herbertcurry

Herbert Curry with a Linn tractor truck loaded with hoop pine, Villeneuve, Queensland, 1929

from State Library of Queensland

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  In the early days of truck haulage following World War I, the Linn tractor truck was able to keep loads moving in impassible conditions where roads barely existed. Beginning in 1916, Linn Manufacturing of Morris, N.Y., built a series of heavy-duty haul trucks up to 12 tons capacity designed to overcome the problems of hauling large loads over nonexistent roads. The secret of Linn's success lay in its patented rear-end, crawler-type traction unit. Unlike regular trucks of the day prone to mire with their narrow solid rubber tires, and unlike most rigid crawler designs of the day, the Linn crawler assembly featured a flexible track-roller design. The gear-driven assembly incorporated trunion-mounted track rollers able to follow irregular ground surfaces ensuring positive traction. And with the added advantage of lower ground pressure imposed by the tracks, the Linn was able to pull through adverse conditions which sidelined other vehicles. The "County and Township Special" included a spreader-type tailgate and was specially designed for towing road machines such as pull-type graders. Northern loggers favored the "Logging Special" which included an enclosed cab as standard and optional sled runners to replace the front steering axle. Loggers used them to drag logs out of the woods, often making up trains of three or four sleds loaded with logs. The train sometimes included a caboose for crew living quarters when working in remote areas. Other models were customized for levee work with the side-dumping body or came equipped with a special 14-yard body for hauling coal or culm in the coalfields. The Linn also made a rugged and stable carrier for mounting mobile cranes and excavators. After building a few more unusual vehicles in the 1940s, including one model equipped with rear wheels that could be lowered for use on paved surfaces, the short-lived Linn Manufacturing went out of business in 1950. Source: www.constructionequipment.com/topical/historical-equipmen...