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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...

Gladstone, city, eastern Queensland, eastern Australia, on Port Curtis, an inlet of the Coral Sea. Originally settled in 1847 as a colony by the New South Wales government, it was abandoned in 1848 but was resettled by squatters in 1853. It was named for the British chancellor of the Exchequer (later prime minister) William Ewart Gladstone and became a municipality in 1863. Source: www.britannica.com/place/Gladstone-Queensland

* Prior to the settlement of Europeans the area around Gladstone was occupied by the Gureng Gureng Aboriginal people. * The Gladstone coastline was first explored by Captain Cook in 1770. He sighted and named Bustard Head to the south of the city at Town of 1770. * In 1802 Matthew Flinders reached the area and named Port Curtis after Sir Roger Curtis, the Commandant of the Cape of Good Hope. * In 1823 John Oxley explored the coastline. * By 1856 the town had a population of 200. * The town was connected to Brisbane by rail in 1896. * By 1903 the town's population was around 1,500. * In 2011 the city's population was 32,000. * In 2015 the first shipment of liquified gas left for Asia from the Gladstone port. Source: www.aussietowns.com.au/town/gladstone-qld

Active in local government from the age of 26, Golding was an alderman (1917-21 and 1930-76) and mayor (1967-73) of the Gladstone Town Council. He served on the Gladstone Harbour Board for thirty-seven years from 1942. As chairman in 1946-48 and 1959-79, he worked to achieve recognition for the port—which was under-used because of its proximity to Rockhampton—planning each step and negotiating overseas loans for the expansion of infrastructure. Known as `Mr Gladstone’, Golding was involved with many community organisations. He served on the Gladstone hospitals board for twenty-five years, chaired the Gladstone-Calliope aerodrome committee, and was patron of the Little Theatre, the Municipal and Thistle Pipe bands, the Port Curtis Tennis Association, and the Gladstone Bowls and Turf clubs. He was appointed MBE (1957) and CMG (1971). During the latter half of his life Golding wrote and self-published six books on Central Queensland history. Source: monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/community/display/...