Doug Hamilton’s machine memories (Part Four)

by Nick Drew | Tue 04 Jun 2019

Doug Hamilton’s machine memories (Part Four)

Continuing with our new series featuring the memoirs and archive photographs of retired plant man Doug Hamilton who now lives in Canada

In this post we present more photos from Doug’s working period on the M3 with Larry Webb, not many words on this from Doug, but I will do my best to describe the action. The 1960’s and early 70’s as seen in these photos, were a golden era for motor scraper use in the UK.

Two manufacturers dominated the scraper market in those days, Caterpillar and Terex/Euclid. In this shot a Terex TS24 motor scraper is getting the obligatory shove up the backside from a Caterpillar D9 dozer.

In some of the more rock laden areas of the cut where scrapers would not have been suitable, Larry Webb deployed German built (Orenstein & Koppel) O&K RH25 hydraulic face shovels fitted with 3-cubic yard buckets.

In this application the venerable Caterpillar 769 was the “go to” dumptruck of choice, a perfect partner for the O&K face shovels.

It wasn’t all Cat dumptrucks on the M3 job though and Doug was soon getting re-acqauinted with another International 180 Payhauler a four-wheel-drive 45-tonne class rigid hauler, similar to the one he had operated on the Plympton bypass job in Devon previously.

The sheep’s foot compactor, like this possible Cat 814, have remained pretty much the same over the years, but thankfully these days most are fitted with a fully protective cab unlike this one where the operator was exposed to everything.

Accident’s on these jobs were quite common, but there was generally none of the fuss we face these days, the truck or machine would be pulled up checked over and off it would go again! In this shot it appears that a 769 has flipped over, but is in the process of being recovered.

Lastly for this post, great old shot here featuring what looks like a Caterpillar 977K about to load another 769 dumptruck, as a D8H pushes material down to the loader. It looks like the lads are having that all important on site “craic” before pushing on again.

Another instalment of Doug’s photos and memories to come next week.

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