(Canadian) Smith Rodley No. 11 Super

[Sheldon]

A hearty hello from Ontario, Canada. I've become a new member in the past few days. Have recently purchased a Smith Rodley No. 11 Super, cable/rope excavator. I am looking for any information that can be provided regarding this old machine. It is destined to become a monument on our front lawn as a testament to the original workhorse of my company.

[Jeremy Rowland]

Hi Sheldon and welcome to the site I'm sure that somebody on here may be able to shed some light on your machine.

Jeremy

[BulldozerD11]

A hearty hello from Ontario, Canada. I've become a new member in the past few days. Have recently purchased a Smith Rodley No. 11 Super, cable/rope excavator. I am looking for any information that can be provided regarding this old machine. It is destined to become a monument on our front lawn as a testament to the original workhorse of my company.

Hi Sheldon

Like the contrast between the Cat 365 and the Smith 11

I wonder how the output compares with the respective machine costs when new ?

Dave

[FOWLER MAN]

Hi Sheldon, and welcome.
I worked on Smiths in the 1960s. They were 1950s machines.
I worked on Super 10s, a 12 and 21s, But never knew of the existance of a Smith 11. You learn something new every day.
The model designations refered to the bucket capacity in cubic feet, so yours would have an 11 cubic foot bucket, (thats .3M).
The main visible difference between the Super 10 and the 12 was longer and heavier tracks, and your machine appears to have an undercariage like the 12.
All the Smiths had a two speed gear box and most of the Super 10 models had a Gardner 3LW engine, but I did work on one with an Armstrong Siddely air cooled unit. I beleive they were available with a Perkins P4 too. These engines were all rated at 33 hp.
The Smith 12 either had a Perkins L4 or an uprated 3 LW Gardner both giving 40 hp.
Be interesting to know what engine is in yours??
Fred

[Sheldon]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm sure that in its day the Super 11 was a great machine. It saved a lot of back breaking work, whether to someone on the end of a shovel or feeding a steam powered shovel. Although the CAT 365 is a monster in our arsenal of excavators, more than one of my operators has said and I quote "Take the cab off of the 365, install it on a 245B and you'll have a great machine!"
The Super 11 indeed has the Gardner 3LW engine.
I'll post more pictures soon. Would anyone have any pictures of Smith Rodleys in original factory paint schemes. I've seen a few pictures on the Internet but none have had the same colour scheme.

[FOWLER MAN]

Hello again,
Original Smith colours in the Smith 12 advertisement below.
Fred

Smith 12.JPG

[Sheldon]

That's great, thanks Fowlerman. Would you know if these types of advertisements exist as collectables?

[FOWLER MAN]

That's great, thanks Fowlerman. Would you know if these types of advertisements exist as collectables?

Hi,
Yes, this type of stuff is collectable. It turns up for sale at auctions and shows over here frequently, and on eBay too.
Smith stuff is probably pretty rare and difficult to find.
Fred