I'm modeling southwest VA in the mid 70's. I'll have a couple coal loaders on the layout that will need dump trucks and wheel loaders to complete the scene.
Athearn made the Mack B & R trucks in HO scale. With a start date of manufacture of 1966, the R would certainly be appropriate, but what about the B? Would any of those still be in service?
The wheel loaders look like they will be a problem. Only modern versions seem to be available. How much did these change over the years? Would it be possible to back date one with some simple modifications?
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I think you would be safe using B model Mack's for the 1970's but they would be getting dated at that point in time. I was fortunate enough to be driving a B model Mack in the late 1980's but not for commercial use. Locally I still see a B model dump truck in use today, restored of course. Great trucks.
I am not familiar with the wheeled loader offered by Athearn but I would think just overall size of the modern loader may be too large for that era, could be wrong. For a small coal scene on my layout I used a farm tractor and scratchbuilt a front end loader for it.
For front end loaders, The newer models are more rounded and are styled a little bit. The older loaders and most older equipment I have seen tends to be very boxy and ultalitarain. The Norscot Caterpiller equipment is all of the newer equipment. I would suggest looking in the Walthers catalog. I remember seeing a loader that would fit in the 70s.
One way to backdate a wheeled loader is to take the enclosed cab off. Those were around, but most operators of that era tended to eat a lot of dust. Yes, generally smaller equipment. I'm unsure when ROPS (Rollover protection) was required, but there still were quite a few loaders still around without a heache rack in 1970. They thinned out a lot over the course of the decade, so were getting to be unusual to see by 1980.
The Woodland Scenics Tracked Loader is older vintage, but still could've been working in the early 70s, but rarer towards the end, except parked behind the shop more often than not. Remember that having some older, out of service equipment around is another way to date things.
Trident makes a heavy duty forklift (729-90094) that shows some promise to being adapted to being a small loader, altyhough I haven;ty seen one.
GHQ has a loader (284-61003) has a cab, but looks like taking it off could backdate it .
I think you've identified one of those prototypes that would seem to be a big hit, since they're common at around railyards, as well as making nice flatcars loads. There's nothing quite right out there, so if someone brought one to market and hit the right price point, they'd have a winner on their hands.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
There are many 1/87 model Mfg's out there that offer what You are looking for.....most are kit form though that require some building skills. Sylvan, Polyurethane resin casting, Alloy forms white metal casing, Don mills, which makes wheeled front end loader's, from 50's to 80's. Shoot me a PM and I'll give You a complete list of what's out there.
Pic'. of a Alloy forms 1969 Diamond Reo...body style stayed very close in the 70's, my avatar is my 1973 Diamond Reo. The 32 ft Tri-axle dump truck was from Lee Town, another Mfg. makes them, dump lifts up and back gate swings.
Pic' of 1953 Mack B model flat bed, also have a dump version.
Front end loader....also look at Wiking Models.
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/1-87-scale-vehicles
Take Care!
Frank
If you can find them AHM used to sell a line called Mini Movers that included scrapers, bulldozers, shovels/cranes, Euclid trucks, and loaders from the early 60's, if you can find them. They are plastic, but the detail was pretty good for the day. I think Roco actually made them.
There was also lots of die cast stuff back in the day that varied from N to S, but scaled up or down pretty well. This equipment was closer to the '70's equipment. Matchbox even made a larger "box scale" line back then that averaged around HO scale.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
The closest I can find in 1/87 is this, pity about the eye watering price...... http://www.diecastmodels.co/hanomag-b8-wheel-loader-1-87/
The cuvred windshield and tire shape (square vs rounded cross section) make that one look kinda modern to me. Do you know what vintage it is?
I only need one "foreground quality" model, so while I don't like it, I could deal with that price for a nice period correct model.
zstripeShoot me a PM and I'll give You a complete list of what's out there.
Thanks Frank.
For some reason, I can reply but not start a PM conversation. Perhaps I'm being "moderated" . I could use whatever info you have on the front-end loaders. I think I'll be able to find the Athearn dump trucks on ebay if I wait them out.
I found the Don Mills website, but didn't see any loaders there. Did I miss something?
The 1970s Wheel Loader that everyone has seen but forgets the manufacturer is the First Gear International Harvester 650 Wheel Loader (Pay Loader). The prototype was introduced in 1971
chutton01 The 1970s Wheel Loader that everyone has seen but forgets the manufacturer is the First Gear International Harvester 650 Wheel Loader (Pay Loader). The prototype was introduced in 1971
I saw that one but I couldn't date it. Thanks!
I just ordered one.
Carl425,
Sorry just got Your msg. now. I see You already decided on one. Made a mistake on the Don Mills referance, it was construction truck equipment and one scraper/dump with a 25d excavator in the works.
If You happen to want more NZG of West Germany makes many die-cast 1/87 construction models, highly detailed, for some cheaper than the one You just ordered.
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&tbs=rimg%3ACYSJDOiyAYIVIjhi6qdMpn3FMhtZSqdwuh_1C6kY5CJBvYmdkCN6OqGMzFP1lAfTDtCvQAST4O_1nvQH73NjS1l9MFfioSCWLqp0ymfcUyEXfrHwX7EHiBKhIJG1lKp3C6H8IRALmsfeF4l3QqEgnqRjkIkG9iZxEWLQjG1lU0UyoSCWQI3o6oYzMUEUIb3mi8Ln8UKhIJ_1WUB9MO0K9AR7VtR8DAsZrsqEgkBJPg7-e9AfhE4S4o1skpoLCoSCfc2NLWX0wV-EfYX_1bHPye1e&q=1%2F87%20scale%20construction%20equipment&ei=T3vWVJ6YDIWMyASOuIG4BA&ved=0CAkQ9C8wAA
Wiking, Kibri and Promotex also makes construction equipment, along with all sorts of dump trucks, without breaking the bank, money wise.
A promotex 26ft tandem dump trailer....not a bank breaker: One modification, cut off large kingpin and screw in #0 3/8 long wood screw and cut off head....that's what I do, here's a pic' of model as it comes built:
http://www.ppw-aline.com/images/5288.jpg
Have Fun!
We had an International 560 at the mine I worked at back in the mid 70's. These were pretty large loaders for the day, 4 or 5 yard buckets as I remember it. It might be a little large for a quarry.
Mr Frank, your google image search result may be a bit misleading for the OP, as it returns all kinds of unfiltered results. For example, it returns an image of a Catepillar 950G Wheel Loader, which was introduced in 1998. And how do I know it was introduced in 1998? Because I stumbled (again) across the RitchieWiki of construction equipment, which seems to have a lot of information (alas, in a rather hit or miss format) - for example, Wheel Loader history.I believe I posted a link years ago to the RitchieSpecs pages.There's a lot of info in those pages concerning prototype equipment (or, as the real-world construction industry calls it - equipment), so any construction buff who hasn't already should bookmark those pages...
Chutton01,
I don't understand what You mean by misleading....My thought was to show what was available by some mfgs. Whether they are time era specific for what He want's is entirely up to him. As far as unfiltered results go....all You have to do is click safe search to on and Your covered, my own system would have alerted me if there were any viruses in them....that's what I pay for. I don't know what 950G image You clicked on, but if You would have clicked view page You would have seen some earlier versions of front end loaders that had no cab and may have worked for him.
zstripeAs far as unfiltered results go....
I think what Chutton meant by unfiltered was unfiltered by era. I did look through the page you linked and I thank you for your effort to help. I also did (as I always try to do) quite a bit of googling before posting my question. I only looked at "front end" or "wheel" loader - didn't think of searching on construction equipment. I also searched both of those terms with "history" but didn't find Chutton's links. Thanks for those.
My main problem comes from the fact that for some reason truck and construction models are not dated by the manufacturers. I guess they don't want to risk losing sales to someone that might buy one by mistake.
My other problem is that I will waste far too much time searching for exactly what I want before settling on close enough. I guess I need to reread Allen McClelland a few more times.
Carl, both Macks would be fine for the 70's you're modeling remember it's coal country and money was tight , so people and companies used what they could. GHQ's front end loader would work also, cabbed loaders started showing up in the sixties. Sylvan makes a nice 60's White truck, if you like kitbashing, Athearns Ford 850 would make a nice dump truck. If you're into flea markets,old Matchbox frontend loaders can sometimes be found, it was cabless.mh
Carl,
As M. Horten said many construction trucks were used well into the 70's/80's and the diesel engines can be rebuilt over and over again unlike a gasoline cast block that can only be rebuilt so many times with enlarging the cylinder bore before the walls become paper thin, a diesel engine has sleeves that go into the cylinder's. My friend and I rebuilt mine 69 White Freightliner twice, the body will wear out before the engine will. Also the Mack's had double frames on the construction truck's and you could even buy them that way on tractor's. A couple of site's to look at...if You're into kit building.
Sheepscot: Browse the site, also.
http://www.sheepscotscale.com/site/2009/04/19/international-r-180-coal-delivery-truck
Sylvan: Many trucks/cars to choose from.
http://www.sylvanscalemodels.com/default.htm
Alloy Forms/SS LTD:
http://scale-structures.com/af300/
Remember these are all kits....if You have the skills...they can become great models. I have quite a few from all three MFG's, I enjoy it.
Member ATHS...(American Truck Historical Society)
B model Macks most certainly would have been in use. In the early 80's I worked with my neighbor, helping him with his trucking business and also helping his Dad with his contracting business - putting down tar in 90+ degree heat is something everyone should experience. All of his dump trucks were Mack B's. He kept them in nice condition and nicely painted, but they did work for a living, hauling materials and pulling the trailers with the paving machine or rollers or backhoe. And he had plows for each of them as they spent winters plowing snow - the local township didn't have plow trucks of its own, they contracted it out. The only Mack R he had was a tractor for pulling semis and even that was an older one, about a '69. I learned how to operate a lot of machinery, and got to drive some trucks around, even before I got my driver's license, but never did get to drive on of the B's.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Carl425, you stated you already purchased the IH 560, which was a big machine for the time. You can make that your primary loader, and then get a few smaller loaders for support. The GHQ TF-18 front end loader kit has been mentioned several times previously. Take a look at the Caterpillar 920, introduced in 1969. It looks close enough to the GHQ loader (the TF-18F seems to be a early 1980s model, but I can't find an exact date) to easily pass muster to anyone except the most ardent 1/87 Vehicle modeler (like me ). Only problem with GHQ kits is you'll be doing some filing and sanding, but the results look good (I have assembled several of their Bobcat and trailer kits).And yes JaBear, it does seem that US domestic loaders of the 60s/70s had rather simple, squarish cabs. BTW, presuming by your location you're a Kiwi - re the "big pond"; are you claiming, in relation to North America, the Pacific Ocean is the big pond, and the Atlantic the "small pond"? Eh, works for me. And while we're in the region of Oceania, IIRC in the Mad Max TOS sequal "The Road Warrior", the truck tractor that Max brought back to the besiged community to transport their tank trailer full of petrol (spoiler - the trailer was full of sand) was some version of a Mack R. In the third Mad Max TOS film, "Beyond Thunderdome", IIRC the truck tractor that ran on railroad tracks and which Max and the kids used to escape from Bartertown was a Mack B (I'm pretty sure that was the truck pulling the little cabin inside of which Max showed the kids how records work, while the guy who was operating the Mack eventually got shot in the leg by an arrow thru the cab door - haven't seen the film in a while...)
Looking at pictures from the movies - yes, the fuel tanker in the second movie is an R, the one on rails in Beyond Thunderdome is a B model.