Story and tales about the creation of Rigid Blackhoe
A rigid backhoe loader (loader backhoe or digger backhoe) is a multifunctional construction machine for earth moving and the most common kind of backhoe loaders. Like an articulated backhoe loader it's usually a wheel tractor equipped with a front shovel/bucket a small rear backhoe and stabilizers.
The difference between a backhoe loader and a farm tractor is also the lack of power take-off on the former. A backhoe loader doesn't perform the tow function either. Unlike the articulated backhoe loader the rigid one's bodywork has front and rear wheels set on a common frame with no articulation joints between them.
Backhoe loaders in general originate from agricultural tractors fitted with earth moving tools. The first so equipped tractor is said to have been built by Whitlock Bros. from Essex (England) who in 1951 attached the backhoe to a Fordson Major tractor. After a year a hydraulic loader was added. In 1953 Jonh Cyril Bamford the founder of JCB built his own attachment to a tractor. In fact JCB built the first rigid backhoe loader in 1958 but isn't the inventor of backhoes in general.
Rigid backhoe
The late years of Rigid Blackhoe
Another manufacturer Hy-Dynamic built in 1970 a backhoe loader with a four-wheel drive what increased the vehicle's mobility. Like an excavator and a loader a rigid backhoe loader can work with different fittings: buckets hydraulic hammers shears grapples pallet forks etc. Apart from versatility another advantage of backhoe loaders is manoeuvrability and possibility to move either on public roads or rough terrain.
The most important manufacturers of rigid backhoe loaders and other heavy equipment are: Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Case, Caterpillar, Fiat, Hitachi, Hydrema, JCB, John Deere, Komatsu, Mahindra, New Holland, Terex, Volvo and Yanmar.
Case backhoes, JCB, used Rigid Backhoes
