johnsmachines

How cool is this machine?

It is a winch which was used in logging in the Otway Ranges, Victoria, Australia.

These coastal hills were extensively logged in the last century, but logging has been significantly controlled in recent decades.

Some of the tallest trees in the world are still to be found in this area (Victorian Mountain Ash), growing in deep gullies which were inaccessible to the loggers.

The area is also periodically subject to ferocious bush fires. And with a severe El Nino weather pattern forming at present, we are facing such a threat this (southern hemisphere) summer.

Click on the arrow to see the winch working.  Judging by the steam leaks, it has seen better days.