Tractomotive, a wheel loader pioneer
Image: A survivor, a Tractomotive model TL-20, still with its factory-fitted cab. The TL-20 carried a very useful five cubic yards and was quite at...
Category : Classic Machines
A no-frills pivot-steer wheel loader with brutish good looks
Image: First appearing in 1959, this is a Euclid model L-30, the granddaddy of the Euclid/Terex 72-51. This example has not seen any work for...
Caterpillar’s foray into hydraulic excavators
Image: A very early Caterpillar 5130 rigged as a backhoe and fitted with the long 5.2-metre stick. This particular machine appears to be equipped with...
A really big tractor: the Caterpillar D10
Image: Very early production Caterpillar D10 goes about its business in some fairly heavy rock, a normal operating environment for this machine when it first...
First ‘super dozer’ Allis-Chalmers’ HD-41
Image: This HD-41 is working in Europe with another Allis-Chalmers product, an HD-21, in the background. This photo shows how the rear decking was sloped...
International Harvester’s big PayHauler
Image: Seen amongst spectacular scenery, three of New Zealand-based Baker Construction’s International PayHaulers, (two 340s and a 350) pose beside Lake Pukaki. They are being loaded...
Early Hitachi excavators
This story is not an exhaustive history of Hitachi’s excavators, but more of an overview of how things progressed from their first steps after WW2,...
The Caterpillar 245 – Quarry master
Caterpillar was a very late entrant to the hydraulic excavator marketplace, and not all its early attempts were stellar offerings. However, the model 245 was...
The Euclid R-15 – Quarry Stalwart
Reliability in what can be a very harsh environment – the Euclid R-15 delivered this in spades along with extremely rugged construction and basic ease...
Crushers – an ABC primer
This is my first Classical Machines article for Q&M magazine and I thought I would ‘break the ice’ so to speak, by outlining the types...