The truth is if I were to park old iron for an extended period, this area would be my top choice. The climate is very dry and it is definitely out in the middle of nowhere so no visible vandalism and there is always hope they will work again.
Thanks Jim. Takes you back to the dust and mud real fast. I know it did me. For a few moments you forget all the aggravation and problems that always accompanied fleets like this.
It was always a question of what the kids would break next. I started out on the grease truck but always got drafted when cables got tangled or broke on the cat and cans. I got a shot yesterday of a D9L hooked to a hydraulic can. Now to catch it working instead of static. Were you a dealer mechanic or work for contractors?
I made my living working on all those old Cats, and yes it was in CA. as for were all those 650s came from. all over southern CA. shipped in from back east: and left after the project is over, many times sold off at auction I go back to the middle of the 60's cutting my teeth on all that old yellow Iron. what kept me around was the 666 scrapers. I can still recall sitting in a cat dealer class being trained up on the 641 A scrapers. and of course how about those 46 A D 8's and U2s. back in the day, Cat wasn't all that versatile having a long list of different equipment. When I was on the move I worked for SJ Groves and Sons and Co. Like a lot of high rollers, they went the way, eat up from with in. It was a shame. McCoy and Son. went big time with the 666, in CA. SJ groves and McCoy were the two best companies I ever worked for. To Most people it was just a job, what they could get out of it. for me it was a way of life. I loved it all. Now I'm the old man at 75 looking back. I can recall when I was just a kid of sorts, Some of the help were farmers. Instead of running the bolts back in the way you should, air wrench or by hand, Those old times pull out a big hammer and drive them in. Pretty much all of them were that way, I spent hours replacing weld nuts and bolts these character slammed home with a two pound hammer. and think nothing of it There is not a machine in that line of old yellow Iron that can't do the same job this newer equipment is doing. It all works, just because no one wants to use it doesn't mean it is no good, that rust rubs off. One of the last companies to use the DW21 was down in by the city of SD. I can't recall his name, He was a stinker........... worst ever owner operator I ever known, but he seemed to have the know how to make money. I worked for the guy for a little more then a year. The Lord Bless you and yours.
Thanks for the reply. Like you I cut my teeth on the old iron. I started in 69 after high school graduation so you’ve got 2 years on me as I turn 73 next Tuesday. I chased the old iron all over and it is in my blood. The only time I worked for SJ Groves was at Bonneville Dam. I was with PKS and we had some iron rented out to them so I was up there a lot working on our iron. The equipment supe was an Aussie named Maurice Davies as I recall. One day he called my boss in Portland and had me and a helper come up to put an old D9H swing frames and tracks and dozer back on. His guys had tore it apart in the fall and it was now early spring. He didn’t trust his guys to get the job done right so had them digging the parts we needed out of the wet slushy snow. We were nearly done and the rock guards needed to be welded back on (bolts and threads long gone). My helper said let me so I started loading the truck. Next thing you know he says welder not working right so I crawled under to finish the job. He was right. The old 400 Lincoln had a problem. About that time he starts pulling on my leg telling me he couldn’t load the truck either because it bites. Turns out the armature went to ground about the time he was stowing the 5’ bar and it lit him up good🤪🤪. We borrowed their welder, finished the job and got out of there. I spent long nights on 631’s, 641’s, 651’s and 37’s & 57’s but never around the 660’s & 666’s. It was a good life. Been retired 11 years. Looking back on the best part of being a mechanic was the satisfaction when troubleshooting and making the right guesses paid off. It was always an adventure and we never knew what curve ball they would throw at us next.
I’m from Scotland and there’s nothing like this here. It’s crazy reading the comments about the shifting of all that gear. Hard to get my head around the distance they’ve traveled. Here Glasgow is the west and Edinburgh on the east are 45 miles apart. The states blow my mind with the scale of it
You need to come visit the Western US. Yes, it is a long way to move iron but it happens all the time. I just mapped it and it's just over 1000 miles from the last area they worked to where they are now. A buddy used to run lowboy for Kerr and he was busy all the time. In two weeks we'll fire up our old motorhome and head into the Canadian Rockies for a week, then down in to Montana for a week before heading home. We'll clock an easy 1800 miles on the old bus plus 3-400 miles on the Jeep while the old bus is parked. We lived on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands for two years and I got Rock Fever so bad no one could stand to be around me. We barged a H241 Demag, a 4600 Manitowoc, D9H's and a D9L, 992C Cat Loader and 6 R-85 Euclids plus drills, pickups and support equipment and supplies for the project. Barges went from Vallejo, California and Vancouver, Washington. This was back in 1982. At the same time we were loading barges for Kodiak Island, Alaska for a massive project there. Logistics were unreal.
Same iron moved dirt on peace river, building wac bennet dam ,northern bc. Im assuming rough would be understatement. Lots of air conditioning , surround sound . Back when men were men, and woman knew it
I' had a tough time accepting women on the crews but as the years went by I became more accepting and looking back I've seen more than a couple that can hold their own with the men. Back when the Me Too Movement was in full swing I was asked to give a presentation at NAWIC's (North American Women in Construction) Western Regional Conference in Seattle. I resisted out of fear my past might jump up and bite me in the butt . In the end I did the presentation and it went well. Even had a couple from the past come up and give me a hug. "Can we do that here? " I asked.
You’ve got that right. Just say Hardtail with a cushion seat and they are out of here. Then again just getting them to show up for work can be challenging. Of course I can’t talk. When I was a young buck just getting started jobs were plentiful and you could quit one in the morning and be on another by mid afternoon.
My source says they were bought for a big landfill job in the area that never materialized. Who knows if they will ever be used again. Still be fun to watch them going in big circles moving mountains.
grew up in the industry, never around the 660s ,more around cats and letourneau cans ,and 27 37 41 and 57s hope someone sees the potential of those and uses them for what they were built for thanks for the time and vid and as it was said give j paydirt a look thankyou
I followed my Dad into construction when I turned 18. Chased big yellow all over the Northwest, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Colorado,, Texas & New Jersey for the next 45 years so it's in my blood. like you I was never around the 660's but all the Cats and a few green Weenies. Kerr is a big equipment guy so I'm sure he is looking for opportunities to turn the smoke on again.
90 percent of those scrapers came out of southern california,owned by Ralph Mitzel construction or Aci grading,socal earthmovers has videos on these machines in action.
I’ll check him out. Back in 1998-2000 my crew and I kept a fleet of 657’s moving in North Idaho. A few years ago I crashed one of my big drones filming a pair of 627’s hooking up. I’ll be back on the same site filming a concrete pour and steel erection tomorrow morning with the same drone.
Some of those newer scrapers look capable of doing some work. Some of the older ones are more for memories. I have to echo another comment about how much money it took to transport them there.
Not only did they get moved up to Eastern Oregon from a RB auction in California but then my source says two tire men spent 4 days getting them ready to go to work. I think if the right job came along they would all be in the dirt including the old 641. The stacks are taped and most of the tires are holding air. I babysat a fleet of 657E’s back from 1998 to 2000 right after their warranty expired and they were dirt moving monsters. 5YR serial range.
@@rearspeaker6364 You know, I regret not checking it out. I assumed it was a 988B with a fork mast and carriage mounted but I have been wrong before. Next time.
@@philmckrakin6752 I think my back could take a short spin. This was the first time I had seen 660’s so don’t feel bad. I was told they started life at a big mine in Arizona before being moved to California where they moved dirt cheap for many years before going to auction and ending up in Oregon. There is still hope they’ll work again.
@@mikebrewington1425 yeah I agree about the back mate 🤣. Bit of young man's game. I get it pretty easy these days on dozers and graders and occasionally on our 988F. Not too much of a flogging anymore. That would be really great if someone put them to work again. My boss is the sort of bloke that would use them if he had work for them so I know those guys are out there.We have a dirty old 769a watercart I don't think it's ever going to retire 🤣
@@philmckrakin6752 Good old 769's. I can tell you tales about those girls. We used to run 631's and 641's as water tankers and had a couple 777's converted to water pigs. The older iron was much simpler without the computers and electronics causing downtime. In 1998 I inherited a fleet of 657E 5YRs to babysit 100 miles from the nearest dealer. Cat ET (Electronic Technician ) was very new and I was one of the first to receive the customer version or so they thought. Turned out I had dealer version and needed it!
Haha! My hard work ended 11 years ago when I parked my last service truck and retired. Yesterday’s effort was replacing the serpentine belt on my old diesel pusher as we get ready for a run up into the Canadian Rockies and Western Montana in a couple weeks. I’m headed out the door now with drones and cameras shooting progress on HP’s new research center project. Glad you enjoyed the walk back in time. I promise there will be more to come.
My jaw dropped when I spotted them. I had no clue they were out there. With my past in heavy construction going back to 1969 I had to take a closer look. With what I know now, a return trip is in the future. The first contractor I worked for had a ragtag fleet of old iron including Cat & Cans, DW20’s and DW21’s scattered across the landscape, many having parts scavenged to keep others moving. The sad end to that story is 90 days later they were bankrupt and a new contractor with modern equipment and a successful maintenance program.
@@mikebrewington1425 I'll be headed to Fossil in a weeks time, perhaps I'll stop and take a few photos. Hope I don't get trespassed or have to talk to a man with a rifle!
@@roberthumphreys1316 I wouldn’t worry about that. The site is wide open with a farm maybe a quarter mile away. There may be surveillance cameras set up but I wasn’t looking. I was more concerned with rattlers next to warm tires. That part of the Gorge was notorious for rattlers when I-84 was built. I believe if you are respectful all is well. I saw no signs of vandalism at the site. Nor did I see piles of beer cans or other signs the kids were partying out there. Have fun and share some photos.
Gentlemen, I stand amazed and humbled at the popularity of this video and the comments. Some of you have shared familiarity with some of the iron and added some background. We've had comments as far away as Australia and Scotland. I guess there are more than a few of us that have fond memories ( and some not so fond memories) working around the old iron. As an added bonus I have a collection of still photos you are welcome to view at Brewsphoto.com. BREWSPHOTO.COM/p676346164 And it wouldn’t hurt to hit Subscribe😂😂
That’s an amazing amount of old iron in one place!!..I wonder who owns them and why they’re there?…it seems a shame they’re siting in that field abandoned and knowing full well they’re likely gonna be scrapped in the near future!..🤦🏻♂️
My source tells me Kerr out of Woodburn, Oregon owns them and has more in his yard. He bought the chunk of land they are stored on. I expect he’ll pick up another project and put them back to work. At least I hope that happens. As you can tell I love old iron.
@@mikebrewington1425 I love old iron too!..I would love to have an old D8K even though I have little to no use for one but they are a great old dozer…ran lots of them years ago!..I would love to have one of those old 660’s even without the bowl behind it!..they’re such a unique tractor!..Cat really knew how to build gear back in the day!
@@MrMan5014 I spent the last 39 years of my construction career with PKS (Kiewit) and we bled yellow Caterpillar blood. Back in 1970 (before PKS) I remember the excitement when we got 2 brand new D8's (46A's). Hydraulic dozer and ripper. Thought we had died and gone to Cat Heaven.
Shame to see them rusting away. Great video 👍
The truth is if I were to park old iron for an extended period, this area would be my top choice. The climate is very dry and it is definitely out in the middle of nowhere so no visible vandalism and there is always hope they will work again.
Great video Mike! Brings back memories of my days at CAT! Well done Sir!
Thanks Jim. Takes you back to the dust and mud real fast. I know it did me. For a few moments you forget all the aggravation and problems that always accompanied fleets like this.
Thank you for the reply, everything in that video at one time or another I have repaired. It’s amazing engineering for the time.
It was always a question of what the kids would break next. I started out on the grease truck but always got drafted when cables got tangled or broke on the cat and cans. I got a shot yesterday of a D9L hooked to a hydraulic can. Now to catch it working instead of static. Were you a dealer mechanic or work for contractors?
I made my living working on all those old Cats, and yes it was in CA. as for were
all those 650s came from. all over southern CA. shipped in from back east:
and left after the project is over, many times sold off at auction
I go back to the middle of the 60's
cutting my teeth on all that old yellow Iron. what kept me around was the 666 scrapers.
I can still recall sitting in a cat dealer class being trained up on the 641 A scrapers. and of
course how about those 46 A D 8's and U2s.
back in the day, Cat wasn't all that versatile having a long list of different equipment.
When I was on the move I worked for SJ Groves and Sons and Co.
Like a lot of high rollers, they went the way, eat up from with in.
It was a shame.
McCoy and Son. went big time with the 666, in CA.
SJ groves and McCoy were the two best companies I ever worked for.
To Most people it was just a job, what they could get out of it.
for me it was a way of life. I loved it all.
Now I'm the old man at 75 looking back.
I can recall when I was just a kid of sorts, Some of the help were farmers.
Instead of running the bolts back in the way you should, air wrench or
by hand, Those old times pull out a big hammer and drive them in.
Pretty much all of them were that way, I spent hours replacing weld nuts and bolts
these character slammed home with a two pound hammer. and think nothing of it
There is not a machine in that line of old yellow Iron that can't do the same job this
newer equipment is doing. It all works, just because no one wants to use it doesn't
mean it is no good, that rust rubs off. One of the last companies to use the DW21
was down in by the city of SD. I can't recall his name, He was a stinker...........
worst ever owner operator I ever known, but he seemed to have the know how to make
money. I worked for the guy for a little more then a year.
The Lord Bless you and yours.
Thanks for the reply. Like you I cut my teeth on the old iron. I started in 69 after high school graduation so you’ve got 2 years on me as I turn 73 next Tuesday. I chased the old iron all over and it is in my blood. The only time I worked for SJ Groves was at Bonneville Dam. I was with PKS and we had some iron rented out to them so I was up there a lot working on our iron. The equipment supe was an Aussie named Maurice Davies as I recall. One day he called my boss in Portland and had me and a helper come up to put an old D9H swing frames and tracks and dozer back on. His guys had tore it apart in the fall and it was now early spring. He didn’t trust his guys to get the job done right so had them digging the parts we needed out of the wet slushy snow. We were nearly done and the rock guards needed to be welded back on (bolts and threads long gone). My helper said let me so I started loading the truck. Next thing you know he says welder not working right so I crawled under to finish the job. He was right. The old 400 Lincoln had a problem. About that time he starts pulling on my leg telling me he couldn’t load the truck either because it bites. Turns out the armature went to ground about the time he was stowing the 5’ bar and it lit him up good🤪🤪. We borrowed their welder, finished the job and got out of there. I spent long nights on 631’s, 641’s, 651’s and 37’s & 57’s but never around the 660’s & 666’s. It was a good life. Been retired 11 years. Looking back on the best part of being a mechanic was the satisfaction when troubleshooting and making the right guesses paid off. It was always an adventure and we never knew what curve ball they would throw at us next.
I’m from Scotland and there’s nothing like this here. It’s crazy reading the comments about the shifting of all that gear. Hard to get my head around the distance they’ve traveled. Here Glasgow is the west and Edinburgh on the east are 45 miles apart. The states blow my mind with the scale of it
You need to come visit the Western US. Yes, it is a long way to move iron but it happens all the time. I just mapped it and it's just over 1000 miles from the last area they worked to where they are now. A buddy used to run lowboy for Kerr and he was busy all the time. In two weeks we'll fire up our old motorhome and head into the Canadian Rockies for a week, then down in to Montana for a week before heading home. We'll clock an easy 1800 miles on the old bus plus 3-400 miles on the Jeep while the old bus is parked. We lived on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands for two years and I got Rock Fever so bad no one could stand to be around me. We barged a H241 Demag, a 4600 Manitowoc, D9H's and a D9L, 992C Cat Loader and 6 R-85 Euclids plus drills, pickups and support equipment and supplies for the project. Barges went from Vallejo, California and Vancouver, Washington. This was back in 1982. At the same time we were loading barges for Kodiak Island, Alaska for a massive project there. Logistics were unreal.
Jeff Anderson off you tube would love this as he only runs old cats
Thanks Jeff. I’ll look him up.
Same iron moved dirt on peace river, building wac bennet dam ,northern bc. Im assuming rough would be understatement. Lots of air conditioning , surround sound . Back when men were men, and woman knew it
I' had a tough time accepting women on the crews but as the years went by I became more accepting and looking back I've seen more than a couple that can hold their own with the men. Back when the Me Too Movement was in full swing I was asked to give a presentation at NAWIC's (North American Women in Construction) Western Regional Conference in Seattle. I resisted out of fear my past might jump up and bite me in the butt . In the end I did the presentation and it went well. Even had a couple from the past come up and give me a hug. "Can we do that here? " I asked.
Great old iron video. It would be tough to find enough operators to run those old pulls anymore. People have gotten too soft for them 😂
You’ve got that right. Just say Hardtail with a cushion seat and they are out of here. Then again just getting them to show up for work can be challenging. Of course I can’t talk. When I was a young buck just getting started jobs were plentiful and you could quit one in the morning and be on another by mid afternoon.
Someone paid some serious money to transport those machines to remote eastern Oregon 😮
My source says they were bought for a big landfill job in the area that never materialized. Who knows if they will ever be used again. Still be fun to watch them going in big circles moving mountains.
grew up in the industry, never around the 660s ,more around cats and letourneau cans ,and 27 37 41 and 57s hope someone sees the potential of those and uses them for what they were built for thanks for the time and vid and as it was said give j paydirt a look thankyou
I followed my Dad into construction when I turned 18. Chased big yellow all over the Northwest, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Colorado,, Texas & New Jersey for the next 45 years so it's in my blood. like you I was never around the 660's but all the Cats and a few green Weenies. Kerr is a big equipment guy so I'm sure he is looking for opportunities to turn the smoke on again.
I would be willing to bet that some of this came from Southern California Excavation. Lol. Or at least one with the white line on the wheel.
90 percent of those scrapers came out of southern california,owned by Ralph Mitzel construction or Aci grading,socal earthmovers has videos on these machines in action.
Mitzel and Madonna are some of the names I saw on the equipment with an occasional Ritchie Brothers sticker so you could be right.
Oh man that’s like a playground!
Gets us old duffers excited doesn't it?
This looks right up JPaydirt's alley. He runs 3x 637s on his channel.
I’ll check him out. Back in 1998-2000 my crew and I kept a fleet of 657’s moving in North Idaho. A few years ago I crashed one of my big drones filming a pair of 627’s hooking up. I’ll be back on the same site filming a concrete pour and steel erection tomorrow morning with the same drone.
Where is this scrap yard, I would love to go and see it. Maybe they might want to sell some pieces.
Message me. It is not a scrap yard or graveyard hopefully. The owner is Kerr out of Woodburn, Oregon and they have more in their yard there.
Some of those newer scrapers look capable of doing some work. Some of the older ones are more for memories. I have to echo another comment about how much money it took to transport them there.
Not only did they get moved up to Eastern Oregon from a RB auction in California but then my source says two tire men spent 4 days getting them ready to go to work. I think if the right job came along they would all be in the dirt including the old 641. The stacks are taped and most of the tires are holding air. I babysat a fleet of 657E’s back from 1998 to 2000 right after their warranty expired and they were dirt moving monsters. 5YR serial range.
ralph Mitzel is a California construction co. that don't exist anymore. someone has a collectors bonanza. I want the rough terrain forklift!!
@@rearspeaker6364 You know, I regret not checking it out. I assumed it was a 988B with a fork mast and carriage mounted but I have been wrong before. Next time.
Wow mate they're beautiful old girls
Thanks Phil. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who admires and respects old yellow iron.
@@mikebrewington1425 I'd love a spin one them mate. Been on scrapers but have never seen those 660s here in Australia.
@@philmckrakin6752 I think my back could take a short spin. This was the first time I had seen 660’s so don’t feel bad. I was told they started life at a big mine in Arizona before being moved to California where they moved dirt cheap for many years before going to auction and ending up in Oregon. There is still hope they’ll work again.
@@mikebrewington1425 yeah I agree about the back mate 🤣. Bit of young man's game. I get it pretty easy these days on dozers and graders and occasionally on our 988F. Not too much of a flogging anymore. That would be really great if someone put them to work again. My boss is the sort of bloke that would use them if he had work for them so I know those guys are out there.We have a dirty old 769a watercart I don't think it's ever going to retire 🤣
@@philmckrakin6752 Good old 769's. I can tell you tales about those girls. We used to run 631's and 641's as water tankers and had a couple 777's converted to water pigs. The older iron was much simpler without the computers and electronics causing downtime. In 1998 I inherited a fleet of 657E 5YRs to babysit 100 miles from the nearest dealer. Cat ET (Electronic Technician ) was very new and I was one of the first to receive the customer version or so they thought. Turned out I had dealer version and needed it!
GREAT VIDEO KEEP THEM COMING THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK 😅
Haha! My hard work ended 11 years ago when I parked my last service truck and retired. Yesterday’s effort was replacing the serpentine belt on my old diesel pusher as we get ready for a run up into the Canadian Rockies and Western Montana in a couple weeks. I’m headed out the door now with drones and cameras shooting progress on HP’s new research center project. Glad you enjoyed the walk back in time. I promise there will be more to come.
I've driven by those several times and wondered how or why they were there.
My jaw dropped when I spotted them. I had no clue they were out there. With my past in heavy construction going back to 1969 I had to take a closer look. With what I know now, a return trip is in the future. The first contractor I worked for had a ragtag fleet of old iron including Cat & Cans, DW20’s and DW21’s scattered across the landscape, many having parts scavenged to keep others moving. The sad end to that story is 90 days later they were bankrupt and a new contractor with modern equipment and a successful maintenance program.
@@mikebrewington1425 I'll be headed to Fossil in a weeks time, perhaps I'll stop and take a few photos. Hope I don't get trespassed or have to talk to a man with a rifle!
@@roberthumphreys1316 I wouldn’t worry about that. The site is wide open with a farm maybe a quarter mile away. There may be surveillance cameras set up but I wasn’t looking. I was more concerned with rattlers next to warm tires. That part of the Gorge was notorious for rattlers when I-84 was built. I believe if you are respectful all is well. I saw no signs of vandalism at the site. Nor did I see piles of beer cans or other signs the kids were partying out there. Have fun and share some photos.
Gentlemen, I stand amazed and humbled at the popularity of this video and the comments. Some of you have shared familiarity with some of the iron and added some background. We've had comments as far away as Australia and Scotland. I guess there are more than a few of us that have fond memories ( and some not so fond memories) working around the old iron.
As an added bonus I have a collection of still photos you are welcome to view at Brewsphoto.com. BREWSPHOTO.COM/p676346164
And it wouldn’t hurt to hit Subscribe😂😂
Nice
Thanks. Hopefully it stirred a few good memories.
That’s an amazing amount of old iron in one place!!..I wonder who owns them and why they’re there?…it seems a shame they’re siting in that field abandoned and knowing full well they’re likely gonna be scrapped in the near future!..🤦🏻♂️
My source tells me Kerr out of Woodburn, Oregon owns them and has more in his yard. He bought the chunk of land they are stored on. I expect he’ll pick up another project and put them back to work. At least I hope that happens. As you can tell I love old iron.
@@mikebrewington1425 I love old iron too!..I would love to have an old D8K even though I have little to no use for one but they are a great old dozer…ran lots of them years ago!..I would love to have one of those old 660’s even without the bowl behind it!..they’re such a unique tractor!..Cat really knew how to build gear back in the day!
@@MrMan5014 I spent the last 39 years of my construction career with PKS (Kiewit) and we bled yellow Caterpillar blood. Back in 1970 (before PKS) I remember the excitement when we got 2 brand new D8's (46A's). Hydraulic dozer and ripper. Thought we had died and gone to Cat Heaven.
Them old 4 wheel Cats will move and I don't mean just dirt.
Yes they do. I wonder what fully loaded on the flat they could do.
The music junked another video 👎👎👎👎💩💩
Can’t please everyone.
Thanks for that,where's part one?
None of us like to be faced with our own mistakes so it went in File 13. (The round file). Only show your best and they’ll think you are good.