The last grader we featured was an ornament more than anything, but this one’s a runner. Listed here on auctiontime.com, with bidding at $450, is this well-behaved 1951 Caterpillar 112 motor grader. NW Iowa Kevin sent the tip over to us – thanks! The first self-propelled motor grader was introduced by Russell Grader Manufacturing Company in 1919. It was basically a tractor with a blade – and in those days, “tractor” meant steel tracks. When Caterpillar bought Russell in 1928, the company innovated its way into a top position in the motor grader market when it launched the purpose-built, rear-engined Auto Patrol in 1931. Riding on rubber wheels and offering a clear view of the work ahead, the Auto Patrol broke new ground (ha) in the industry. But that wasn’t the last word in graders by a long shot. Cat’s 12 arrived in 1938, with a moldboard (blade) that could be maneuvered into myriads of positions. The smaller 112 dished up further improvements, with more sophisticated in-cab controls, minimizing manual blade adjustment.
While the 12 was powered by a six-cylinder diesel, the 112 utilized Cat’s D315 four-cylinder diesel – both of these fired by a gasoline pony motor at start-up. The 12 offered about 68 hp, while the 112 managed about 72 hp. A six forward speed/one reverse manual gearbox brings power to the four rear wheels. There is no differential: the crown wheel is mounted directly to a solid rear axle. Grip is fantastic, but the grader needs its two leaning front wheels to aid steering. Several parts were recently installed, including a master cylinder, battery, brake hoses, and power steering belt.
The seller claims that the upholstery is new, but the horsehair stuffing is original. One windshield is broken, but the cab heater works, as do the gauges. This grader was sold new to the city of Seward, Nebraska.
The 112 is a rigid-frame grader; today, articulated graders are far more popular. That doesn’t mean this handsome brute couldn’t be seriously useful – shaving your gravel drive, moving debris, cutting ditches. On the other hand, this machine weighs around 20,000 lbs, so hauling it home from David City, Nebraska, might be a challenge. If you need a grader, this Cat 112 would be a stylish option!
, Ahhhh, ( endorphins kicking in), great way to start the day, a motor grader, of course. 1st, thanks to the author, except, “horsehair ” seats, Michelle, how do you sleep at night?
2nd, settle in folks,,I have some experience with theses, not as an operator, but the trencher dealer I worked for, the boss bought a grader just like this for his property in the UP. Yeah, took a grader to get to it. It came in on a flatbed, and me being the yard guy, was my job to unload it. It was the first time I operated a pony motor, although had heard of them. Start the pony motor via recoil, and a dog clutch for the diesel. Open the diesel throttle, putt, putt, BAM, it was intimidating to say the least. If you notice, no hydraulics. All the attachments are operated by those driveshafts that “screw” the blade up and down, via a big gearbox on the dash of the cab. It has live dogs spinning, and you jam the appropriate lever for the corresponding function. It really requires some skill.
The author described the drive system, but stopped a bit short. These are chain drive, in the oval housing behind the rear tires. Not sure why it was done that way, I think modern graders still use them. It was no fun when an operator “threw” a chain, but rarely happened. It should also be mentioned, that before the war, many rural municipalities still used horse drawn graders, and even after the war, those outfits used graders pulled behind dump trucks. It wasn’t until the late 60s, that motor graders became commonplace.
Here’s where the BFs creepiness kicks in. Traveling the back roads( if you can call them that), Colorado has suspended practically all grading operations. Their motor graders sit rusting with flat tires in an equipment yard. The duty then fell upon the Forest Service, and didn’t last long either due to budget cuts. That, in conjunction with modern ATVs, have left the roads in deplorable condition. Basically rock climbing, and not much fun. I went so far as to possibly buying a motor grader, okay not this size, but a small one and grade off some of these roads. Meh, I’m too old for such foolishness, but I sure am glad the site and author had the incentive to post this, fun stuff, dare I say I like the “new” BarnFinds? Thank you.
Hi I worked on heavy equipment I have worked on some of the 12 and 14 Cat motor graders. They were very good quality machines.
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This is really neat!!! Unfortunately the closest I ever got to a Grader was the Tonka version, it’s a bit smaller than this one 🤣 . I can’t wait to see all the comments on this. And that line Michelle, “broke new ground”, loved that!!! Thank you for writing this up, and the history lesson too. I enjoyed this over my cup of coffee this morning.
Ha, the puns are endless for a machine like this beast! Michelle knows her stuff in general, but especially with these touch machines. They used these in Duluth, MN for plowing snow, with the hills. I always thought the front wheels were also powered, but I guess not.
Here’s a much smaller version I snagged earlier this year.
Sweet!! With the box!!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the box, or one that new. Mine came to me as either an Aunt Jean yard sale find or a hand me down from one of my older cousins. Nice thing about those steel construction toys, they show wear and tear like the real thing.
I paid $75 for it with the box, which I think was a steal. I’ve discovered Tonkas and other “toy” trucks over the last two or three years. They’re much cheaper to buy than real vehicles. They’re easier to hoard- I mean, to store; no storage units are needed, and no insurance or maintenance is involved. (Sorry to Michelle for threadjacking this otherwise great article)
Uh huh. You started this, Mr G.
I found one of these in a barn while “excavating for valuables” a while back. It looked pretty similar to this, except it was quite a bit rustier and without a box. Congratulations on finding a grader in that condition with a box for only $75!
I had to do a equipment/financing seminar in Calgary in February. ( I know, what fool goes to Calgary in February!) There was no snow on the ground when I arrived. But when the airport calls you at 5AM to ask if you really want to leave that day as there has been a snow storm. You look out your hotel window to see an army of graders working to keep the streets clear. And 20 minutes later you would swear that a grader had been present for many hours.
I must have been the only one in all of Calgary that wanted to leave that day as I was greeted by my name when I walked through the airport door. They finally found a window to get me out at about 11AM. And they only place that they could get me to was Minneapolis, WHERE IT WAS ALSO SNOWING!
I like that she pointed out that a Russel -Grader- started building the first motorized graders.
Look at the operators seat. This ain’t a comfort queen.
Used to love watching the graders out the window 🪟 as a kid clearing snow off the street. Awesome machines.
Looks luxurious compared to most of the other vehicles in my possession.
In fact, I was just thinking about how luxurious it looked.
I guess you could say that……
When Michelle writes equipment up like this……..
It really “Makes the Grade!!!” 😆 🤣 😂
***Insert Rimshot here****
Ok…. Ok…. I’ll just see myself out now.
That’s a cut above, Dave! 😜
Nice!!! 😆 🤣 😂
I was hoping someone would get a laugh.
AND don’t forget to take your medication(s)!
Those old machines will be running long after we are gone. Keep them greased, and they will run forever.
Handling is crucial. Can this grade on a curve?
No curves anymore, they all get “As”.
Someone’s trying to be a comedian…
But,it’s not in California.
The county had a couple of these, plus a couple of the larger six-cylinder models (I can’t think of the number at this time but they morphed into the 140/14G). There’s “Grader Shacks” all over the place, where a grader is suitably stashed so it can be retrieved with a minimum of trouble when it’s needed.
The first time I ever encountered a “Tach-O-Graph” was in a grader. I might add that the related term “Stool Pigeon” came into my vocabulary about the same time. I remember Dad sending me out to wait for and retrieve Ol’ Wilbur to come in an maintain our farmyard while he was attempting to grade what passed for the main road back when I was a kid. He was parked off to the side, eating his lunch at the time. I heard the tach-o-graph click and asked him what it was.
“That’s my stool pigeon,” Wilbur replied. “Whenever this machine stops, the stool pigeon starts and tells the county how long I was goofing off.”
That’s about 62 years ago.
Those pony engines. Dad taught us to run them back when I was in Fourth or Fifth Grade. My older brother and I caught on quite well. We also had a John Deere 80 with a Pony engine; different method of operation but the purpose was the same.
Nice to see one of these show up now and then. Brings back a lot of memories. Thanks Michelle…
These oddball subject write-ups are, in my estimation, the main reason folks visit this site
We’ll try to stay weird for you, Tbone! Thanks for the comment.
Agreed. Many a good laugh have I gotten out of the oddballs listed here from time to time.
Back in the 50s, my uncle used to work part time in the winter plowing snow with one of these. A pretty good job during the months that the crops didn’t need his attention, until one awful night. He was on a back country road in the middle of a blizzard high among the steep bluffs along the northern Mississippi river. He couldn’t see the road he was plowing and then came a white out and he was dangling somewhat off the edge with a multi hundred foot sheer drop. Very scared, he knew he was in trouble, gently tried to ease her back but could not. He was able to hop off it, expecting it to drop far away to the bottom. He managed to find his way to a farm house with a hot wood stove and hotter coffee. In the morning the machine was found still there. The township brought in a dozer and logging chains, somehow got it on the road. Everyone was astonished it was not gone with him in it. Despite needing the extra money, he never plowed snow again. Can’t say I could blame him.
Is this from the movie Graders of the Lost Ark??
Good one. At least you didn’t say Blade Runner.
Great write up Michelle! Before they paved the road my childhood house was on, these were a regular site for me; fun to watch.
YouTuber “Diesel Creek”, has had a couple of grader projects on his show. And also, “Herb-O-Matic”, is currently working on a grader, for his airport.
Thanks! That looks like a cool channel.
Just a short post…to the point. I WANT IT!!!!! I wonder what it’d cost to get it shipped from Nebraska to Florida? I guess I could fly out and drive it home!
I could use this about once or twice a year. However the transportation costs would never pencil.
I have the toy version of this too Scotty, it’s in a box in storage with some rust, but intact!
This reminds me of when I lived in a hilly rural area in southern AZ. The roads were dirt and they weren’t maintained by the county so homeowners got together and paid an older guy who lived some 20 miles east to come do it with his also old grader when needed. One year in particular we had a big storm that brought major flooding and caused serious damage both to the main road and the one coming into my driveway, which had a food deep and two foot wide gouge next to the hillside that ran for a city block. I operated a front end loader for a construction company in CO in my early years and I wanted to watch him and see how well he did, and his expertise was an awesome thing to behold. It was obvious he’d operated graders probably for decades, and was almost at one with it, which I understood. It’s like we know the machine so well that we know exactly what to do and we can do it with a certain finesse.. and he definitely did.
I had no idea that there wasn’t a differential in that center drive gearcase. I would have thought tire scrub when maneuvering would have been the last thing you`d want on the last passes of a finish grade.
,,,or on snow & ice.
Now we know why the outside front tire goes negative camber. That is the best for grip when cornering. Even at super slow turns of a grader! You need maximum front bite when the rear wheels are trying to push you straight!(Just guessing here!)
Spent a few thousand hours running a machine just like this one plowing forest service and logging roads year round other than break up in the spring. In the winter, even in 30 below, if you could get the pony motor started you could get the main engine going. With everything being gear drive, you had to make sure and keep a firm grip on the handle on each side for raising the moldboard. If it were to slip, the handle would ratchet back and forth and could break a hand if you tried to grab it. After a day of operating, hands and forearms would be absolutely cooked! Yes, bad carpal tunnel too.
I use a Allis Chalmers 1964, ( the orange ones) Model 48 several times a year for road maintenance and snow removal. It is larger than this one, a full size grader, but the controls are similar. When everything is working smoothly, it is remarkable how capable these old machines are. Routine maintenance is necessary and keeping them covered is a really good idea to reduce wear on the rubber bits. Parts are getting very herd to find. Tires are a house payment or two so mine are quite cracked and bald.
As long as this is in good working order, I could see it as a very handy machine to have around. The only caveat is that this is a light machine and it will get pushed around if you are trying to do heavy work.
Oh, the knuckle buster controls have a well earned name and reputation. You learn that at the end of the travel you had better palm the knob, rather than grip it or it will snap back and it is like getting hit with a hammer. You rarely sit in the seat, most of the time you stand to see the blade.
The price is a bargain for a grader in this condition (remarkable really), but the shipping and new front tires are going to add several times that bid amount. As long as this is in good working order, I could see it as a very handy machine to have around.