Caterpillar 30 Tractor and Grader

Caterpillar 30 Tractor and Grader

Tim Hauf, timhaufphotography.com

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

This tractor-pulled road grader probably dates back to the 1920s or early 1930s. The manufacturer is unknown. The grader came to the island in the late 1940s and was used first to build the airstrip, then for other jobs around the Smugglers Cove area. Graders of this type would have been used to level and smooth ground for roads (or airstrips).

The Caterpillar 30 tractor model on display had an interesting beginning on the island. In 1938, the Gherini family brought the tractor to the island via a tug boat from San Pedro, California. When the "cat" was being unloaded at the beach, one of the wood planks used to allow the tractor to be driven off the barge collapsed and the tractor tipped over. Through the use of ropes and block and tackle, a rope was run from the tractor to a rock (through the block and tackle) and then out to the tug, which pulled the heavy tractor back onto its tracks.

Thereafter, the tractor proved to be a significant piece of equipment in building and grading roads and constructing an earthen dam. Since the Caterpillar Company started using yellow as its standard color in 1931, this model was manufactured sometime thereafter. The bulldozer attachment is not original to the tractor. Additional spare parts can be seen scattered about, including a radiator.