THE DIESEL TRAIL TO THE ORIENT

foreign [Music] foreign [Music] 1935 the freighter North Haven lay beside the wharf at San Francisco it had been chartered by Pan-American Airways and into its hold when a cargo selected with the utmost care to complete five air bases for a new plane service to the Orient two tractors and four electric generators at all powered by Caterpillar diesel engines occupied the place of honor on the vessel theirs were to be the most important of all the tasks awaiting men and machines on Far Away Midway and Wake Island on March 27th the north even sailed through Golden Gate its first Port of Call was Honolulu 2400 miles from San Francisco but no work awaited the crew until it reached Midway Island 1380 miles farther west the second new base was constructed on uninhabited Wake Island 1250 miles west of Midway the North Haven went only as far as Wake Island but the airline had established sweeped on across Guam to Manila spanning 8 000 miles of ocean the ship reached Midway Island on April 12 1935 and the anchor had barely hit bottom before launches and Tow boats with their Crews on board shoved off for an island that was almost unknown to man a diesel tractor and two generator sets were the first cargo unloaded after a launch towed the barge to shore the tractor pulled the generator sets to location leveling the site for the miniature town was only one of the jobs the busy machine was called upon to do it helped install everything from radio towers to water tanks Camp soon grew to airports at Midway and Wake Island and the last link was forged in the chain of five bases that were to serve the clipper ships on their flights to the Orion now back to California where a plane is preparing to take off from the earliest test flight to that day in November 1935 when the China Clipper started the first round trip to Manila a Caterpillar diesel tractor has launched and landed every plane that has left the Pan American hangers at Alameda it's a team of Champions that heads towards San Francisco Bay whenever a flight starts across the Pacific a champion tractor pulling a champion blade each the master of its tasks there must be no delays on the ground or in the air and while a tractor cannot follow the 90-foot plane into the water it eases it down the runway and hauls the launching carriage back to shore when the ship flows free the crew stepped briskly down the walk the minute the ship is moored to the dock seven men are required to man one of these giant seaplanes and all except the steward can perform any of the duties of the other the plane is longer than the flagship of Columbus where the gross weight of over 50 000 pounds and four engines developing 3 600 horsepower in a few hundred yards it is skimming over the water like a bullet while the passengers watch the takeoff from a comfortable Lounge the ship lifts higher it skims the surface and now it is in the air on the first leg of an 8 000 mile flight to Manila within another minute passengers are looking down on the Golden Gate spanned by the world's tallest bridge as they gaze a fleet of machines comes into view crawling over great piles of Earth near the North End of the bridge on closer inspection we find we are already on the diesel trail to the Orient for The Outfits are part of the fleet of 10 Caterpillar diesel tractors that are moving one million yards of Earth to build the Marin County approach to the Golden Gate Bridge overhead the China Clipper seems to be drifting out to sea but it is actually traveling nearly three miles a minute for 16 hours the motors drone as the crew guides the ship across the vast Pacific then like magic appears the enchanted city of Honolulu with diamond head towering above the famous Beach of Waikiki and the passengers go ashore for a brief sightseeing trip the business streets are lined with the most modern buildings but out in the country native architecture remains Unchained this mixture of the old and the new does not apply to agriculture for Hawaiian farming is noted for efficiency for example diesel tractors pull rotary hose that pulverize the soil Chomp up the trash and kill cutworms in the cane fields on another Plantation of 40 horsepower diesel tractor pulls a special tool that digs a deep irrigation ditch through a hard packed field a six-cylinder diesel is required to handle this giant disc plow As It prepares a seed bed in heavy soil and here is the last word in deep plowing a 95 horsepower diesel pulls a special cane plow turning over furrows two feet deep and four feet wide scores of these machines worth 20 hours a day 6 000 hours a year in Hawaiian cane field Caterpillar tractors are also used to unroll the heavy paper that checks weed growth in the pineapple field after the strips of paper are in place the young plants are set along either Edge tractors are equally useful for planting sugarcane this 60 horsepower diesel pulls a two-row planter the machine has power and traction to pull the Deep set tool in heavy soil and accurate steering enables it to follow the Contours exactly the same tractors that do the plowing and planting are right on the job when Harvest arrives uphill and downdale a diesel 75 pulls a 50-ton load of cane along the winding road to the mill but we must hasten back to the China Clipper where the flight officer scans the harbor as the great ship climbs Aloft once more and turns its prow Westward toward that small coral reef known as Midway Island the radio operator called for directions and weather reports and a message that comes flying back to him is born on the magic wings of electricity generated by Caterpillar diesel engines the weatherman's observations are relayed instantly by the unfailing electric power that is the very Cornerstone of successful Aviation it's a husky suntan crew that welcomes the clipper ships eager for letters from home and news of the outside world today the giant planes land at Midway and wake islands with plot-clack regularity but their safe arrival is always the cause for rejoicing sometimes the diesel taxi takes the crew on a sightseeing trip and the tourists never fail to get a laugh when a couple of Goonie Birds go into their dance the surrounding waters are a Fisherman's Paradise and everything from minnows to eels can be seen swimming in the Crystal Clear Pools crabs dark to cover behind the rocks at the sound of approaching footsteps with games so abundant we are not surprised to see a Hunting Party stalk out of the woods but this Trio is only out for the fun of it their hours of relaxation over the crew climbs back into the ship for the Hop to Guam and Manila the giant craft is pulled out to the Anchor by The Mooring line but the minute the anchor is raised four powerful engines send the plane skimming over the water and hurtling into the air Pilots always face the next hop with confidence because they know that the finest equipment has been provided for them by a great flying organization the magic of radio gives them constant communication with each airport on the line the ground operators keep the ships on their course and transmit all useful flying information while six Caterpillar diesel generator sets supply all the electricity at these isolated bases as the China Clipper circles over the harbor at far away Manila another Caterpillar diesel tractor Waits below to perform the final service in Towing it into its hangar in the Philippines surely no greater tribute could be paid to any tractors and engines than to have them selected for such vital service on the world's longest Airline by Pan-American Airways our most modern and far-flung transportation systems foreign [Music]