cutting and fitting the various hydraulic lines and linkages from 0.010" and 0.016" wire. Once I figure out the first kit, I might try to do a review with step by step photos.
7j43k Hornblower, You might be thinking of the Cox lumber carrier: 6234-3 It was around 1975-76. Ed
I have one of these models. It looks better with a little bit of paint and weathering. Sorry no picture.
j...........
There is a Laurel and Hardy film that shows one of these lumber carriers in use, I believe it was called Busy Bodies.
A newer version used in the 60's, my dad's first job at the J Neils Lumber Co. in Libby Mt. I remember seeing at least a dozen of these things runing around the mill as a child on a bike.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
basementdweller There is a Laurel and Hardy film that shows one of these lumber carriers in use, I believe it was called Busy Bodies.
Jusr over 2 min in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZujoJaR2ERY