Crawlers I photo'd recently.

[Truck Shop]

TS Is this building still standing? It reminds me of the Coca Cola building that was in Santa Maria Ca.

Yes and no--IIRC only part of it is left.

 

[Truck Shop]

Stone Machinery--shop here in town 1956.

 

[Truck Shop]

 

[Pops52]

I wonder what that HD7 sounds like at 2000 rpm’s. Sun up to sun down.

 

[Tones]

When I was younger and dumber would have loved it. In those days a tractor wasn't a tractor unless it had a straight exhaust pipe.
Excuse me, I can see your lips moving, stop whispering.

 

[Truck Shop]

People just can't stand the thought of old technology like crawlers, trucks, cars whatever
going by by. Can you imagine if all the old iron was still everywhere, just laying about,
behind every barn, shop, front yards, inner cities, small towns across the nation. All the
old ships laying about in harbors. And along with all that the amount of rats and rodents
living in that old rusty crap. All because it {might} have a use someday, hoarding old
inventions built of iron/steel. It's good it's recycled, and some of that recycled steel is
used to build more------------Shears & Snips.
*

 

[Willie B]

This area Willie---despite what some would think or say----is where Caterpillar really got
it's start. The land is steep, way too steep for wheel tractors. Holt & Best staked their
claims right here in Walla Walla. Read the bottom line in the photo.
*
View attachment 329115

Interresting, you feel it is steep terrain that encouraged crawlers on farm land in other areas. I guessed it had more to do with soil.
While I've never seen a crawler pulling a plow, the first local four wheel drive tractor was a Ford County. That farmer rarely used any of the other several modern tractors he owned. I'll say early 1970s he bought it.
Right here, farm land is steep! Gives me a real pucker driving a tall tricycle tractor on sidehill land. I have a Farmall Cub, offset. It is pretty stable when downhill is on the right, turning around, I get the sense it'd go over on its side pretty easy.
My M is well over 8' wide, but sidehills make me uneasy.

 

[Truck Shop]

 

[DMiller]

Steep is a Mild descriptor word.

 

[Truck Shop]

Steep is a Mild descriptor word.

very true---many of these hillsides on a combine with leveling capable of 33% incline run
slightly over that.

 

[Dan_Bucket]

My father was in the Navy during the Korean War, part of his job including rebuilding engines for small boats of up to maybe a couple hundred HP. So back in the 1970's he got an Oliver dozer for free, like the photo attached so he rebuilt the engine, he pulled the pistons which he welded and machined(he then worked in a machine shop), replaced the rings, honed out the cylinders and got it running. I sure could use to have dad around these days.

 

[Truck Shop]

Interresting, you feel it is steep terrain that encouraged crawlers on farm land in other areas.

It's not my thought it's fact--in this area. Below is a half way decent photo I took this last
year during harvest, note--the Deere combine is at 34% incline at this point. Maxed out
and still tilting, in these situations the operator crabs the steering and header is slightly
angled up hill, not uncommon for one to slide 8' or so.
*

 

[Truck Shop]

In this documentary it will show many wheel tractors, but remember it was tractor show
that brought every tractor manufacture here to show their machines.
*

 

[Truck Shop]

The original site is only a few miles from my house, and pretty much flat ground.
*

 

[Truck Shop]

 

[Willie B]

Vermont has five zones. Southern is STEEP, only flat is the tippy top of a mountain, or near flat along a major river, otherwise it is described as perfectly flat, but stood on end.
Central opens up a bit, there are a few near level meadows.
North West is Addison & Chittenden counties. Huge flat meadows, made of the slimiest clay for 8 days after a rain. It rains every week.
North East has nice farm land.
Down the middle is the Green Mountains.

 

[Truck Shop]

The thing I like about this thread, it brings out all the {it could still be used ideas}.
Yes I suppose these old crawlers could still be used. Now in this day and age given
the advancements of a fully enclosed ROP high track against a old non-enclosed
with ROP low track which one do you think people are going to choose? So the
question exists-----just how many need to be preserved? I don't see anyone wanting
to resurrect covered wagons-----there is a thought--a 12 valve Cummins powered
covered wagon--the best of both old worlds.
*
I take the photos for remembrance---photos are much cheaper to store and take much
less space then the real thing.
*
4014 Big Boy--only need one for people to see.

 

[Welder Dave]

It is very impressive though especially considering how old it is. They didn't have computers and finite element design back when the Big Boy's were made. I'd imagine there were thousands of blueprints filling large rooms and hundreds of engineers. With a lot being rivetted means there isn't much margin for error.

 

[Tones]

A small crop farmer near me still uses a D4D for all his cultivation work. It's never had a blade on it, it's survived being under flood waters at least 4 times that I know of. I doubt any modern tractor would be recovered and repaired like what this Lil jigger has be through

 

[DMiller]

My only point is these antiques will still be available when the electronics ones are non-repairable.