They Build Giant "Logging Wheels"

They Build Giant "Logging Wheels" AG WORLD 25-1-23 Back in the early 1900's, horse-pulled logging carts equipped with giant wooden wheels that measured up to 12 ft. in diameter were often used to drag big logs out of swampy areas. Werner Wagon Works of Horton, Kan., still builds the big "logging wheels". FARM SHOW recently spotted their ad in Draft Horse Journal. "We specialize in wood wagons and horse drawn vehicles, so building these logging wheels is natural for us," says owner Don Werner. "Some horse people still like them because they don't tear up the ground like dozers do. In a lot of cases it's the only way they can haul logs out of swamps without getting stuck. They use two or four horses depending on the size of the log. Our standard wheels measure 8 ft. in diameter and have 4-in. wide steel rims. They weigh 500 to 600 lbs. We install our own æReal McCoy' roller bearing hub inserts in the wheels so they pull easier. Once you get the big wheels moving, it's surprising how easy the cart pulls." According to Werner, logging carts were widely used in the comparatively flat forest land of central and southern Oregon and northern California. "A crew of men bunched the logs and made them up into loads. Someone dug a shallow trench under the logs just forward of the weight center. The driver backed the wheels astride the load, and the logs were chained to the hoisting rigging. As the team started ahead, the tongue slid forward, pulled on a chain and the forward ends of logs were lifted. The harder the team pulled, the higher the logs went. Going down heavy grades, the tongue was pushed back to let logs down to act as brakes. "At landings, the logs were unchained and loaded on railroad cars." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Werner Wagon Works, Don and Connie Werner, 1705 Yates Road, Horton, Kan. 66439 (ph toll-free 877 460-4978 or 785 486-3758; fax 6690; E-mail: wagons@rainbowtel.net; Website: www.rainbowtel.net/~wagons).

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