Old CAT 977 Variations

[DozerDave]

Hello chaps, I need some info of a machine a relative operated many years ago for the 60`s North Eastern UK house builder 'WILLIAM LEECH' During the 60`s this company owned and operated a varied earthmover fleet consisting of a D8H, which was painted in the Leech company lime green, a direct drive D7E, which incidently I got to drive in my early teens (how lucky), also early 951`s, 955`s (donkey starters) BTD-6 Drotts and even an International Harvester E-200 elevator scraper.
However, one Caterpillar that Leech used was an early 977, at my estimation, pre series H. It was fitted with dozer style track grousers and also a Cable Control Unit. I often seen this 977 working with a medium sized scraper box on Leech housing land clearence projects and has always stood out in my mind as rather rare to see a 977 traxcavator with a CCU working a scraper. If only I carried a camera in my youthful years!! I am wondering if any same spec machines have been seen elsewhere in the UK? (or even the very machine I speak of)
Incidently, back in the early 70`s, in relation to Cat 983`s in the UK....I am pretty positive that WH French or a co-contractor used at least one newly delivered machine on the A19 Sunderland Ring Road Contract.
Any further to this, I would appreciate learning about.
Kind regards, Dave:

[Nick Drew]

I think this one is over to our many resident Cat experts !!

Over to you Guys

Nick

[davemadden]

I have tipped many a load of shale in front of that 977 of Leech's. Brilliant operator, he cut out the narrow housing estate roads using the towed scraper and a straight bucket on the front of the 977. Single bar grousers were possibly D6 or D7 gear. As for Cat 983's Ogdens had one on the western bypass loading rigid Cat dumptrucks with fly ash from where the Metrocentre is now

[davemadden]

I used to run red shale into Leech sites in the late 60's and remember the 977 with single bar grousers pulling a scraper box, cutting out the roads. The opreator was brilliant, levelling shale with a straight butcket which was almost as wide as the housing estate roads. As for a Cat 983, the only one I ever saw working was Ogden's loading rigid dump trucks on the Western bypass in Gateshead in the early 70's. A beast of a machine !

[FOWLER MAN]

Hi,
I've never seen a shovel pulling a box.
That old 977 with single bar grousers and box must have been pretty impressive.
The only drawback I can see is the track frames on the shovel would have been rigid, and not able to oscilate to follow the ground contours like a dozer.
That could possibly have caused loss of traction on uneven ground.
Fred