V-con bulldozer from 70's ????

What ever happened to this beast ? I remember reading about it as a kid, in the guineus book of world records. Very few pictures remain of this machine and fewer information is available.

Didn't really impress me to modern machines,but hey they had to start somewhere. Who made it ?

Slagpot

Guess nobody has heard of this dozer.Perhaps a bit of more information on it. A wheeled bulldozer from the 60's about the size of a modern letourneau loader. Powered by diesel electric motors.For it's time the most powerful dozer on the planet.

Still more info & pictures would be great.

Slagpot

In 1961, Western Contracting Corporation was in need of a wheel dozer to use as push tractors for the largest scrapers offered at the time, but none were in production. By enlisting the help of C.W. Jones Engineering Company, the most powerful dozer of any type was created.[6] Built by Intercontinental Engineering & Manufacturing Corporation, it was initially used on the Milford Dam, which spanned 17 million yards. This machine ran on 1,850 horsepower, was 15.5 feet (4.7 m) wide, and 47 feet (14 m) long. The machine, with an operating weight of 170 tons, was articulated at both ends, and therefore had a 37.5-foot (11.4-m) turning radius. The machine was sold from 1963 to 1981.

Here's a pic for you...

Wow - that is one impressive machine, back then, and today if it was still being made.
Thanks for the photo.

That has been posted on this site in the past.It used a locomotive engine for power.Ron G

It looks like a tugboat on wheels.

The one in the picture above is different then the one that's been on here before. Here's the thread and you have to scroll down to post number 74 to find the tractor as it's called here.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=2664&highlight=Operators+cabs&page=5

Definately not the same machines.

Ed

The machine pictured first is the VCON V-220 wheel dozer. There were two V-220s and one V-250 wheel dozers built. Interestingly, the V-250 was smaller than the V-220.

VCON stands for Vehicle Constructors which was a division of Peerless Manufacturing at the time of the V-250 being built. The V-250 was built in 1970 as a test bed for the technology used in the larger V-220 which was built after VCON had been purchased by the Marion Power Shovel Company. The V-250 weighed in at 250,000 pounds and had 1000 gross horsepower. The V-220 was built in 1975, weighed in at 300,000 pounds and had 1500 gross horsepower produced by a Detroit Diesel 16V-149T.

Incidentally, the dozer described by Slagpot in the earlier post was the Western 2000 push dozer though the specs were a bit off. The Western 2000 was not even related to one of the Marion VCON machines. The picture provided in the link posted by 95zIV is of the Western 2000 dozer. Some specs on it were that it was a one of a kind, built specifically for Western Contracting in 1963 by Intercontinental Engineering and Manufacturing and was designed by C.W. Jones Engineering. It was designed as a scraper pusher from day one and was powered by a GM 16-278A marine diesel rated at 2000 gross horsepower. It weighed in at 340,000 pounds and was scrapped in 1981. The Western 2000 was never offered for sale as a production machine.

Here's another pic, could be a different machine again from the one Alberta posted which has what looks like an air cleaner box on the side above the rear wheel. I don't know where I got that photo other than the internet.:beatsme

Anybody know where these machines are today?

That thing wags on the back like the Hough and Case loaders did,that would not be fun to back up unless you were in a large open lot and knew for sure noone was behind you.Ron G

Jaw droppingly BIG

As someone once said "there are no big jobs, just small machines" :notworthy

Along those lines ,Western had a pusher made from a switch locomotive back in the 60's. Can't seem to come up with a pic, I'll keep looking

I remember the monster

slagpot said:

Guess nobody has heard of this dozer.Perhaps a bit of more information on it. A wheeled bulldozer from the 60's about the size of a modern letourneau loader. Powered by diesel electric motors.For it's time the most powerful dozer on the planet.

Still more info & pictures would be great.

Slagpot

Click to expand...

I came onto your post while trolling the site - on company time. I worked for Marion Power Shovel co. when we purchased this company (Peerless I think the owners called it) I remember meeting the company owners who originally put this thing together in Texas. I was mostly overseas working on Draglines and never had a lot to do with the V-Con. I think the plan was to upgrade the power from the 16V-149 Detroit to a Cummins and I seem to remember 2200 HP being talked about at the time. I don't think much ever came of it. Guys that had seen it said it could push a D-10 backwards on a head to head contest but I couldn't verify that either.

The price of an in-frame overhaul would probably buy a dozen Dim Sum Chinese dozers.

With change to spare I imagine.

I worked for the Shovel in the 70's and early 80's. The Vcon dozer was brought from Texas to Ohio and re-assembled with improvements in a stone quarry north of Marion. It went from there to a coal mine near Zanesville where Big Muskie was operating. The dozer was used to reclaim land behind Big Muskie for a few years. Marion Power Shovel was required to keep a support person on site, and I think they decided to drop the project. The dozer was scrapped out in the late 70's or early 80's.

I remember when the Peerless company came onboard. I met some of their people once, down at plant 2 on a tour, right after they became part of us - just before we all became part of Dresser as I recall. I heard the story about pushing a D-10 backwards but also cannot verify it. Seems I remember that was supposed to have happened up on the Iron Range. Anyway I spent most of my time with Marion ('75 through '96) outside the USA so I didn't keep that close on events. I think I may still have a picture or two of the V-con, next time I swing by home I'll try to find them. I try to get there once every 6 or 8 weeks, depending on the state of the current job.(this one keeps me at it 6 or 7 days a week so I may not get there soon).