Dug Overburden
Well-Known Member
Cat 657 Compactor (My California story)
Hey that thing brings back some memorys. Here's my memorys about these machines. I first saw this machine about 1973 in San Diego Ca. Robert Fulton was grading a sub divison by our house & I was about 12 years old at the time. They had one of these, stickers said it manufactured by Southwest used it in a large fill with about 15 Euclid SS40 3 axle scrapers.
I had all but forgotten about this machine untill I saw a picture of one in a Ritchie Brothers catalog for a sale in Rialto Ca. The year must have been about 1992. I checked the owners and it was a retirement sale for none other than Robert Fulton. I knew this was the same machine!
Well again I forgot about the machine, but saved the Ritchie Bros color flyer,which I still have. So a few years later a freind I were out on a Train watching excusion in Bartsow Ca & ran across the 657 compactor parked in DeLoss equipments yard. I was speachless. Luclky I had my camera and took some pictures. By now it had 651 decals on it. Had a 46M serial number prefix. I climbed in the seat and noticed that the gear selector had a lock out on high gear! It had a fill spreading blade about 14' wide. And the drums looked like 6' x 6'.
Again I forgot about the machine, then one day I was talking to Bill Signs of Signs & Pinnick Inc about 1994 & he mentioned that he built one of these in the late 70's out of an old 657A. Said it was the best compactor ever other then a Hough D500. Bill said he wished he still had one. I found the picture and showed him & said he wished he still had it. I said I had seen this two weeks ago, Bill said i was full of s**t
Well Bill Signs went and purchased the machine the next week The maintance people hated me for telling Bill about the machine, I had no idea he wanted it! The nick name of the machine was "Franken-stomper"
Machines like these are great for union contractors to have, as the can request some one from the hall to run a 657 compactor & only one person has it listed, which is the person they would like to hire.
The machine probably only worked a few hundred hours due to going through quite a few D346 90 degree engines before it was done. No one wanted to operate it due to the rough ride, I bet with not much Const work, it would not be hard to get a operator to run it
The machine was cut up for scrap in 2007 & I believe the rear section is still sitting someplace in San Diego Ca.
Hey that thing brings back some memorys. Here's my memorys about these machines. I first saw this machine about 1973 in San Diego Ca. Robert Fulton was grading a sub divison by our house & I was about 12 years old at the time. They had one of these, stickers said it manufactured by Southwest used it in a large fill with about 15 Euclid SS40 3 axle scrapers.
I had all but forgotten about this machine untill I saw a picture of one in a Ritchie Brothers catalog for a sale in Rialto Ca. The year must have been about 1992. I checked the owners and it was a retirement sale for none other than Robert Fulton. I knew this was the same machine!
Well again I forgot about the machine, but saved the Ritchie Bros color flyer,which I still have. So a few years later a freind I were out on a Train watching excusion in Bartsow Ca & ran across the 657 compactor parked in DeLoss equipments yard. I was speachless. Luclky I had my camera and took some pictures. By now it had 651 decals on it. Had a 46M serial number prefix. I climbed in the seat and noticed that the gear selector had a lock out on high gear! It had a fill spreading blade about 14' wide. And the drums looked like 6' x 6'.
Again I forgot about the machine, then one day I was talking to Bill Signs of Signs & Pinnick Inc about 1994 & he mentioned that he built one of these in the late 70's out of an old 657A. Said it was the best compactor ever other then a Hough D500. Bill said he wished he still had one. I found the picture and showed him & said he wished he still had it. I said I had seen this two weeks ago, Bill said i was full of s**t
Well Bill Signs went and purchased the machine the next week The maintance people hated me for telling Bill about the machine, I had no idea he wanted it! The nick name of the machine was "Franken-stomper"
Machines like these are great for union contractors to have, as the can request some one from the hall to run a 657 compactor & only one person has it listed, which is the person they would like to hire.
The machine probably only worked a few hundred hours due to going through quite a few D346 90 degree engines before it was done. No one wanted to operate it due to the rough ride, I bet with not much Const work, it would not be hard to get a operator to run it
The machine was cut up for scrap in 2007 & I believe the rear section is still sitting someplace in San Diego Ca.
snapped this when i went walkabout in USA some years ago
it`s a 657 scraper front