Re: Regional logging differences

JB - As to the original question - this could take pages of explaination. First is the consideration of the species being logged, which is a result of the geographic area. Second would be the difficulty of the local terrain and the lay of the land. Also geographical. To a lesser extent would be the influences of local markets, labor force, culture etc etc. Also of less importance, but still sometimes a factor, would be types of local non-timber industries.
Of course we also can't forget the particular location itself in respect to the general era most logging took place. Examples would include the upper midwest where most railroad commercial logging took place prior to the turn of the last century - when equipment was primitive and much smaller.
All these factors dictate the kind of equipment being used and the kind of operations in general.
Books and books have been written and I couldn't even attempt to cover it here. The best solution is to ask these questions - 1) What part of the country? 2)What era? 3)Specific prototype in mind? From there I might only have to type a few pages.........
I strongly suggest the 4-L list (Loyal Legion of Logged-On Loggers) where these kinds of discussion take place daily (just like here). Our excellent magazine, TimberTimes, is also a great source for info. (Our competitor Tall Timber Short Lines is pretty good too!).
It's a huge subject that I find most interesting. Lon Wall
TimberTimes magazine