The Allis-Chalmers wheel loader: an overview by Richard Campbell
The wheel loader has found a use in all phases of construction as well as quarry and aggregate production, material recycling, reclamation, rubbish transfer and heavy mining.
Early machines were based largely on agricultural two-wheel drive tractors and operated back-to-front with the lifting arms, or mast, mounted on the tractor’s rear with the machine actually operating in reverse!
The first really commercially-successful purpose-built machines were designed by the Frank G Hough Company, which ultimately became a very important arm of the International Harvester Corp, Payline division.
These machines really started making an impact during the late 1940s.
Before too long almost every equipment manufacturer had its own variant of a wheel loader for sale.
Wheel loaders from Lorain, Case, Pettibone, Nelson, Thew, Mixermobile, Yale and Michigan filled the marketplace along with Hough.
By the end of the decade, Euclid and Caterpillar joined the market.
Among this plethora of wheel loaders was Tractomotive, a wholly owned division of Allis-Chalmers.
Allis-Chalmers had had an association with Tractomotive for a considerable period of time before A-C acquired them outright in 1959.
Tractomotive built the pipelaying side booms, rippers and loader attachments for Allis’ track type tractors and also utilised Allis-Chalmers wheel tractors as a base for its own wheel loaders. It was a very convenient marriage.
As was the case with most of their competitors, Tractomotive used rigid frame two-wheel drive tractors as the base unit for its wheel loaders.
Tractomotive called its wheel loaders “Tracto-Loaders” and they were sold and serviced through the Allis-Chalmers dealer network.
Its model TL-10, a one cubic yard loader, sold particularly well and was in continuous production from 1951 through 1964.
It was a ground-breaking machine for Tractomotive as it was designed and built as a wheel loader, not an adaptation of an existing tractor.
Available with either a gasoline or diesel engine, the loader was the first Tractomotive machine to feature a torque converter drive.
Their next offering, the model TL-12, was a runaway success worldwide and sold in the thousands.
As the first Tractomotive machine to feature all wheel drive and a torque converter drive power shuttle transmission, the TL-12 competed head on with Case and Hough for the lion’s share of the wheel loader market.
Weighing in at around six tons, and carrying a 1.25 cubic yard bucket, the TL-12 was produced from 1954 until 1965 when it was replaced by the articulated steer model 545.
It was available with either a 63 horsepower, 4-cylinder gasoline engine, or a 77 horsepower, 6-cylinder diesel, both manufactured by Allis-Chalmers.
Following on the success of the TL-12 came the TL-14 (3 cubic yards), TL-16 (4 cubic yards), TL-20 (5 cubic yards), TL-30 (6 cubic yards) and the giant TL-40 that was rated at a massive (for the time) 7 cubic yards bucket capacity.
The TL-40 also spawned Allis-Chalmers’ attempt at a wheel dozer named the D-40 that was produced in limited quantities.
These were the last rigid frame, rear wheel steer loaders made by Tractomotive before Allis-Chalmers completely absorbed the company and introduced its own indigenously designed articulated steer machines, the 345, 545, 645, 745 and 945.
However, the Tractomotive name continued in the new A-C series of wheel loaders that were referred to as TL545, TL645 etc., a direct recognition of the new machines’ distinguished heritage.
Негізгі бет Forgotten earthmoving manufacturers: Tractomotive
Пікірлер: 17