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military earthmoving equipment owners?

hotdogs151a2

Member
149
14
18
Location
Bullswamp,SC
Hello All:
I too was an equipment operator for a National Guard unit. When I got out of the USMC my hunting and fishing buddies were all members of that unit. After many attempts they talked me into trying it out. I fell in love with the 290 and 830. As Mr. abh3 stated "You had to be a man to run one all day long" It was very tough to run one all day long in our South Carolina 100+ heat and 99% RH. While you were cutting the floor boards would burn your feet with your boots on. Then they would cool off on your way the the fill site.

The old guys would say "If you can't run one out of fuel by the end of the day, you are not doing your job here". When the old 290's and 830's left and the Cat 629B were shipped to us, we all said "Now we have a scrapper" boy was we wrong. Now they use laser grading systems. The equipment operator does not have to think the "system" tells him what to do.

What would the WW II equipment operators do with a laser system? Don't you need battery power for the laser system? I guess they don't know about running a dozer by the "feel" in the seat of your pants.

I am adding some pictures of an 8 cu. yd. scrapper I run across, I am waiting on the Owner to contact me if he wants to sell. I have heard about a smaller version of the 290, 830 but this is the first one that i have seen.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings.
Thanks, Pvt. Hotdog
 

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kaveman31

New member
7
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Location
glendive, mt
my dad and myself just bought a 1969 allis chalmers 645 its in amazing shape for being 42 years old. well its almost perfect except for the transmission is weak its a Allison tt 2420-1 if anyone has any manuals they would like to sell or share for this machine it would be much appreciated and i love this site
 

maddawg308

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
10,864
750
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Location
Appomattox, VA
Saw this on eBay a few days ago - no link because that's against the rules, but only the pics is what I need.

This is a military C-model Tournadozer, made by Le Tourneau in 1956. Almost looks silly, like a kids' toy, but back in the 1950s it was a serious earthmoving machine. In a world of tracked dozers that were slow and ungainly, this unit had respectable road speeds and pushing power in a wheeled dozer package. Powered by a Detroit 6-71 diesel engine, and is mechanical drive (many of Le Tourneau's creations were electric drive, the engine powering a generator that powered an electric motor on each wheel hub). Few survive today, most of them having been worked to death, here and abroad. Most of those that were purchased by the Army were used stateside for construction projects, including with the Army Corps of Engineers. By the time Vietnam had rolled around, most of them were retired in favor of newer Caterpillar units that were tracked, with hydraulic blades.

The one is pictures 1-4 has had the front blade lift replaced by a hydraulic unit. The original would have had an electric cable winch to raise and lower the blade. R.G. LeTourneau hated hydraulics, as back in the 1940-50s hydraulics were notoriously unreliable, mainly due to limitations in valve bank technology and leather washers which leaked all the time. Instead, the majority of his designs used electric winches, or rack-and-pinion gear setups, to move the equipment around.

Pictures 5-8 are a civilian model, that was found in a junkyard and restored to its former glory. The last pic will show how toy-like the piece looks.
 

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814
16
18
Location
Universal City, TX
There was a scrapyard in Raeford, NC (Jack's, I believe) that had a bunch of military surplus hidden in the back. I found the front of an 290M and a road grader from the 50s or so. The grader was originally from the 618th (LE)(ABN) ENG CO (could still see the numbers barely) of which I was with for a while. Wish I had taken pictures.
 

paradeduty

New member
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Location
Chelsea, Michigan, U.S.A.
That LeTourneau C Wheeled Dozer sure looks like a large modern "skid steer" (Bobcat,etc.). If not for scale with the operator, would look like an early/experimental skid steer especially the shot of it pushing uphill. Very Cool.
 

rtk

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,189
442
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Location
Lockport N.Y.
100_1010.jpg100_1011.jpgD7 on display at the Seabee Memorial at Fishermen's Park , North Tonawanda ,NY . Believe it said 1944 on the D plate .
 

Lust4GreenSteel

New member
154
8
0
Location
KC MO
I realize that the references to the 645M are several years old ....... but ----

There is a working one (needs brakes) in NW Missouri. It is being used in the yard of a parts dealer who is buying and selling Allis Chalmers heavy equipment parts. I stopped in one day to ask him if it was for sale and he indicated he would be willing to part with it. He started off asking 9K for it, but after negotiating terms, I had him down to about 7K delivered to my farm ten miles away. I seriously considered buying it, but soon sobered up and realized that being able to afford the purchase wasn't good enough and that I probably couldn't afford to keep it maintained since I am not capable of doing the work myself.

While I was toying with the idea of owning the loader, I purchased the TM from an eBay dealer.

If anyone is interested in owning the machine, PM me and I will provide contact info. If the mods think the TM would be of value in this site's archives, I can try to get it copied and uploaded (will take a little time as I am up to my ears in other projects).

LMK if there is any interest either way.
 

Triple Jim

Well-known member
1,375
286
83
Location
North Carolina
The factory film of the Tournadozer shows a very risky way to push over a tree. Bang into a random tree like that and have something near the top break off, and you might find yourself with a broken neck.
 

westfolk

Active member
308
156
43
Location
PA
Yep, I can do that. I am bringing it back to life.
FWIW, here's a CASE 1150(though there are D-plates all over, nowhere does it have an M number). Due to hurricane Sandy this was about 10 feet under water for a few days on Breezy Point(just south of Brooklyn). When I pulled the plug on the oil pan between 30-40 gallons of salt water came out.
Had 1104 original hours on it when I got it this last summer, now around 1180. Put a few hours and about $500 into it and it's as good as new. They just put a complete new undercarrage on it and used it about 5 hours prior to going under water. The engine was tight, but not stuck. Most of the money was spent on electrics, and a couple seals.

DSC00001.jpgDSC00005.jpg
 

iatractor

Member
225
19
18
Location
SE Iowa
One thing about the military earthmoving equipment is that most of it has been put to regular use in civilian hands. Some of those Clark M290's made their way onto farms a four wheel drive tractor long before IH, Deere and the rest started putting that much horsepower to the ground.
 

silverstate55

Unemployable
2,075
872
113
Location
UT
Here's my 1942 Caterpillar D4-5T bulldozer (hydraulic, adjustable angle blade), which began life with the US Army. You can still see the original OD paint underneath the peeling Cat yellow coat. It runs & works, but needs a full service and adjustments. It has a pull-start pony motor, which is intact & working, and yes I do have the pull cord. It's had a hard life, but I managed to save it from the scrapper for a good price. I hauled it to its new home via Donner Pass with no problems.

1942_Cat_D4-5T_02.jpg 1942_Cat_D4-5T_02a.jpg 1942_Cat_D4-5T_02b.jpg

1942_Cat_D4-5T_02c.jpg 1942_Cat_C4-5T_Dozer_03.jpg
 
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