aveling barford calfdozer

[kiwi]

hi craig here

here is our calfdozer.. 'again sorry about the photos'

we are after some info on it if anyone can help

what model & year this is?..we think this is the 1958?.
also any help with finding the brass plaque that goes on the back.

thanks craig

[martyn williams]

Found this write upon the internet,my mate has one I will ask if he has any detail on it
Martyn


AVELING BARFORD CALF DOZER
It is difficult to imagine a world without
hydraulic excavators, but such a world did
exist prior to the 1960s. Cable excavators
with winches driven first by steam and later
by big slow revving diesel engines were the
order of the day. Compared with their
hydraulic successors, the cable machines
could apply only limited down pressure to
break open new ground and they were fairly
hopeless at back filling. Every trench
opened has to be back filled!
Aveling Barford Ltd. was Britain's
largest producer of cable excavators, and
in the 1940s saw the need for a mini bulldozer
aimed primarily at back filling and
levelling work-sites. When the prototype
was assembled and ready for trials, the
design engineers were not amused to note
the smirks on the faces of their factory colleagues.
How could such a wee contraption
claim to be a bulldozer? So it was
christened on the spot — the Aveling
Barford Calf Dozer.
The diminutive crawler tractor was compact
in the extreme, having a length of a
mere 188 cm, a tiny width of 136 cm and
an overall height of the same. It would fit in
the rear of a small panel van — except for
its weight, a substantial 1.65 tonnes.
The engine used was a custom designed
Dorman 800 cc single cylinder four stroke
petrol engine delivering nine hp. An
impulse magneto provided the necessary
sparks. Twin massively proportioned gearboxes
were provided with an inbuilt overcentre
plate clutch. The tractor could be
contra rotated around its own axis. The
tracks had cast grousers with free floating
track pins. Top speed was a rattling 1.4
mph, providing there was no head wind!
Only one problem! Where to locate the
operator? Stick him out the front, immediately
above the angle tilt blade, and hope
he doesn't fall off! Or worse, don't let the
calf dozer tumble into the trench being
back filled!
So tell him to hang on like grim death to
the clutch control handles (the only other
controls being the throttle and the lever for
raising or lowering the blade). Forget about
the foot pedal for the brake — it never
worked. But the heat from the radiator at
his back will certainly keep him warm in
winter. Don’t even think about the summer
heat in Oz.
70 — THE AUSTRALIAN COTTONGROWER OCTOBER–NOVEMBER, 2003
The

[kiwi]

thanks martyn
interesting read... and they are fun to drive hahah.

our calfdozer is the petrol,water hopper cooled no radiator model
as to what model & year it is we dont know
thanks again
craig

[kiwi]

heres a better photo or our calfdozer

[FOWLER MAN]

thanks martyn
interesting read... and they are fun to drive hahah.

our calfdozer is the petrol,water hopper cooled no radiator model
as to what model & year it is we dont know
thanks again
craig

Hi Craig,
Yes an interesting read, but for the record Aveling Barford was never "Britains largest cable excavator producer." They never made any excavators atall. Their product range up to that time was road rollers and dumpers.
Thats a great pic. you got there, and a brilliant example of the Calf Dozer. It must be an early one if it has a hopper cooled engine, the ones I've seen were fitted with air cooled petrol or Armstrong Siddely air cooled diesels. I never saw the Dorman powered version.
Heres the one Martyn mentioned, it belongs to a friend of ours.
Fred

014.JPG

[TaylorLambert]

How did the blade lift work on the calf dozer? Was it hydraulic or mechanical? Also was the steering clutch type or a differential and brakes. When I first got into or found out about older equipment thats over the pond, the AB Calf Dozer and the German Schmeiag got me hooked.

[kiwi]

hi taylor,
the blade works mechanical & the steering is via clutch type.

from the records we have this is the only hopper cooled calfdozer here in new zealand
it was shipped over as a demo.

hi fred,
that is a very tidy calfdozer .have been told that the calfdozers were given different colours as to what country
the were going to...??? is this true??

[martyn williams]

[video]http://youtu.be/z06kFUfcjds[/video]