Mike Pearson's Adventures on a Pale Blue Dot

A bit of chainsaw work and hacking  gave us a better view of these machines , than we had last year. The 892 has obvious wear and tear...likely ended up as a tail-hold machine for a grapple yarder. The TD-20 looks pretty good, but perhaps had some sort of catastrophic mechanical failure...or maybe it just wasn't the tool for the job in a changing business world. Video tour of the machines S tanding on top of the Madill...looking over at the TD-20 and 892 I think that ol d hulk was a D-8 at some point the stripp ed out C at View from the office Standing on the TD-20...looking over at the Madill/Mack LRSW

The idea of a belt of traction treads goes way back in the history of mechanical movement. In the 1770's there were experiments with a system dubbed the "endless railway." Inventors and manufacturers all over the world helped to shape the design process. Mainly what people were trying to do, is avoid getting stuck in soft ground conditions like mud, tundra, snow and farmland. The linked tracks that that form a continuous belt, offers a larger footprint to the ground This larger footprint delivers less ground pressure, allowing the machine/contraption/invention to "float" on the soft surface. The Caterpillar Tractor company did not invent steel tracks, or even the machine that rolls on steel tracks. The Caterpillar company formed to take over the assets of the struggling Holt Manufacturing Company...and went on to create a legend. The standard steel tracked, diesel engine, push blade...and sometimes a winch machine is called a "cat" Like Xerox, ...