Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks

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Al Can highway

Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Other Topics
Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=178131
Printed Date: 15 May 2024 at 12:13pm
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Topic: Al Can highway

Posted By: HD6GTOM
Subject: Al Can highway
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 12:15am

Has anyone watched the DVD "Building The ALCAN highway"? When I started my tire shop in 1986 we had an elderly fellow who ran dozers here locally. He used to come in and drink coffee and tell us stories of his experiences. He said he had helped build a whole lot of the Alcan highway. He had some great stories to tell. The group he was with used AC dozers and other equipment made by or contracted thru Allis. He was a pilot, He made many trips back up there on vacations. He liked it so well he had his friend fly his ashes up there and scatter them over the mountains. Me, I want mine scattered over some south sea island where it is warm. One of his stories was After the highway was completed and he moved back to Iowa, he said We started to fly up to Minnesota to bid a job, couldn't figure why the dang plane was handling funny. They were getting low on fuel so he landed in a guys cow pasture and bought 15 gallons of tractor gas to refuel the plane. He walked around the plane and found lightening has struck the plane and knocked off part of the tail. He said they were almost at the jobsite so they flew on, looked the job over and then flew the plane home so he could get it fixed. He said the plane was flown all over using tractor gas.

Replies:

Posted By: klinemar
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 5:57am

Mechanic at the local IH dealership worked as a mechanic on the Al Can Highway. He said it was so cold when you spit it would bounce when it hit the ground! I have been interested in the AL Can ever since hearig Bob's stories. Watched several Documentaries and read a book about the building of the Highway. Bob said the only Bulldozers they could use were Cat and IH as the Cat had a pony motor and IH had gasoline start. No other Dozers would start in the cold. I would like to drive the AL Can someday.

Posted By: DonBC
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 3:33pm

I've driven it numerous times from Whitehorse, Yukon down to civilization when I lived there. It kept getting straighter, flatter and more hard surface each year. The last time was in 2006. It is now just a nice very long highway with not much traffic.

I heard and read stories that not all of the construction equipment got hauled out and some equipment was buried, especially dozers, and a few years later magically reappearing in well preserved condition and being used by local contractors.

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Jack of all trades, master of none

Posted By: jaybmiller
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 4:59pm

My Uncle Bob ( Bob WAS my Uncle....)worked on it knew were at least 5 CAT dozers got buried as he was operating them.. If they couldn't get them unstuck in 5-10 minutes, they got buried as the rode HAD to be built...

Crazy thing is that 2000 mile+ road got built in horrid conditions FASTER than a 2 mile chunk of local highway.

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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)

Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water

Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 5:15pm

I saw a documentary probably 20 years ago.. Guys were setting out at a picknic table eating supper ( nice weather).. Couple bear cubs walked out of the woods, smelled the food and climbed up on the table next to the guys to eat.... Apparently they had never seen people before, and saw no danger in sharing supper.

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Like them all, but love the "B"s.

Posted By: HD6GTOM
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2021 at 12:04am

He did say the only time the diesels were shut off was to change oil or do other maintance. They had a large army style tent to pull these things in to do the work. He also talked about the "working gals" that followed them up the road. His crew got paid once a month. These gals would show up a couple of days before payday, pitch a few small tents, parade around in front of the mess hall. They would pack up and leave about a week after payday. If a tractor threw a track, it had to be a low hour machine to get drug back to the tent to fix it. If it had a lot of hours on it most were pushed out of the road and abandoned. He did say you attempted to take care of your machine. If it was abandoned you might get stuck on a real worn out piece of junk. Grease and oil were kept in a small heated shed so you could grease your machine at the beginning of your shift. When they got a few miles ahead, they hooked on to the shed and drug it closer to the job site. Dang I wish I could remember more of his stories. He did talk about hunting wolves with a big rifle.