Trackson?

Trackoson made the loader, and it is on a D4

installed by cat during the build.

Yes on the above posts,
Here are the specs:
Turned into the 955 12A in 1955.

wow, who butchered the HT4. that be a good parts machine for me if it werent so far away. but the HT4 is as they said, Trackson made the loader part, and caterpillar put it on the D4 frame. Then later on in the years, and Im sure of this but the experts will be able to tell you, about when the first 955 machines came out, is when caterpillar bought out the trackson company. here is video of my HT4 working at the brownsville steam show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk35AqDLfqk

The Trackson Co built their first cable Trackson loader on a Cat in late 1937 .. fitted to a model Thirty (6G) crawler .. and it was sold as the "Trackson Shovel option".
Soon after, Trackson produced the T4, fitted to the D4 .. then followed with models for every other Cat, up to D7 size. By 1946, the model range was T2 (D2), T4 (D4), T6 (D6) and the T7 (D7).

The cable Trackson loaders on Cat crawlers were built by the Trackson Co, from early 1938 to December 1951, when Cat bought the Trackson Co., lock, stock and barrel. By the mid 1940's, Trackson merely called all their loader range, just Traxcavators (from "tractor excavator").

After Cat purchased the Trackson Co., the Trackson loaders were gradually renamed Caterpillars (although the Traxcavator nameplates remained for a year or two) .. and the cable Tracksons were rapidly phased out, in favour of the hydraulic Traxcavators (Trackson had produced the all-hydraulic HT4 in 1950 - and it sold alongside the cable Tracksons loaders, for over 2 years, before the cable Trackson production ceased).
The hydraulic Trackson HT4 Traxcavator was designed by both Trackson and Caterpillar engineers, in a co-operative effort, that commenced in 1948.

The No.6 Shovel, released in early 1953, was Cat's first all-new, totally-Caterpillar-designed, hydraulic traxcavator .. and the No.6 sold along with the HT4 up to early 1955, when the 933, the 955 and the 977 appeared on the scene. The release of the No.6 Shovel saw the end of production of cable Traxcavators.

The Trackson Co built their first cable Trackson loader on a Cat in late 1937 .. fitted to a model Thirty (6G) crawler .. and it was sold as the "Trackson Shovel option".
Soon after, Trackson produced the T4, fitted to the D4 .. then followed with models for every other Cat, up to D7 size. By 1946, the model range was T2 (D2), T4 (D4), T6 (D6) and the T7 (D7).

The cable Trackson loaders on Cat crawlers were built by the Trackson Co, from early 1938 to December 1951, when Cat bought the Trackson Co., lock, stock and barrel. By the mid 1940's, Trackson merely called all their loader range, just Traxcavators (from "tractor excavator").

After Cat purchased the Trackson Co., the Trackson loaders were gradually renamed Caterpillars (although the Traxcavator nameplates remained for a year or two) .. and the cable Tracksons were rapidly phased out, in favour of the hydraulic Traxcavators (Trackson had produced the all-hydraulic HT4 in 1950 - and it sold alongside the cable Tracksons loaders, for over 2 years, before the cable Trackson production ceased).
The hydraulic Trackson HT4 Traxcavator was designed by both Trackson and Caterpillar engineers, in a co-operative effort, that commenced in 1948.

The No.6 Shovel, released in early 1953, was Cat's first all-new, totally-Caterpillar-designed, hydraulic traxcavator .. and the No.6 sold along with the HT4 up to early 1955, when the 933, the 955 and the 977 appeared on the scene. The release of the No.6 Shovel saw the end of production of cable Traxcavators.

Might be some parts there but it would be a risk. Probably a #44 hyd unit. What series D4 is it? I can not tell from the photo's.

Matt

Matt - The HT4 Trackson is mounted on a modified 7U series D4. 5 roller, fixed track frames, Cat #44 front-mount hyd system, and blower fan. The Traxcavator assembly adds 5,850 lbs to the basic D4 tractor, making the HT4's weight come in around 18,800 lbs.

Deas - Yes, you're correct. The Trackson company patented a crawler conversion in the early 1920's that could be, and was fitted, to numerous brands of tractors. It was a popular conversion for many tractor-grader units.

The wheel loaders also wore the traxcavator name for a while too.