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O/T Horses Hauling Gravel

F

Fergienewbee

Well-known Member
Been cleaning out my Dad's personal stuff and came across a small booklet where my grandpa recorded expenses for graveling a hill. Entries included a man and a team for a day, guys shoveling or holding a scraper--horse drawn I assume--grading etc. The gravel was $22.50 for 90 wagon loads or 25 cents a load. Total cost with labor and materials was $112.50. Interesting reading. Not sure of the date, early 1900s I would guess.

Larry
 
My Dad told me that most of the township roads in our area were built using elevating scrapers pulled by horses. I never thought to ask how many horses it took to pull those graders.
 
I just helped in restoring a horse drawn grader to display at our township building. It was made by Gallion. I believe it to be about 100 years old. I know it took 2 teams of horses to pull this machine. This machine can do anything a modern grader can do exept no hydraulics. Even the rear axle moves sideways to clean ditches and still leave horses in the roadway.
 
anybody know how much gravel was in a wagon load back in the day? , if it was about 1 ton, today that would be 225.00 about what the company charges for a load hauled say 10 miles or so
 
i have heard the usual stories of the early days there too, back in the 30's flatbed truck, shovel it on, shovel it off at the job, guess its about like a fireman on a railroad steam engine, each day was a real long one either way
 
Dad said back in the day before county highway depts all the able bodied men brought wagons to the nearest gravel pit in our neighborhood. Pulled by horses. This was done every August. during slow time on the farm.The wagons had special floorboards that could be turned at any angle from 0 to 90 degrees to release the load of gravel on county roads. Never mentioned the costs to do this, they knew the roads had to be maintained to get around in the winter/spring. Guessing this was 1900 to 1920.The first tractor Dad heard of around the neighborhood was about 1925-30.
 
I belive that a gravel box would hold a yard. I still have the wagonn and gravel box that my dad/grampa had. Around here, every land owner had the wright to either pay extra tax to the municpality, or do as many days of "statcatory labour " as the township's road boss thought would be fair,depending on the size of your farm, and the amount of road frontage your farm had. I remmeber Dad telling me he would have to go out for useually 3 days, with a team and wagon. Those who did not have a strong team or good wagon, could just go and shovel. But if you just went to shove, you might have to put in 10 days or more,as you brought less to the game . Bruce
 
Was at the Reynolds- Alberta Museum in August 2005. ACMOC was holding a convention there, wife and I came from England to visit. One of the displays was a horse drawn elevating grader. Had 16 horses hitched to the front, pulling, and another 4 horses on a rig at the back pushing. The teamster? had a big job to control 16 horses, but it was great to watch.
 
My Dad told me about hauling gravel in wagons, the floorboard could be turned and removed to dump the load. Later Dad worked on road construction (30s) and drove a new Chevy gravel truck, without a cab! I guess cabs were considered a luxury and only necessary in the winter time! This was on the building of hwy 6 from Deer River to Big Falls MN.
 
I worked all my life in road construction, and I was always interested in how the "old guys" did it. You could spot the "old guys" easy - they'd be off on the side watching the ongoing activity. They were always neat to visit with. One old teamster/truck driver told of the old trucks with no cabs like your Dad used. They had a gravity dump of some sort - only hauled a ton or so. Solid rubber tires on the rear. He said the truck had some sort of cone shaped clutch with leather linings. The boss wanted you to drive with your left foot on the running board while you were rolling, and would fire a driver on the spot if your foot left wasn't showing. Clutch was fragile.
 
My uncle told me the day I was born (3-23-37) in Iowa that the WPA was hauling gravel and made it to their driveway...first day they did not have to deal with a mud road.

The WPA was offically the "Works Progress Administration" (I think) but my uncle hated the government so much he referred to it as "The Woodpecker Association". He said one guy drove the truck and another guy rode along and all he had to do was keep count of the loads.

LA in WI
 
I'm guessing that is how the 38 inch bolster width was established. These wagons had 5 12 inch wide planks. Three were put down flat. One was put verticle next to the three flat ones. The other was verticle on the other side of the bolster on top of the flat plank. These plank were 12 feet long which when loaded gave you about a yard. (There were in no "ends" so the load of gravel tapered down on the ends.) When you "dumped" you removed the verticle plank that went down next to the flat ones. That gave you room to wiggle and tip the flat plank one at a time starting on that side.

Areo
 
The gravel beds were 2X4 for the bottom with the ends tapered down for a handhold about 2 inches around. Length I could go out to the barn and measure. There was a sideboard that would be lifted up to start the flow of gravel after the endgates and yes there were endgates in them were removed and finally after the ends and sides were lifted up then you would start lifting a 2x4 on one side then the one on the oposide till they were all removed for the load to be empty. and to hold the sideboards uprite they used a 2x4 layed across the sideboards that had a cleat nailed on each side of the side board and that laying on top of the sideboards are what held the bed together.
 
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