New equipment came to the Alaska Highway Project in 1942, but the project aged new equipment quickly. Some of it went with the army when the soldiers moved on at the end of the project. A lot of it they just abandoned in place.
On one of my stories the other night, Wayne Olstad wrote a lengthy comment that I found fascinating. I’ve edited it just a little bit, but basically this is a guest post by Wayne. He has a good story, he tells it well.
Link to another old dozer story “Marl Brown, At the Heart of the Alaska Highway”
Thank you for these stories Chris and Dennis. I love reading about the building of the Alaska Highway.
I was a teenager in the early 1960’s when my father bought a D-8, 8R (or maybe it was a 1H). Parts seemed to be interchangeable. That Cat had been salvaged from equipment left behind and abandoned by the US Army Corps of Engineers. At the end of the rush, with the road complete, they shipped the good machines back to the US. The rest they gave to Canada by the simple expedient of leaving them behind wherever they last stopped moving. Enterprising equipment scavengers made money extracting and selling machines left behind.
The old D-8 dad bought, the army had definitely used—a very long way from new equipment. I cannot believe that they built the highway with equipment similar to that old Cat. Far from easy to operate, it left us performing many “in the bush” repairs. All and all, though, I grew to love that old machine. Dad was happy to run it, while I got to run the newer 2U.
I still jump at the chance to hop up and onto the seat of those old workhorses. And I will tell you that the people who accomplished an almost impossible, monumentally difficult job in the 40’s were one tough and brave bunch.
I admire them all.
The next night I got a follow up message from Wayne.
“Hello. I commented on one of your Alaska Highway blogs about my experience as a teenage and a D8 from the construction of the Alaska WWII highway. Here are pictures I have that you are free to use as you wish. They have never been shared before.”
Wayne, they are shared now. And thank you.