Standard Series
Jordan "Standard" Series
The
"standard" line of Jordan Spreaders was introduced in the
early 1900s as a step up from the early "scissors style"
spreaders. The history of this type of spreader is very hard to
produce an accurate time line but all details will be covered here.
Early versions of this spreader featured an all steel, riveted
chassis. Later models used an all welded one. Also used on early
models was the cylinder for the bank sloper, originally it was a
small one, mounted all the way at the front, later ones had it
mounted in the center and used a cable attached the the cylinder to
raise and lower it, the weight of the blade would pull it down, and
air pressure would raise it. Later models used a larger cylinder
attached in the center of the wing and was attached to a rod,
directly to the bank sloper. Early models had no cab. Later examples were marketed with a cab which was now
three feet raised above the chassis and provided more visibilty for
the operators. Also now a stock item was the pneumatically controlled
air locks. These featured a plunger that locks into a gear rack on a
cylinder. These were always in the lock position until the operator
stepped on a pedal in the cab sending air pressure which raised the
plunger. These were very strong and held all the load the wing would
be pushing. A single cylinder would open and close the wing which was
mounted under the cab. The front blades were also powered by a
cylinder. The high snowplow models used a front cylinder mounted at a
23 degree angle and all others used a verticle mounted one. The
cylinder was attached to a cable on the high blades, and a chain on
low blades that lowered the rear edge of the plow in conjunction with
the front at the same time.
A catalog photo of an early welded 2-150. From the collection of
John C. LaRue Jr.
Early variations of this spreader featured the vertical post
cylinders mounted at the top of the braces just in front of the cab,
with the later ones mounted at the bottom. Also on the early models
was a vertical air tank, although this was most likely an option for
the buyer. Some also featured a lower angle on the nose blade (for
the high snowplow models), although not too many had this, thus it
may have also been an option. The model 2-200 featured a high front
snowplow and also articulated wings. The front snowplow was used in
the winter for clearing snow, and can clear very large drifts. It can
also be modified for sumertime use, being that the upper half of the
blade can be removed and provide better visibilty for for ballast
work. The model 2-180 also featured articulated wings, but had a
small front blade used for ballast service, and light snow plowing.
The model 2-150 used straight wings, and the small ballast blade for
use in spreading ballast and light snow. The model 2-250 had straight
wings, but had the high snowplow. Spreaders with the articulated
wings provided much greater control. These had options for a ditch
casting, which could be custom built for each road. This would be
used for cutting a unified ditch along the right of way. This would
work in conjuntion with the bank sloper (the articulated portion of
the blade).
The
standard line also had the option of the carry wing. This would be
when the bank sloper was swung foward and attached to a brace mounted
on the vertical post. This would be used for dragging material and
fill. All of the standard models had the option of ice cutters, which
are thick teeth mounted to a brace that attached to the nose plow,
which could be used to dig out frozen packed solid ice. On the models
with high snowplows, another option was for the door to get to the
truck bearings, you could either have one large one, or a pair of
smaller ones. The diagonal brace on the standard series was the same
on all models, mounted from the vertical post, to the end of the
wing. Some of the original standard models were rebuilt from original
scissor style machines, with their chassis lengthened and new wings
and braces added.
