Do you remember my obsessive coverage of the Bristol Myers-Squibb factory demolition in East Syracuse? I hope you do as I trudged through snow and ice for the better part of two months to grab exclusive video and photos of the event. The biggest challenge of this site was actually trying to see the equipment. Trees and office trailers blocked most of the good sight lines while a large dip in the ground usually hid all but the largest of machines. At the time I wished I was able to get closer to the excavators in use but there just way to do it. The zoom on my camera became my best friend. Once the job was finished the largest two machines (click here and here to see them) were trucked away to the next demolition job. At the time I assumed this was the fate of the other machines as well. About a month ago I noticed a large blue and yellow excavator sitting in the yard of JPW Riggers right down the street from the former Bristol site. I cruised by once or twice to check it out figuring it would eventually move on to another job. It never did.
This past weekend the excavator and two others crossed the auction block at the Alex Lyon yard in Canastota, NY. During the demolition I didn’t pay much attention to what turned out to be a Cat 245. Not a single picture was snapped of the Cat as it looked small and puny compared to everything else on the job. Seeing the 245 in person greatly changed my mind. This thing was huge and the bucket was absolutely massive. It really illustrates how large the other excavators were as they dwarfed this machine.
Cat 245 – Click to Enlarge
I was able to climb all over the Cat 245 and believe me when I tell you this machine is beat. Grease and filth cover every inch. Every piece of glass is busted. The controls and nobs are worn smooth from years of use. I made a walk around video of the old Cat which includes some seat time in the cab. I didn’t try to move the stick around mostly because I have no idea what I’m doing but I did rev up the throttle.
Below is a gallery which includes two of the other machines that worked with the Cat at Bristol. On the DDD facebook page there was some debate over which brand of excavator they might be. I can tell you beyond a doubt they are Link Belt/Case machines. The larger machines were probably the same make
