SPECIALIZING TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMEN1 



63 



ing the reel, but the employees are not required to take positions 

 where they are in any danger. 



Fig. 16 shows the first type of power winch application to tele- 

 phone construction work. This unit consisted of a slow speed, heavy 

 duty, single cylinder, gasoline engine unit permanently mounted on a- 

 horse-drawn truck. It was used principally for pulling in under- 

 ground cable and was a great improvement over the former method 

 of pulling by means of horses. It will be noted that on this winch 

 steel rope was used. 



Fig. 16 — Old Type Gasoline Engine Driven Winch on Horse-Drawn Truck 



With the engine propelled truck came the possibility of utilizing 

 the truck power through a special power take-off to drive a winch 

 which would not only be more powerful, but also much more rapid in 

 action and distinctly superior with regard to the important feature 

 of control. 



Fig. 17 illustrates one of the original types of power winch on a 

 5-ton truck chassis. This was an adaptation of one of the best 

 hoisting winches then available and some ingenious controls were 

 developed at the time in order to facilitate or in fact, even permit 

 of its operation on the trucks. 



While this unit was a wonderful labor saving device and opened 

 up the possibilities of the broad field of usefulness for truck operated 



