This is a Universal power shovel model B with a Fordson power unit. Sold at auction today for $2,200. The picture is way too small, it is the same size as I got off the auction web site.
Looks like something from the midievil times, used for throwing rocks grease etc.. over castle walls
I hope the iron mongers arent buying them up. Saw enough of that from my neighbor. My friend that just passed away remebers the creeks that run through here were cleaned out by the Soil Conservation Corp. He remberes they used a a trio of 1/3 and 3/4 swing machines one was a shovel the other a dragline/ Clam and the 3rd was a hoe. There are several ditches and canals that have ancient machine marks in them and small spoil piles. With 25 and 30 inch trees growing through them. I think one was a Byers and the other a Bay City. He said one had a Farmall tractor power unit on it. He said the one with the shovel worked out of banks loading dirt for terraces and levees. He also said they used it i nthe bottoms of small canals putting the dirt back up on banks. The drag was split between betwwn clam duties. He said they were neat machines back here during that time. I just noticed the one in the background of the pic looks like a Bay City.
That shovel is a Bay City, I posted it on the excavator topic here. I did not know the old iron topic was here. I feel the old iron are some neat machines, someone came up with a working machine (might not have worked the best) and the next guy improved on it, and kept on improving until we are where we are today. Just like the automobile, the first ones were pretty light and spindly, and also simple and they just kept on getting better. They are better to a point where parts of them are so complicated you can't work on them anymore. And from what I read on here some of this newer equipment isn't far behind the automobile. The old stuff is so simple you could get your wife or girl friend to work on it if you could teach them which end of the wrench to hold. It's a lazy man who won't get his wife a second job.
here is a nice one from the Rockbusters Convention (pic taken by rick sousa)
In late 40's or the early 50's I saw what I was told were called skimmer scoops, They tracks in the front and steel wheels in the rear the boom moved 90 degrees and the bucket was attached to the boom and slide out on rails, the boom was lowered to the work I was told that they were used mostly in rock. These rigs were being used at the time in Ft Worth Texas, does anyone known of this shovel or have any pictures