By HCEA Canada
Pictured here, in 1971, is an offloading of logs at Menzies Bay in British Columbia. Situated north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island, this was prime logging territory for the MacMillan-Bloedel Company.
Following a meagre start in 1911 as the Powell River Company, the firm had expanded into the United States and United Kingdom by the 1960s. A decade later, MacMillan-Bloedel had diversified into forest products such as lumber, building material, pulp and newsprint, becoming one of North America’s largest suppliers.
RELATED: HCEA Canada digs into the past
In the rugged terrain of British Columbia, logging trucks were always being upgraded with horsepower & carrying capacity. The Terex Model R35 prime mover shown here was reconfigured from a 31.8 tonne (35 ton) quarry rear-dump hauler to a logging off-road tractor.
Usually, these models were powered by a 12V-71T Detroit Diesel rated at 336 kW (450 hp) and coupled with an Allison transmission. However, later models had an optional Cummins KT19-C engine, rated similarly.
Several truck manufacturers, including Pacific Trucks, Western Star, Hayes, Kenworth, Mack and Peterbuilt made heavy duty logging trucks based on the needs of British Columbia’s loggers.
In the late 1960s, General Motors faced pressure from the United States government to divest interest in some of its divisions, including the Euclid Construction Division. As a result, a new division was formed and the Euclid model lines were rebranded ‘Terex’—still the same green colour, but with a new name. Industry veterans may remember Blackwood-Hodge Equipment Ltd as one of the Terex dealers in Canada.
HCEA Canada is looking forward to its June event, if the pandemic restrictions have been fully lifted.
The ‘Wheels & Tracks in Motion’ event will be held at the Simcoe County Museum on Saturday, June 11 & Sunday June 12, 2022 and the ‘Last Blast’ event is scheduled to be held in October. Both will be held at Simcoe County Museum, of which HCEA Canada is a proud Heritage Partner.
Please check the HCEA Canada website for updates: www.hceacanada.org.
