SHORT BROTHERS PLANT HIRWAUN,ABERDARE

[Mark Williams]

Hello All,
I can remember when I worked for Shephard Hill at the Rhumney Pen Bryn Oer o.c.c.s in the late 80s,Short Bros brought in long term, on the new site extension a brand new Hitachi EX1800 front shovel.5 Shephard Hill Komatsu 785 dump-trucks were brought in from the recently completed Low Close o.c.c.s up in Cumbria to compliment this shovel.
Around that time Shorts started hiring Hitachi EX1800s to various open cast companies around the UK.
I can remember 1 x EX1800 at Wimpeys Ffos Las,2 at Amec at Nant Helen, a shovel and a backactor. an EX3500 shovel long term at Nant Helen.
At Nant Helen with the EX1800s,some Terex dirty three elevens were also hired in off Shorts.
I worked along side some of the Shorts fitters whilst working for Finning often.
Regards,
Mark.

[martyn williams]

Short Bros plant must have made a lot of money in the 60's and 70's as all the coal mines had a least one of their machines working for the NCB.Where I lived there were three 22 RB's and a few Cat dozers in constant use.Some days if the wind was in the right direction,you could hear the 22's squeeling as they went about their work unloading railway wagons.
My mate Barry Cosslett, has some great photos and experiences from that busy time.
Martyn

[FOWLER MAN]

Hello Martyn
I did'nt know of your interest in Short Bros. I knew Vernon and Gabe. Short . they apparently started business selling ice cream from a cart . They became involved with coal in the 1940's collecting small coal from the valleys streets. There was always a couple of hundrerweights of small-coal left at the roadside after the miners had taken in their consessionary ton of coal, and Shorts found a market for it.
They certainly built their vast empire from small beginnings. I remember them exporting big tonnages of coal from Swansea Docks.
In the early 1960's I worked fitting for a Yorkshire firm called William Pepper & Co. They were part of the Hargreaves Group and opperated a couple of coal washeries in South Wales. One of their contracts was to screen coke for export out of the stocks at Nantgarw Coke Ovens where I was their foreman.
Their own plant was tied up so Shorts were the obvious supplier. At that time Shorts had depots at Hirwaun, Swansea and Newport. They ran at least 5 Scammell low-loaders and had plant on allmost every pit in The South Wales Coalfield and in the steel works.
We had 5 screens of which 3 were Shorts they also supplied eleven 22RB's a Case 1000 shovel, two Case 800 shovels a CAT 955 and a Weatherill L61 4x4 shovel.
Of the 15 or so 6 and 8 wheel tippers we had on site they supplied about half, we had 5 Ex Hargreaves.
As far as I can remember the job ran for about 12 months . We worked two 12 hour shifts 6 days a week.
The required sizes were loaded on rail for Cardiff Docks and the rest was weighed and returned to stock.
Shorts were also dealers for Ford Construction Equipment and Liner Machinery, and later for Furucawa shovels.
Sorry no camera in those days.
Fred.

[martyn williams]

Thanks for that info Fred.I can remember going to the coke ovens on the B R class 37 locos about 30 years ago I guess.
Cheers
Martyn

[FOWLER MAN]

Hello again Martyn
Shunters were steam when we were screening. Glad to ride the footplate for a warm on a cold winter night shift.
I wonder what Health & Saftey would make of the whole operation these days.
Fred

[martyn williams]

Hello Fred
The steam locos were still in use into the 1970's at Mountain Ash.I was working on steam cranes in 1975 at Radyr.They were 12 tonners.As you say great in the winter months for a warm up.
I can remember going on the diesel locos on trains from Nantgarw to Radyr yard.The branch from the coke works joined the main line at Taffs Well as you know.
Martyn

[flatman001]

These are from a Short Bros brochure from the late 1970's, 80's I acquired when British Coal privatised their transport and plant in the South Notts Area in 1988, NCB/British coal hired large numbers of machines from them. Short's had depots at Fullwood Industrial Estate Sutton in Ashfield Notts to service the South and North Notts Areas and Wakefield Road Barnsley to service the Yorkshire Area

CAT 988 with Drystead cushion track attachments

URL of the original image: http://i56.tinypic.com/2dbot45.jpg

Ford A-64

URL of the original image: http://i52.tinypic.com/2lmqf7q.jpg

Michigan 475B

URL of the original image: http://i51.tinypic.com/2q836ub.jpg

D8 tractor operating a CAT towed scraper

URL of the original image: http://i51.tinypic.com/6sz4bd.jpg

CAT D4

URL of the original image: http://i54.tinypic.com/f06d7k.jpg

Terex T.S,14B scraper

URL of the original image: http://i56.tinypic.com/10o19wy.jpg

CAT D8

URL of the original image: http://i55.tinypic.com/332auj6.jpg

CAT 951 tracked shovel

URL of the original image: http://i53.tinypic.com/11j84lc.jpg

D8 working on an inclined site

URL of the original image: http://i55.tinypic.com/239p1s.jpg

[FOWLER MAN]

Hi John
Thanks for posting these biilliant photos.
Fred

[martyn williams]

Great photos John
Any more ?
Hello Fred,are you around next week as I have a week off
Martyn

[Neversweat]

Great pics John Thanks

Steve