Vandervalk Collection

We have some of the most awesome friends. Some do interesting things, some own interesting things, and all have a different approach to life. It’s these folks that make our short time on this little blue marble something memorabele. Case in point, a family we’ve know for many years now with a fabulous collection of former military vehicles (and more). No, we’re not talking vintage Jeeps or some deuce and a half, the things you might expect. Not even close. Here it’s over the top stuff, a giant tank transporter, a crazy wicked 8×8, an air force crash tender and a Swiss Army Knife inspired do-all earthmover.

Everything seen runs with some pieces being put to use for various tasks about the farm where their owners lives. And taking things to the next level, there’s a vintage grain elevator on the property as a backdrop. Wow! Want to know more about it, scroll down for a brief history or follow the link for a more detailed full on tour. Now let’s check out the goods. This is the Vanderkvalk Collection…

Oh, but before we start, a shout out to good old Mother Nature for putting on a show. Check out those skies!

Oshkosh M1070 HET Prime Mover: (Heavy Equipment Transport). This extreme duty tractor unit is from the 1990s and was used to haul big heavy things, tanks and armoured vehicles for example. It’s eight wheel drive, with the rears (wide super singles on all axles) able to steer. It ain’t pretty, but military vehicles never are. Capable of handling nearly anything thrown its way, it’s brawny, overbuilt and no nonsense. The military is not about style but getting down to business. The utilitarian interior is simply laid out and fairly “goof” proof. But not BIGDoer proof. Nothing is.

Not just any collection…an M1070 left, and LVS right.

This one still wears olive-drab paint. Back of the cab is the biggest winch ever seen. A plate lists sizes and weights (and she’s a heavy one) that can be referenced by shippers. And it has seen the other side of the world, as evidenced by the Arabic lettering seen on the hood. If needed this truck could be called upon to haul equipment here at the farm. A bit of overkill, but hey. They do have a top speed of about seventy or eighty clicks (and that’s pushing it) okay for back roads but not main highways. Like most of the military gear seen, it comes via the US forces. This model is still in production and has been for close to thirty years.

Storm’s a brewing and we’re soon forced to take refuge from the rain. But as soon as it came it went and it’s back to shooting.

Oshkosh 8×8 “LVS”: This go anywhere “Logistic Vehicle System” is a monster and once worked for the US Marines. These also carried the nickname “Dragon Wagon”. The front unit can be split from the rear and steers both by turning the wheels and by articulating those two sections against each other using big pistons.

These can be outfitted in any number of ways, that of a tractor, flat deck, wrecker, and so on. On the farm here it’s set up with a tank and pump for fire fighting. On the back end a picker comes in handy. This model has been in production since the 1980s. The US Army has a similar looking HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck), that has a different steering arrangement.

Oshkosh “ARFF” Crash Tender: It’s a T-3000 from the 1990s. These could be had in sizes from 4×4 up to 8×8 with this one being in the middle in size (so a 6×6). Essentially a rolling water tank, with smaller auxiliary tanks for chemicals and foaming agents, they can quickly be dispatched to attend to any burning aircraft. A canon (monitor, nozzle) on top, remote controlled from inside, packs a bunch and can shoot fire retardants a huge distance. These tenders can also be equipped with a special nozzle (a “snozzle”) on a remote arm that can pierce the skin of an aircraft and dispense fire retardants inside.

This one wears the colours of the US Air Force. ARFF = “Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting” Vehicle. It’s plated and road worthy and could come in real handy should a fire break out on the farm.

Oshkosh, as you’ve seen, is big into heavy duty military vehicles. As such they’re products are rarely seen out of those circles, but once in a while take on civilian jobs as seen here on retiring from the forces. Oshkosh is based in the Wisconsin town of the same name.

Stewart and Stevenson MTV: That’s “Medium Tactical Vehicle” and while a biggie in it’s own right, it looks rather tiny and insignificant when compared to the Oshkosh behemoths that play so prominently in this piece. This one is 6×6 and could be outfitted to handle any number of roles. Stewart and Stevenson built MTVs by the the tens of thousands starting in the 1990s, with current examples, starting in the early 2010s, coming from (you guessed it) Oshkosh.

Michigan 290M: Sometimes called a Clark Michigan 290M (Clark was the parent company) this yellow monster, ex-US Military acts as both a dozer and scraper, allowing it to make quick work of building roads or runways. One machine, two jobs. This design came about as a result of the Vietnam War (so 1960s/1970s era) and are well respected for being versatile and rugged. Even today this one earns its keep about the farm maintaining roads and gravel pads.

An Oshkosh “ARFF Crash Tender”.

1920s McLaughlin Buick: This was the car of choice for Rum Runners back in the time of Prohibition. It was fast, easily outrunning the police in a chase, was able to carry a good sized load and quite importantly was rugged. This example is from 1928, we think (registration says 1923, most certainly a mistake) and it’s believed is was bought new in the area. The section of Alberta, around Fort MacLeod, and the nearby Crowsnest Pass area, was home to many booze smugglers back in the late 1920s/early 1930s period*, so while it can’t be said for sure if this car was used so, all the pieces fit. The US, an easy market for illicit booze, was just a short drive away. And who, in what was then a poor farming area, could afford a higher end car such as this? The right make and model, the right location, the right conditions, the right motivations.

*Prohibition in the US lasted into 1933. There was also similar laws in Canada for a time, with Alberta and BC scrapping them in the early 1920s.

Pretty much all original, it runs well for being some ninety years old. A sticker on the window speaks of an event attended by the car in 1949, the the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 75th Jubilee taking place in Fort MacLeod. Interestingly the Mounties, in earlier times, would have kept an eye on this car given it’s potential for use in liquor smuggling. Fort MacLeod and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (up until 1920, Northwest Mounted Police) are forever connected, with the force having established a base there going back to their very early days.

The McLaughlin company formerly built carriages, and for a time built Buicks under license before becoming part of GM Canada in the late 1910s. Even after that takeover and into the 1940s, Canadian made Buicks also carried the McLaughlin name.

Time to looks at those skies again!

Case IH 500: (sometimes Case IH Stieger 500). A big farm calls for big tractors as can be seen here. When there’s work to be done, you know, this is what on count on. These are outfitted better than most cars and cost a king’s random. They can be had with traditional wheels or tracks as seen here. The latter affords a lighter footprint, advantageous where the ground is soft. Not a bad looking machine. This one’s only a few years old.

Bawlf/Federal Grain Elevator: (also Nicolas Bawlf Elevator). This structure is near a hundred years old and once stood in a nearby town, a place called Woodhouse, before being brought to the farm in the 1970s. And in spite of it’s age this odd anachronism is still put to use. In particular it’s useful in drying out stored grain that has a high moisture content, something that can not be done in metal bins (and they have a lot of those here) without a drying unit and the extra costs associated with it. The Super-B trailer, seen tied to the Western Star in front in the one photo, just fits in. Backing in with inches to spare takes skills beyond belief.

A firm called Bawlf, firm originally owned the structure and was one of perhaps a hundred grain elevators they owned across the prairies. Later that company was amalgamated into the Federal Grain Network, a one time competitor and one with a much larger presence, in the early 1940s. Ghost lettering for both firms, if you look real close, can be seen on the sides of the building. This is the last standing Bawlf in the province.

Want to know more? Go here: Prairie Sentinels – Woodhouse Alberta – Vandervalk Farm.

1997 GMC C1500: The pride and joy of Daniel, one of the Vandervalk clan, once a plain old farm truck souped up, lowered and made mean. Under the hood an engine from a Corvette. Suspect it goes through tires and gas like no one’s business. They say shooting on the shadow side is bad…but here it worked. Their fields stretch off to eternity.

Ex-Calgary Transit Bus: (honourable mention). Formerly a “community shuttle” in the city (unit number not noted) now used as a mobile lunch wagon on the farm. It’s a big operation with some fields well away from home base and it’s easier to bring meals to the crew than then have them head home.

Storm’s a brewin’.

2016 Chevrolet Cruze – The Mighty BIGDoermobile” (sometimes BIGDoer-mobile). Haha! It’s feeling a bit left out. So this is how we get around, a cheap-o ride that thinks itself a Jeep (or Oshkosh LVS!). The places we go with it! Being a poor broke society it’s what we could afford. You make due. Now isn’t it pretty? Yeah…

I suspect next visit to the farm there will be something new that’s old and interesting there to photograph. Those who collect never sit still it seems and are always selling or trading and looking to acquire things anew. You can count on it.

Many photos captured in this piece were shot with an ultra-wide (almost fisheye) lens. We love how it exaggerates and distorts close in scenes and allows tight shooting of really big stuff . Not everyone is such a fan and I’m sure we’ll hear about it. They always let us know.

Their elevator…
Prairie Sentinels – Woodhouse Alberta – Vandervalk Farm.

And this piece shot on their farm…
Scenes of a Modern Farm – watching how it’s done.

More old vehicles that run…
The Springbanks Lights Fleet – firetrucks find a new job.
The Big Red Bus – let’s go for a ride!
Autocar Coal Hauler – massive, imposing and spotless.
Baby Fishbowl – a pocket sized transit bus.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: November, 2018.
Location: MD of Willow Creek, AB.
Article references and thanks: Daniel Vandervalk, Oshkosh Corporation, Olive-Drab.com

Plenty is the horsepower in this.

Big equipment for a big farm.

A go anywhere kinda vehicle.

When shipping the rig, consult this tag.

Now that’s a winch.

Olive drab is the order of the day.

Remote nozzle on top packs a punch.

Business in the front, party in the back.

Of more modest size, a Stewart & Stevenson “MTV”.

For hauling tanks.

A picker for lifting.

Utilitarian comes to mind.

LVS Interior.

Oshkosh is a big maker of military vehicles.

A Michigan 290M scraper/dozer combo.

A product of the Vietnam War.

With the sounds of thunder trailing off.

It’s still used for doing odd jobs about the farm.

Formerly with Calgary Transit, now a lunch wagon.

This ancient “Bawf/Federal” Elevator is still used.

Arabic lettering speaks of its last assignment.

M1070, everything is simply laid out and rugged.

Oshkosh is headquartered in the Wisconsin town of the same name.

A rolling water tank.

Nature puts on a show.

Look way up…

Filed under “this means business”…

It ain’t pretty.

A contrast of modern and old.

It’s a mobile fire fighter on the farm.

Not to be left out, the mighty BIGDoer-mobile.

When it’s time to work.

This old McLaughlin Buick.

It was the Rum Runner’s car of choice.

Sticker is from 1949 and speaks of an event attended by this car.

Last light of the day.

Practising night photography (needs a bit of work).