This book examines the Texas-based company's heavy equipment that has been used in the mining, construction, and oil industries from the 1920s to present. Two hundred photos illustrate the fascinating tales behind LeTourneau breakthroughs like the first electric-diesel front-end loader. Founder Robert Gilmour LeTourneau is regarded as the father of high-volume earthmoving equipment, and holds more U.S. patents than any other person, save Thomas Edison. Fans of heavy equipment are sure to enjoy this profile of the manufacturer of the world's largest front-end loaders.

Over the years LeTourneau has produced some of the world’s largest and most productive rubber-tired wheel loaders, wheel dozers, and haulers, including the world record breaking L-2350 Wheel Loader, the largest of its kind ever produced and offered to the mining industry. So large is the L-2350, it requires the world’s largest tires ever made to carry the massive digging machine. Utilizing state-of-the-art diesel-electric drive systems, LeTourneau machines are at the forefront of today’s most advanced technology being utilized in ultra-large mining rubber-tired loaders and dozers. Focusing on machines designed and built during the time period of 1968 to present, all of the company’s quarry and mining machine offerings, including past LeTro-Loader, LeTro-Dozer, and Titan haul truck designs, as well as current equipment product lines, are featured in great detail Behind the scenes images, as well as model and working views, bring these giants to life with rare historic and modern photography, most of which has never been seen in publication before, making this a must have for all heavy equipment enthusiasts.

Robert Gilmour LeTourneau, the inventor of earthmoving machines, secured nearly 300 patents over the course of his life. During World War II, about 70 percent of the earthmovers and engineering vehicles were his machines that were invaluable to the Allied war effort. With outstanding photography, this overview of 90-years-plus of manufacturing features the company's earliest earthmoving equipment introductions in 1921, all the way up to today's ultra-large mining equipment introductions. This companion book to the three previous publications - R.G. LeTourneau Heavy Equipment: The Mechanical Drive Era 1921-1953, R.G. LeTourneau Heavy Equipment Photo Gallery: The Electric-Drive Era (1953-1970), and Modern LeTourneau Earthmoving Equipment since 1968 - includes updated information and all new images of the LeTourneau enterprise.

In the history of heavy equipment development, no single man’s name is more respected or revered as that of R. G. LeTourneau. Robert Gilmour LeTourneau is considered by many to be the dean of high-speed mobile earthmoving equipment. His designs of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s laid the fundamental groundwork for many of the earthmoving machines we see on a daily basis. Self-propelled, rubber tired scrapers, bulldozing blades, and rippers were all conceived under his engineering genius in the quest for moving material at the lowest-cost-per-yard. The time period of 1921 to 1953 saw many of R. G. LeTourneau’s most important heavy-equipment introductions, such as the Carryall and the Tournapull, and the initial development of the electric drive wheel. This first volume of fantastic machine creations covers the early years up until the sale of the company to Westinghouse in 1953. Standard production, specials, and experimental machines in rare archival images, some in print for the very first time, help showcase what made R. G. LeTourneau so important in the heavy equipment industry.

"This colossal reference book documents the timeless urge to reshape the world, and the machines used to do so from the 1088's to today. From utility tractors and loaders up to the largest diggers and bulldozers, every piece of heavy equipment is listed here by model and manufacturer, making this the most exhaustive book on the world's most hard-working vehicles and machines"--Publisher's description.

CATERPILLAR CHRONICLE tells the whole Caterpillar story--from 1870 to the present. More than 200 color and 50 black-and-white phtographs reveal these heavy-metal monsters in their true grandeur, from prototype testing to on the job service.