LeTourneau construction equipment: books - history

R.G. LeTourneau Heavy Equipment: The Mechanical Drive Era 1921-1953

In the history of heavy equipment development, no man's name is more respected or revered than that of R.G. LeTourneau. Considered by many to be the dean of high-speed mobile earthmoving equipment, his designs of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s laid the fundamental groundwork for many of the earthmoving machines we see on a daily basis today. Self-propelled, rubber tired scrapers, bulldozing blades, and rippers were all conceived under his engineering genius in the quest for moving material at the lowest cost per yard.

The years between 1921 to 1953 saw many of R.G. LeTourneau's most important heavy-equipment introductions, such as the Carryall and the Tournapull, and the initial development of the electric drive wheel. This volume of fantastic machine creations covers the early years up until the sale of the company to Westinghouse in 1953.

Standard production, specials, and experimental machines in rare archival images, many in print for the very first time, help showcase what made R.G. LeTourneau so important in the heavy equipment industry.

R.G. LeTourneau Equipment - The Electric-Drive Era 1953-1970

In the history of heavy equipment development, no single man's name is more respected or revered as that of R. G. LeTourneau. Robert Gilmour LeTourneau is considered by many to be the dean of high-speed mobile earthmoving equipment. His designs of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s laid the fundamental groundwork for many of the earthmoving machines we see today.
Self-propelled, rubber-tired scrapers, bulldozing blades, and rippers were all conceived under his engineering genius in the quest for moving material at the lowest-cost-per-yard.

The time period of 1953 to 1970 saw many more innovative machine and engineering achievements in the fields of earth-moving, off-shore oil exploration, logging, and defense. This second volume of fantastic machine creations covers the later years before the sale of the company to Marathon in 1971.
Standard production, specials, and experimental machines are shown in rare archival images, some being shown in print for the very first time, help showcase what made R. G. LeTourneau so important in the heavy equipment industry.

Modern LeTourneau Earthmoving Equipment: Ultra-large Loaders, Dozers and Haulers since 1968

Over the years LeTourneau has produced some of the world's largest and most productive front-end loaders, wheel dozers, and haulers, including the world record breaking L-2350, the world's largest wheel loader ever manufactured.
"Modern LeTourneau Earthmoving Equipment" focuses on machines designed and built during the time period of 1968 to present. All of the company's quarry and mining machine offerings, including past LeTro-Loader, LeTro-Dozer, and Titan haul truck designs, as well as all current equipment product lines, are featured in great detail.

Behind the scenes images, as well as model and working views, bring these giants to life with rare color and b&w historic and modern photography, making this a must have for all heavy equipment enthusiasts.

R.G. Letourneau Heavy Equipment - A Photographic History from 1921 to Today's Giant Marvels

Known as "The Dean of Earthmoving," R.G. LeTourneau is considered one of the world's greatest inventors of earthmoving and material handling equipment. With outstanding photography, this overview of 90-years-plus of manufacturing features LeTourneau's earliest earthmoving equipment introductions in 1921, all the way up to today's giant loaders produced in Longview by Joy Global as "P&H Generation 2" wheel loaders.

Even though Joy Global has officially announced that it is removing the "LeTourneau" name from the mining product lines, as a tribute to its heritage, a small "LeTourneau" plate is now fitted inside the cab. This companion book to the three previous publications includes much updated information and all new images of the LeTourneau enterprise.