Old Toledo Scale for Weighing Trucks

[toasterburn]

Found this scale at a yardsale today. The seller said she rescued it from an old BF Goodrich plant that was being torn down, and that it was used for weighing trucks. I picked it up because I thought it had a cool look, and it was transportation related. It's rated for 140,000 lbs!

Anybody know any more about these?

http://imgur.com/a/QVyOR

http://imgur.com/a/xm8Pt

 

[Provincial]

It is just the indicator head. The scale itself is a large deck supported on knife-edge bearings that uses a series of levers to move the needle on your item.

Solid state load cells have taken over the scale industry. At one time, balance beam scales like this one were being converted to electronic readout by putting the cell on the output lever of the scale. This allowed using printers linked to the output and also storing the data on a computer. Nowdays, loadcells are used to directly measure the weight.

The balance beam weighbridges are now being repurposed as short span bridges for private use. As you pointed out, they are very sturdy and are also pretty easy to install.

You have a nice conversation piece. Mount it with a large square of tile in front of it, install a hidden remote control that moves the needle, and have your guests stand on the square. Tweak the readout to make them feel good or bad about their weight!