Pictured here in 1931 is an Adams #10 road grader at work in Banff National Park.
The park became a reality in 1885 and as expansion occurred, the necessity of better roads became a priority to attract tourism.
During both the First World War and the Second World War, internment camps were set up in Banff Park and the internees helped with road work.
During the Depression era, many public works projects also put men to work building and maintaining roads within the park.
This Adams #10 grader was part of the fleet of Crown Paving & Construction headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The J.D. Adams Manufacturing Ltd. main plant was in Indianapolis, but had several branch plants including one in Paris, Ontario through the 1970s.
Many local Ontario contractors and municipalities preferred Paris-built Adams graders along with the Goderich-built Champions graders.
HCEA Canada has restored a 1929 Adams #10 grader that was originally bought by Towland Construction of London, Ontario. Powered by a 10-20 McCormick-Deering 4-cylinder gas engine it took several hundred volunteer hours to get it into excellent working order.
Be sure to see the grader in action at one of HCEA Canada’s 2019 events held at the Simcoe County Museum.
This article is provided by the Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) Canada. HCEA Canada is a Proud Community Heritage Partner of the Simcoe County Museum.
