Some time ago we acquired two of these steam powered drilling machines and one of them is now back in working condition.

There are times when acquisitions at Sandstone are sometimes a mystery and we are not always sure what we have got! Recently we acquired this interesting little scraper/drawn grader but were not sure of its history. Crushed into the paint work was a Caterpillar sticker which was a major clue. With assistance from Neil Clydsdale (who visited us at Stars of Sandstone 2019) of the Australian Caterpillar Club, it was identified as a Caterpillar No 1 Terracer with optional front truck and was manufactured sometime between 1931 and 1941.
 

Our Caterpillar collection has for too long been a quiet and fairly modest part of our overall Heritage programme.  

We do not like to prioritise any one category of machinery as being better than another.  Our Steam Heritage department is obviously well organised and well equipped.  The same applies to the Agricultural machinery side, and of course we have an excellent cross-section of Military vehicles.  

One of the unsung heroes though is our growing collection of Caterpillar machinery which comprises a very good cross-section of working Caterpillar tractors from the D2 right through to the D9 of various vintages.  We will be featuring an article on the complete collection quite soon.

The farm has a very old Scammell Dump truck reputed to date back to 1939. It has been our main workhorse with regard to the removal of materials, such as ballast etc. on the farm and the railway.

Unfortunately it had a major engine failure about 2-years ago. Such is our good fortune of Sandstone that we had an almost identical engine that came out of an old crane. Andre Smit has been working tirelessly over the past month to replace the engine. The main hydraulic ram was also worn out and that has had to be refurbished.

Grading of road

In line with our policy of using our Heritage equipment wherever possible we have once again deployed our wonderfully reliable old CAT 12 Grader to tidy up our roads after the recent rains.

Information

Sandstone  Heritage Trust has two Star Drilling machines and it is prioritising the rebuilding of one so that we can drill using steam power

Sandstone Heritage Trust - News

23rd May 2006

The synergy between Sandstone Estates as a farming unit and the Sandstone Heritage Trust collection is always being explored and enhanced. The company has now sold its 120H CAT Grader, which was responsible for most of the work relating to railway line construction, road maintenance etc. Its place has been taken by a 1953 CAT 12 Grader that was fully restored some years back by Charles Terry for the Sandstone Heritage Trust. This machine is capable of doing all the work carried out by the CAT 120H. Although it has no hydraulics and is a tougher machine to drive our operators are up to the challenge.

This Grader was acquired and restored for less than R50,000. A new replacement for a machine like this would cost the company in excess of R850,000. Therefore the use of heritage assets in practical and realistic applications has a huge impact on company profitability and is part of an intelligent asset management strategy.

Sandstone Heritage Trust - News

4th August 2006

As part of its policy of putting older equipment to work Sandstone Estates has disposed off its Caterpillar 120H Grader which has done a lot of the railway construction work on behalf of the Sandstone Heritage Trust. The workload has dropped and we have therefore commissioned our CAT 12 Grader. Dating back to the 1950's this Grader is in excellent condition. It was originally fully rebuilt by Charles Terry, a Caterpillar engineer of great experience. Here are some pictures of the work been done by Charles. More recently the machine was serviced in-depth by Zach van Staden & Associates, also a professional Earth Moving organisation with considerable experience on the older CAT machines. The machine now takes its rightful place as the number one road grader at Sandstone Estates. This programme of replacing the new with the old will continue.

Sandstone Heritage Trust - News

13th August 2006

The Sandstone Heritage Trust collection of old machines is fascinating because so many of them have never seen the light of day when it comes to international publicity. Our (+/- 1955) Model 105 Eimco is no exception. This unique design of an American made "Rocker" shovel designed specifically for use in tunneling, canal work and where turning is restricted or limited is in full running order and has been in the collection for nearly 10-years. It is one of the many machines that may never be restored because its condition is sound and it is in its true working clothes. Various heights of rockers (the half wheels either side of the cab attached to the bucket) were available to accomodate various truck and tunnel ceiling heights. It is equipped with a 90 HP 3 - 71 GM 2 stroke diesel engine and the 2 cu m bucket makes for very fast loading even by today's standards i.e. 3 loads to 2 of a similar sized current conventional front end loader which has to make at least two turns per cycle. One of the reasons why the Sandstone Heritage Trust staff are somewhat weary of the machine is that they had a reputation for being dangerous. As our pictures show the machine has a fierce mechanical motion which enables the machine to drive straight into a rock face, fill the bucket, and then virtually catapult the material over the top into a truck standing at the back. The only entrance to the cab is via the roof, and so should the bucket (which is returned by impuls spring and gravity) become jammed in a vertical position the operator has the dilemma of getting out while hoping that nothing changes and he does not get sliced in two! Sadly this had been known to happen on a number of occasions. Anyway, looking on the bright side this machine will be treated with great circumspection and we hope to have it working in a quarry on Sandstone Estates quite soon.