One Day, 53 years ago

[WabcoMan]

Airport construction, Wellington, New Zealand

Motor Scrapers on site:
Caterpillar
DW-15 (5)

Euclid
SS-12 (10)
S-18 (1)
TS-24 (1)
16TDT (3)

LeTourneau-Westinghouse
C Roadster Tournapull & P19 Carryall (2)
C Tournapull & CM9 Carryall

International Harvester
2T-55 (2)
2T-75 (1)

Allis-Chalmers
TS-200 (2)

[WabcoMan]

Part two of the saga...

[ATCOEQUIP]

Those are some cool pics WabcoMan. I see what looks like a Bucyrus hoe in the background of one of those pic

[Diagonal Brace]

Is that a TD18 in the first picture with a single tooth ripper? Also what is a 16 TDT scraper? Great pics.

[JDOFMEMI]

Nice old iron there.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[alan627b]

Great pics from the old days! Thanks a lot for posting them.
16 DT might be a 3 axle? I'd have to get my Euclid book out.
Euc had an interesting (confusing) nomenclature for their model designations.
alan627b

[WabcoMan]

Glad you enjoyed the pics - there are more soon as I uncover them.

ATCOEQUIP - yes thats a model 10 Bucyrus backhoe. Good spotting.

Diagonal Brace - Thats a fairly late IH TD-24 with the ripper.
The later ones had the aircleaner repositioned halfway along the LH side of the engine.

Now for the Euclid 16TDT - same job, down the southern end of the runway carting from a convenient hill :)

[Diagonal Brace]

Spent too much time on the Redpower site; had me thinking only 14 and 18's had twin stacks.:rolleyes:

[WabcoMan]

OK, found some more.
The push tractor in the color shot is a Vickers VR160 Vigor (pushing a Euclid SS-12) The Euclid is a B6FDT-B1SH type - British built.

Secomd shot is two more Euclid 16TDT's at the top of the hill that was used for fill at the southern end of the runway.

Last shot was taken in 1957 and shows a Euclid TS-24 being pushed by a Vickers with a Euclid SS-12 alongside getting a shove from a Cat D8-14A.
Almost all the material up to the tide line is fill.
Enjoy :drinkup

[AtlasRob]

Whats happened to the pics in posts 1, 2, & 7, or is it only me that cant view them :Banghead

The ones I can view in your last post are some great views of some old gear I've never seen before, thanks for sharing :thumbsup

[jughead]

i couldnt view them either

[stretch]

Me neither...it happened last night on some other threads for me too. Excellent pics when I did see them before, keep them coming!

[DPete]

Great pics Wabcoman, keep em coming

[WabcoMan]

OK, here are some more.

The first pic was taken to the left of where the main runway is looking south.
There are a Euclid TS-24, Euclid S-18 and an Allis-Chalmers TS-200 can just be seen in front of the IH TD-24 (with the ripper)

At the northern end of the runway a LeTourneau-Westinghouse C Tournapull and Euclid TS-24 go about their business.

Last shot was taken pretty much in the middle of where the main runway is now located and shows an International 2T-55 departing with its load. Interestingly this machine is about at full turn as the IH 2T's couldn't turn 90 degrees to either side like their competitors could.

[WabcoMan]

First pic was taken at the northern end of the runway and shows a LeTourneau-Westinghouse C Roadster Tournapull & P19 carryall.
There is a substantial fill at this end of the job some 40 ft deep.

Second pic was taken in the centre of what is now a taxiway. A small hill had to be removed here.
There is lots of equipment in this shot including Euclid SS-12's, Caterpillar D8-14A's, a D9D (at extreme right) and Vickers VR-160 Vigors with LeTourneau LP scrapers (parked up)

Last pic is of the machine used to place concrete blocks and "tetrapods" for the breakwater at the extreme southern end of the runway (which is directly exposed to the sea).
This LeTourneau-Westinghouse C Roadster Tournapull and C Tournacrane was the only example ever imported into New Zealand.

[pronto]

Loved those pictures Wabcoman. I talked with one of our customers recently who drove scrapers on that job and he was telling me about the hair-raising trips down the hill with a fully laden bowl. Apparently there was supposed to be a guy at the bottom stopping traffic as the site was bisected by a road. One day his attention lapsed and a family narrowly missed being completely wiped out by one of the scrapers - unstoppable, on it's way down!


The shots of the Taylor & Culley machines took me back to my childhood, remembering them developing land on the hills around Wellington. This would have been in the early '70's with TS14's in places like Newlands, Tawa and Kelson.

They used to name each machine as cartoon characters like Road Runner, and the like. Do you have any other pictures of Taylor & Culley equipment?

[WabcoMan]

Hi Pronto

Glad you enjoyed the pics.

As a matter of fact I served my operators apprenticeship with Taylor & Culley !
I've worked on the Kelson subdivision (and have pics) and also at Mangaweka on atge 1 of the state highway 1 realignment/deviation (also have pics of that too).
Got to operate most of their stuff including the old TS-24 and both S-18's but spent most of my time in the seat of a TS-14 or IH TD-25B with Cat 463 towed scraper behind.
They bought 2 new Terex TS-18's one of which I had from new but I hated the thing and went back on the TS-14 !

Moved on to Goodmans at Waikanae after T&C shut up shop.:cool2

[pronto]

Thanks for the response. It will be great seeing those pictures of Kelson and Mangaweka when you get to post them.

I was in Waikanae on holiday last week and was interested to see that Goodmans had a lot of gear in paddocks behind the yard parked up. Most of the Moxys, Morookas and other large plant was there. The two, recently acquired large Wabcos were being serviced in the new workshop and they were also working on an old Moxy converted to a water cart. In the area next to the rail lines they have what looks like a restored LeTourneau towed scraper.

I will post some shots I have of their Wabco scrapers, along with some Terex's and Cat's of the other local contractors when I have had them scanned.

[greatdane]

Some great old pictures there

[malcolm]

wellington air port

[pronto]

I wonder whether any of those Euclids were the ones that ended up converted to compactors? Looking back at some of my old pictures I see that both Drapers and John McJorrow had one each up till very recently. I think McJorrows are still using theirs.

[steam]

is there any old 8 mm film of the gear working.

[WabcoMan]

Malcolm,

That first pic of your with the 16TDT and interested spectators was not taken at Wellington airport.
It was shot at a demonstration held by the dealership at a place close to Island Basy at a location now known as McAlister Park.
I believe it was a landfill of some sort.
I have 16mm color movie footage taken there

[Mr Euclid]

Hi,

Would the photo of the 16TDT and crowd be taken at a golf course in the Wellington area?

There was a picture in the book on the history of Clyde Engineering that has a very similar look and is of a Dryden scraper on a golf course and the caption mentioned it was the first 16TDT in NZ at the time which might also explain the crowd.

Cheers
Mr Euclid

[WabcoMan]

Mr Euclid,

That particular photo that Malcolm posted was definately taken at McAlister park.
The stand of trees in the background are still there.
In his book on Clyde Engineering, Noel Elvines doesn't make any mention of the considerable fuss that was made when the first 16TDT was imported.
I have 16mm (silent) color movie footage of the event:Pointhead

[WabcoMan]

Thought you may like to see the overall extent of the job.

Pic one shows the site before work started.
There is a substantial hill in the center of what will become the main runway.
Towards the sea on the LH side of the pic is another source of good fill material for the southern end and just out of shot at lower left front is another hill which was also used for fill.
All of the houses were saved by the way and relocated.

Pic two shows the site with earthworks almost complete and one can see the extent of fill and general chaos that has been created.

Both pics taken looking almost due south.

[DPete]

Neat pics, thanks for sharing

[AtlasRob]

Thought you may like to see the overall extent of the job.
Both pics taken looking almost due south.

WOW! I love before and after shots those are brilliant. I looked carefully at the first picture and envisaged the most likely place for the new runway, bearing in mind you mentioned houses were moved and saved.

DOH! :Banghead

Tell why I'm an operator not an engineer, I did not envisage it there! :drinkup

[Bulldozn]

When where you working for Goodmans Wabcoman? I spent about 9 years working for them myself. Started on the 111a's then 222's my favorite has to be the 259FT, spent a couple of seasons on that one.

[Hock D9G]

Hi Wabcoman .Great photos,i showed these to my dad and he said he operated the 2nd of the 16 TDT's that Dryden owned he said it wasn't on site very long before it was moved to Drydens job on the Murupara railway.

Craig

[WabcoMan]

When where you working for Goodmans Wabcoman? I spent about 9 years working for them myself. Started on the 111a's then 222's my favorite has to be the 259FT, spent a couple of seasons on that one.

I worked for them in the early 1980's - 2 years :)

[DarrylMueller]

Thanks for the good days. That is the first Allis Chalmers scraper I have seen in along time 200 in the pictures. I used to run a 300 it had a 300 Cummings that was turbo and had also a blower they called it supercharged. When we roaded through towns we had to be real careful not to blow the windows out, that engine screamed and had all kinds of power. Now it's all laws!

[scraperboy222]

great pics

[D6 Merv]

Great pics wabcoman thanks for posting.
In the pic on pg1 with the 14As pushing the SS12s there is a D9D.
Was it one of Stevensons, or whose was it, as was very few other owners of D9Ds here.
Duck bros, Horowhenua earthworks, and winstones were supposed to be the only other owners of them with 1 each. And stevensons had 4 each 18A and 19A.
post some more pics if you have any.
Cheers Merv :drinkup

[WabcoMan]

Hi D6 Merv,

The D9D I believe belongs to Horowhenua Earthworks.
Yes I do have more pics and I'll post them as soon as I get them scanned. ;)

[Texasgary]

I love them old pictures thats when I started in the trades 1956 in Kitimat B.C. I ran the old C poles electric switch for steering. I ran the s 18 ts 24 hated the ts. I ran the international 260 and the 360 the 6 wheel Euclid. I love them pictures they bring back memorys. I remember running a cat 621 scrapper and when he pushed me over the point of no return, it was straight down in a new pit, doing the PG railroad. It was so steep I had to open the apron right up or I would of had gravell hitting me in the head. I was about 22 years old and I had no fear. Thanks for the old thoughts come rushing back. I am 70 now and I just retired last year, I loved the guys and food and the traveling all over.I was married 3 times. I would be gone for so long when I come home I would nock on the front door and run around the back door who ever would come out I would say hey pay half the rent. I was never home.

[Northart]

Commitment ?????????????????

Geez some guys here never went home for 2 years , went over to Sakhalin Island in Russia , just across from us (ALASKA) next to Japan. Big Oil and Gas Project.

Made big bucks, ended up paying USA and Russian Income Taxes ! LOL Not much gain ??? Kinda lawless in a sense that attracts the ???

[AtlasRob]

I would be gone for so long when I come home I would nock on the front door and run around the back door who ever would come out I would say hey pay half the rent. I was never home.

:lmao:lmao

Thats the beauty of mobile phones, if you've been away a while or got rained off and coming home early always call 15mins before arrival and tell her to put the kettle on, be home in 5 :D