International Drott BTD6, crawler loader, 1963, VWC 587

Drott became the generic term for small crawler loaders like these. The machine type had originated about 1930 but it was developed with hydraulic controls during the Second World War. This machine is the same model as the first BTD6s imported from the United States after the Second World War.

This particular Drott was used by various contractors and plant hire firms in Essex from 1963. It would have been used in excavations and would have been transported to different sites via a tilt trailer towed to a truck.