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Issue #36
THE PLOWSHARENews for John Deere Collectors
This is a love story.
A story of love lost, of love found, and of love renewed. It’s the story of Curtis Lindsey, of Lindsey Construction, and a John Deere 450B Crawler.
Curtis Lindsey owns Lindsey Construction, a Spring, Texas, company started by his father, S. E. Lindsey, in the mid-1940s. The family has been in the industry since his grandfather, C. H. Lindsey, started a sand and gravel company in 1936. Lindsey Construction is now a civil construction company that manages large drainage earthwork contracts.
In 1973, Lindsey’s father bought Lindsey Construction’s first John Deere 450B Crawler. Curtis Lindsey started his career on that machine, and operated it for over ten years, until the company sold it in the mid-1980s.
“Over the years, I kept track of the machine and its owner,” Lindsey said. “About ten years ago, I ran into him at a funeral. Afterward, he told me he still owned it and I made him an offer. Wrote him a check right there on the spot.”
The crawler was on a farm and hadn’t been run in a number of years. Lindsey rounded up a few men and a haul truck, picked it up, and brought it back to the shop at Lindsey Construction.
The people in the shop took it down to the engine and frame, and rebuilt it. They researched the machine and looked for parts on the Internet. It took nearly seven years to go through the dozer from top to bottom, but the hard work paid off. The refurbished JD 450B Crawler is made up of over 95 percent John Deere parts.
“We have a great group of employees. Lindsey Construction started out with my dad and me, and we’ve grown to a family of over 100 employees. Many of them have been with us for over 15 years,” Lindsey said. “Our mechanics are exceptional. I gave them the challenge of rebuilding the 450B, and they really did a great job. They stripped it down to its frame and rebuilt, refurbished, or replaced each mechanical component.”
At first, Lindsey said he thought they would have problems finding parts for a 40-year-old dozer. They turned to their Deere dealer, Doggett Construction & Forestry Equipment, Houston, Texas.
Love Story: A Man and His Machine
During the early 1920s, Waterloo Boy Tractors begin to be used for maintenance work and to pull road scrapers.
The Model “L” is introduced and finds work on highways due to its smaller size. The “LI” Tractor is added in 1939 as an industrial version and advertised as being ideal for work on “highways, golf courses, parks, and cemeteries.”
The new John Deere Dubuque Works starts producing Model “MC” Crawlers.
1956 becomes a banner year for John Deere industrial equipment with the introduction of the versatile 420 wheel and crawler tractors, along with the 320U and 420U Wheel Tractors.
Industrial yellow wheeled and tracked machines are introduced, including the first hydraulic bulldozer, the 64, along with a new six-way, power-angle- tilt blade.
In 1959, single-stick crawler control is introduced on the 440 Crawler.
By 1963, the JD500 and JD600 are introduced along with the 5010 Elevating Scraper.
The JD570 is introduced. The industry’s first articulated-frame motor grader, it also features all-hydraulic blade positioning.
Wrapping up a decade of industry-leading innovation, the JD690 Excavator debuts in 1969.
During 1975–1979, the JD14 and JD24-A Skid Steer Loaders debut along with a bevy of new four-wheel-drive loaders, motor graders, excavators, and crawlers. The JD850 Bulldozer and JD855 Crawler Loader are added in 1978.
The company introduces the first dozer with a dual-path hydrostatic transmission.
John Deere provides construction equipment for the 1980 Lake Placid, New York, Olympic games.
Construction & Forestry launches several of its 68 models at a 1981 industry expo, including the 762A Scraper and 655 Hydrostatic Crawler Loader.
After years of economic recession, Deere introduces a successful new B-Series Backhoe and hopes for a brighter future.
November brings the introduction of E-Series Backhoes with curved excavator-style booms.
A new skid steer, the 240, is introduced in 1998 and features a vertical-lift boom.
Dubuque Works-built 300-Series Skid Steers and Compact Track Loaders are introduced to industry and contractor acclaim.
Manufacturing of articulated dump trucks begins at Davenport Works.
Deere rings in the new year with the first wholly original construction machine form in decades – the 764 HSD, or high speed dozer, that can traverse concrete and clocks in at a rapid 16 mph.
The company unveils two hybrid loaders under development – the John Deere 644K for the construction market and the 944K for construction and quarries.
1920 1937 1949 1956 1958 1963 1967 1975 1976 1980 1983 1997 2005 2009 2011
yard, refurbished it, and bolted it on. About the only thing we had to fabricate were the side grilles. The 450B turned out really nice — our guys in the shop definitely enjoyed working on it, and they did a heckuva job.”
Curtis Lindsey likes to fire up the little crawler that started his career back in 1973 and take it for a spin. The fresh John Deere construction yellow paint gleams in the fine Texas sun along with the restored nameplates and still-yellow tracks, bearings, and final gears. It looks like it just rolled out of the Dubuque Works crawler line in the early 70s and hit the ground here, some 1,112 miles and more than four decades away.
“We’re kind of like the guys at the factory; when we got finished, we started it up and drove it off the assembly line,” Lindsey said.
Doggett came through with the parts, either finding them on their own or using the Deere dealer network to find them.
“Doggett helped us quite a bit on this,” said Scott Bennett, Lindsey Construction equipment manager. “They found the rebuild kits for the drivetrain, hydraulics, and other mechanical components, the track chain, armrests, and seat. The original ROPS canopy was scrapped years ago, but we located one at a local salvage
During the early 1920s, Waterloo Boy Tractors begin to be used for maintenance work and to pull road scrapers.
The Model “L” is introduced and finds work on highways due to its smaller size. The “LI” Tractor is added in 1939 as an industrial version and advertised as being ideal for work on “highways, golf courses, parks, and cemeteries.”
The new John Deere Dubuque Works starts producing Model “MC” Crawlers.
1956 becomes a banner year for John Deere industrial equipment with the introduction of the versatile 420 wheel and crawler tractors, along with the 320U and 420U Wheel Tractors.
Industrial yellow wheeled and tracked machines are introduced, including the first hydraulic bulldozer, the 64, along with a new six-way, power-angle- tilt blade.
In 1959, single-stick crawler control is introduced on the 440 Crawler.
By 1963, the JD500 and JD600 are introduced along with the 5010 Elevating Scraper.
The JD570 is introduced. The industry’s first articulated-frame motor grader, it also features all-hydraulic blade positioning.
Wrapping up a decade of industry-leading innovation, the JD690 Excavator debuts in 1969.
During 1975–1979, the JD14 and JD24-A Skid Steer Loaders debut along with a bevy of new four-wheel-drive loaders, motor graders, excavators, and crawlers. The JD850 Bulldozer and JD855 Crawler Loader are added in 1978.
The company introduces the first dozer with a dual-path hydrostatic transmission.
John Deere provides construction equipment for the 1980 Lake Placid, New York, Olympic games.
Construction & Forestry launches several of its 68 models at a 1981 industry expo, including the 762A Scraper and 655 Hydrostatic Crawler Loader.
After years of economic recession, Deere introduces a successful new B-Series Backhoe and hopes for a brighter future.
November brings the introduction of E-Series Backhoes with curved excavator-style booms.
A new skid steer, the 240, is introduced in 1998 and features a vertical-lift boom.
Dubuque Works-built 300-Series Skid Steers and Compact Track Loaders are introduced to industry and contractor acclaim.
Manufacturing of articulated dump trucks begins at Davenport Works.
Deere rings in the new year with the first wholly original construction machine form in decades – the 764 HSD, or high speed dozer, that can traverse concrete and clocks in at a rapid 16 mph.
The company unveils two hybrid loaders under development – the John Deere 644K for the construction market and the 944K for construction and quarries.
1920 1937 1949 1956 1958 1963 1967 1975 1976 1980 1983 1997 2005 2009 2011
Many boys dream of getting their first car, motorcycle, truck, or even dozer back. Lindsey got his machine back. He knows, because it has the same serial number — 154349T. But this machine doesn’t just symbolize the start of his career. It tells the story of 40 years of history between his company and John Deere.
“You know, after operating that old ’73 450B we used for small site work, and looking out over this big development project being carved out by our new 650Js, you can really see how far our company has come over the past few decades. And John Deere has been with us every step of the way,” Lindsey said. “I’m sentimental about the first equipment we owned. This is part of our humble beginnings. I don’t ever want to lose sight of where we started.”
Story excerpted from “The Construction Review” magazine.
Q See the video
John Deere Sinks Its Teeth Into FanggsBack in 1987, Ron Fellner thought a lot about bucket teeth.
Deere was buying the bucket teeth to put on its construction-equipment buckets, and they were expensive. The cost bothered Fellner, a Dubuque Works employee, and he thought the design could be better, too.
Even when he attended a 150th anniversary celebration for Deere & Company he was thinking about bucket teeth. When he watched a John Deere impersonator tell the story of the steel self-scouring plow and show the audience the plow’s innovative moldboard, something clicked in Fellner’s mind. He began sketching on a napkin an idea for a new kind of bucket tooth.
His design was simple, almost like two moldboard plows back-to-back, but curved, unlike the flat, straight bucket teeth the company was buying. (When later asked why he was confident his design would work, Fellner said to watch children playing in sandboxes; when they dig holes, they curve their fingers to scoop the sand.)
Fellner started to create small mock-ups, first out of paper and tape, then sculpted with his son’s modeling clay. Eventually he made models out of wood and metal.
Field-testing showed that the new design was far more effective than other bucket teeth of the time. Like the polished surface of John Deere’s original steel moldboard, Fellner’s bucket teeth were self-cleaning, so they sliced through the ground with less effort and lasted longer on the job.
Deere named the product “Fanggs” and initiated an advertising campaign aimed at the bucket tooth market, a new venture for Deere.
In December 1990, Deere introduced 13 different bucket tooth models using the Fanggs design at a dealer expo in Phoenix. Fellner was on hand to help explain the new product. Because his original prototype for Fanggs had resembled a duck’s bill, his co-workers and friends had started calling him “The Mad Mallard.” The nickname stuck.
During the early 1920s, Waterloo Boy Tractors begin to be used for maintenance work and to pull road scrapers.
The Model “L” is introduced and finds work on highways due to its smaller size. The “LI” Tractor is added in 1939 as an industrial version and advertised as being ideal for work on “highways, golf courses, parks, and cemeteries.”
The new John Deere Dubuque Works starts producing Model “MC” Crawlers.
1956 becomes a banner year for John Deere industrial equipment with the introduction of the versatile 420 wheel and crawler tractors, along with the 320U and 420U Wheel Tractors.
Industrial yellow wheeled and tracked machines are introduced, including the first hydraulic bulldozer, the 64, along with a new six-way, power-angle- tilt blade.
In 1959, single-stick crawler control is introduced on the 440 Crawler.
By 1963, the JD500 and JD600 are introduced along with the 5010 Elevating Scraper.
The JD570 is introduced. The industry’s first articulated-frame motor grader, it also features all-hydraulic blade positioning.
Wrapping up a decade of industry-leading innovation, the JD690 Excavator debuts in 1969.
During 1975–1979, the JD14 and JD24-A Skid Steer Loaders debut along with a bevy of new four-wheel-drive loaders, motor graders, excavators, and crawlers. The JD850 Bulldozer and JD855 Crawler Loader are added in 1978.
The company introduces the first dozer with a dual-path hydrostatic transmission.
John Deere provides construction equipment for the 1980 Lake Placid, New York, Olympic games.
Construction & Forestry launches several of its 68 models at a 1981 industry expo, including the 762A Scraper and 655 Hydrostatic Crawler Loader.
After years of economic recession, Deere introduces a successful new B-Series Backhoe and hopes for a brighter future.
November brings the introduction of E-Series Backhoes with curved excavator-style booms.
A new skid steer, the 240, is introduced in 1998 and features a vertical-lift boom.
Dubuque Works-built 300-Series Skid Steers and Compact Track Loaders are introduced to industry and contractor acclaim.
Manufacturing of articulated dump trucks begins at Davenport Works.
Deere rings in the new year with the first wholly original construction machine form in decades – the 764 HSD, or high speed dozer, that can traverse concrete and clocks in at a rapid 16 mph.
The company unveils two hybrid loaders under development – the John Deere 644K for the construction market and the 944K for construction and quarries.
1920 1937 1949 1956 1958 1963 1967 1975 1976 1980 1983 1997 2005 2009 2011
The John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum Now OpenThe museum, located on the original site of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company in Waterloo, Iowa, is now open. The museum tells the story of the history of tractor and engine design and manufacturing at John Deere, especially in Iowa’s Cedar Valley.
The John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum is open to visitors Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for seniors, active duty military, and John Deere employees and retirees. Children ages 12 and under accompanied by an adult can enjoy the museum for free.
Q Visit the museum website and watch for the next issue of The Plowshare, which will feature some of the equipment currently on display.
Fellner’s wife made a hat for him with the Fanggs name on it and two mallard feathers in the brim, and it became his calling card at Fanggs events.
In 2013, Fellner donated his collection of Fanggs- related papers, photographs, artifacts, and the Mad Mallard hat to the Deere & Company Archives, adding to the historical evidence of the long chain of innovations that company founder John Deere started nearly 200 years ago.
Q See the Fanggs video
If you had to start over, what would you do? There are days when I wonder about this. Although I treasure my agricultural background, the big yellow construction equipment I see along roadways and building sites fascinates me. Given the chance, would I trade my tractor for a crawler?
I’ve operated some big tractors in my short time on this planet, and I feel pretty comfortable in saying that if it has a steering wheel, a gearshift lever, and tires, I can operate it. However, put me on a bulldozer with twin sticks, or, worse yet, in a road grader that has a steering wheel the size of my game station, and wow, do I feel out of place. I admire those who can operate these machines with such precision, and I understand that such know-how can be taken for granted.
For example, a local contractor I hire has a 20-something son who can hop into any one of their machines – a skid steer, a dozer, or an excavator – and cut a perfect grade. On one of my jobs, Junior was trenching with a mini-excavator and Dad told him to stop and shut the machine off so he could take measurements. Junior was unhappy about Dad’s lack of trust, and made a bet with Dad that if the job was in spec, he could take the afternoon off with pay. If it weren’t in spec, he would work one full day without pay.
That right there should have raised a red flag with Dad.
The transit was removed from the case, the tripod set up, all adjustments made for level, and the measuring stick set in place. It was perfect. The smile on Junior’s face was a mile wide, and that afternoon one not-so-happy Dad finished the job.
It just goes to show there are still true operators out there making life easier for those of us who rely on machines whose operation is beyond our grasp. In this issue of The Plowshare, we’re focusing on the construction side of the business, and some of those machines that make big projects small. I hope you enjoy and appreciate them as I do. Don’t miss the YouTube link on the back page for some great videos we’ve posted. This is the first time these vintage films have been available outside of Deere & Company.
Keep your hand on the throttle and your plow in the ground,
Brian Holst Manager, John Deere Heritage Marketing
THE PLOWSHARE
JOHN DEEREOne John Deere PlaceMoline, Illinois 61265
[email protected] www.JohnDeere.com
You have received this publication due to your relationship with John Deere. The Plowshare is free and is distributed quarterly. If you don’t want to receive future issues, please email us, and ask to have your name removed from The Plowshare mailing list. We will then stop sending you The Plowshare, but you may continue to receive information about merchandise and upcoming events from John Deere.
But Wait, There’s More!If you like vintage John Deere equipment, you’ll love the content we’re adding to the John Deere YouTube channel, John Deere Facebook, John Deere Twitter, and John Deere Instagram.
See our “Out of the Vault” series of videos, previously viewed internally at Deere & Company. The series includes archival film footage and video of artifacts from the Deere & Company Archives. Watch former Deere & Company Chairman William Hewitt and architect Eero Saarinen look over the blueprints and the worksite for the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois. See promotional films made in the 1950s and 1960s about product launches and jobsites using John Deere equipment.
This is our way of giving you a peek into the John Deere archives.
To see our newest innovations, watch videos of the forestry M-Series and the 1050K production-class crawler dozer.
Q Visit Deere.com
Learn about the beginnings of what is now the John Deere Construction & Forestry Division.
Q Watch “Out of the Vault: Industrial Tractors”
YouTube.com/JohnDeere
Facebook.com/JohnDeere
Twitter.com/JohnDeere
Instagram.com/JohnDeere
