G.EdwinBurksLecture 1975 750579 Earthmoving TruckHistory andProgress RalphH.Kress KressCorp. SocietyofAutomotive Engineers, Inc. Earthmoving IndustryConference CentralIllinoisSection Peoria,Illinois April15-16,1975 Downloaded from SAE International by University of Leeds, Sunday, August 12, 2018Copyright©SocietyofAutomotive Engineers, Inc.1975 Allrightsreserved. Downloaded from SAE International by University of Leeds, Sunday, August 12, 2018750579 Earthmoving TruckHistory andProgress RalphH.Kress KressCorp. EARTHMOVING BYTRUCKbegantoberecognized asan improvement overtheuseofhorsesabout50yearsago,well withinthememoryofmanyearthmoving pioneersstillactively orinactivelyengagedintheearthmoving equipment manufac tureoruseage. Mypersonalexperience startswithacuriosityforthesteam shovelandsteamrollerusedinearthmoving androadbuilding duringWorldWarI.Beyondtheuseofthis"machinery," horsesmovedthematerialexceptforlongdistanceswhererail roadswereusedandshortdistancesoflessthan100ftwhere manpower wheelbarrows didmostofthemoving.Tothoseof ushistorically inclinedandfascinatedwithmachinery, itis nicetoknowallthishashappenedinthelivingmemoryofso manyofus. Mycommercial entranceinthetruckfieldwas1922whenI graduatedfromhighschoolandstartedsellingtrucksatretail whichstillcontinuesandwill,hopefully,formanymoreyears. Competition atthestartwasprincipally theuseofhorses. Theoneortwomanandoneortwohorsehand-guided scooper (Fig.1)wouldscoopupalittledirtintoapilewhichwould behandshoveledintooneortwohorse-drawn gravitydump cartsofabout1/2yd3capacity(Fig.2). Theoperatorsoftheequipment wereproudoftheirtalent andphysicalstrengthandalsofondofthehorses.Onetypical salesresistance wasexpressed asweweremakingsomeprogress with1tontrucks,whenthehorseoperatoraccusedmeofsell inghimoutofhisjobasanexperienced horsegroomanddump cartoperator. WhenIsuggestedheshouldexpandhistalentstodrivingatruck,hesaidatage35hewastoooldtolearn. SinceIwasonly19yearsoldthen,Ithoughtmaybehewas right. Fromthisearlystartcarryingabout1ton,thecapacity growthstartedtoriseto5tongiants(Fig.3)allwithwide solidtiresandmostlychaindriveaxlesaspneumatic tiresfor loadsthisheavydidnotbecomeavailableuntilthelate1920s andearly1930s. ABSTRACT Untilapproximately 50yearsagohorsesandmanpower wereconsidered thebestmeansforearthmoving. Progress fromthispointcameinthelate1930sasoff-highway trucks begantoreplaceon-highway trucks.Thedevelopment ofengineswithmorehorsepower movedtheindustryahead.Today earthmoving ismademorecomplexforwemustconsidernot onlytheadvancesinearthmoving equipment, butalsoifequal advanceshavbeenmadeinauxiliaryequipment andmanpower toallowmaximum efficiency. Downloaded from SAE International by University of Leeds, Sunday, August 12, 20182 Thetransitionfromearthmoving highwaytypetrucksto off-highway trucksbeganinthelatterhalfofthe1930s. Euclidistheonlyoriginalpioneertosurvivesinceitsstartin the1930sasanoff-highway type.Mack,Autocar,G.M.C., WhiteandInternational evolvedfromhighwaytypetrucksand arestillavailableforbothpurposes. Flashback memories onlytakeafewsecondstoseewhat happened inthistransition, butifwetrytolookforwardto moreprogresswecanrecalltheobstaclesthattooksolongto overcome. Thefartherbackwestand,thelesstheproblems we facedalongthisroadandstillfaceinthefuture,areremem bered. Amongtheproblemsthathavebeenwiththeearthmoving industryfromthebeginning andhavegrownovertheyearsis thelackofsufficienthorsepower andthetransmission ofthe horsepower tothewheels. AtthestartofWorldWarII,thislackofenginehorsepower hitushardaswestartedlargetankproduction. Amongthemanyattemptstouseavailableengines,theonlysuccessful combination topowerourheavytankswastousetwoCadillac V-8engineswithHydramatic transmissions foracombined totalof250hp.FordandChryslerfinallydeveloped 750hp enginesbuttheywerenotavailableuntilthewarended. Allison,PackardandRolls-Royce developed fascinating 2000 hpcompact2000lbwater-cooled enginesforpatrolboatsand airplanes,butbothwerescuttledbycommercial inertiaafter thewar. Thenextrayofsuns