A very old snow plow

[Caryc]

This is from an episode of Mountain Men. These guys were clearing a runway for a small plane with this old horse drawn scraper. Looks kind of rickety but it did the job.

 

[Jim.ME]

(quoted from post at 19:42:49 09/22/23) This is from an episode of Mountain Men. These guys were clearing a runway for a small plane with this old horse drawn scraper. Looks kind of rickety but it did the job.

That would be a horse drawn road grader.

 

[teddy52food]

Friend of mine landed a small plane on the field near the deer shack in 4 or 5 times
the snow in that picture. Picked up a guy from the shack but then he had a problem
getting up again. After making enough tracks, he did it!

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 19:12:41 09/22/23) Friend of mine landed a small plane on the field near the deer shack in 4 or 5 times
the snow in that picture. Picked up a guy from the shack but then he had a problem
getting up again. After making enough tracks, he did it!

Well, the plane had no turf tires or skis on it and anyway as you see, the snow was not that deep. What they were worried about was the dirt under that bit of snow. That's what they wanted to smooth out.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Not so rickety as just light weight. Horse drawn road grader of the time. IF you try to take to big a bite it will slide sideways.

 

[IaLeo]

From my memory, that back in the '40s we used the township road grader to smooth the 1/4 mile dirt driveway. I remember it having a horse tongue and the operator had the reins looped around his neck and used his hands to run the two big hand wheels to elevate or lower the blade.

It was standard community-owned road maintainer that came with some old lore, that each early pioneer was supposed to donate a share of his time, horses, horse feed to making the neighborhood roads passable in their area.

Thanks for the picture! Leo in NE Iowa

 

[Ultradog MN]

We used one of those when I was a kid.
The grader belonged to the township and
anyone could use it.
They had removed the front wheels and hooked
it to the drawbar of a tractor.
Dad and Grandpa would use it every spring
and pulled it with the Allis B.
It had a pan seat for the operator and a
plank between the rear wheels. Us kids would
sit on the plank and ride along.
It is still up there and my brother and I
used it to reshape his driveway a few years
ago.

 

[Caryc]

Yep, things don't have to be painted up pretty to make them work. That old stuff was designed to work and it did. :wink:

 

[NDIHC]

Have a little larger version that I use on
our half mile driveway. Also my dad has a
small one like that that he restored as
yard art.

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 16:55:33 09/24/23) Have a little larger version that I use on
our half mile driveway. Also my dad has a
small one like that that he restored as
yard art.
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto163777.jpg>

Wow...that's cool !

 

[NDIHC]

Not for snow but for general maintenance with gravel, ruts etc.

 

[mijohn]

my grandfather told me that back in the 1930s that the township would let the farmers work off part of their taxes by using
their teams and/or tractor to pull the township scraper on their country roads during the spring and summer months. john