PJ Conway - Blue Circle Western Quarry

[Greenmachine]

Hi,

Was browsing around on Youtube and found these two great photo clips of machines at work at the Blue Circle Quarry and thought I would share them (someone from this forum may have even posted them on youtube?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0smOXrGgImw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biLBSSMW0io

Some great photos of some great machines. Most of the photos look they are from the late 60's through to the 70's era.

Does anyone know if the site is still in operation today with a large scraper fleet? Are the companies still around... PJ Conway? Shepherd Hill?

Hope you enjoy.

Greenmachine!

[IBH]

All I can tell you is that 'Shephard Hill', were bought out of administration in 1990 by Jarvis to form Shephard Hill Civil Engineering

[rpfowler]

Fascinating bits of history here.

Blue Circle Western quarry is not in operation any more. In fact it ceased in around 1990 and in 1994 I think it was an agreement was reached with Lend Lease and the shopping centre known as Bluewater started to be built. 97 years I think it was in service, as it used to be associated with one of the original association members of cement producers (known as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers APCM) that later became the Blue Circle group.

Yes, it was the western quarry that used to serve the massive northfleet cement works, which too has now gone into the history books. Eastern quarry continued on into 2008 before it got restored and then the cement works went. Northfleet works came on stream in the early seventies with 6 long wet kilns with a total rating of 4Mt per year. All 6 kilns only ever ran for about the first 10 years, after which they were progressively shut down / converted to semi wet operation.

Kr

R

[modelman093]

Wonderful pictures and for once the music seems appropriate!
From what I remember Conways were stripping off the overburden in about 1967 and had some of the first cushion hitch 657s which were not without their problems.
I'm sure that someone will fill in the details but I believe that Neil Becher was involved in reinstating the same area now that cement production is over.
Angus

[Tracshovel]

Great link to some old period photos. Here is a picture a Liebherr R994 which used to work at the Northfleet Cement works. It was moved North to the Dunbar cement works when the Eastern Quarry was closed.

[tony mac]

Hi all. Thanks for posting the link to youtube showing the machines working at Blue Circle. The images brought back great memories for me as I worked as a fitter for PJ Conway in the early to mid eighties.
Others working there at the time included Steve Kelly, Kelvin Wainwright, Jim Murphy and many others who's names will, I'm sure come back to me. Eddy Dye was the boss at the time. (I hope I've spelt his name correctly) I wonder if he's still around? Phil Treadwell was another manager.

Some of the memories are not so good as we used to have to work on the machines in the yard because they were too big to fit in the workshop. Not a problem in the summer but the winters up on the top of Swanscombe Hill were usually harsh, I remember one occasion when the thermometer read -11 as we worked on a TS24......but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Thanks again.

[Holger]

Welcome to CMN Tony!

[steve.kelley]

Hi all. All the above are nice memories of a forgotten time when we worked seven days a week for a hundred pounds!
PJ conway was bought out lock stock and all by coal Products in 1984, Shepard Hill taking over the contract although it was offered to Niel Beecher
he turned it down as Blue circle wanted him to do it for winter rates and he said it was madness!
I worked there for eight years rebuilding many V71 GMs and Cat engines and transmissions. A reunion was held a fews years back and many a face was to be seen.
At presant i work for Finning but could not emagine working on the old stuff now