Cat Book Recommendations

Jim Allen

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As I occasionally write about Cat equipment, mostly crawlers and engines, I wonder if there is a consensus here on the best book to keep around for general reference. Nothing is perfect, but I'd like a book that I can rely upon for the most part to convert correct information. Because I write more about the equipment than the corporate machinations, I'd like a book slanted that way as well.

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Thu, Nov 9, 2017 8:58 PM

D2 Cody

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Hey Jim great thread. I to love to read books about caterpillar and look at old cat pictures. I have been thinking of ordering 3 books from the acmoc store and also purchasing a book that looks really neat called (all in a days work). It'll be neat to see what other books people throw out there for a guy to find and read through.

Cat D6C 76A2045
Cat No. 12 8T15616

Caterpillar-Dodge-Lincoln-Stihl-Echo-Craftsman

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 6:54 AM

D2 Cody

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Reply to D2 Cody:

Hey Jim great thread. I to love to read books about caterpillar and look at old cat pictures. I have been thinking of ordering 3 books from the acmoc store and also purchasing a book that looks really neat called (all in a days work). It'll be neat to see what other books people throw out there for a guy to find and read through.

Also are there any good reads on the D2 or R2 tractors that anybody knows of, if so I'd like to know so I can find them. I'm a real sucker for the D2 and R2.

Cat D6C 76A2045
Cat No. 12 8T15616

Caterpillar-Dodge-Lincoln-Stihl-Echo-Craftsman

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 6:56 AM

ag-mike

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Reply to D2 Cody:

Also are there any good reads on the D2 or R2 tractors that anybody knows of, if so I'd like to know so I can find them. I'm a real sucker for the D2 and R2.

Orlemann's books are good but i believe the best overall product line book for vintage cat equipment is, g t barnards "illustrated product guide 1889-1969". i believe it was a expensive limited run and now hard to find. i got 1 and member it wasn't inexpensive. good luck with ur project.

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 7:34 AM

TimT

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Reply to ag-mike:

Orlemann's books are good but i believe the best overall product line book for vintage cat equipment is, g t barnards "illustrated product guide 1889-1969". i believe it was a expensive limited run and now hard to find. i got 1 and member it wasn't inexpensive. good luck with ur project.

I have all the books mentioned and more. Including what might be the best D9D-D9H book ever written and maybe the only one, but, its in German. I do not think it was ever done in an English Text. It was authored by Urs Peyer.

Caterpillar Chronicles by ECO, is a fantastic book for photos and history as stated, maybe the best.

For reference,
Barnards " Caterpillar illustrated product guide 1889-1969" is Awesome. Its in B&W but is almost all Caterpillar Ads, and builders photos... Includes tractors, scrapers, trucks, graders, loaders ... the whole line... and power units, all attachments, etc, etc. Truly a treasure book of Cat products for that period. Very expensive and might be hard to find.

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 7:56 AM

drujinin

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Reply to TimT:

I have all the books mentioned and more. Including what might be the best D9D-D9H book ever written and maybe the only one, but, its in German. I do not think it was ever done in an English Text. It was authored by Urs Peyer.

Caterpillar Chronicles by ECO, is a fantastic book for photos and history as stated, maybe the best.

For reference,
Barnards " Caterpillar illustrated product guide 1889-1969" is Awesome. Its in B&W but is almost all Caterpillar Ads, and builders photos... Includes tractors, scrapers, trucks, graders, loaders ... the whole line... and power units, all attachments, etc, etc. Truly a treasure book of Cat products for that period. Very expensive and might be hard to find.

Bob LaVoie's D2/R2 Photo Archive is a good book for the info you seek!

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 7:09 PM

dtallon

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Reply to drujinin:

Bob LaVoie's D2/R2 Photo Archive is a good book for the info you seek!

Great thread!

As others have mentioned, if you can find one, the Barnard book is a very good reference book. It doesn't go into a ton of detail, but enough for most questions that might come up. It has good illustrations from spec sheets and brochures to complement the info too.

Orlemann's Caterpillar Chronicle is also near the top of my list. There are two other Orlemann books that contain much of the same info. Classic Caterpillar Crawlers contains much of the same text as Chronicle, but only covers up to 1955 and only tractors. Caterpillar Century seemed to me to be a refresh of much of the same info as Chronicle, but with some different, larger pictures. All three are similar in that they weave the details into more of a story format rather than just a collection of specs and descriptive paragraphs. Part of this is the details are complemented with anecdotes passed on from some of the people involved. Some of those recollections are difficult to prove, or in a few cases, don't quite align with other facts, but they still make for a good story.

For detailed reference on early Holt and Best history, it's hard to beat Caterpillar's Roots by Jack Alexander. It maybe doesn't "flow" as well as some of the other books, but there is no lacking for detail and he does a good job of citing where the information came from if you want to do more research on your own. Roots stops at the Holt/Best merger though.

The Caterpillar Pocket Guide also comes in handy if you just need quick specs on a Cat tractor model from 1925-1955.

You also can't forget about the ACMOC newsletter. There have been some very good articles in there over the years. The one Lorry Dunning did on the 2-Ton is the best info on that model I have ever come across. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any index to those type of articles.

Dave

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Fri, Nov 10, 2017 10:21 PM

old-iron-habit

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Reply to TimT:

I have all the books mentioned and more. Including what might be the best D9D-D9H book ever written and maybe the only one, but, its in German. I do not think it was ever done in an English Text. It was authored by Urs Peyer.

Caterpillar Chronicles by ECO, is a fantastic book for photos and history as stated, maybe the best.

For reference,
Barnards " Caterpillar illustrated product guide 1889-1969" is Awesome. Its in B&W but is almost all Caterpillar Ads, and builders photos... Includes tractors, scrapers, trucks, graders, loaders ... the whole line... and power units, all attachments, etc, etc. Truly a treasure book of Cat products for that period. Very expensive and might be hard to find.

[quote="TimT"]I have all the books mentioned and more. Including what might be the best D9D-D9H book ever written and maybe the only one, but, its in German. I do not think it was ever done in an English Text. It was authored by Urs Peyer.

Caterpillar Chronicles by ECO, is a fantastic book for photos and history as stated, maybe the best.

For reference,
Barnards " Caterpillar illustrated product guide 1889-1969" is Awesome. Its in B&W but is almost all Caterpillar Ads, and builders photos... Includes tractors, scrapers, trucks, graders, loaders ... the whole line... and power units, all attachments, etc, etc. Truly a treasure book of Cat products for that period. Very expensive and might be hard to find.[/quote]

I also have all the books listed by Pete. All great books. In addition one of my favorite books is "Tracks in the Woods" which keeps me entertained and educates for days at a time on many brands of old machines, some of which don't exist anymore.

EDIT: I improperly listed the book title. It should have been "Endless Tracks in the Woods" by James A. Young and Jerrry D, Budy. An excellent read and much historical information.

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Sun, Nov 12, 2017 5:46 AM

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