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Ski Dozer Disaster/ "Lyndon's Fables"
- Thread starter Lyndon
- Start date
Alaska Snow Cat
Member
Lyndon, as always you have very interesting stories about the slope and pipeline life. I've never made it up there but it is on my to do list. What really interested me this time was Alyeska's Bombardiers as I have been following them since they arrived at Tundra Transporters, the then Alaska Bombardier dealer in Anchorage. I was in buying parts for my Bombi when Rachel, the parts person, invited me out to their shop to look at the new cool snowcat. It was one of Alyeska's, model GT400HS Bombardiers, and she was a beauty! It had just had the Steller Shuttle lift hook system installed to allow quick changing of the flat bed to a passenger cab. I didn't know there were also crane and excavator attachments, too cool. I've always dreamed of owning one of those although the mechanical problems you mentioned almost make me glad I don't.
I saw the auction advertised when they were sold and pouted for weeks when I couldn't go. I did talk to a guy that was there and as I remember one bidder took them all. They were reconditioned and I've seen them for sale in the Alaska Equipment Trader for $45,000 for quite a few years and include both sets of tracks.. I believe the guy has two left and also has the passenger cabs available for extra$$$.
I was at another auction in Anchorage at least 12 years ago and was standing next on a pallet of stuff when I realized the "stuff" was 21 foamed filled snowcat tires and aluminum rims. I ran over to the office and registered to bid as I hadn't planned on buying anything and made it back just in time to get them all for $75. They were all brand new and easily worth $600 a piece and had Alyeska "tags" on them.
At the time I had a Thiokol 3700 Hydromaster which take the 12" tire and these were 13". Since then I have moved on to Pisten Bullys, which as we all know are THEE best snowcats, and they take the 13" tires. I can't use the aluminum rims so if you know anybody who is looking.......... The funny thing about it is I just spent a fair amount of today snowmobiling out to my cabin and getting 8 of them so I can take them to Anchorage tomorrow and have them mounted on my rims and foam filled. Small world huh? Keep up the great stories, I love Alaska and I love snowcats!
I saw the auction advertised when they were sold and pouted for weeks when I couldn't go. I did talk to a guy that was there and as I remember one bidder took them all. They were reconditioned and I've seen them for sale in the Alaska Equipment Trader for $45,000 for quite a few years and include both sets of tracks.. I believe the guy has two left and also has the passenger cabs available for extra$$$.
I was at another auction in Anchorage at least 12 years ago and was standing next on a pallet of stuff when I realized the "stuff" was 21 foamed filled snowcat tires and aluminum rims. I ran over to the office and registered to bid as I hadn't planned on buying anything and made it back just in time to get them all for $75. They were all brand new and easily worth $600 a piece and had Alyeska "tags" on them.
At the time I had a Thiokol 3700 Hydromaster which take the 12" tire and these were 13". Since then I have moved on to Pisten Bullys, which as we all know are THEE best snowcats, and they take the 13" tires. I can't use the aluminum rims so if you know anybody who is looking.......... The funny thing about it is I just spent a fair amount of today snowmobiling out to my cabin and getting 8 of them so I can take them to Anchorage tomorrow and have them mounted on my rims and foam filled. Small world huh? Keep up the great stories, I love Alaska and I love snowcats!
The bombardier's were not all sold at the same time. Alyeska auctions may only take place ever other year. In any event, before Ritchie Brothers Bought out Forke Brothers auctioneers, one of the last Forke Brothers Auctions was the Alyeska equipment Auction the year after Alyeska handed over the Haul road to the State of Alaska. Alyeska sold off a whole bunch of road maintenance equipment in a record auction. The estimated take was 6 Million, but the actual take ended up being 7.7 Million. I gave away the forke Brothers Hat from that auction a few years ago to a scrap dealer in Washington who was personal friends of the Ritchie Brothers, currently the largest Auctioneers in the world. Anyway only one or two of the Snow Cats were sold at the first auction, and those didn't have as many attachment. As everything was interchangable some of the attachments may have been kept by Alyeska for awhile. One of the Snow Cats never reached a pre-set minimum and was not sold at an auction. It later sold by private sale. Another of the machines, with a pile of attachments went to a party in Fairbanks for the highest price I have ever seen a Snow Cat sell for at an auction.
Lyndon,
What did some of these Bombardiers go for?
What did some of these Bombardiers go for?
Model GT400HS Bombardiers, and she was a beauty! It had just had the Steller Shuttle lift hook system installed to allow quick changing of the flat bed to a passenger cab.
We have sold some of those One Last year the Crane has been removed .
We have another we are working on now will be done in a few weeks convertingto the snow tracks it has the summer tracks on it now.
pictures are of one that went back to Canada to make Winter haul roads Last year
We have sold some of those One Last year the Crane has been removed .
We have another we are working on now will be done in a few weeks convertingto the snow tracks it has the summer tracks on it now.
pictures are of one that went back to Canada to make Winter haul roads Last year
Attachments
45,000$, but Alyeska was alleged to have given $310,000@ for the 5 machines and their accessories. The Auction was "Unique". I've probably been to several hundred auctions in my life. You always want to go to an auction with someone that "Knows" prices and with predetermined limits as to how high you are willing to go. They had estimated that this auction was going to bring in 7 Million. It was enough money that the Pipeline "toured" various parties up and down the pipeline at great expense( I was employed by one of these parties), to preview the equipment. This had come about as a result of the Pipeline handing off the responsability of maintaining the "Haul Road", AKA,Dalton,Elliot and Steese Highway's, to the state of Alaska. This took place around '93. Alyeska had deep pockets as they are sponsered by a conglomerate of oil companies, and purchased the finest equipment, maintained it to perfection, and regularly replaced and upgraded stuff. Now it was the States problem and they didn't need the equipment. They also chose this time to off-laod some unrelated , but well maintained equipment, including 3 Cat Pipelayers valued at 7 or 8 hundred thousand each. Everything went for about 10 to 20% higher than originally estimated. The Forke Brothers Auctioneers were so elaited that they practally danced on the stage! You know all those little tricks auctioneers use to jack prices up, like selling one item, then re-auctioning off identical items over again? Well half way thru the auction the auctioneers go so excited that they didn't bother! They work off a percentage, and were already tipping bottles of Champagne BEFORE the auction was over! The final tally was 8.8 Million dollars and it made quite a spread in the Fairbanks paper. There were only 2 bidders for the 3 Cat Pipe Layers, which are similar to a D9 Cat, and when the guy from australia made the 'High' bid of 900,000$, the auctioneer asked how many he wanted? "I'll take all 3". That about summed it up for Forke Brothers. They just hit 'Pay-dirt'!
Lyndon I believe this is the auction my dad bought the snow master, you acquired from Clarance Lamay up in glenallen. I remember dad saying how high every thing was selling for. the best deals were the snowmasters he gave 5 k for the one with a broken st-25. and 8 k for another readt to run snow master that wound up at alexander lake lodge. last I herd both the snow trac abd snow master were driven out by a guy who lived in biglake and worked on the bombi they also had out there. he appearently fell in love with the little red snowcat's.