Federal 604

[Brent Delaney]

Thats just beautiful, note the M816 in front now thats class.

[Brent Delaney]

Got to remember they are only rated as a 20 ton tank transporter Gordon.

I think the Valentine was there limit on a combination using the single row of eight semi trailer.

[phoenix]

Gordon, from what I can tell they were used in pretty small numbers here (I think australia had 24 delivered), as for the how and why vs other equipment, federal was a reasonably small company, I don't know what their production output was like. No idea how it stacked up either, but gearing wise I think in stock form the max speed was only about 30 mph.

[Brent Delaney]

They had 10.27:1 ratio diffs, commonly called the million milers
There top speed was limited for this reason.

[Les Freathy]

Some good info on the Federal in this thread in particular i like the coloured shots in Vietnam

Two shots here the first shows the tractor and trailer on evaluation in the U.S the second a demobbed tractor with a heavier rated civvy trailer in Tasmania around 1970. The contractor is a M.J Tate earthmoving contractor
Les

[Les Freathy]

2nd

[phoenix]

Isn't fate a fickle thing

Les, that second pic of the vehicle in tasmania is the very vehicle that Geoff is restoring. It had an extra axle added some time after that, and they used it to tow a couple of very large dozers around.

Don't supose you have any more photos of the tasmanian one?

[phoenix]

I just found this old thread with some federal information and images.

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...?threadid=1533

So what is the relation between the Reo 28XS and the Federal 604? Same vehicle with 2 makers or is there more differences?

[cliff]

Originally posted by phoenix


So what is the relation between the Reo 28XS and the Federal 604? Same vehicle with 2 makers or is there more differences?

They were built to the same specifications similar to the way the GMC-CCKW and Studebaker US6 were built to the same specifications.

Same truck but minor different looks and makers/names.

Cheers
Cliff

[Lang]

I think you will find the Federal 604 was quite different to the Federal 605-606/Reo 29XS ? The 604 is often confused with the Diamond T tank transporter (in fact I seem to recall Centurians being hauled around by convoys of mixed Federals and Diamond T's back in the early 60's). Maybe some ex tanky or transport fellow can confirm that.

Shephard Transport in Queensland had a fleet of both Federal and Diamond T in the early 60's carting mineral sand bags from Southport to Brisbane (All day for a 150km return trip)

I have owned a Federal 606 and it is a HUGE vehicle - much bigger external dimensions than the 604. Distinguishable by the extreme height, flat front radiator and especially the air suspension units sticking up on the front bumper.

My 606 was an ex airforce (RAAF/USAAC?) recovery crane. It had been re-engined with a 671 GM and was an absolute delight to drive. Steering was fingertip control and your mother-in-law could change gears without crashing. Needed a football field to turn around in, first gear was under 1/2mph but it got along as fast as a GMC in top. Cab(hard top) was so wide a passenger could easily sit outside! the driver. Wish I still had it.

Lang

[Lang]

Further to 604/606 comparison you can see both clearly above in Cliff's photo of the camo RAAF semi and the transporter above. Note how much more massive is the front axle on the 606, larger wheels etc.

Lang

[Steve Guthrie]

Hi there

This photo is from the book 'A Soldier's View'. It shows a 604 and 20-ton trailer issued to 3rd Field Park Coy, RCE in Normandy.

Notice the placement of the markings on both the tool box and the rear of the cab near the roof.

Steve

[Lang]

Photo of my Federal 606 about 1983. Fellow in photo is over 6 feet tall!

Lang

[Lang]

Photo 2

[Lang]

For a size comparison beside a Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton and a Blitz.

Lang

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Restored Federal 606 Wrecker at the Overloon Museum, The Netherlands. Awesome truck!


(click here to see large size scan)

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Unrestored Federal 606 in Denmark or Sweden, not sure of it.
Source: http://www.dmkf.dk/gallerier/Sherman_M74/forside.htm

[phoenix]

Maybe we need to split off the federal 606 replies into a new thread about them

[Lang]

Hanno,

Just received the magazine with the nice Federal 606 article and photos. Thanks for that.

Lang

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Lang
Just received the magazine with the nice Federal 606 article and photos. Thanks for that.

Lang,

My pleasure!

Hanno

[Al Nickolson]

Hi Steve Guthrie,

Regarding the photo from the book 'A Soldier's View'. I found the same photo in my uncles photo album. Small world! I've attached another photo that appears to have been taken at the same time.

Al

[Noel Burgess]

Just got a copy of "Breakdown" by Brian Baxter (REME Museum) on loan from my local Library - in this he states that 604/Trailmobile combinations were sent to Egypt in 1941 or 1942 (quoting from memory - at work right now) as Tank Transporters because of the shortage of same but were not well regarded as the payload was too small. Also states that some units had a 15cwt body fixed on the swan neck for tool storage - so this was before they were supplied with tool boxes there.

So they were used by the British........?

But were they used by the British in NW Europe? this thread seems to imply that only the Canadians used them (as Engineer Equipment carriers) in '44 and '45

[Burts.22]

Thank you all for the wonderfull reading on this forum!
I finally registrated, here is my first contribution to this subject, allthough it is not a Federal 604 but a 606.

Best regards,
Burts.22

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Burts.22
Thank you all for the wonderfull reading on this forum!
I finally registrated, here is my first contribution to this subject, allthough it is not a Federal 604 but a 606.

Burts.22, welcome to this forum and thanks for contributing a picture.

But, please use your real name here. We are a friendly bunch and like to know who we are dealing with in real life.

Thanks!

Hanno

[Burts.22]

Hello Hanno, thank you for your welcome!
My name is Bertus Land, I live in Huizen, in Holland.
I am 51 years old and a project-engineer by trade and I am working for the world-leader in pumps and pump controls.
I have a wife and a son of 10 years old.

I have a background with ex-military vehicles because the company were my father worked for more than 30 years made use of ex-US military vehicles untill appr. 1980 and even later.


Because of the link with the Federal 604/606 I thought, well OK, I worked on them, even ride with it!
Let's contribute, I have been visiting this forum at least a year and enjoying it.

With best regards,
Burts.22

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Burts.22
I have a background with ex-military vehicles because the company were my father worked for more than 30 years made use of ex-US military vehicles untill appr. 1980 and even later.

That's interesting to hear, Bertus. Is the Federal one of those trucks? Any more pics you can share with us?

Thanks,
Hanno

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Lang
Just received the magazine with the nice Federal 606 article and photos.

Lang, I think this is the same Federal 606, pictured at Beltring in 2002 (source).

H.

[Burts.22]

Hallo Hanno, thank you for your reply, and for the nice picture of the 606 at Beltring.

To start at the beginning, I was surrounded, in my youth from the age of 10 by a huge arsenal of ex-US/Canadian military vehicles that were used in a civilian construction company in the Netherlands.

The construction company was called "Kuiper en Leeuwenkamp" and they had 2 offices, one was in Petten NH and the other was in Monster ZH. The company was biased to coastal work, called in dutch "Kust en Oeverwerken" and most of their work was done on the salty shores of the coast of Holland.

I started working with this company, in the workshop as a grease monkey during holidays and later on as a "leerling-monteur grondverzet&wegenbouwmachines via het SBW, in English a trainee mechanic earthmoving and roadbuilding equipment.

At that time, around 1970, there were the following vehicles still in everday use:
GMC CCKW- all with Ford Diesel and Nooteboom/Netam tipper
GMC DUKW - all original except a wooden floor up on the rear to carry large stones, ther were at one time at least 10 of them. (in Hollands stortsteen genoemd)
Diamond T - all original with Pasal dragline and Samofa diesel engine, Pasal stands for Gebroeders v/d Pas Alkmaar, there were at least 3 or 4 of these.
Mack 6X6 with Priestman dragline, one of them had the slewing gear of a dutch torpedoboat (ex-US Navy)
Diamond and White halftracks- also with original engine, hercules JXD, and at least one with a Pasal dragline.
Reo SXS- original engine with a Ruston or Priestman dragline, not shure off at this moment.
Quickway dragline mounted on a original CCKW chassis with a original half cab.
Federal 606, my favorite and the cause of me podting here, they had at least 2 of them, huge trucks, I remember quitte clearly that we had one them outside the workshop, they were to big, or the workshop too small, wich was running roughly, and the senior mechanic decided we had to take one of the cyl heads off, there are two cyl heads on the engine of a Federal 606, when we finally took the cyl head off, the top half of a piston was completly missing, but the engine started running anyway!

Later on the REO's came in and they replaced the CCKW's as the Terberg N800/1000/1200 replaced the REO's.
About that time hydraulic excavators like Atlas and Liebherr replaced the draglines.
Diesel engines replaced the petrol engines.
The last DUKW's were phased out in 1980, alltough I remember that we went to Normandy and bought 2 brandnew, allthough at least 35 years old, DUKW's all original and used them throughout 1985, in the end the costs of maintenance and refusal of the innsurance company put a end to it.

We also used, not being of WW2 vintage, FWD Terracruisers, Austin Champ, Dodge,Bedford, etc.

Since my father died in 2002 I have in my possesion a huge amount of photo's and negative's. The photo's, most off them being at least from 1952 onwards are discoloured due to ageing, the negative's are in better condition, some are sticky.

I am intending to scan all the negative's digital, my scanner can't work with analog photo negative's so I am looking to buy a good scanner that will do the job.

Also I am doing some research and will try to visit some people who worked with my father from early on, and try to get storys and pictures on tape/scane, so I can contribute on a bit of history of the ressurection of Holland after WW2, (wederopbouw).

There were many more civilian construction companys that used EX-WW2 equipment and vehicles in the neighbourhood when I was young, like Kubbe-Den Helder, P.Daalder-Alkmaar, PJB Brugman-Petten, Meereboer-Schoorl, Twisk&Bosman-Limmen.

When I worked for Arie Hak Pijpleidingen in the sahara in 1982-1984 we had a Caterpillar D7/3TSP crawler with a history that dated back to 1944 and a fleet of so-called SNO-CATS that were EX-US from Antartica, being a Caterpillar D8 drivetrain on a extended Caterpillar D9 chassis.

Keep those Federal 606 pictures coming!

With best regards, Bertus.

[Les Freathy]

A further pic of a Federal 604 in Australia, that seems to be astrange position for the rear view mirror. Loking at the distance of the tank trailer there must be others in between

[Les Freathy]

My good friend in australia Laurie Wright sent me this photo a number of years ago of a trailer under going test with the army, it was apparently designed to carry scrapers and graders. That is some arrangement on the coupling