Raglan 1966/67

[modelman093]

Mixed bag from the "Golden Age"!

[nick lamb]

Angus,your pics are just getting better and better.more please!

[RichardJW~]

O.K. now this is a bit of a 'dull' question but for someone like me who hasn't had anything to do with scrapers but can someone explain how the rear engine (drive) is synchronised between the front and back motor on something of that vintage? Is it a ll.....oooo....nnnn....gggg cable to the throttle linkage?
On the newer gear I will make an educated guess and say its either electric, electronic or CAN BUS system, so how did they do it? and was there a warning to the driver if something was going 'down' on the back engine (low oil pressure etc)?

[nick lamb]

Hi Richard,I've only ever driven motorscrapers for other people apart from a breif purchase of Terex which was for a job and thus sold later.I had no problems with the back transmission set up as it was only 3000 hrs old.I can tell you however that Cat run an electrical gear shift set up in the back trannies and that Terex run an air powered set up in their back trannies.The Cat electrics can get expensive to repair.You need money and a good plant electrician.Ask Neil Dillon or TC.Terex are simple(ish) as you can hear air leaking.They all run of the tranny gear stick in the cab.There is only one tranny controle,not two,the back sorts itself out.There are two throttles though and you need to be carefull how and when you use the back engine.Too much power and you will spin the back wheels in the dig if you are trying to give the pusher a lift.When turning in a tight spot the back engine will 'push' you over if your daft enough to be using it at the time.The back engine is really for assistance only and should be used accordingly.
By the way,I cant remember driving a scraper newer that 1985 ish and dont recall any dashboard gauges in the cab for back end problems.It was unspoken practice that the pusher driver or grader driver would keep an eye out.Also the gauges for the backpacks were on the side of the back radiators where the pusher driver could see them during loading(If he wasn't reading a paper of rolling a fag!)

[RichardJW~]

Right, getting the picture now......so in the 'cut' its foot down on both but don't spin the back wheels, now pull out of the 'cut' foot hard down to the boards on both pedals to get up to the track, now tripping off down the "road" (or whatever it is) you take your foot off the back engine pedal and it drops back to tick-over (say 1000 rpm) and the torque converter unlocks the drive so it effectively just free wheels?
Is the left foot for the back engine & the brake?

[nick lamb]

Hi Richard,it's not really good practice to use the backpack when you're in the dig.The pusher should be man enough to do the loading.You hit it as you're lifting the full box up and thats when the pusher driver will pull up a gear to give you an extra heave out of the dig before he goes back to the next scraper.once you're on the haulroad you can let the back engine tick over if you are on the level or going downhill.As for brakes,those are for begginers!An experianced scraper driver will just lower the box in an emergency.
It's also a job requirement for all scraper drivers to be drunk.They are safer this way.

[Nick Drew]

[quote
It's also a job requirement for all scraper drivers to be drunk.They are safer this way. [/quote]

PMSL !!! I like it !!

Nick

[yellowiron]

And dont forget to wear the mandatory Bandanna

[v64paul]

nicky, my late brother had a tale to tell about a mad scraper driver at macs. alledgedely to only person at the time known to have snapped the swan neck of a ts 24. real men, real machines. no fancy cushion hitches just a well padded seat.

[bob]

brakes ! can not remember them working much,use to try to get them to work when tramping on road but if they it wasn't possible that scraper had to go in middle . No good dropping box on motorway it just flick out the cat eyes and leave them in the box, last resort shift into first and watch out some one don't hit you from behind. As they was no hand brake drop the box on tarmac on a hot day and it cut into it
Bob