What ever happened to this beast ? I remember reading about it as a kid, in the guineus book of world records. Very few pictures remain of this machine and fewer information is available. Didn't really impress me to modern machines,but hey they had to start somewhere. Who made it ? Slagpot
Guess nobody has heard of this dozer.Perhaps a bit of more information on it. A wheeled bulldozer from the 60's about the size of a modern letourneau loader. Powered by diesel electric motors.For it's time the most powerful dozer on the planet. Still more info & pictures would be great. Slagpot
In 1961, Western Contracting Corporation was in need of a wheel dozer to use as push tractors for the largest scrapers offered at the time, but none were in production. By enlisting the help of C.W. Jones Engineering Company, the most powerful dozer of any type was created.[6] Built by Intercontinental Engineering & Manufacturing Corporation, it was initially used on the Milford Dam, which spanned 17 million yards. This machine ran on 1,850 horsepower, was 15.5 feet (4.7 m) wide, and 47 feet (14 m) long. The machine, with an operating weight of 170 tons, was articulated at both ends, and therefore had a 37.5-foot (11.4-m) turning radius. The machine was sold from 1963 to 1981.
Here's a pic for you...
Wow - that is one impressive machine, back then, and today if it was still being made. Thanks for the photo.
That has been posted on this site in the past.It used a locomotive engine for power.Ron G
It looks like a tugboat on wheels.
The one in the picture above is different then the one that's been on here before. Here's the thread and you have to scroll down to post number 74 to find the tractor as it's called here.
Definately not the same machines. Ed
The machine pictured first is the VCON V-220 wheel dozer. There were two V-220s and one V-250 wheel dozers built. Interestingly, the V-250 was smaller than the V-220. VCON stands for Vehicle Constructors which was a division of Peerless Manufacturing at the time of the V-250 being built. The V-250 was built in 1970 as a test bed for the technology used in the larger V-220 which was built after VCON had been purchased by the Marion Power Shovel Company. The V-250 weighed in at 250,000 pounds and had 1000 gross horsepower. The V-220 was built in 1975, weighed in at 300,000 pounds and had 1500 gross horsepower produced by a Detroit Diesel 16V-149T. Incidentally, the dozer described by Slagpot in the earlier post was the Western 2000 push dozer though the specs were a bit off. The Western 2000 was not even related to one of the Marion VCON machines. The picture provided in the link posted by 95zIV is of the Western 2000 dozer. Some specs on it were that it was a one of a kind, built specifically for Western Contracting in 1963 by Intercontinental Engineering and Manufacturing and was designed by C.W. Jones Engineering. It was designed as a scraper pusher from day one and was powered by a GM 16-278A marine diesel rated at 2000 gross horsepower. It weighed in at 340,000 pounds and was scrapped in 1981. The Western 2000 was never offered for sale as a production machine.
Here's another pic, could be a different machine again from the one Alberta posted which has what looks like an air cleaner box on the side above the rear wheel. I don't know where I got that photo other than the internet.:beatsme
Anybody know where these machines are today?
That thing wags on the back like the Hough and Case loaders did,that would not be fun to back up unless you were in a large open lot and knew for sure noone was behind you.Ron G
Jaw droppingly BIG As someone once said "there are no big jobs, just small machines" :notworthy
Along those lines ,Western had a pusher made from a switch locomotive back in the 60's. Can't seem to come up with a pic, I'll keep looking
I remember the monster I came onto your post while trolling the site - on company time. I worked for Marion Power Shovel co. when we purchased this company (Peerless I think the owners called it) I remember meeting the company owners who originally put this thing together in Texas. I was mostly overseas working on Draglines and never had a lot to do with the V-Con. I think the plan was to upgrade the power from the 16V-149 Detroit to a Cummins and I seem to remember 2200 HP being talked about at the time. I don't think much ever came of it. Guys that had seen it said it could push a D-10 backwards on a head to head contest but I couldn't verify that either.
The price of an in-frame overhaul would probably buy a dozen Dim Sum Chinese dozers.
With change to spare I imagine.
I worked for the Shovel in the 70's and early 80's. The Vcon dozer was brought from Texas to Ohio and re-assembled with improvements in a stone quarry north of Marion. It went from there to a coal mine near Zanesville where Big Muskie was operating. The dozer was used to reclaim land behind Big Muskie for a few years. Marion Power Shovel was required to keep a support person on site, and I think they decided to drop the project. The dozer was scrapped out in the late 70's or early 80's.
I remember when the Peerless company came onboard. I met some of their people once, down at plant 2 on a tour, right after they became part of us - just before we all became part of Dresser as I recall. I heard the story about pushing a D-10 backwards but also cannot verify it. Seems I remember that was supposed to have happened up on the Iron Range. Anyway I spent most of my time with Marion ('75 through '96) outside the USA so I didn't keep that close on events. I think I may still have a picture or two of the V-con, next time I swing by home I'll try to find them. I try to get there once every 6 or 8 weeks, depending on the state of the current job.(this one keeps me at it 6 or 7 days a week so I may not get there soon).
I know this is a old post but I know a lot about this machine. I worked for Vcon in the mid 70s and my dad was the superintendent for them. The machine was first build at peerless MFG in Dallas Texas in 1969 and was worked for a few years until Marion Power Shovel brought them and moved the Mfg to central Dallas. You could put 2 D9 dozer's head to head and it would push both dozer backwards. The engine turned a 600 volt alternator which sent power to each electric wheel motor. I still have the pictures from the original that was built in 1969 and the one's that were stated in 1973 until 1977 when it was moved to Ohio. I don't think they built any in Ohio all they did was sent out tech's to work on them. A dump truck was built at Peerless along with this dozer in 1969 8 wheeled machine same motor but with 8 electic motors on it. I have a picture of it also with my father and the other 5 men that built both machines.
Hi Jim. Welcome to HEF. Please post your pictures. I find it fascinating what forward thinking folks built back in the heyday of big earthwork. Many of us here have a thirst for knowledge on this old stuff.
Here is Three pictures I have. The Dump Truck is Vcon 3006 you can see the seam in the middle of the bed were it was tacked together for testing before they disassembled it for shipment. The Vcon 250 Dozer was built in 1970 in Dallas Texas at Peerless Mfg. The Vcon 220 Dozer is the largest of the dozers and was built in Dallas at Love field airport hanger in a old Delta Hanger at the far south end. It was tested on the taxi way on the south end. There is a blue one in some pictures but that had to have been repainted because the 220 were White and Orange originally. Two were put to work another was about 60% built and a fourth was maybe 20 to 25% in Dallas when they shut it down. My father was the second from the left in the dump truck and far right man in the dozer picture. He had worked for Peerless for about 14 year until Marion bought the plans and rights to build the dozers then he went with them and was one of two superintendents for Marion Vcon division. I was a kid when I worked for Marion in the mid 70's and wish I had paid attention more but I had other things on my mind. Any other information you might have and would share would be great. I understand that somebody made some models of the dump truck if you know were I could get one please let me know.
Very cool Jim, thanks for sharing
Very cool pictures.
Extremely interesting. It would be awesome to see the operator area, and his view.
Pretty unique machines for that period of time.
Jim, Thank you for posting the pictures. Do you know any other folks that may have some pictures or more information on them?
I wonder if one of these was ever used by the V.N. Holderman contracting company in Ohio? They had a giant push dozer on a big Interstate 77 highway job in southeastern Ohio. I do not have photos of it, but this machine looks a lot like the one they had on that job. I think I saw it about 1965, so the timeframe would be right.
1965 is a little early. The Western 2000 started work in 1963 but belonged to Western contracting. You may seen a Hough D500 Paydozer that came out in 1961.
My memory is a little foggy about the machine, as it was only 52 years ago. I do remember that it was on wheels, had a pusher blade of some type on it, and was BIG. It stood a lot bigger looking than the D8's and D9's it was working with.
I wonder if you seen the huge Letourneau rubber tired push dozer. I think it was called a Tournadozer or something like that. I will have to search for pictures of one. Edit, found a picture and some info. https://www.constructionequipment.com/tournadozer-built-speedy-earthmoving I have seen picture of what may have been the 750 HP model. It had a glass front cab about 10 ft wide and looked like it had enough room in it for about 4 people to walk around.
Here's some pics of a D500 Paydozer. https://www.bing.com/images/search?...ough+d500&ajaxhist=0&first=1&selectedindex=11 https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=C/5ufvir&id=B1BB81420B7609EC67573C3659C29BFA51D60BBD&thid=OIP.C_5ufvirR-u46Py0-MnGJgEsDh&q=hough+d500&simid=608034377150367956&selectedIndex=4&qpvt=hough+d500&ajaxhist=0 https://en.wheelsage.org/international_harvester/hough_d500_paydozer/
These pusher were way smaller than the Vcon 250 and the V220. The V250 was shipped back to Dallas in 1974 and was cut up in around 76 the blade on it was smaller then the V220. The blade on the V220 was 8' tall x 30' long. The best I remember the V250 was 6 or 7' tall and about 20 to 25' long. It was a smaller machine. The engineers had to monkey around with it and made the V220 bigger but not better.
What they did learn was bigger was not always for the better. A few of slightly smaller machines could outwork for less fuel while easier to transport than the huge monsters that were hard to haul jobsite to jobsite and fuel hungry. Open pit mines, quarry, or large scale long term excavation projects even in trash fills they were great on, not so much clearing for residential or light industrial sites. and not much going on in distance highway projects these days where they found a early niche.
Yes sir, Old Engineer! My father worked on it/helped put it back together at Central Ohio Coal southeast of Zanesville Ohio ! However, I don’t think it made it years. Once my dad (another mechanic & three electricians) got all the bugs worked out, it got cut up & buried in a pit !
If it got cut up why not sell it for scrap?
Well sir, I can not answer that. Only someone with some authority at the now closed Central Ohio Coal Co. or representatives of American Electric Power (AEP). As I had previously stated, technically my information came from my father, who was a mechanic at COC. He and another mechanic, along with (3) electricians had went to some kind of 2 week schooling to be able to put this thing together at COC. And, for the most part, the Big Musky enjoyed the same fate ! I believe there may be a video of it, but other than this thread here, I haven’t found anything about the VConn at all …. Yet !But hey, thanks for asking ….. buddy.
Found a site with photos, big ugly b*****d.