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Doug Hamilton’s Machine Memories (Part Seventeen)

“Bill thanks for your last reply there’s obviously nothing wrong with your memory, you mentioned mines, yes you wouldn’t have liked it working in them. I also worked at Island Copper Back in the day in Port Hardy north of the island. It was an open pit, to be honest it helped if you were a zombie”.

“Now I know that’s why when I worked at McIntire mines I would get off the bus walking home I would sway side to side with my head down glad I got out of there, nothing like construction as you always said, at least you were doing something constructive, where you had to think and be part of the team doing the job, far more enjoyable”.

“Now when I was working for Peter Kewitt, they brought these trucks in to work on the dam but they proved to be too big for the job and were only used a couple times. These trucks were 85-ton Euclid’s converted do belly dumps and capable of carrying 120 tons or thereabouts”.

I was working in the gravel pit, this time feeding the hopper for the washing plant, one day two of us got caught in a terrific lightning storm which was striking too close for comfort, the other loader parked up and so did I. One of the foremen for them had been sleeping off yet another hangover in his pick-up truck, jumped out and said “you can’t stop!”.

“We we’re going to wait it out and it eventually passed and we went back to work but the next day we had to go in the site-office, the foreman was there with the safety and union reps, we thought we were going to be torn off a strip I, but the safety rep said, you were quite safe if your feet were on a rubber mat and not on the pedals and your hands not on the controls with your bucket not in the ground otherwise you would’ve been fried he said, fortunately he was on our side and made them look stupid good on him!”.

“Being stuck in the gravel pit I didn’t see much of the job, however occasionally I would be pulled out to run the Cat 992C, that was something else loading 50 ton trucks, I’d learnt by watching you in the past Bill, don’t waste time fill those buckets quickly, two heaped buckets would be a good 50 ton load and being a rock truck driver myself if they didn’t move they had a third bucket which would bury them!”

“I gave up smoking cigars years ago then went to the pipe Peterson with either Condor or Aaronmor Tobacco good old days even they are gone now. Well Bill I hope you have enjoyed my side of the story, between the two of us we’ve moved a lot of dirt over the years and changed the lay of the land somewhat. There’s a big Komatsu 1200-6 loader working at a mine near Hop and a Cat 994 close by, if I get the chance I would like to go and see them and take photos can’t promise but if I do you’ll see them in the future, with 26 cubic yard buckets, they must be something else”.

Photo: Doug's wife Catherine poses in the bucket of a large wheeled loader.

“Like you, I’ve always enjoyed looking at construction pictures and by reading your plant man series on the Digger Man Blog, it really made me want to share mine before it’s too late, and they end up in the garbage can, I hope someday someone would say I was there or my father worked there”.

“Well Bill it’s time to park up, grease, go home and say goodbye it’s been an absolute pleasure you guys take care and bye for now Doug”.

Photo: William Bill Peters (Left) and Doug Hamilton (Right) back in the day. 

EDITORS NOTE.

I’d just like to add, its been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to edit and post both Bill and Doug’s memoirs over the past couple of years. I’m even more delighted that this blog was responsible for putting you both back in touch after all these years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both for your amazing contributions, it really is a shame that it’s come to an end. I wish you both all the very best for the future, cheers Nick.