QUICK FACTS

Model: Jet Star 3 Super
Built: 1972
Builder: Minneapolis-Moline (Motec Industries), Minneapolis, MN
Past Railroad Owners: Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
Current Owner: TOYX, Inc.

This backhoe was built in 1972 by Motec Industries, the reorganized successor to the Minneapolis-Moline Company. The Jet Star 3 Super was the last in a line of farm tractors built by the company, which expanded its offerings and adopted its tractors to make backhoes and other light industrial equipment. It is powered by a 3.4 liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine producing 44 horsepower.

Little is known about the backhoe’s history, but it is believed that it came from either the New York State Thruway or a regular highway department. After a brief ownership by a private individual, it was acquired by the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum in Lenox, Massachusetts and used for a number of years before being deemed surplus when the museum acquired a larger machine. After some friends in the preservation industry made the necessary connections, TOYX purchased the backhoe in operating condition in March of 2024. It arrived in Port Jervis on April 6, 2024.

Unfortunately, the backhoe suffered a major mechanical failure on October 6, 2024. TOYX is currently exploring options to either repair or dispose of this piece.