(1) Lamborghini used to make its own line of bulldozers (2) The first self-propelled tracked-tractor was invented in 1857, the WP Miller though was not very practical (3) Alvin Lombard built the first practical tracked-tractor in Waterville, Maine in 1900 (4) Benjamin Holt saw Alvin Lombard's log hauler in action in Wisconsin 2 years after he patented it, but is still known widely for having invented the tracked-tractor. (5) Alvin Lombard sued Benjamin Holt over copyright infringement, and actually won in court (6) Sadly Alvin Lombard was no better. His design was actually inspired by Johnson Woodbury or Patten, Maine when they worked as Millwrights building the Great Northern Papermills together in Millinockette, Maine. Woodbury lacked the funds to start a foundry, and the town of Patten, Maine refused to lend him money however 2 years before he met Lombard. (7) Caterpillar actually started out as failure. It was formed by two competing, and bankrupt companies; Holt and Best. Desperate, they formed the Caterpillar Corporation on March 2nd 1925 to combine assets and beat their debtors. (8) Bulldozer blades were not installed on tracked-tractors until the 1930's when R. G LeTourneau installed the blade on the front, the machines always being used to tow implements up until that point. (9) John Deere, was a late comer to the game and did not start building bulldozers until 1949 under the Linde-Deere name. Basically a track conversion for a John Deere Tractor. In the 1950's they started building their own bulldozers. (10) Ford Tractors were a bit earlier, but were conversions too under the Fordson name. They not only made Ford Tractors that rode on tracks, half-tracks, but also screws that floated on water and over snow, and made a half/wheel-half-track for Ford Tractors as well, known as square wheeled tractors. So the next time you are watching Jeopardy, and the topic of bulldozers comes up, you'll sound incredibly smart.
Those Lombard log haulers are too cool. I would love to have one of those. Theres a guy on the forestry forum that restores them.
I got to drive a Steam Lombard last year, that was really cool. The University of Maine rebuilt a steam Log Hauler at its experimental wood station called Lennards Woods and they do a big Loggers Day every October. Half my church volunteers there. Anyway they give Lombard rides and allow a person per trip to steer the thing, that was what I did. It was cool. Firewood. Big Steam. Bulldozer. What was not to love.
Then come on up to Maine in October and drive one! I posted pictures of that on here back last October but I cannot find how to search for them, and where they are stored on my computer is just as elusive. But you can't say, "no pictures, did not happen", because I did post them on here. The group that restored the Lombard said it was a community effort and that they felt just starting it up and showing it off was not what was best for the tractor; they wanted to give people rides so they could enjoy the hard work that went into restoring it.
I got his book and it certainly is inspiration. I think he was bankrupt 3 times by age 40 by the time he got his feet under him and started making machines. Then by the 1960's he was building the biggest equipment in the world. I got his book and read it a few times...
My brother is a teacher at Fordson Highschool in Dearborn, MI, home to Ford Motor Company. Their mascot is the "Tractors."
The story goes that Lamborghini got pizzed at having to repeatedly replace the clutch in his Ferrari, and Enzo was a duck about it, so he had his tractor company fix it and then to show up Enzo decided to start his own automobile company. Typical hot blooded Italians
If you like old logging stuff. Here's a place The first building has been replaced by a huge a-frame style building https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...CD4wCw&usg=AFQjCNF1sHlk2z9QIx28jtvfnGP_UlkifA
Letourneau is the father of all modern equipment. Some of the designs were...interesting, but his concepts and designs either have influenced or are in use in modern equipment everywhere. One of my favorites was the giant tree stomper. I thought this old IH dozer vid was pretty neat whence I seent it.
Let's try this. http://lumbermuseum.org/ I'd love to have a gathering at the museum for us hoarders!! There are some really cool things to see there for being out in the mountains. Beautiful area!
Here's a video of the Fordson Snow-motor screw drive snow machine, including a little logging action.
My grandfather told me about a dozer with a big generator on it. The gen was used to power a huge 2 man chainsaw. This would have been like rite before ww2 broke out, grandpa was on the saw for a couple months before he went off to the war. There is mention of these setups in a local logging history book. I dont know if this was a production line thing, or something locals conjured up on their own.
