Wooldridge/Curtis Wright scrapers any Survivors?

[Dug Overburden]

I found this magazine add of the 1960 Curtis wright scraper line. Looks like they had an impressive line of machines. Curtis Wright Corporation of South Bend Indiana acquired the Wooldridge company of Sunnyvale Ca in 1958, they phased out these machines in the early 1960's.

I found this info in the Earthmover Encyclopedia. These machines formerly called "Terra Cobras" before the take over featured a steering system known as the "Roto-Gear", which did not use any hydralic rams,instead twin hydralic motors applied torque through a gear reduction to a bull gear attached to the scraper yoke.

Original 1960 magazine ad for Curtiss-Wright Corp, featuring 10 Curtiss-Wright Scrapers.
Models are:


CW-226 - 26 cu. yds.
CW-220 - 20 cu. yds.
CW-215 - 20 cu. yds.
CW-28 - 15 cu. yds.
CW-320 - 20cu. yds.
CWD-221 - 35 Ton Capacity
CWD-214 - 25 Ton Capacity
CWD-321 - 35 Ton Capacity
CWT-30 - 30 cu. yds.
CWT-8 - 8 cu. yds.

 

[Greg]

What did Curtis Wright do with the line? Sell it? Discontinue it? Or just go back to what they knew best which was aircraft powerplants.

 

[Taylortractornu]

Ive seen the Terra cobra and a CW28 wit hthe 8 yard bowl. Ain Ive also seen 220 A man had sold them for scrap running and a colector around Indiana bought them for .05 cents pound. I heard from him a few years ago and they were both restored and working on a farm. They made a few bowls for MRS in Flora MS. MRS later bought them out I think. Then Taylor Machine works bought them .

 

[WabcoMan]

Curtiss-Wright discontinued the line in 1963 and it was NOT picked up by anyone else - just faded into history.
The story of Wooldridge (who manufactured blades, rippers attachments and cable controls) would be a very interesting one as they were around at the same time as LeTourneau and LaPlant-Choate.
Wooldridge did manufacture bowls for MRS but when Cutiss-Wright bought Wooldridge out MRS started building their own bowls and got Hancock to build the elevators..
Wooldridge were the third US manuafcturer to come out with their own motor scraper (in late 1945).
The motor scrapers were called Terra-Cobras, the towed pans Terra-Clippers.
Early Wooldridge scrapers had very complex cable reeving and roller chain final drives.
They were one of the first to feature air assisted cable controls.
I would welcome any pics that forum members have of Wooldridge machines in action
Information on them is EXCEPTIONALLY hard to come by

 

[malcolm]

curtis wright

on the right of the photo is a curtis wright scraper which has been converted to a towed scraper the owner wishes he had the rest but its long gone

 

[WabcoMan]

Thanks for the pic Malcolm,

Looks to be a model CW-28.
If this shot was taken in New Zealand it is an ex NZ Roadmakers machine.
Last time I saw it was attached to the back of an Allis HD-15 in south Auckland (Patumahoe).

Whereabouts is this fascinating collection of ironmongery kept ?

 

[Meangreen]

The only Curtiss-Wright pans/boxes/scrapers of any kind I have ever seen were the ones hooked to a CAT 830M for the US Military.

 

[Deas Plant]

Wooldridge scrapers

Hi, folks.
I know of two almost surviving Wooldridge scrapers. They belong to a man named Ed Akins at Placerville, California. I have a few photos of them taken on my last venture across the puddle. God only nows when I'll get time to dig them out of the more than 2,000 photos that I took on that trip.

Well, lookee here. One is painted in yellow and rust and the other, seen in the background of one of these photos, is painted olive drab and rust. Enjoy. That was a very memorable day.

 

[WabcoMan]

Thanks Deas, great pics.

The larger (complete) scraper is a model TC-R (14 cubic yards), the smaller one (without the front draft gear) appears to be a BBS-3.

Has anyone got any pictures of the motor scrapers - the "Terra-Cobras" ?:beatsme

 

[graemets3]

What engines did the Curtiss-Wrights use?

 

[WabcoMan]

Hi Graemets3

Both Cutiss-Wright and Wooldridge predominantely used Cummins diesels in their motor scrapers.

However there were a couple of exceptions.
The CWD-320 (formerly the "Cobra-Quad") was also available with a GM 6-110T at customers request.
The smallest machines ("Cobrettes") the CW-27 & CW-28 used a GM 4-71 exclusively and a fuller transmission.

 

[malcolm]

ed akins

Hi Deas I envy you going to eds place I drove trucks in the usa in 2001 but never could get near enough to placerville to have a look. would love to see some more photos cheers malcolm

 

[greasey fingers]

I've got a Terra Cobra T-70 scaper (looks like a cw-28),if anyone is looking for one. I'll list in want ads. Phone 541-288-6688 in central oregon.

 

[Old Magnet]

This picture hangs on the wall of the old Joshua Hendy Iron Works.....of WWII Liberty Ship engine fame.....in Sunnyvale Ca. The facility still manufacturers marine reduction gears. At one time the Wooldridge plant was part of the buildings acquired and displaced by the Hendy Works. A lot of history there....

 

[lpnt65]

are you sure it was a NZ Roadmakers machine Archie Ensoll from Hamilton had most of the curtis wrights in New Zealand Cory wright and Salmon were the agents the Gossip was at the time that CW&S were so grateful to get shot of them they virtualy gave them to Archie Ensoll how true it was but one thing was sure and that the Curtis wright was the fastest scraper on Auckland Airport Project fRom There they went to building Leevee bnaks in the Waikato i dont recall how many gears you had to chaange to get into the long range but there were an awesome amount altho they spent lotsa time being repared probably no fault on c/wright they had some mighty rough steerers driving them:Banghead:Banghead

 

[WabcoMan]

LPNT65 - New Zealand agents Cory Wright & Salmon only ever imported two Curtiss-Wright motor scrapers - a CW-28 and a CW-215 and both were delivered new to N.Z.Roadmakers.
Ensoll would have ended up with them after Roadmakers were done with them although they kept the CW-215 for a long time as it was used on the Alcan site in Wiri and was pretty tired by then.
Transmission in the CW-28 was a 5-speed Fuller 5A1120 manual and the CW-215 had a Fuller 10F1220, basically a 5-speed with a splitter giving 10 forward speeds
If you have any photos of these machines in operation please post as shots of these (and the earlier Wooldridge machines) are very rare.
The WabcoMan

 

[lpnt65]

Hi WabcoMan, Dryden Hired Patons from Pukekohe to do earthworks on Wiri Alcan Site The Patons had a TS 360 Allis Chalmers ( was A Great Machine Slow But it was reliable)
the Late Malcolm McConnell was the engineer on the site for Dryden if i recall correctly there may have been a Le Torneau C on that job
Ensoll had new Curtis wright on Auckland airport Project I will see idf i can find photos i do have some of airport project

 

[WabcoMan]

lpnt65 - I have photo's of Roadmakers first TS-14, a 6UOT, going to work for the first time on the Alcan site.
The CW-215 was stripping topsoil

 

[lpnt65]

WabcoMan the site i was mentioning was at Takanini on road on left just past takanini Golf course so may be theirs another site I assumed thisa area was Wiri
Regards lpnt65

 

[malcolm]

3 photos i found