Page 434 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
P. 434

  Harrison Twin D8 was delivered in 1949
marked 1949. “The Siamese Caterpillar D8 was delivered new to Harrison’s Western Avenue yard on the north side of Pittsburgh in 1949. It was first used to spread fill on the West-End Bypass proj- ect in Pittsburgh, PA. It also worked on a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and later pulled a Euclid BV loader on the Ohio Turnpike project. The machine was most likely shipped by train with final assembly at Beckwith Machinery,” claims Browning, a retired homicide detective with the Hampton, Virginia, PD who has authored eleven books on historical road construction equipment and a quarterly journal, Shovel.
Browning’s collection of photos and trade articles corroborates his theory that the Harrison machine was one of the earliest twins built. A May 1950 ar- ticle in the Constructioneer (above right), explains.17
A Gulf advertisement in Roads and Streets mag- azine shows a picture of the Cat Twin D8 on
the Ohio Turnpike in September 1954. “Harri- son Construction Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., is rushing to complete sections C-6 and C-7 on the Ohio Turnpike, comprising 6.9 miles near North Jackson, Ohio. The contract involves 2.2 million cubic yards of grading (90 percent borrow); 60,000 cubic yards of concrete paving; 16,680 cubic yards of concrete for box culverts; nine bridges, and one cloverleaf interchange.”18
Given that Peterson has no record of the Harrison Construction Twin, the likely scenario is that Pe- terson sent the conversion parts and plans to the local Caterpillar dealer (Beckwith), who assem- bled it in their shop, then shipped it to Harrison’s yard in Pittsburgh. That would certainly fit with the origins of two other dealer-assembled Twins in the 1949–51 timeframe—the Hungry Horse Twin in Montana and the Coal Twin in Ohio. However, with no definitive documentation, one can only speculate.
17 “Siamese Tractor Aids Earthmoving”, Constructioneer, May 22, 1950.
18 “Gulf Products and Fine Service Keep Equipment Rolling on the Ohio Turnpike Project”, (Advertisement), Roads and Streets, Sept. 1955, p33.
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