Acco built the biggest motorgrader ever. I have read, that they built two types. The prototype is the 6 wheel grader and the other one has 12 wheels. Here the one which has 12 wheels: http://realitypod.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ACCO-1700-Grader-new.jpg And the other with 6 wheels: https://www.flickr.com/photos/accodozer/sets/72157630103724112/with/7361737364/ Does anybody know what happend to both? The one with 6 wheels has lost some parts
as far as i know scrapped
Thats sooooooo sad So an interesting great looking grader is a good thing for a museum!
Both of those links show the same machine, the one with 12 wheels apparently from when it was in working order, the other link showing the machine stripped, probably for transport. He built also the biggest bulldozer yes? Wonder why they weren't successful.
There are several other threads here on this grader with additional photos and information. If you insert ACCO into our search feature at the top of the page you can find them.
In a German forum someones says, that are both different machines...
I always thought that there was only ever one prototype of each built - grader and tracked bulldozer. The bulldozer still exists in one piece. However those photos appear to show 2 slightly different graders in that one has what appears to be a motor scraper tractor as the "front end" where the other one has a more conventional non-drive steering axle although the photo is taken from the wrong angle to be able to confirm it 100%. Was one a later version of the other I wonder..? They weren't successful because at the time they were built a market for machines of that size didn't really exist. If they had been built today instead of almost 30 years ago, who knows.....?
At least the big azz dozer was bought and restored, I think it's stored in Italy still just not in Acco's yard. I thought he build those huge machines for a big project in Libya. When the country went all sideways he was not allowed to send them there.
I should have added that even by the standards of the day when they were built, the ACCO product was more than a bit stone-age, or let's be PC and say "not so technologically advanced as the competition". Maybe that's another reason why they never took off. The fact that Colonel Quadaffi fell out of favour with the rest of the world about that same time also likely had something to do with it.
My apologies, the very last picture on the page brought up by the second link does indeed show a dual engine six wheel grader with a different air cleaner and exhaust setup fore and aft. I still maintain the other pictures are of the same 12 tire machine in a stripped down state. I guess everybody has to have a hobby? lol
I guess the biggest grader that was actually produced in some numbers and put into daily use was that big Champion? I do not recall the model, but they used one on a dam construction project here in the mid 80's.
Here is the info on the Champion 100T motor grader that you're talking about, all courtesy of Vannatta Bros. website www.vannattabros.com "In 1975, Dominion Road Machinery, later called Champion Road Machinery, introduced the world's largest production-model grader, the 80-T, which later became the 100-T. This machine was introduced in 1975 as the 80T with a Detroit 16-71N Engine but by 1977 it was modified and repowered with an Cummins V1710 set at 700 hp. It was a poor seller and reportedly only about 10 of these machines were ever sold before Champion discontinued the product a dozen years later. The model number approximates the weight of the machine in tons. It had a 24 foot blade and an articulated frame. Although bigger graders have been custom made, this seems to qualify as the world's largest production grader. In 1975, Dominion Road Machinery, later called Champion Road Machinery, introduced the world's largest production-model grader, the 80-T, which later became the 100-T. This machine was introduced in 1975 as the 80T with a Detroit 16-71N Engine but by 1977 it was modified and repowered with an Cummins V1710 set at 700 hp. It was a poor seller and reportedly only about 10 of these machines were ever sold before Champion discontinued the product a dozen years later. The model number approximates the weight of the machine in tons. It had a 24 foot blade and an articulated frame. Although bigger graders have been custom made, this seems to qualify as the world's largest production grader. Champion is now part of Volvo, but has a storied history as Champion from Canada. The roots of the product can be traced to a US Patent for a horse drawn grader in 1872 with Champion and its predecessor companies making graders in Canada since 1892. "
Yes, that is it. Phillips and Jordan Construction used one here in north Texas when they built the dam at Lake Ray Roberts. I got to ride in the cab a few times. The operator had a good view from up there. Except when in reverse.
Somewhere on the web there is a story with a bunch of pictures and video of the grader and the crawler commisioned and built for Libya. Kadafia's supposed plan was to bulldoze and level cities that housed dissidents. Big toys must have been his answer to his little man complex. The grader was scraped but the dozer remains in a museum. I do not think that there ever was a plan to build more than one of each. The grader was larger than the Champion shown. I would bet that the champion is the largest production grader ever built.
Interesting to know. I just drove across the dam today.
some info on the dozer and who has it now ,also tells of why they were built ,good to see the dozer saved https://www.facebook.com/AccoDozer Grader http://www.vincelewis.net/accograder.html
The Captain coal mine over here in southern illinois was home to a lot of cats prototypes. They had a diesel/elctric grader with haul truck tires and a 30' x8' moldboadrd. they also had a twin engine twin cab haul truck that never had to be turned around. the operator drove down to the shovel, locked the steering and then got on a cat walk and went to the cab at the other end of the machine and drove it out once it was loaded. A friend of mine was a lattice boom welder on merrian drag line and shovels and has some pretty neat picktures
Haul truck with a cab at both ends.... belly dump or side dump?
It was a bottom dump coal hauler. I have a photo of it somewhere.
That sounds like one of the Kress "Cavity" coalhaulers. Kress put the cab down low under the end of the hopper overhang.
I believe this is it. It's in "All in a Day's Work" by Caterpillar. I have a lot better picture of it in Eric Orleman's "Caterpillar" by Motor Books, but I guess I put it up so I wouldn't lose it. The text reads that they were 240 ton diesel electric trucks and tested in Southern Illinois in 1965.
That would be the one. He always says his claim to fame is welding the undercarrages and house together that moved the space shuttle. Lol After the dragline caught fire NASA bought the undercarrages. He was telling how they raised the boom on that thing with 2 6" cables tied to the back of 12 D9's. They also had to weld the deck for the house together twice because it was taking too long to stick weld so they brought in flux cored welders and then x-rayed the welds...everything had to be gouged out then re stick welded.
Discussed the Champion 100T with my old man yesterday. He says the one up in Mo i Rana Norway is still in use. There is a picture of it somewhere around here..
Don, I have the same photo from another source - filed away in a safe place for just such an occasion as this - somewhere apparently so safe that now I can't find it.......... Thanks for posting.
We had in a german forum a discussion about the grader today, we have noticed that one grader (the last picture from the site) is completly and the other grader are parts missing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/accodozer/sets/72157630103724112/with/7176515461/ The shot datum from all the images are 2012. The grader with the dark "wheel rims" maybe still existent?
Those photos are all of the same machine AFAIK, because only 1 prototype machine was ever built. The final photo dates from 1980-something and was taken just after the machine was built. The problem with the Flickr site is that the date associated with photos is the date they were uploaded to the site, not the date the photo was actually taken. All the other photos were taken just before the machine was finally scrapped.
That photo looks not like a photo from the 80's, that is a digital photo! And please read the text unter the picture... i think the photograph know this better.....and look the the front machine from the grader, that looks different too!!!!
I was ready to agree with Nige, but found some photos of the big one when it was complete: That last picture on Flickr shows a different cab, different exhaust and air cleaners, engine side covers... and it looks like it was meant to have single tires. The big mother in working togs had duals on all six. That's the only picture of the smaller one I have ever seen.
I have asked the photographer on flickr.com when he has taken the images from both graders, I hope he has some informations about this. I think, he knows more like speculations... I'll give you the info, when I get the answer.
if you go on the facebook link of the Acco dozer being saved ,there is a picture of the grader stating it has been scrapped May 4th 2013 another giant creature born from the mind of Mr. Acco: the ACCO Grader was the biggest grader in the world, but some months ago it was demolished...
Nige, there were actually two prototypes built. The original was the one with the dark cab and wheels, and the second unit was the one in the rest of the pictures.
The question is, which one is scrapped, both or the one who are parts missing.
I have find some photos in a french forum: http://photostp.free.fr/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=447272#p447272 This is really the second Acco Grader, it might be still existent...
I have now informations about this second grader. He is smaller like the biggest, but it is a big grader too. Weight: 60 tons moldboard length: 7,75 m eninge 2 Cummins: 628 PS This smaller Acco grader was built 1991. It is at the moment for sell on http://www.omeco.it/
I know this is an old post but most of this info is suspect. There was no 6" cable for one thing. 5" cable was the biggest cable made and was developed specifically for the Big Muskie dragline that came a few years later than the Captain shovel. I guess I'm one of those people that likes to have pictures or another credible source to back up some of these stories. An interesting note about the crawler transporters is that Marion didn't design them. Marion likely adopted some of their own design features but the transporters were originally designed by Bucyrus Erie. Marion complained that the contract never went to tender and then underbid BE and got the contract to build them. I think Marion hired some of the BE design team as well. I saw that mentioned on a Discovery channel show and after doing a little research found it to be true.
Strange that. IIRC our 1570W dragline ran 5" drag ropes and that was more than a tad smaller than Big Muskie. A quick look at Bridon's catalogue shows standard dragline ropes up to 5-5/8" diameter and anything larger by special order. TBH I would have thought the offshore oil industry would have used wire ropes bigger than 6".
I purchased a book called 100 Booming Years from BE. It is the history of BE's first 100 years. There is a whole section on Big Muskie. The drag ropes were powered by 8 2000 HP motors and the hoist ropes were powered by 10 2000HP motors that developed peak HP of 27,500 during hoisting. The power cables were the largest ever made as well at 4 3/4". "The wire ropes for the hoist and drag service posed a real problem, which was solved by use of the first five-inch diameter wire rope, the world's largest, produced by C F & I Steel Corporation." "The ropes used on Big Muskie had a rated breaking strength of 1080 tons and weighed 46.2 pounds per foot." "The drag machinery developed a stall drag pull exceeding 1000 tons on each of the bucket's 20-foot lips. It took two five-inch drag ropes on each side of the bucket to develop these pulls with an ample safety factor."
4 drag ropes, that explains it. The smaller machines only used 2 drag ropes so logically they would be larger diameter in proportion.
I imagine it would be fun trying to put new ropes on that big and heavy but from what I understand drag ropes are changed every 6-8 weeks. The 1570W may have been made after Big Muskie. It's a shame they scrapped Big Muskie.
Looking at the ACCO graders, the larger one with 12 tires is based on Cat scraper front end and hitch. It is apparently the one shown stripped down to 6 tires in some of the later pictures with no blade. The other one, with fresh paint, is based on Terex scraper front end. Look at the hich and steering for the dead giveaway. The planetaries are another clue. Too bad it seems neither one worked much, if any.
I hope that this "smaller" Acco grader finds a good owner, museum or somehwere in use, I hope that it gets not scrapped like the biggest one....
I have get the information that the smaller Acco grader has two Cummins enginges. Has the biggest Acco Grader Cummins engines too?
The 1570W actually ran 3 3/4" drag ropes. One thing to keep in mind is that the records for rope diameter that are being mentioned, are from the 1960s. The largest diameter wire rope built that I can find record of was just over 11" diameter.
Here are pictures from the smaller Acco grader to see: http://www.omeco.it/excavator-used/?pg=13&id_flotta=882001
If you are still interested in this grader Acco, I inform you that it would be sold in an auction, next July
If you are still interested in this grader Acco, I inform you that it would be sold in an auction, next July
I wish good luck that this grader will find a good owner, too nice for srap it, it is a very interesting piece.
Finally, I also have a link of the auction where the Acco will be sold: https://www.troostwijkauctions.com/nl/earth-moving-constr/01-24780/
Was the Acco Grader get sold in this auction?
No, it wasn't. As some one wrote, that grader could stay in some museum, or my be bought by someone for some specific work such as the ones for which it was projected (large routes in Libia), but for standard purposes is not so suitable. Nevertheless, should you need it, just contact me.
i hope this interesting grader get not scrapped, those interesting machines are too nice for srapping. Loooooooove graders and especially unique ones