Big Dirt California Style

[alan627b]

2 years ago I went to Phoenix AZ on a vacation that wound up as a 1 month job running a 621 auger scraper featured in another post here. After that was over, I decided to go into California to see National Hardware Supply, because I knew they had some of the 6 wheel scrapers there.
On the way, I came across a couple of dirt spreads grading for subdivisions. One was running a fleet of modern 657E's and on the other side of the interstate, was another company running a mixed fleet of 657 B's and E's.
I visited both jobs, I'll bet you can figure out where I spent the most time....
on the old side. Partly because the forman was sympathetic to my interest, and let me drive up to the cut so I could get better pictures.
I didn't catch the names of the companies, and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure exactly where I was! West of Palm Springs is all I can tell you!
Here comes a bunch of scraper job pics. Enjoy!
650 and my pickup
Old Clark water wagon
D8T with slope board
alan627b

 

[joedirt]

Nice pics Alan. Love those old scrapers:salute

 

[alan627b]

Next batch, new iron side, pioneering a bench with dozer and 657E's.

 

[alan627b]

Next batch, pioneering with 657E's. Also seen 834 wheel dozer. You guys must have good dirt, just knock it down, water it and go. I'd love to get a job with dirt like this....

 

[alan627b]

Next batch, the other side of the interstate. The "old iron" was a mixed batch of 657 B and E models. I was told there was a 3 dollar an hour pay difference becuase the new models were more productive.
The haul road up must have been close to a 3:1, wide open in 2nd gear hooked together for a minute or two to climb back up.

 

[alan627b]

More 657's. Smokin' it up! Probably repowered by now....

 

[alan627b]

More scraper action. D9 with slope board and ripper. Too bad the pics have to be so small, the look much cooler un-resized...

 

[joedirt]

Great pics man..... I could watch those babies work all day. I with you on the nice dirt they have. We have to blast just to get a mailbox post in the ground.:drinkup

 

[alan627b]

I like to park my Dodge next to machinery for size perspective, any way you slice it, those 657's are just HUGE! Love to run one someday, I guess I'll have to head west. Anybody here tell me what it's like to jump from a 627 to one of these? I guess you get used to the difference, but that's a lot of iron.
alan627b

 

[alan627b]

More action shots.

 

[alan627b]

Ho Hum. Just more huge machinery. LOL!

 

[637slayer]

great pics, our little twin engines would probably get high centered just on their windrows, yep im with you just california dreamin.

 

[DirtHauler]

Great photos and SO GLAD that you found a forman that was a good person and took the risk of letting you poke around and take a few pics. I always carry one of my photo albums with me so I can whip it out to show that I am actually a big iron fan and not some random person trying to gain access for other reasons. BTW good looking Dodge, I hated that body when they come out but they have grown on me. Sounds like you had a really fun day out in the wild wild west.

As scrapers go, the best show I have been involved with had a bunch of 631 scrapers which were being shoved by 2 D10Ns in series. One of the D10s had a spring loaded push block on the back of it where the other D10 would push on it as it struggled to push on the scraper. It was real impressive because one of the D10Ns had just been repowered and had the undercarrage rebuilt and the other was still in good shape. While ripping the 2nd D10 would push on the back of the ripper to assist in ripping. I always wondered how hard you could push on a 631 before the cutting edge started to just peel the bottom of the bowl open.

 

[DPete]

Nice pics Alan, love to see that dirt movin

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Awesome pics -- thanks for taking the time to share them with us!

 

[fensoncont.]

Those are some awesome pics! I love watching such large scrapers operate, around here the biggest push pulls I've seen in action were 627's. The biggest single barrel were 631's, then my biggest in action was McAninches D11/651. I was kind of far away from it too, one day I'll get to California to watch the professionals move dirt.

Perhaps 50 years from now my dream company will have become a reality and will be nationwide and I'll have my own fleet of 657's out west

 

[Kenny R]

AWESOME photos alan627b!!!:drinkup

 

[637slayer]

all these pictures of california dirt all those scrapers i never see a blade. is it because i never see any rocks,the haul roads are just as easily maintained by a scraper? personaly i dont need a blade, but for a 57 to slow down and fix his road is a whole different story from a 37 or 27.

 

[alan627b]

I didn't get any pics of the blade, a 140G, on the "new" side, although they had rubber tired dozers, and tractors with Beegees (drag blades) running on both jobs. The forman on the fleet, running the older scrapers, said the blade hadn't arrived yet.
With the good fine soil they had on these jobs, the haul roads seemed to hold up pretty well, and neither job was in the finishing phase yet.
A tractor with a Beegee will do 90% as good a job as a blade on road and fill maintenance in that type of soil, and can cover the area much faster. I thought it was intersting, that I didn't see a single compactor or sheepsfoot employed on any job I saw out there.
Lay it down, run a rubber tire dozer over it, water the hell out of it and run scrapers over it, seems to do the trick.
Must be the idea my bosses have too, except it doesn't work on the soil here in Nebraska! a bladed haul road is a luxury on most of the jobs i work.
I don't think it's a good idea, but that's my reality!
alan627b, sore in Omaha

 

[alan627b]

Some pics of the 834's and drag blades. Is COBRA a company or an equipment leasing firm, that name was on some of the scrapers.
Anybody familiar with them?