This is one of my Legacy photos; ones that were taken by my parents then recently printed by me.
This was Dad's all-time favorite photo. He kept a print of it on his desk for years. We were in Oklahoma when one of those U-turn moments occurred. Suddenly I saw the strangest, most grotesque piece of machinery ever. This thing was sitting by itself on the salt flats, hooked to a "salt picker" sled. It was still in use, relegated to picking salt but it all paid the same to the big Sixty. I have never seen a Sixty in use ever since. Can hardly find one in a museum although there are a cherished few that have survived and have been restored.
The Caterpiller Sixty is significant in the evolution of heavy machinery. This was the tractor that made Caterpiller world famous. At sixty horsepower, it was the most powerful tractor of its time. It wasn't until the late 1950s that conventional wheeled tractors started equaling and surpassing that much power. It was very reliable. I've read accounts of plowing in excess of 15,000 acres in one year; a staggering amount of work from one machine in the 1920s. In 1931, the Sixty became the first Diesel-powered tractor in the world. That change forever changed heavy machinery and sired nearly all modern-day earth-moving machines. One had a minor movie role of note, appearing in John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath", in the scene where the house "went under the Cat".
Please note the traditional tin cans atop the intake and exhaust stacks. Not just someone's hayseed contrivance. This was a simple and sure way of keeping water out of the engine.
Printed on Kodak Ektalure. This was surely worthy of a few sheets of that rare paper.
