1947 Caterpillar D8 2U clearing out a blown down tree from stream. Check out our website www.bostonpowercat.com for more videos, pictures, forum and blog.
I sent this video to my 85 year old dad and asked if he had ever operated one.I drove up to their house yesterday and asked if he watched the video. He was all smiles and mom said he watched it several times. He told some Cat stories from when he worked for Heland logging back in the early 50's. They used this model (and a D7) as dozers and skidders, he also operated them as a EO in the Army on Okinawa in the mid 50s. Thanks for posting the video, watching it obviously made my dads day.
+Tom Hamilton ,Cheers Tom I'm glad that your dad enjoyed the video there is more of them on our website.We only play with them now,and they are pretty physical to drive,so your dad must have been a hardy bloke to work them full time ,but I guess that's what progress does sometimes makes the new machines easier to drive,but not the skill needed ,like back in your dads day.Many thanks.
So nice to hear this story and it makes all the effort in putting the videos up certainly worthwhile. Thanks for your kind words and I hope your dad enjoys the rest of our videos, it's great to hear from someone who actually drove these everyday on a job rather than just a hobby!
About ten years ago my neighbor came over early one morning. I knew that they had been pouring some concrete over his way and asked what was the problem. He said one of the concrete trucks , when turning into his narrow (and only) driveway had got a little too close to the edge and it crumbled. I went over and looked and the big truck was leaning precariously into the ditch and was high-centered on the middle of the axles. I said I'd get my Cat and get it out for him. My old Cat is a '59 D9 without a turbo. I bought it very reasonable for the shape that it was in - nice and clean and not all worn out (It had belonged to a Township that got absorbed by the Big City and had sat around a lot - but it was always inside). The turbo was missing off of it when I got it. I have never had the money to buy one for it and really I don't need full power anyway. I had made a couple adapters out of steel pipe for the intake and exhaust and that took care of it. I also set the fuel injection delivery down a little so it didn't blow coal-black smoke. The exhaust is black but not crazy black, anyway. Anyway I fired up the pony and crushed an ampule of amyl nitrate in the nutcracker and drove the 1/4 mile to his place. By the time I got there there were two more concrete trucks waiting to get in and they were about to turn around and leave. Anyway I was the hero of the hour for pulling the stuck truck out of the ditch without damage and then blading-in a little more dirt on both sides to widen his driveway out. I had only bid enough on Old Betsy (the D9) to keep her from being scrapped and really had no use for her. The only reason I did so was because I happened to have enough room in my shed for her to keep her out of the rain. But she sure came in handy THAT day !
Glad to see those old D8's still working, with sounds of the little pony and big diesel making pure music. We had these in Korea, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima in '54/'55 building roads, airstrips, and parking pads for the U.S. Air Force. The coral rock on Iwo dulled dozer blades so quickly our welder was kept busy resurfacing with high alloy rod and grinding sharp again. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated 👍 Just put up new video, more stuff on it's way!! Also great to hear from someone who actually drove these machines on a daily basis, cheers.
Good stuff,skillful driving to the site,no tearup of soil,great to see 2 men doing good work,with skill and expertise, and I'd say a little bit of experience.!!.
Great Job! This was fun and interesting to watch! You guys did a great Job!!! Love the older style Machines! They were work horses for their day! And still keep up with modern equipment! Great job again guys! And thanks for sharing! Your bulldozer is a Beauty! True muscle power in that machine!
Thank you!! and really glad you enjoyed the video, yes the machine maybe old, but your right it's still capable of doing a job or 2. If you enjoyed the video and the bulldozer make sure you check out our other videos for more of the same 👍
Curious, was this blowdown on your property, or were you assisting a good neighbor? Your rigger certainly looked like he was well versed. And it's so nice to see the old stuff actually applying a load. Cheers, Mark.
We were assisting a neighbour and it was a great opportunity to give the machine a run. The rigger was over the moon with your comment!! But your right he's been in the industry a long old time! Thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated 👍
Nice video clip of the old cat. I ran a 2u back in the 70's and used to have to pick though used clutch links to find a set that would all be around the same wear...lol.. that and leave it to cat to have a square pin in a round hole deep in the back of the transmission. lol , we worked that poor old cat hard every day doing land clearing first chaining down mesquite with an anchor chain, stacking then plowing with a holt root plow loaded that old girl right up, that and tank building pulling a 10 yard scrapper, could shifted it up thought the gears just a bout like a truck with the scrapper loaded once you climbed up out of the tank.
Cheers, and yes it does need a tidy up, but it's not actually our field, it's a neighbours, but we were doing him a favour pulling the log out for him.
Nice old cat but I think what you got there is a track tractor not a bulldozer because lack of a blade but as soon as I heard it running my ears started ringing been around that noise for almost 50 years
Best video I've watched in a long time. A person would almost think that machine was made for that kind of work. I take it you have a problem with deer?
I thought I heard a horsey instead of the Kitty and then I SAW a horsey, so I'm not loosing it as bad as I thought. Still wonder if diesel fumes are as bad as some say they are. Nope. Now you just need a dragline or two!
Yeah the odd horsey is known to be wandering around!! We should start bottling these diesel fumes and sell them for the mythical and magical properties!!
yes that's correct, you hand crank the small pony/donkey engine which in turns starts the main engine. Electrics and starter motors just weren't up to the job at the time!!
Placing hook at base of stump seems like the HARD WAY -- If you leave TALL STUMP and hook chain at TOP OF STUMP you get more LEVERAGE and ROOT BALL pops out !!!
+Russ Se back in the day when it was new 1947 it would be the biggest dozer in Caterpillars product line ,but at a working weight of about 18tonnes it would be a baby compared to Caterpillars latest dozer the D11 at over a 100 tonnes.
