Old Crawler Collection Is Gradually Being Restored

Old Crawler Collection Is Gradually Being Restored AG WORLD 27-3-24 Collecting old crawler tractors is a relaxing, enjoyable hobby, says George Shinners, owner of Antigo Construction Inc., Antigo, Wisconsin, one of the largest concrete demolition companies in the country. Over the years, Shinners accumulated a handful of vintage gasoline-powered steel-tracked crawler tractors. About five years ago, he began collecting crawler tractors in earnest. He now has nearly 100 tractors and related pieces of equipment in all. Some of them ran when he bought them, but many were in pretty tough shape. However, he says the majority of them can and will be restored. The rest are parts machines. In addition to crawlers, he's also added self-propelled and pull-type graders, rollers, rippers, logging arches and a rock crusher. To put as many in working order as possible, he hired George Wells, a local mechanic who at 86 years old, has spent most of his life maintaining, overhauling and rebuilding construction machinery. Engines are usually the first priority. Once Wells gets the engine freed up and running, he moves ahead with the rest of the restoration. After nearly two years of working on Shinners' collection, Wells has managed to get 20 of the old crawlers running and has completely restored 12 of them. To date, most of the machines in Shinners' collection carry Holt and Caterpillar nameplates. But he also has a few made by Cletrac, International Harvester and others. One of his most prized tractors is a 1925 Caterpillar "Two-Ton" that is on display outside the Langlade County Historical Society museum in Antigo, where it's hitched to a logging sled loaded with some impressive Hemlock logs. The tractor was driven into place, but Wells disabled it to make sure no one would "borrow" the powerful display piece. Also included in Shinners' collection are a rare Caterpillar R2, a military R4 and a footclutch R5. While his collection has gotten bigger than he ever anticipated, Shinners continues to get calls from people who have old crawlers they'd like to sell or even donate if he promises to restore them. "Most of my crawlers were used in northern Wisconsin, but I've bought machines from Minnesota, Michigan, and across the northern plains, and some from as far away as Utah, Nevada and California," he says. He often extends business trips to go out of his way to look at a tracked tractor somebody has told him about. Eventually, he hopes to put the collection on permanent display in a new 8,000-sq. ft. building he completed this past fall. He's also developing an outdoor demonstration area to give his "old iron" a place to run one more time. In the meantime, though, if you're interested in taking a look, call or write to Antigo Construction and, he promises, they'll do their best to accommodate you. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George Shinners, Antigo Construction, Inc., 2520 N. Clermont St., Box 12, Antigo, Wis. 54409 (ph 715 627-2222; email: info@antigoconstruction.com).

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