Yes I fondly remember both Charlie Woodward and Charlie Barrett they were the drivers of the Alis-Chalmers dozers I spoke about when I first joined. They both went on to being Crane drivers. Both had Ex RAF Thornycroft 5 ton cranes and then progressed onto new fangled Coles hydraulic cranes.
This is a long one
Talking of being a young lad and loading up the low loader, when I was with Bob on the Foden I was in my teens I prided myself in being able to drive any machine that we had to load onto the wagon. It was always my job to hop into all the driverless machines or machines that the drivers weren’t confident enough to either side load or put them up the ramps at the back with half the tracks or wheels hanging off the side of the trailer (there was a drop off the trailer of about two and a half feet). When I say machines I mean things like the 22RBs, Bulldozers the old Blawknox spreaders, Whetherall? Loaders etc. We used to find that especially the 22RB drivers were specialist at operating the machines in the pit but when it came to a bit of precise manoeuvring with a big drop either side of the trailer they would very often decide that, it wasn’t their thing, so I would do it.
Whenever we took a 22RB to Stanton Harcourt we would have to go through Eynsham. The B4449 wasn’t built in those days so we had to go around the T junction of High street and Station road. To get around the corner we would have to stop, unchain the jib and while Bob drove round the junction I would get up in the 22 and slew the jib to stop it hitting the buildings, I can’t imagine H&S allowing something like that nowadays.
PRIDE BEFORE A FALL
On a similar vein of how good I was, we had been called to Sutton Courtney to transport an urgent most important machine up North to one of the motorways being constructed.
This load was a smallish machine that I believe Ameys had either purchased from America or had developed themselves. It was unique in that it was the only one of its type in Britain the first of its kind, it was a breakthrough in its field.
This machine had like a hopper on the top and other sort of bits and bobs and why it was revolutionary and was needed so urgently was that it was the first machine that you could stick asphalt in the top and it would produce a continuous kerb stone out of the bottom for putting alongside the new motorways, instead of using pre made concrete kerbstones.
There was no crane available at that moment to load this machine so we took the matter into our own hands and like the expert I was (as explained above) I jumped into one of the available loading shovels and we (Bob and I) chained it up to the underside of the front bucket. This worked almost perfectly, we had a bit of a struggle to get the height required but with a bit of pushing and pulling got it into position. Bob indicated for me to lower it down and (I’m sure it couldn’t have been my fault) but the bucket went down just slightly to far and it bugerd the machine, All hell to play went up, I didn’t get the sack but almost.
davidcox:
Yes I fondly remember both Charlie Woodward and Charlie Barrett they were the drivers of the Alis-Chalmers dozers I spoke about when I first joined. They both went on to being Crane drivers. Both had Ex RAF Thornycroft 5 ton cranes and then progressed onto new fangled Coles hydraulic cranes.
Hi David ,yes those things always seemed too high off the ground for me but they were around for along time on Ameys , getting back to the road planers- did you move these very often ,they were quite long and looked difficult to manage . found some pics to post as a reminder
1
toshboy:
davidcox:
Yes I fondly remember both Charlie Woodward and Charlie Barrett they were the drivers of the Alis-Chalmers dozers I spoke about when I first joined. They both went on to being Crane drivers. Both had Ex RAF Thornycroft 5 ton cranes and then progressed onto new fangled Coles hydraulic cranes.Hi David ,yes those things always seemed too high off the ground for me but they were around for along time on Ameys , getting back to the road planers- did you move these very often ,they were quite long and looked difficult to manage . found some pics to post as a reminder
Coles
planer in build ,powered by Perkins P6
planer on test
toshboy:
planer on test
another
Ivor
You know I don’t think we used to carry the planer around. Looking at it, it would take an awfully long ramp to get that on the back, due to the low ground clearance. I’m pretty sure they used to drive the things on their own steam from job to job.
Ref your Thorneycroft picture, when They were moved from Sutton to Wootton to form the plant hire section along with the 30 and 15 toner Coles cranes and of course the low loaders. There were three Thorneycroft 5 toners the one Charlie Woodward had had a fly jib that hinged around and extended the jib buy about 10ft Charlie Barrett’s had a telescopic jib that you had to mechanical wind out and pin in position and Bob (Aubrey lived in Long Witenham) ? forgot his name had a fixed jib which I think is the one in your picture.
Looking at the heavy engineering shop building a new planer (I always want to say plan er rather than plain er) the new offices they built up on stilts at the back of the picture was home to Don Pratley, he was my God Father.
davidcox:
Ivor
You know I don’t think we used to carry the planer around. Looking at it, it would take an awfully long ramp to get that on the back, due to the low ground clearance. I’m pretty sure they used to drive the things on their own steam from job to job.Ref your Thorneycroft picture, when They were moved from Sutton to Wootton to form the plant hire section along with the 30 and 15 toner Coles cranes and of course the low loaders. There were three Thorneycroft 5 toners the one Charlie Woodward had had a fly jib that hinged around and extended the jib buy about 10ft Charlie Barrett’s had a telescopic jib that you had to mechanical wind out and pin in position and Bob (Aubrey lived in Long Witenham) ? forgot his name had a fixed jib which I think is the one in your picture.
Looking at the heavy engineering shop building a new planer (I always want to say plan er rather than plain er) the new offices they built up on stilts at the back of the picture was home to Don Pratley, he was my God Father.
David
Thinking back (a very long way) i can remember following one of those plane -ers ? and they used to fit large road wheels for transit and could get a move on -again those solids would hardly have been suitable. Don Pratley yes of course ,very sad that he died at a young age - first came across him when he drove the Dozer (assuming there was not another Pratley on Ameys) Later to run the new heavy shop( Don/Shirley) which then next to the Premix shop ( Ted Bond/Valery ) he was also a speedway supporter and when i was driving coaches i used to pick him up in Dry Sandford on a Thursday evening for Oxford stadium. -ivor
Ivor
Yes that was ‘my’ Don Pratley. My Dad Fred was a big speedway fan as well, we used to go quite regulary to Oxford and Swindon to watch.
It was funny as last night I suddenly had a recolection moment and could remember seeing them change the solid tyres for large lorry tyres, and as you say they could get along at quite a lick.
The tight bit in Eynsham would be the junction of Acre End and Station Road. The Swan inn is on the left and the Railway Inn was on the opposite side. Then down to the railway station and over the level crossing (now the roundabout).
I remember ARC digging out the large lake at Dixs’ adjacent to Smiths pit. Henry was on the ARC knavvy and Vic Griffin drove the Priestman Lion for Smiths. Smiths had an earlier model Lion that was used for digging type 2 (and as a spare) and there was also a scrapped Priestman Cub dumped up near Smiths wash plant. I used to play in this when out with Dad on Saturdays.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned earlier in the thread but anyone remember bomb disposals’ visits to Stanton?
Muckaway
It was a bit tight getting a long and wide wagon around there especially with 30 ft of navvy jib sticking out the back. The Ruston Bucyrus 22 in those days was all leavers to operate it, none of these new fangled joysticks.
Talking of mishaps with 22 RBs we were going North through Brackley (on the old road through the town) and at the top of the town there was a sharp S-bend over the railway near the woodyard. On the second part of the bend going sharp left, the chain holding the jib must have slipped off because as we went round the bend the cab and jib swung around at right angles across the road! Good job nothing was going the other way.
David, that Priestman Cub was all levers (like a signalbox) not sure about the first Lion but the second was on two, plus the clutches obviously.
Did you find that knavvy drivers were a rare breed? Often seen as cantankerous and unwilling to show anyone else how to drive them. I worked with one at Smiths late '90s early 2000s and he wouldn’t show me how to drive the “new” Lion which was only a backup machine by then. At the time there was an instructor doing plant tickets in the pit so I went on the long reach excavator. If you google Priestman VC 20-15 you’ll see one. Excavator controls but with winches, hydraulic bucket, and moving counterweight. I swung over the screener with a bucketfull and missed the hopper…I forgot to drive it like a knavvy and to tip the bucket just as I came to the hopper. 
Right infront of the contracts gang who were soil stripping just yards away. 
A chap who used to do relief truck and machine driving locally told me that he was working at a Derbyshire quarry when it was realised that the navvy driver was retiring in a day or two and nobody else knew how to operate it. This lad was ‘volunteered’ for the job, he told me that he sat at the controls and the operator sat behind him, conversation was impossible so when he pulled the wrong lever he got hit on the hand with a stick! After a days tuition he had hands swollen like a boxers but could operate a navvy!
Pete.
Muckaway
I think the operators had that sort of attitude 1/ because they were used to working on their own all day and 2/ they guarded their skill jealously to ensure they were indispensable.
They were all done with winch cables back in the day whether it was the dragline or solid jib with a bucket that hinged either forward or back.
I remember the jockey seats in the knavvys Pete, as a nipper I sat on it whilst it was loading Dad with type 2 (the truck you drove) and you’re right they were deafening.
Muckaway:
I remember the jockey seats in the knavvys Pete, as a nipper I sat on it whilst it was loading Dad with type 2 (the truck you drove) and you’re right they were deafening.
Hiya Nathan, Happy New Year to you and the Family ! I once knew a bloke called Ted Fryer who lived in Kendal ( He’s working the big pit in the sky now!) but he had been a drag line driver all over the UK in years gone by and it was said he could pick a “tanner” ( a sixpence in old money) up with a drag line. Don’t how true this was but he was reputed to be a top man on a drag line ! Bit like yourself mate with one of your lad Callum’s Tonkas !! Cheers Dennis.
Muckaway:
I remember the jockey seats in the knavvys Pete, as a nipper I sat on it whilst it was loading Dad with type 2 (the truck you drove) and you’re right they were deafening.
So…
How’s your tinnitus?
John
John West:
Muckaway:
I remember the jockey seats in the knavvys Pete, as a nipper I sat on it whilst it was loading Dad with type 2 (the truck you drove) and you’re right they were deafening.So…
How’s your tinnitus?
John
Ten past 6.