Caterpillar 60

The Caterpillar Sixty Horsepower tractor crawler of 1919, became the world's first successful bulldozer.Initially developed by the C.L.Best Company of California it was one of the models carried over when they merged in 1925 with the Holt Company to form the company what was to become known as Caterpillar. It helped launch the Caterpillar name and legend.

History

Holt

The Earlier designs from Benjamin Holts company had a tricycle-type crawler in that it had rear drive tracks and a forward steering wheel. Holt tractors had become successful in West coast logging and farming industries, and used similar technology to that which William Foster & Co. of England built the Mark I tanks for theBritish Army in the First World War. Holt bought the patents to tracks from Richard Hornsby & Sons of England, in 1914. [Wikipedia:Richard_Hornsby _&_Sons] The design of "Chain-tracks" being patented by Hornsby's chief engineer 'David Roberts' in 1904. (the original Hornsby tractor has be found in Canada). [ [http://hornsbycrawler.org/ Hornsby Steam Crawler | Main / Home Page ] ] Benjamin Holt died in 1920.

Best

The Best Manufacturing Company (sometimes known as the Daniel Best Company) of San Leandro, California was a manufacturer of farm machinery, now probably most well known for its steam tractors. The company was formed in 1871 by Daniel Best. The company's initial product was a portable grain cleaner & Steam tractors. The company was acquired by the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1908 after a legal battle. C.L. Best, the son of the founder then formed his own rival company, the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company which built gasoline-powered tractors. This new Best company acquired the rights to manufacture the 'Lombard Log Hauler', an early tracked crawler, and began producing "tracklayer" tractors.

The crawler tractor had arrived, and Holt and Best continued to build them into the early, 1920'swhen the two companies merged in 1925 to form Caterpillar Tractor Company. The Caterpillar name having been applied to Holts earlier designs.

The Sixty

The Cat sixty was famous for its overhanging radiator, individually mounted cylinders, lever controls andopen clutch. Also, the straight exhaust, rough seat and exposed fuel tank, made the Sixty a work machine. It was to rival the Holt 10 Ton model.

The Sixty was a convert|72|in|m|sing=on Gauge machine and weighed convert|20500|lb|abbr=on, with a convert|65|hp 4-cylinder engine.By 1931 when production ended 13,516 had been built at Peoria, Illinois, and 5,432 at San Leandro, California. They were sold as a Logger Cruiser. [Caterpillar Pocket guide, Icongrafix, ISBN 1-58388-022-4]

Initially, the crawlers were used to pull farm equipment and road scrapers. They did not have a blade on thefront. Later, cable lift blades were rigged up, so that the crawlers could be used as a bulldozer.

ee also

References

External links

* [http://hornsbycrawler.org/ Hornsby Crawler Tractor]
* [http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=38033&x=7 Caterpillar history] from the official Caterpillar website
* [http://www.gasenginemagazine.com/complete-archive/5134/ Caterpillar Sixty]
* [http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/russia/stalinetss60_ychiyama.html] Model of Soviet Stalinets Cat 60
* [http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/Tractor_%26_Construction_Plant_Wiki Tractor & Plant Wiki]