Appearing at a time when the popularity of small elevating scrapers was on the rise, the Terex S-11E entered a highly competitive field of machines and, ultimately, did quite well for itself.
The S-11E was not the first small elevating scraper that Terex, (formerly Euclid), had offered, that honour belongs to the company’s model S-7 that was adapted to use an elevating scraper bowl manufactured by Hancock Manufacturing in place of the normal open bowl.
Introduced in 1964, this combination was known as the S-7/Hancock, and it held 12 cubic yards.
A separate General Motors 2-71, 2-cylinder diesel mounted at the rear of the scraper bowl powered the elevator mechanism via a long drive shaft.
The 2-71 engine was not connected to the machines rear axle, and only powered the elevator.
While this combination was reasonably efficient, it was not ideal and Euclid made some changes to make the system more effective resulting in the model S-12E, which first appeared in 1967.
This machine was only manufactured for a scant two years before being pulled from production due to low sales.
When the time came to replace the S-7/12E2 combination, Euclid, now called Terex, again turned to Hancock to supply elevator components. This saved Terex considerable amounts of money in R&D costs, (and money which GM’s Terex division did not have at the time).
A word about Hancock
Hancock was one of the pioneers of elevating scrapers having produced its first unit in 1956.
As well as supplying elevating scraper bowls to Euclid/Terex, the company also manufactured elevating scraper bowls for other manufacturers, the likes of Allis-Chalmers, Clark, Wabco, & MRS to mention a few.
Hancock also designed and built its own complete machines. The company was bought outright by Clark Equipment in 1966.
Enter the S-11E
Hancock had just the machine for Terex – its model 292 (also sold by Clark-Michigan as its model 110-11).
Painted Terex Green and featuring a new Dana transmission (a change recommended by GM), the ‘new’ model S-11E (16UOT-94SH series) was introduced to the contracting world in 1969.
The Terex S-11E was powered by a General Motors model 4-71N, 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated diesel engine rated at 144 flywheel horsepower, coupled to a Dana-Spicer 5-speed powershift transmission.
An Eaton differential and Clark planetary final drives completed the powertrain.
This was somewhat of a radical departure for Terex, which normally used its own axles, final drives, and Allison powershift transmissions. But, one has to remember that the S-11E was a ‘bought’ machine, manufactured by another supplier.
Expanding shoe air brakes provided the stopping power. Steering was fully hydraulic, 90° degrees in each direction and had torque multiplier linkages similar to Caterpillar’s 613. Standard tyre was a 23.5×25 16ply E2, but other options were available.
The bowl
Rated at 11 cubic yards, the S-11E’s bowl was of standard Hancock layout with external box stiffened bowl sides, a fixed cutting edge base, and retractable floor with bulldozer ejector.
The fixed blade base gave the bowl considerable strength and held a four piece cutting edge that could be equipped with four removable teeth.
A 15-flight elevator powered by a 2-speed vane type hydraulic motor operated the elevator.
Ready for action, a Terex S-11E weighed approximately 16 tons empty and at only eight feet wide, was legally roadable.
Into service
Unfortunately for Terex, by the time it introduced the S-11E, the 11 cubic yard elevating scraper market was very well populated with other brands, many of which had been in the elevating scraper game considerably longer than Terex and offered comparable, if not superior, machines.
As well as having to compete with Clark/Hancock – the S-11E’s manufacturer – there was Wabco, John Deere, Caterpillar, and International Harvester to contend with, and all built a good elevating scraper.
Despite this setback, sales of the S-11E were sufficient enough for Terex to keep it on the books for four years before an upgrade was considered necessary to keep pace with the competition.
Time to upgrade – the S-11E series B
An upgraded model, the S-11E series B (18UOT-101SH series) was introduced in 1973 (concurrent with Hancock’s model 292B).
Changes from the original model S-11E included disc brakes (replacing the former show type), a strengthened elevator frame, and replacement of the former model’s vane driven elevator motor with an infinitely variable hydrostatic drive motor.
This permitted the new S-11EB to load far more aggressively that the former S-11E as the motor could adapt on the go to changes in the material being loaded.
The most noticeable change however, was the bowl assembly that was changed from a single plate outside braced design to one that was constructed of oblong box sections welded together, with no external stiffeners resulting in a very smooth look.
An insulated all weather cab could be fitted if required by the purchaser.
Despite all these changes, empty weight was commendably kept to around 16 tons.
End of the line
Unfortunately for Terex, even with all the improvements, the S-11E series B sold in unremarkable numbers and was subsequently dropped from the Terex sales catalogue by late 1977. Terex concentrating its sales efforts on the larger model S-23E and S-35E elevating scrapers.
Terex has not offered a small elevating scraper since.
The Terex S-11E in New Zealand
Terex franchise holder Clyde Engineering imported a total of 18 S-11E’s – 12 of the original 16UOT model, and six of the 18UOT series B machines.
The first machine was sold to H Allen Mills in early 1971, and the last, an S-11E series B, went to East Coast Contractors.
Other users included Cross Contracting (who had several), Pool Bros, Neil Construction, Fernhill Sand and Shingle, GW Agnew and Greg Lamb, just to name a few.
For the model collector
Unfortunately, no model manufacturer has seen fit to offer a model in any scale of Terex’s little 11 yard elevating scraper, so if you want one in your collection, it will be a scratch building job.
Parting words from Jeremy Sole- a final column