JD 40 model with elevated finals.

2 nice machines! ( the 10b bucyrus erie? or ruston bucyrus 10 rb too!)
are you going to put it back togetter later or going to make it small/low?
there were also cat conversions too, and were in fact one of the the first high sprockets, ( before de D10)
[attachment=30781]med_tractor_stilts.jpg[/attachment][attachment=30780]designed for vegetable farming.jpg[/attachment]

Hi, Marcoten.
The FIRST high sprocket drive that I am aware of predates your entrants by about 25 years. Benjamin Holt built a ditching machine on tracks in 1910 - with high sprocket drive, the drive sprockets being where the carrier rollers would be on say, a D4 up to the E series.

Then, in 1916, Best made what became known as the Humpback Thirty with the drive sprockets above and behind the rear idler. Rollin H. White came along with his Cletrac Model F in about 1919 and this had the drive sprockets pretty much where they are on the current Cat high sprocket machines but with NO track rollers or idlers. Instead, it had what became known as a 'string-of-pearls' roller chain running between the track chain and the track frame. The design was not hugely successful and was discontinued after only about 3 years. Cletrac never built another high sprocket production crawler but went on to build LOTS of low sprocket ones. Rumour has it that Rollin H.White bought the design for the differential steering in his Cletrac crawlers from Best at a machinery show in San Francisco where Best was exhibiting it in 1916, at a time when Best was a bit hard up for some ready cash.

Just my 0.02.

Here is a picture of the Model F and "string of pearls" as described by Deas. Serial number puts this one at 1921.

Here's a couple pics of a JD 420 crawler converted to high sprocket, left standard gauge. It was converted for the purpose of pulling a nursery undercutter, has about 4 feet clearance. The blade was removed before it went into my shop. It is a U-blade that runs about 18" deep, cuts off the longest roots, and lifts the tree up a bit to dislodge it from the soil. On this machine, but not all of them by any means, the blade is rear mounted. It straddles a single row, is tall and narrow, and feels OK on flat ground.

It went into the shop for general repairs to just about everything except the basic driving components which were very sound. It had just been beat to pieces over years of use, but it was all repairable and is back in use every spring here in the Hood River Valley.

You do a lot of work from a ladder on these high, small machines. This is the job on which the ladder broke up and gave me a good shove toward retirement a few years ago, but I finally got back to pretty good health in spite of the wreck. Don't put your everything you got into lifting on the big wrench when you are standing on a small ladder.:nono:

HELLO U-JOINT ,

I think elevated sprocket machines can be found all over the world . I found this one in France where it was used in the vinyard industry .

Have a nice day , johan7[attachment=30816]D4 7U wijnbouw 2.jpg[/attachment]

i love seeing all these different types of HC tractors keep the pics coming.
There is no standard way of making a HC tractor and that is was is so neat to look at.

This type of tractor was used in the fields to cultivate tall row crops. upkpfan

Hi, Folks.
I found this one courtesy of a helicopter flight with a friend out of Wasco, Ca.. TWO Ford diesel engines, two separate drive trains and a rose harvesting cutter.

[attachment=30978]Hi-clearance crawler rose harvester with twin Ford diesels - Wasco_1B_DP.jpg[/attachment][attachment=30979]Hi-clearance crawler rose harvester with twin Ford diesels - Wasco_1C_DP.jpg[/attachment][attachment=30980]Hi-clearance crawler rose harvester with twin Ford diesels - Wasco - Approach_1C_DP.jpg[/attachment][attachment=30981]Hi-clearance crawler rose harvester with twin Ford diesels - Wasco_1A_DP.jpg[/attachment][attachment=30982]Hi-clearance crawler rose harvester with twin Ford diesels - Wasco_1D_DP.jpg[/attachment]

Enjoy!!!!!! THAT'S an order. LOL.

Just my 0.02.

[quote="Deas Plant."]Hi, Folks.
I found this one courtesy of a helicopter flight with a friend out of Wasco, Ca.. TWO Ford diesel engines, two separate drive trains and a rose harvesting cutter.



Enjoy!!!!!! THAT'S an order. LOL.

Just my 0.02.[/quote]

Deas,

Your friend is one hell of a helo. pilot to let you get those kind of camera angles. I can't even see any dust being kicked up! As Glen says rofalmao!

Jan