D-4 Type Caterpillar Tractor - Peoria International Airport - Peoria, IL - Old Tractors on Waymarking.com

In Peoria's Peoria International Airport, is an old tractor on display in the public area of the terminal.

The airport is located southwest of the city's center near the suburb of Bartonville. From I-474, take the exit for Airport Road, then follow the signs to the airport. Once you park, enter the main door of the terminal and turn immediately left. It's right there as you enter the baggage claim and car rental area.

The tractor is on a pedestal about 2 feet high. It is painted in standard construction (CAT) yellow and black tracks. It is complete and in good shape. The tractor is a relatively small model for Caterpillar - about 12 ft long and a seat for one.

There are a couple places with information about this machine.

One has the following text:

"1940s-era Caterpillar D4 Track-Type Tractor

It was never offered for sale. It didn't meet engineering specifications. It doesn't even have a serial number. But this tractor may have been the most important one of its day because it helped Caterpillar radically increase production capacity during World War II.

From 1942 to 1945, the company doubled its workforce, operated seven days a week, placed women in foundary and assembly-line jobs, manufactured special products, trained enlisted men and built approximately 51,000 track=type tractors for the military.

East Peoria factory workers built this tractor entirely out of spare parts to keep raw material, parts and the production line moving. And their machine kept working at the plant for years after the emergency that led to its creation.

This unique Caterpillar D4 tractor was refurbished in 2000 and displayed at the Caterpillar Technical Center near Mossville, Illinois, until it was moved to 2011 to the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport.

It's still not perfect. Its a whole lot better than that."

The other sign has the following:

"Whether you travel the world for business or pleasure, coming home can often be the best part of the journey. Maybe it's the way a well-traveled road climbs a hill or how the sun comes up over familiar surroundings. It's family and friends, the community and local traditions that call you back.

And right now, you're standing in ours.

Of course as a global company, Caterpillar has many homes. But Peoria is our world headquarters, and central Illinois is where our history and our future are most visibly entwined.

Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.

But it's not what we make that's important-it's what we make possible: raw materials for a growing world, roads and bridges connecting remote villages to needed resources, and dependable light and power in areas where both are in short supply.

Were committed to making sustainable progress possible - in hometowns everywhere.

Caterpillar."

Engine Type: Internal Combustion Wheel Type: Steel Make: Caterpillar Model: D4 Type [One of a kind - kitbash]

Visit Instructions:
You must include a picture that includes the tractor/engine and your GPSr (and you if possible); The location (coordinates) and the closest town/state/country where you found the tractor/engine; any interesting details about the tractor/engine (Make, Model, Year made, Horsepower, etc); and anything else you find interesting about the location where you found it.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.