Back to Home
Top of page
STORY OF A PASSION ...
One day a strange phenomenon occurred. Knowing that I was making a website,
an enthusiast wanted to share with me his attraction for public works machinery He then asked me with his eyes full of hope if I could transcribe the lines of his story on the site, I replied that he did not there was no problem. He then tried to give me as much detail as possible.
Where did this guy come from? I do not know...!
Here is his story:
"
Si am referring to my
childhood memories, with however a reservation on the precision of the year, it was around 1969 that my attraction for public works machinery was declared.
At that time my paternal grandfather often took me for a walk and the first memory that comes to mind is a visit to a small street (called rue de la Javie). It must be said that grandpa suffered, with tenderness, my desire to go and listen more closely to disturbing noises!
Characteristic sounds produced by public works machinery, including one in particular: the squeaking of the tracks. It was therefore a chain loader. I don't remember the make of this machine at all, maybe a Caterpillar, a Fiat-Allis or other (?)
Strangely, as I approached, I was at first very fearful of the noise of this machine, which roared and echoed in this street and I shook my grandfather's hand, but very quickly I became curious and attracted by it and by therefore I often took the hand of grandpa, but this time to train him to return to the scene.
The second memory is a new curiosity in another place, but still in the same neighborhood. With grandpa we noticed an old Nordest cable shovel. It was yellow and to the child that I was, it looked imposing. Especially since in his work, the operator raised the arm of the machine and therefore his bucket, using his cable mechanism, to let it fall in free fall in order to break the ground to work it better. This action produced a thud that caught my eye and all my attention. It scared me a little too, but hey, I think we had to go through this to have the first attractions towards machines.
These are the first two memories that contributed to my attraction to public works machinery.
What a start and what a feeling ...!
Ah grandpa, what could I have made him do as a step, from one machine to another! My father repeated it to me later: “Your grandfather used to tell us with his Italian accent”, “Ah so pétit then, with his bouledozers there! ". But papa added: "Your grandfather was happy!" ".
I can also find other memories, in particular the earthworks and the construction of the infrastructures of the water reserve of the city of Marseilles "the Dol valley", between 1967 and 1971.
Why did the public works machinery remain engraved?
After the episode in the alley with my grandfather, the eye contact and the attraction to public works machines could have diminished or even stopped there. Well no ! Quite the contrary. I can even say today that I was destined to be marked by this category of gear and for good reason!
A recurrence is declared in 1970/1971, two years which remain crucial. This is where it all really started as a passion, because from the height of my 7 years and the dust, I had the opportunity and the immense luck to have a few hundred meters from my eyes, a fabulous show. I was a privileged spectator, I would even say on the balcony and no pun intended!
Indeed, living in the 14th arrondissement of Marseille, on the second floor of an HLM, from my famous balcony, I had a breathtaking view of a vast construction site: ZUP n ° 1 (Priority Urban Zone). I attended the earthworks, the delivery of the first sections of the two housing estates called "les Iris et les Flamants".
Why Caterpillar rather than another brand?
I don't know, at least I didn't know it at the time, because looking back I quickly realize that Caterpillar is the world leader in construction machinery. It is therefore perhaps logical that it is more represented on construction sites compared to other brands.
I add that with the same hindsight, I will find later the Caterpillar machines more "graceful" in my eyes towards its competitors.
The look at this whole site, from start to finish, remains and will remain for me an unparalleled school.
I was too young at the time to understand the mechanical and physical laws that apply to the machines I watched working, techniques that I would learn the secrets of later.
But nevertheless when I was 7 years old I was starting to ask myself questions:
How it works ? Why does it work?
Why for example the "bang" of the mass of the worker sounds once he has typed? ...
speed of sound, yes!
Why when the block of a crane, moved by its inertia, swings, it does it slowly, while mine in miniature swings very quickly? ... mass and dimensions!
In fact, at the time I owned a rudimentary crane with a few “Meccano” elements, mounted by my father of course, being too young to do it myself. All these questions remained unanswered and the questioning was already constructive. But for the moment, I was still a child and so I remained in the ignorance and the magic.
As on many sites, two stages took place before my eyes.
1) the earthworks, carried out by the Rapetto company, with its Berliet truck ballet revolving around a 922 or 944 Caterpillar wheel loader (the mark is correct, however I am unable today to define the model) and two Caterpillar bulldozers as well, including:
- a small first equipped with a lateral blade linkage,
- a second of larger size. Here too, my memories remain unclear as to the exact model of these tractors, but for the first machine I will go for a Cat D4.
2) The construction of buildings, with:
- two first Richier 1362 tower cranes (for now, because the other buildings will each have their own cranes, Richier Weitz),
- two crane trucks, fitted with lattice booms of different sizes: yellow for the smallest and black for the largest.
All this brings together a few things and still in childhood memory, a large part of the site, but of course the inventory is far from complete, I can not only note the material that marked my memory. So I savored the entire site in its progress.
I remember that it was about the construction of prefabricated panels. I enjoyed watching the tower cranes at work and the buildings going up using masonry techniques that I did not yet understand. It didn't matter, it all filled me up. But I must admit that the equipment used on this type of site, such as cranes, fascinated me a little less than the less spectacular earthmoving work.
Why ?
Because the latter, more down to earth, is much noisier. The roar of the different engines such as: wheel loader, bulldozers, truck etc ... are more exciting than the construction of buildings thanks to the high perched but silent cranes.
This earthwork remains, if I may say so, "the act" which made me clench my child's fists around the bars of the railing of my balcony. Too small to go see this spectacle more closely, I waited, I watched for the smallest adult person having enough patience to accompany me at the foot of this big building site which made me vibrate. My grandfather could no longer have his tender bond with me, because he died in January 1970. From time to time my brother, my eldest of 8 and a half years, carried out this task. It must be said that he was also a little attracted by this site.
Sundays and holidays were fine for this visit, but of course everything was at rest, no more noise, no more movement, but that was okay, I could finally see up close what I had been hearing all week .
See what I had heard? Eh yes ! Without having the movements and the different mechanical noises, consequently not being able to reconcile the two, I was satisfied with an inert vision and this gave rise to additional mysteries. But it didn't matter, we had been to see the bulldozers and that was the main thing. However, I still have in mind and in a precise way, our visits during which the site was running, so during the week.
Today a lot of memories are still pleasant to consult in my brain, like a library. To be honest, I just have to think of certain images to see them come to life.
As for example the hook of a tower crane, in particular the Richier 1362, with its mitten with the characteristic silhouette in the shape of a heart, descending empty, oscillating slowly in the air under the combined effect of the orientation and the the descent, all this to get his load.
Even more impressive, still on the same crane, to see the end of the boom plunge into the void when it takes off from the ground, the concrete bucket full, and other loads ...
Smell a peculiar smell of burnt oil based and wooden pallet found on construction sites, especially in winter when workers want to warm up.
Review this Caterpillar wheel loader, this series of machine not including an articulated frame, steer the rear wheels so that you can turn. I can see her silhouette perfectly.
It was fitted with a cabin with a two-sided windshield forming a slight angle around a central gasket cover, all covered with a white roof. As I wrote above, my memories remain vague regarding the model: 922 or 944? But when we are children we do not pay attention to the numbers which designate the model of a machine, on the other hand the shapes, the silhouettes are images which remain very precise in the memory.
Perhaps all this seems like trivial details? ... But to me they are of the utmost importance.
Yes! ... All this I see it, I feel it with a little emotion and a lot of tenderness. I am going back to construction sites now with the same passion, but it is not the same.
I would never find the same sensations again, with somewhat similar machines and that's good! I prefer to keep this magnificent memory of childhood, because my vision at that time is not the same as today, as we get older we see things differently.
I grew up, I matured, the magic and wonder of childhood did not fade; they are always there, especially when discovering a new machine. But they merge with my adult knowledge and suddenly changed my vision somewhat.
But today I think I can say it: since that time I have been and I remain a passionate ...
Maybe not even that grown-up, still a bit of a child?
But what happiness!
Why did you choose model making?
It is always difficult to explain why we make such and such a choice. I could very well have had a completely different approach, that of a collector of commercial miniatures, or else take photographs of construction machinery or even make art drawings of machines in action, etc ...
But let's give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, that is to say ... to my father! This father, who unfortunately is no longer of this world, was very attracted by real ships and the miniature world, he led us in spite of himself, my brother and I on his taste for model making. For my part, he made me discover a lot of things, such as the marine museum in Marseille, the construction of plastic models in commercial kits ... in short, everything related to miniaturization. Of course he made me discover many other beautiful things, but let's stay in model making.
So it is normal that I follow this trace, probably by mimicry?
Because I must also specify that despite the discoveries cited, my father never instilled in me anything willingly or by force in terms of teaching. He gave me complete freedom. It is quite obvious that when at the time he was working on his models, on my side unconsciously it happened to me
to watch him do it. We both often shared our opinions and impressions, but we each worked on our own and on our own.
This responds to the questions of external eyes “Do they both work together? ".
Given that a father always has more experience than his son, it is fashionable to think and it is normal that the oldest helps the youngest, especially since my father left behind him a lot. beautiful models and all made by hand ... Thank you dad!
Having said that, here's how I sum it all up.
Above all, I am passionate about life-size public works machinery and model making is the translation, the expression in relation to real machines. In terms of the love of details and the search for perfection of a model, one place has brought me a lot. This is the Marseille marine museum cited above. The models on display taught me a certain working philosophy to adopt. Today I gladly apply this way of working.
As a reward, now I get compliments on my work with a phrase that comes up very often: “But how do you do all this? ". This question is both touching and very rewarding.
Well there is no secret, for me love and work are at the base of everything. Of course, being younger I tested myself with the famous commercial kits, but that did not last long.
Very quickly came to me the desire to build, to conceive and to handle myself with my own way the parts of my creation; it was already swarming in me. Obviously, at first the results weren't always very pretty or very effective, but that didn't matter. The main thing is that I learned by making mistakes, I corrected or started again and therefore I could manage on my own.
And that is the most beautiful thing that life has taught me.
All this is the result of the enthusiasm that was already growing in me on my little balcony.
Magical moments.
What are magical moments?
Well these are the moments when we can finally see for the first time and in full size the machines that have made us dream so much, in books or even on a simple photograph and therefore we are in a hurry, it is to approach them. No matter the site, whether it is a road construction, a railroad construction, a quarry or an open pit mine, the enthusiast is always excited.
Ah yes ! Really, the first approach is very important, because like in many fields, one changes universe while passing from a simple photograph, to a real vision in three dimensions. Added to that noise and smells, then rise in us feelings of excitement, admiration ... These are all motivating and constructive.
The discovery of 992C.
To illustrate all this, here is an example of the discovery of a device. Here it is the Caterpillar 992C wheel loader.
It was in 1984 on a quayside of the autonomous port of Marseille that I saw this wheel loader for the first time. My father, who had access to the harbor quays due to his work, informed me of the presence of this machine. Excited at the idea of making a new discovery, I immediately seized the opportunity to see it up close. But this approach was not only technical, it was also sentimental if I may say so with a dose of very intense curiosity.
You absolutely had to see this big "beast" with a size that I had never met before. It should be noted in passing that the 992C was at the time the largest wheel loader in the range at Caterpillar, so it was quite rare to meet it on any site.
Moreover, this machine, which was in transit on the port, was deprived of some of this equipment such as the driver's cabin and the bucket, precisely for reasons of size and transport.
Some pictures were taken, because I had taken care before, to make me lend a camera by a friend, in order to immortalize the "beast".
I immediately documented myself for the first time in my region, with Bergerat Monnoyeur in Cabries near Marseille, which is the Caterpillar dealer in France. So on the glossy paper of the commercial brochures, I could compare, analyze the shapes and the different parts of this machine that I had admired succinctly. We can notice for this first meeting a behavior more child than adult. Eh yes ! The wonder (again him) always returns, moreover without him and in my eyes, no passion would be possible.
Well that said, I had noticed this huge wheel loader. Good and then?
Then all I had to do was find him in his usual world, because he had seduced me.
I also wanted to have a more in-depth technical approach, perhaps to make a model? I got in touch with other Bergerat Monnoyeur centers, Paris, Nancy, etc ...
to broaden my quest and learn more about this new discovery. So I had collected a lot of documentation, but these were intended for commercial purposes. There were some nice photos, but nothing that could be technically exploited. One day or another I absolutely had to go there to observe and study the real machine.
It was only four years later, in April 1988, that I took the necessary information when I returned to Bergerat Monnoyeur in Cabries, to find out the places where such machines worked. Four years may seem long, one can wonder if I was still as passionate or attracted by this charger? Oh yeah ! It is moreover during this period of time that an answer was given to the question quoted above "to build the model".
So according to the information, it was in Fos-sur-mer and more precisely at the Pechiney factory on the ore quay, that there were five wheel loaders, one 992 and four 992C. I hastened to go check it out.
After my eight hours of work with precious information in my pocket, my Renault 8 and I traveled the sixty kilometers that separated us from Fos-sur-mer.
I didn't have much trouble finding this famous ore quay where both the orange / brown color of bauxite and the black of coal mingle.
So there ...! We can really speak of a magical moment.
There they were those famous wheel loaders, parked after their day's work; they were inert but imposing. Maybe because my mind had made them sacred, idolized?
I do not know. Still, I became the little child again and I was in heaven!
Especially since there was no one on the horizon, only them and me, not a sound.
I had the impression that they were waiting for me. Pride? Perhaps ! I could approach, smell the fuel, the rubber of the tires which had undoubtedly forced, ripped on the ground which still bore the marks left by the imposing tread patterns of the tires. I stroked these foundry pieces that seemed ready to fly. They seemed especially intended to highlight the imposing silhouette of the stature of this machine, they were soiled by the materials they carried all day. I no longer had any notion of the reality of the dimensions of these pieces, at least for a few moments. Then the rational gaze of the enthusiast (adult) took over again, in particular by observing the balances of the wheelhouse of the bucket, the top of these parts which rose to more than three meters. In fact, their large size corresponded to the power required for such a machine and their mass was apparently considerable.
This silhouette corresponded well to the photos of the brochures I was starting a collection of.
It is because for four years I had analyzed this machine, at least with the accumulated documentation. It may seem unnecessary to compare silhouettes to photos.
Obviously everything was fair and precise, but here we find the eye of the enthusiast, I would even say the critic who seeks the smallest detail and if necessary, find flaws.
In fact, I think this behavior is purely manic: “everything has to match! ",
but my gaze and my curiosity went from discovery to discovery; I was pleasantly overwhelmed by what I saw. Curious to see the height of the cabin, I had to climb onto its platform, about three meters above the ground. I was now discovering all the upper parts of the mechanical parts which revealed such power. From above it gave a domineering impression.
I then imagined the machine at work, looking at the driving position and the different sensations that it could provide (a situation that I would experience later in a different place, being invited by a driver). I went back down and walked around this attraction several times.
I didn't take a lot of dimensional measurements that day, but I did note the dimension that primarily concerned me on such a machine: that of the wheels. Their diameter reached 2.70 meters. The tire wear made me think they might be slightly larger than this dimension. My look and my impression were not the same as in 1984 on the quay of the autonomous port of Marseille. On the one hand I had more time here to observe and on the other hand I had prepared myself much more for this meeting. But night was falling and we had to set off again.
Which I did, but now knew where the rare bird nest was.
Come back ? It was not difficult but moreover it was essential to make a statement of dimensional dimensions and to constitute a file in order to be able to build a model.
So I returned many times to the scene, that is to say from 1988 to 1991, if only to take photos or film videos ”.
This is his story and how he explained to me the magical moments of his passion, moments that he experienced during his many discoveries and that I imagine, in any discipline.
Because of course it made me think of all the enthusiasts, addicts etc ...
No matter what name we give them,
all enthusiasts are alike ..!