Orchard tractors mostly had these for when they would disk in between the rows of trees after the orchards didn't needed to be irrigated anymore. The orchards had small irrigation ditches plowed in between the rows of trees, so when the crawlers would cross the hilled up ditches these plates would push the ditches shut and make for a smooth ride.

Rome wrote:

Orchard tractors mostly had these for when they would disk in between the rows of trees after the orchards didn't needed to be irrigated anymore. The orchards had small irrigation ditches plowed in between the rows of trees, so when the crawlers would cross the hilled up ditches these plates would push the ditches shut and make for a smooth ride.

Not just smoothing the ride but keeping you from being launched into space if on a tail seat tractor. Which was the model of choice in many orchards.
 

Tomorrow is your last chance!
Lorry Dunning's 1927 Sixty running on Propane - Lorry's Father pioneered propane on the Caterpillar Sixty. Many Sixty's were converted to use Butane/Propane.This is one very nice restoration - Probably the only place you will be able to see Mr. Dunning on this tractor!

Many other items of interest - Hit n Miss gas engines, Horse Drawn Equipment, John Deere 5A combine cutting wheat, and much more!

Mr. Greg Shandel, - Chapter 15 President, Mr. Jemming Gee (Juiceman), Mr. Ralph Keeley, and many others have put a huge effort to this event - THANK YOU to each and every one for your dedication and participation. You each make this possible. 

There was even a CAT sporting some very bright "bling" - I am not certain this was a factory option though.

More photos in the near future - cts





 

Orchard Cats - Tailseats --- 
As so eloquently stated - these were "ejection seats" to the unwary or inattentive.  NO SPRINGS, maybe a cushion if one was lucky.   Notice the distance from the sprocket to the seat.  Many of the smaller operations ran Cats smaller than D4's, thus the length of the track frames was less and the ride was much rougher, any "bump" was magnified!

The attached photo shows a tandem disc ridger - multiple passes produced a large based and tall levee following contours in most cases.  Where contours met, one crossed this large - steep - BUMP.   The plates on the track frames were lowered to "bust" through this and ease the impacts.  (this photo - tractor does not have the plates)
Some ridgers were single gang, mounted on a wheeled toolbar.  This allowed changing the gangs from pulling to center to pulling away from center, raising or busting the levees. In both cases, one had to cross the junctions.

In cases of furrow irrigation where multiple "ditches" were pulled within the row, siphon pipes were placed in a supply ditch feeding individual furrows.  Amount of flow was determined by the size of the siphon and generally those sizes were determined by the gradient of the land being irrigated.
With furrow irrigation, the first passes after irrigation were generally made parallel with the furrows.   This allowed the disc to better till the ground and fill in the highs and lows.

Our "modern" practices have changed orchard farming in California.   Sprinkler and drip irrigation along with mowing have made much of the equipment obsolete.  I have not seen some of these tools used in orchard work in some time now.  Many have been scrapped.

cts



 

Anyone travel farther for the Patrick Ranch show?
This "bloke" seems a bit out of place.  
Usually seen where there are Cat's gathered.

cts









 

Thank you CTS (John). For the astute observer, please note the Caterpillar hitch pin that had worked its way out; the large cotter pin bent and it worked its way up...
my assistant Moises sat on the sidelines and quickly informed me of the situation. He did not wish to drive much that day, but proved great as a "Safety Person".
It would have been a bad situation had the ridger become detached from the 40A while traveling in 3rd gear full throttle. Even worse had the trip rope been affixed to the seat .
I owe thanks for having my personal spotter there to help keep me out of trouble.
I want to say that one of the highlights for myself was being driven around by a ten year old tractor nut! A nice lady inquired about allowing her son on the CAT Sixty, and as you would have it, her little boy asked if he could drive my D6 8U. Talk about a natural! He picked up quick on the controls and asked questions; seeing his face light up and eyes get HUGE when he drove over a mound was PRICELESS. He vowed to come back and asked if he could be a member!
After a lot of hard work, it is safe to say that Chapter 15 presence had paid off. I wish to offer HUGE thank you to our Chapter 15 Cal Sierra Tracklayers president(for life) Greg Shandel, his wife Vicki, BIL Erik (VP until he takes on more) and their crew of drivers, water truck operators and entourage for putting MUCH of this program. Not to mention the big iron he brought in, not just his own; he had made sure that others could get theirs in to participate! He even got Peterson Caterpillar to display several brand new machines; rumor was that he had really bought them all, and was too modest to say so. Wait until Vicki gets the bill from the dealer... hahaha!
I wish big thanks to a longtime member, Ralph Keeley who had his D7 F or G? and scraper brought in for demo as well. For the uninformed, he is a family member of the I.G. Zumwalt group, which was one of the oldest CAT dealerships in the Sacramento valley.
Lorry Dunning gets a shout out as well. He donated the SIXTY to the museum; I had learned a great deal about those tractors and his rich family history; I have a greater appreciation and respect for both!
I want to thank Carol, who is newest member Brett A's sweetheart of a wife, for allowing him to keep hanging out with some of us. She almost had to drag him out of there by his ears! Okay, you can have him back until the next show....hehehe!
Big thanks to everyone, there are many deserving not named...Oh, yeah, the fella with the funny accent gets the furthest traveled prize, but he did not stick around to receive it...LOL.
THANK YOU CTSnowfighter for taking the time to assist, and share your photos with everyone. If you did not take the time to post, I would not know how FAT I look in pictures! Seriously, myself I do not take enough time to look at all of the displays, so I get to go to the show through your camera lenses...so thanks, now I know what I missed!
Now I sit back and wait for my phone to blow up about "what was the show like?" GUESS YA SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!! Hah! JM

RE: Thank You(s)

It takes huge effort, over a long span of time to organize and put on any show or event.  From gathering  the support, the equipment, the participants, the location,  advertise and then ensure it goes without too many hiccups, ---- PLEASE --- let us not forget the aftermath -  the cleanup and dismantling efforts, leaving the area as clean as when we found it or better.

The efforts by Chapter 15 President Greg Shandel are without doubt, herculean efforts - he has garnered the support of many and they all came through with flying colors  - LOTS OF YELLOW too!  Hats off to you Greg, Vicki and all the un-named support individuals and groups.

For many on this board and in the club - getting to shows is just not feasible or realistic  due to the constraints of time, funds and our environmental obstacles - COVID for example.

The efforts of taking and editing the photos I placed are my way of trying to share the experiences of the show - they are far from a view of the entire scenes.
Much is beyond the capability of capture with any lens.  It is my sincere hope they have brought a bit of joy to you.  

"Juiceman" - Thank You!    You are supportive, knowledgeable and appreciative - all attributes to be emulated.  

CTS

A few pics with special meaning to me --- My grandfather purchased a Bean Track Pull in 1917 - $1750 - money from raising 5 heifers.   He needed a tractor to help a neighbor whom was in the service of our country - WWI.
Sadly - in 1940 the levee broke in front of "home", drowning Grandfathers hogs.   My father was plowing a trench in mud to bury the dead hogs, an inspection cover came open on the bull gear, filling the case with mud and breaking it.    The tractor was junked in 1949.   Dad never forgave himself for the cover much less junking the machine.

Top wheel is the steering, bottom is the clutch.

Hope you enjoy the Bean photos - not many of these machines exist today.




 

Thank you all for sharing the pictures and story lines for this show. I would have attended but had a bout of Covid, and was in quarinteen. 14 days today, tested negative, so good to go again! thanks again for sharing, Tom

flood irrigation is still widely used in broad acre cotton and grain farming. some cane farmers still use it too. the uncle has done a lot of siphon starting in his working life. and yes there is an art in doing it quickly and having it work every time and getting the flow just right so you dont under or over water. trickle and travelling irrigation has made things much easier. but flood is still the best for many crops even though it water innefficient.

Video - just stumbled upon this video -

Stack Talk from a Sixty under load - talk about low RPM and lots of torque.
This is on Propane Fuel

ms-my.facebook.com/ACMOC-Chapter-15-Cal-...ull/717251002921393/

Chapter 15's President - Greg Shandel is getting his 46A ready to put the sled to shame - background