Filling in Trenches by Machinery 



One man can back-fill the largest 

 trench in the shortest possible time 



THE two new vehicles shown in the il- 

 lustrations below are designed to_ re- 

 duce the cost of back-filling trenches by 

 eliminating shovelers, horse-drawn wagons 

 or costly overhead cableways. The smaller 

 of the two machines is intended for working 

 on small trenches where the material to be 

 back-filled is near the trench. The larger 

 apparatus is equipped with a boom and an 

 automatic scraper on the boom cable, so 

 that one man operating the machine is 

 sufficient to back-fill even the very largest 

 trenches. 



The special feature of the machines is 

 that they are self-propelling and move along 

 with the work as it progresses. The larger 

 vehicle is equipped with caterpillar rear 

 wheels to enable it to negotiate uneven 

 ground. It has a low frame, with small 

 wheels, and a low center of gravity to pre- 

 vent it from tipping over when the boom is 

 in use. 



The boom telescopes, so that it can be 

 adjusted in length to suit the work, and is 

 fitted to swing around to the side of the 

 machine while still attached. Hence the 



vehicle can travel along streets or roads 

 without the delay that would invariably 

 be caused were it necessary to dismantle 

 the boom each time the location of the 

 work is changed. 



A one-cylinder gasoline engine is used 

 to propel the apparatus and to operate the 

 boom cable. One man is sufficient to run 

 both the machine and the scraper. The 

 scraper is pulled from the dirt-pile to the; 

 trench by means of a rope over the boom; 

 it is brought back to position for the next 

 load by a second cable on the back of the 

 scraper. 



The smaller machine is similar to the 

 larger, except that it has no boom and re- 

 quires the services of a second man to pull 

 the empty scraper back into position for 

 loading. 



Equipped with the caterpillar-tread the 

 machine can approach the very edge of a 

 trench without causing a cave-in, or it can 

 work in soft ground or in a plowed field 

 with comparative ease. It is preferred to 

 the larger machine for small jobs and is, of 

 course, less expensive. 



The smaller machine is intended 

 for working on small trenches. 

 It is similar to the larger but 

 has no boom for the scraper 



A one-cylinder gasoline engine is used to propel the apparatus and to operate the boom cable 

 which pulls the scraper to and from the trench. One man can run both machine and scraper 



