Ollie Smith's Chain-driven Vehicle

摘要

In 1942 he was carting logs for Gamman and Company's sawmill at Mamaku. Gammons had an extensive tramway but at that time they had a problem. The sawmiller used a small locomotive, formerly NZR G58, to transport men into the bush, but the locomotive became uneconomic to repair. Ollie Smith converted a truck to run on rails and over a 20-year period he operated many rail-mounted vehicles on a contract basis for Gammans, the NZR sawmill at Mamaku, and other sawmills in the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty areas. Between 1942 and 1954 he built 25 vehicles that were used to haul logs, transport men to and from the bush (these were known as'jiggers'), maintain tramlines, and haul sawn timber loaded into NZR wagons from the mill to Mamaku Station. His log-hauling vehicles were capable of carrying up to 50 tons of logs at speeds approaching 30 miles an hour. He was known for his inventiveness in building, modifying, and repairing rail-mounted vehicles.