machinery

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...

Basic equipment (brooms) is always useful, but more can be done when heavy machinery is engaged.

Allora, a rural town on the Dalrymple Creek, is 20 km north of Warwick and 125 km south-west of Brisbane. The area was part of the Goomburra pastoral run (1841) occupied under licence by Ernest Dalrymple. A shepherds' crossing on Dalrymple Creek became a regular stopping place, and by the mid-1840s a blacksmith's shop was opened there, later carrying stores and expanding to become an inn. A subsequent owner of Goomburra, Patrick Leslie, surrendered one square mile for a township at the crossing. Surveyed in 1859, it was named Allora, believed to be based on an Aboriginal word meaning swampy place. The rich black soil around Allora was ideal for agriculture, and wheat growing led to a steam flour mill opening in 1871. The courthouse was moved to other premises and the building was given to a school of arts in 1873. The Central Downs Agriculture and Horticulture Association had its first show in Allora in 1878. Allora promised to be a leading township on the Downs but was bypassed by the Toowoomba to Warwick railway line (1867). It was not until 1897 that a branch line connected the town to the regional rail network. Although not on the main railway, the Australian handbook nevertheless described a well-appointed township in 1903. Source: queenslandplaces.com.au/allora