Muckaway:
One of our drivers is ex Ameys who worked 2 stints at Dixs, Stanton Harcourt; First time he got made redundant when some employed drivers wouldn’t go as ODs so it was cheaper (redundancy pay wise) to lay the younger pit workers off and re-employ the older drivers. He remembers Ron Amey having a Rolls Royce which he’d drive around the pit in. The batching plant at Stanton used to do a lot of drylene which as dug ballast would be put straight into the plant. Mentioning Besselsleigh, Ameys apparently had a yard on the Bessels road into Wooton for many years…
Hi Muckaway.
Trawling through the past posts ,coming back to this one re the drylean concrete…Dix’s pit had a unique natural grading of ARB and with the addition of a calculated amount of single size 20 mm stone was able to achieve the rigorous specification required for drylean and with the bonus of a reduction in cement content to boot ! i know its off topic but a little
technical information can sharpen the brain!!! re the story about the roller sounds about right for RW …he once pull into Sutton pumps to fill up and asked me to do it, i told him the radiator was boiling up …he was most displeased and i was to park it up and call Hartwells to sort it pronto!! (he disappeared into the Asphalt offices …toshboy
Muckaway:
What’s happened to Toshboy? Haven’t seen any posts from him in ages…
Alive and well Nathan, Ameys thread very quiet, dug out a couple of pics recently to keep it going !! seriously i do have other interests …fly fishing–(Barnes lake standlake) Brisca F1 stockers – and the allotment of course .never idle !
thanks for caring ! hope the little one is fine …regards
Barnes’ lake, one of Sands and Gravels old pits? I know of 3T lakes as I’ve delivered road planings in there before the spring season but I don’t know what each of them are called (never went in there as a kid, but I’ve worked with several of their past employees). Callums’ fine, been out with Mummy and his Grandparents today, while Daddy’s been to Duxford Airfield
altitude:
There was Coln Gravel Claydon Pike, on the Lechlade to Fairford road, then there was Poole ( Lechlade ) on the Lechlade to Burford road. This was owned by Ameys, but the lorries ( BMC’s and Albion’s ) that ran out of there were all dark gray, with a plate on the sides of the body, in the Amey yellow with Poole (Lechlade ) painted on it.
Not been out that way for a good 10 years Nathen, but as you came out of Lechlade towards Burford, come over the railway bridge down to the roundabout, and as you came off it towards Burford there was what was left of the old weighbridge on your left, but that was all finised when I ran out of Poole’s in the 60s, the bridge then was a little bit further up the road on the right hand side.
I stopped for afternoon tea ( ) en-route to Kempsford for sand earlier and took some pics of the original Pooles’ Pit;
The old weighbridge can be made out just right of centre and what I assume to be the remains of a plant room slightly left of it.
The next pic is opposite the entrance to the old plant area and was an old haul road, now part of Horseshoe Lake fishery.
This’ll bring back memories for BigG-Unit; Taken from Lechlade Station Bridge in 1961, the field on the left has not been dug out.
This last one taken in 1967, about 5 years after the Witney-Fairford line had closed and shows the field worked out.
altitude:
There was Coln Gravel Claydon Pike, on the Lechlade to Fairford road, then there was Poole ( Lechlade ) on the Lechlade to Burford road. This was owned by Ameys, but the lorries ( BMC’s and Albion’s ) that ran out of there were all dark gray, with a plate on the sides of the body, in the Amey yellow with Poole (Lechlade ) painted on it.
Not been out that way for a good 10 years Nathen, but as you came out of Lechlade towards Burford, come over the railway bridge down to the roundabout, and as you came off it towards Burford there was what was left of the old weighbridge on your left, but that was all finised when I ran out of Poole’s in the 60s, the bridge then was a little bit further up the road on the right hand side.
I stopped for afternoon tea ( ) en-route to Kempsford for sand earlier and took some pics of the original Pooles’ Pit;
The old weighbridge can be made out just right of centre and what I assume to be the remains of a plant room slightly left of it.
The next pic is opposite the entrance to the old plant area and was an old haul road, now part of Horseshoe Lake fishery.
This’ll bring back memories for BigG-Unit; Taken from Lechlade Station Bridge in 1961, the field on the left has not been dug out.
This last one taken in 1967, about 5 years after the Witney-Fairford line had closed and shows the field worked out.
I think we should get you a start on “Time Team” Nathan!! You could cart the spoil away when they are digging!! Cheers Dennis.
Ah, you’re right there Nathan, that brings back memories. wouldn’t mind a quid for every time I worked one of those! Remember getting a few small nuggets of coal on the toolbox, ready for if we saw a pheasant or rabbit alongside the track and on the odd occasion we did smack one, we would stop and the guard would run back and pick it up. Well you could see, as long as you had the staff nothing was coming in that section and them ol’ boys down that way were never bothered to a few minutes here or there. Oh happy days! Thinking about it, a quid was about what I did get every time I worked one of those! (Actually it was about thirty bob or £1. 50p to you younger chaps)
The bottom picture makes you think, might have been a bit short sighted to have let that line go like that. would make a wonderful scenic attraction if running now don’t you think.
Well Faiford station wasn’t far from Kingston Minerals Whelford pit and at the other end of the line George, it would’ve run right past one of our gravel digs for Gill Mill (Smiths re-dug “the Ballaso”) and further up ARC/Hanson dug between Cassington Halt and Yarnton Junction. There was talk of a railhead for use by Hanson to bring in limestone and for M and Ms’ to take away recycled waste from their transfer yard, but that won’t happen now as Hanson have withdrawn their planning application to dig land near Eynsham which would’ve put a belt-line along the old trackbed over the old canal bridge and Evenlode viaduct. Apparently, Hansons’ have got enough reserves now they’ve got permission to dig at Northmoor and use Browns’ pit as the plant area plus Sutton Courtenay; where the hell they keep finding fields over there amazes me as they’ve been there for 40 odd years?
The mothballed concrete plant at Dixs’ Pit, Stanton Harcourt. The conveyor belts have been removed and it must’ve closed in a hurry as the aggregate bins still have some in. The nearby Conbloc plant is in a similar state…
This Volvo was new at The Sandwell Vehicle Show.
It was owned and operated by T & S Element of Oldbury. Now gone.
It used to work out of the Premix plant at Smethwick but could also be seen at ARC at Rowley Regis and Elements sand quarry at the Stewpony
Muckaway:
The mothballed concrete plant at Dixs’ Pit, Stanton Harcourt. The conveyor belts have been removed and it must’ve closed in a hurry as the aggregate bins still have some in. The nearby Conbloc plant is in a similar state…
Hi Nathan ,
Thanks for that pic , a sad ending for what was once my pride and joy— toshboy
chopchop:
This Volvo was new at The Sandwell Vehicle Show.
It was owned and operated by T & S Element of Oldbury. Now gone.
It used to work out of the Premix plant at Smethwick but could also be seen at ARC at Rowley Regis and Elements sand quarry at the Stewpony
Hi Chopchop ,
Welcome to this thread, any pics or stories relating to Amey or Arc are welcome.-----toshboy
Hi Toshboy, the whole area around Dixs’ is desolate now; I was running a mix of green and inert waste into the tip 2 weeks ago and apart from the household site, not much goes on. Weighbridge man said only about 5 council dustcarts use the tip daily (on a good day, a long way from when I can remember them lining up to use the tip) and most of the other waste comes in on ro-ros from skip yards (sorted, non recyclable stuff). I asked how long the tip has left and he said “we’ll be burning it before it fills up”
Maybe the premix plant will be reopened when Hanson restart digging at Browns??
Muckaway:
Hi Toshboy, the whole area around Dixs’ is desolate now; I was running a mix of green and inert waste into the tip 2 weeks ago and apart from the household site, not much goes on. Weighbridge man said only about 5 council dustcarts use the tip daily (on a good day, a long way from when I can remember them lining up to use the tip) and most of the other waste comes in on ro-ros from skip yards (sorted, non recyclable stuff). I asked how long the tip has left and he said “we’ll be burning it before it fills up”
Maybe the premix plant will be reopened when Hanson restart digging at Browns??
Hi Muckaway,
Yes what a contrast to its past,probably right in what you say about Browns ,it was a decent Premix plant in its heyday ,for your interest the drivers in my time who you would know were David Godfrey; Roy Tinson (ex Smiths) and the infamouse Simon King .Plant Foreman/batcher was Jimmy Barret.
toshboy
Muckaway:
Hi Toshboy, the whole area around Dixs’ is desolate now; I was running a mix of green and inert waste into the tip 2 weeks ago and apart from the household site, not much goes on. Weighbridge man said only about 5 council dustcarts use the tip daily (on a good day, a long way from when I can remember them lining up to use the tip) and most of the other waste comes in on ro-ros from skip yards (sorted, non recyclable stuff). I asked how long the tip has left and he said “we’ll be burning it before it fills up”
Maybe the premix plant will be reopened when Hanson restart digging at Browns??
Hi Muckaway,
Yes what a contrast to its past,probably right in what you say about Browns ,it was a decent Premix plant in its heyday ,for your interest the drivers in my time who you would know were David Godfrey; Roy Tinson (ex Smiths) and the infamouse Simon King .Plant Foreman/batcher was Jimmy Barret.
toshboy
Oh yes, the infamous King-Barrett combination Buy 1 metre get 5 free I was telling dad earlier about the pic I put on of the premix plant; he said to ask if you remember the above mentioned “incidents”
Whe Dad worked for Fisher and Townsend (builders from Hailey) he used to collect concrete from Premix and apparently several builders were paying with paving slabs, timber, paint etc Dave Godfrey packed up with mixers and bought an 8wheel tipper and recently retired having working for a local subbie for a while.
Muckaway:
Hi Toshboy, the whole area around Dixs’ is desolate now; I was running a mix of green and inert waste into the tip 2 weeks ago and apart from the household site, not much goes on. Weighbridge man said only about 5 council dustcarts use the tip daily (on a good day, a long way from when I can remember them lining up to use the tip) and most of the other waste comes in on ro-ros from skip yards (sorted, non recyclable stuff). I asked how long the tip has left and he said “we’ll be burning it before it fills up”
Maybe the premix plant will be reopened when Hanson restart digging at Browns??
Hi Muckaway,
Yes what a contrast to its past,probably right in what you say about Browns ,it was a decent Premix plant in its heyday ,for your interest the drivers in my time who you would know were David Godfrey; Roy Tinson (ex Smiths) and the infamouse Simon King .Plant Foreman/batcher was Jimmy Barret.
toshboy
Oh yes, the infamous King-Barrett combination Buy 1 metre get 5 free I was telling dad earlier about the pic I put on of the premix plant; he said to ask if you remember the above mentioned “incidents”
Whe Dad worked for Fisher and Townsend (builders from Hailey) he used to collect concrete from Premix and apparently several builders were paying with paving slabs, timber, paint etc Dave Godfrey packed up with mixers and bought an 8wheel tipper and recently retired having working for a local subbie for a while.
Indeed i do ,how could that be forgotten,there was a certain swiming pool locally that was quite cheap to build also–toshboy
a bit out of the oxfordshire area but as a nipper during the school holidays in the early 80’s I would go out with my dad who drove a maggie deutz 8 legger tipper for Brennan and Murphy civil engineers in Birmingham and once a week we would head off to the Amey quarry on Clee Hill just off the A4117 in Shropshire for a load of dolerite chippings , what a trip there and back that was as bewdley hadnt been bypassed and was a bit tight to say the least and cleobury mortimer was as bad then as it it is now
the loading area was always packed with 6 wheel constructors and F7’s as well as a few older bathgate cabbed leyland’s and the occasional ford cargo 6 wheeler, aswell a the hard rock they had a bitumin coating plant
the sites still there today but run as a hansons/la farge site
) en-route to Kempsford for sand earlier and took some pics of the original Pooles’ Pit;
Thinking about it, a quid was about what I did get every time I worked one of those! 
(Actually it was about thirty bob or £1. 50p to you younger chaps) 
