I'm new to the site but thought there might be some interest in a project I'm working on. I'm digitizing old film I found of RG LeTourneau's machinery and uploading them to a youtube channel for others to view. You can look at them here http://www.youtube.com/user/tournadude?feature=mhsn
Excellent videos!
I am 51 years old, dyslexic,can't spell and reading is very hard work for me almost as hard as typing.but 30 years ago I read that book in one sitting.He spoke my/our language and it changed my life.I often tell youngins the story of RG working at the foundry as a boy.
Kirby Lumber Company had lots of the log stackers.Unload a log truck with a net of 100,000lbs easy.Timber Company's used the tree crusher on big tracks of land for reforestering.They stopped using them a few years ago.To much cost to move because they had to be broke down to smaller pieces.
a few threads ago there was a lot of stuff about rg. yea, it's on the land train stuff here, look at the threads. I bought a book on RG's stuff as a result and it was worth it. Even the book though didn't have this piece of machinery in it, at least the book i saw, there are 2 books, i only have one.
@2stickbill I'm not sure how soon I'll find them, but there are some films of the log stackers you are talking about and I will get to them sooner or later, so check back to the youtube channel. I'll also post here when I get them transferred. @jimrr I'm guessing you got one of the Oreleman books, which are some of the best ones out there, but they have so far only covered the really early part of RG's career. I think he's working on one now that will cover the last part of his career, but it's not out yet. @markshr151 The story in that book of him pumping the well dry in Duluth so he wouldn't have to bring in water when it wasn't his turn was always my fav from his autobiography. He was a strong willed man, a trait I seemed to have inherited. There is a guy in Longview TX that has some of the oldest film we know of and I hope to get over there soon to get his film to transfer. I'm about a quarter of the way through the 16mm film that the school has and hope to keep at it pretty strong through this winter. I will keep uploading stuff to the youtube site as I transfer it. I have to clean and repair each film (mostly 100ft rolls) and then I splice a bunch together to run through a machine that let's me capture it in the computer. Then I edit it and make smaller movies for upload. I'm capturing it in full High Definition (1080P).
Wish I could get some pics of the old machines here but you know how company's are about photos.There is one at Evadale that is scrapped.They have a newer one now.Big difference in the old ones and the new ones.Some had drive motors at all four wheels others just two wheels.All that I have seen are powered by the 8V71.
yup, I got the mechanical drive era 1921-53 by Eric C. Orlemann ''r.g. LeTourneau heavy equip., Nice reprint and i shall seek out more, in fact bought another on manitowok or some other such but left it back at the ranch.
Heres one used in kinda a odd application
Cool!! Looks like an old "log stacker" that they used in the Pacific NW to load huge logs. Though RG made a number of crane truck kind of machines for all kinds of odd jobs. Good to see one still being used.
Its their "new" one