In the early 1900s, Silver Falls Timber Company's Shay No. 1 steam locomotive brought in the first trainload of Douglas Fir logs from the Abiqua basin. This basin is in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range in western Oregon. The men on the right are constructing a donkey sled, or "shoes" as they were sometimes called. This sled will support a steam donkey. Steam donkeys were used to yard and load logs (yarding logs means bringing them in from the logging site to the loading point).

During the "glory days" of logging, Silver Falls Timber Company had many miles of logging railroad. The last trainload of logs taken out of the woods by this company was in 1936. A devastating forest fire, which has always been the greatest menace faced by loggers, marked the end of the company.