Just wondering if any aussies have seen old iron at Ilfracombe.

Yes it could be a D500b definitely not the 400 pictured above as the final drive on the machine that I took the pic of if you look at it the pivot shaft is part of the final drive exactly like the old D8 in the background where as the 400 has the pivot shaft just in front of the sprocket. Yes it did look like a fair dinkum machine would have loved to have taken it for a spin. Does anyone know what company actualy made it. Both Landini and Same pics I have seen don't appear to have the pivot point part of the final drive plus a couple of other things aren't quite the same either. It is not a small machine either as can be seen by the old D8 in the background.

That D8 ain't so old, I think its a 13A and isn't the M-F. pedal steer after Hanomag?? I have been planning a trip back out there too. I have researched the old "Waugh" steam ditcher, it was first used for excavating the site of the railway workshops at Redfern, Sydney. It worked o.k in the heavy clay soil there but was no good when brought out to Wellshot Station.

This is the D8 yes it is 13A series I believe came out in the 50's or thereabout's if my memory serves me correctly the massey dozer is a much later machine I would think from mid 70's possibly 80's

M F also made a 600 I think which became the Hanomag D 600, think they all got swallowed up in the IBH conglomerate going a way back.

rayman said:

That D8 ain't so old, I think its a 13A and isn't the M-F. pedal steer after Hanomag?? I have been planning a trip back out there too. I have researched the old "Waugh" steam ditcher, it was first used for excavating the site of the railway workshops at Redfern, Sydney. It worked o.k in the heavy clay soil there but was no good when brought out to Wellshot Station.

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They are pedal steer, did some time on Hanomags back in NZ, some MFs were also, they have that knee cap busting bar where the steering levers would normally be. I know of one owner operator on a MF 400 who did just that to his knees when the brakes came on going down a steep hill, brakes came on when trans oil pressure dropped due to the steepness of the hill. Hanomag had a recommended over fill for the brake compartment to prevent it happening.

Bruce, how long has the D8 been there? there does appear to be a few more entry's, or would you say landings. I notice the D8 has electric start fitted on the pony. Is the old Auto Patrol still housed there? she was kept in a cage and taken out every year to clear fire-breaks around town and clean up the race track and sports ground. That "Britstand" grader is a genuine Aussie made knock-off of a Cat 12. And the "Stuart" tank conversion is not really rare, Vickers did that at the end of the war and the result was the dreadfull" VR180 or Vickers Vigor" dozer . There is a station out that way (Longreach) that has a Brisbane built "Tutt-Bryant" maintainer grader. I have had a drive at one of those M-F 400 with a Drott 3 in ! bucket, not a bad little rig but too fast over the ground after a Cat 933G. That collection brings back memories both good and bad. I started in 1950 on a diet of ex-WW2 war surplus, mostly U.S.Built but some from Pomgolia

Rayman I was only there for less than an hour and as I had been there before but the last time did not get many photos of the gear there so was determined to get at least some pics of the dozers at least when I saw this Massey Ferguson dozer which I had never seen before and it seems it is quite a rare machine but a machine that in theory should work really well. Whether it actually did or not is another story but I would think that backup service in Qld would have been an issue by it's self as I associated Thiess with civil construction and mining etc. not selling earthmoving machines. Here is some of the other gear I got photos of.

To get back to the Massey Ferguson dozer that I first saw there I thought I knew what it was I thought it was either a D600 or D 700 as was in an old Power Farming book I have here but it is definitely not the one of those as I believe they are Hanomags as they have the pivot shafts in front of the sprocket not as part of the final drive also Hanomags were made in Germany as far as I am aware. I believe it is a D500B as Queenslander has described and if so should have been a really nice machine to operate as the tracks on a tight turn one track turns in the opposite direction also looking at it it had two identical levers where the power shift lever normally is so maybe each track had its own forward and reverse action and the foot pedals were just for normal turns.It must have a wet backend too as it has cooling fins at the back as per photo.To me it would have been a machine a bit before it's time.

brucew said:

To get back to the Massey Ferguson dozer that I first saw there I thought I knew what it was I thought it was either a D600 or D 700 as was in an old Power Farming book I have here but it is definitely not the one of those as I believe they are Hanomags as they have the pivot shafts in front of the sprocket not as part of the final drive also Hanomags were made in Germany as far as I am aware. I believe it is a D500B as Queenslander has described and if so should have been a really nice machine to operate as the tracks on a tight turn one track turns in the opposite direction also looking at it it had two identical levers where the power shift lever normally is so maybe each track had its own forward and reverse action and the foot pedals were just for normal turns.It must have a wet backend too as it has cooling fins at the back as per photo.To me it would have been a machine a bit before it's time.

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Would be like a Case in that it would have to have two transmissions, one for each so that it could be counter rotated.

brucew said:

Me and my wife and I was able to get out to Iflarcombe again this year to grab an hour or so and saw this added unit in the bulldozer section and it has me baffled as to what original manufacturer it really is and was wondering if anyone else here might know. It has no visible numbers etc on the machine as per photos but has stamped on the plate on it "Massey Ferguson" and I noticed on one of the parts on it "made in Italy" and looking at it I just assumed it was a Fiat Allis but I have gone on the net and checked out the history of Massey Ferguson and found that there is no mention of Massey having anything to do with Fiat but they definitely had a link to Hanomag in Germany and Landini and Same in Italy but I can't find a picture of any of their dozers that look exactly like the one I was looking at. The dozer I was looking was sold by Thiess Sales Pty. Ltd. which originated in Qld Aus.View attachment 197089 View attachment 197090 View attachment 197092

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nice!

Just been looking through the pics I have from our last visit to Ilfracombe and found these of the tractor that Scrub mentioned at the top of the thread.

Yes R.D. that is what I think it would probably be pretty much like the Case dozers although I have never drove one myself I know of a couple workmates over the years who have and they have each said what magic machines the Case dozers were to operate.There were two things about this Massey dozer there was no plaque or anything to explain what the story behind the dozer was maybe it has only just came in, the thing is that a proper repaint job and repair the seat and it would look just about immaculate in a machinery yard.

Yes Queenslander there is just so much gear there that is just so rare or the stories behind them make them just so special I thought maybe the number of machines there seemed to be not as many as i remembered it and I hope that people haven't pulled some the stuff out of it maybe because the shire was amalgamated with the Longreach shire maybe this pic might tell a story I just don't know. This sign was in among the machines.Shame if this is the what has happened.

Best we don’t get started on that topic Bruce, we’ll both end up banned!

This is another rare machine although the actual steering wheel on the machine is not complete it is a Fiat dozer.

Hey guys, if you look closely at the pics of the old "Ruston" tractor you will see that the tracks are on back-to-front. This was done on purpose to stop her jumping the tracks, the pins and bushes are so worn in the forward drive, this way she holds together. I was told this by a grandson of the previous owner.