Johnny Locke,Merthyr Tydfil O.C.C.S?
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:36 am
Hello Everyone,
Happy new year to you all?
John Locke was a plant hire company,from Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend in South Wales.He had quite a variation of plant,from excavators to dump-trucks & especially Motor-Scrapers & dozers,particularly Euclid & Terex TS24s.His preferred choice of dozers were Komatsu,with a large amount of Komatsu 155As. His company catered from civil-engineering,road jobs,quarrying & open-cast contract work,mainly back-filling with his large fleet of scrapers.His company was known for working long hours,7 days a week.
It was around 1987 that this small open-cast coal site was being worked.It was right @ the edge of Dowlais top,across the road from the Taylor-Woodrow,Trecatty site,which was still in progress by this contractor. In fact,you could say that this was the start of the Great White tip site,which Wimpey Mining,eventually carried on after Locke completed this small job.It was more or less a land reclamation job for Locke plant.
The site was very small & was right behind the terraced houses @ the top end of Dowlais.I remember to gain access to the site,you had to go through the entrance to a warehouse that sold house hold appliances.
The plant on site consisted of a Caterpillar 245B front shovel,with a clamshell type bucket.I remember quite clearly that this shovel had a green & grey 45 gallon drum on a bracket positioned above the diesel tank,as this shovel could not work the 12 hour shift on its own fuel tank & needed a top up.
There were 3 older Komatsu HD320 dump-trucks that were loaded by the 245B shovel.
There was a Caterpillar D8H with a ripper.
The coaling machine was an early Komatsu PC200 Back-Hoe.All of these Komatsu machines,were in the early orange colour.
The dry steam coal had lots of old workings in it & was loaded into lorries & taken up to the Cwmbargoed disposal point.
I can remember sitting on the side of the Dowlais to Merthyr slip road,looking down the sloped bank watching the 245B shovel working away.
This contract did not last very long & was completed in less than a year.
I hope this was of some interest,
Regards,
Mark Williams.
Happy new year to you all?
John Locke was a plant hire company,from Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend in South Wales.He had quite a variation of plant,from excavators to dump-trucks & especially Motor-Scrapers & dozers,particularly Euclid & Terex TS24s.His preferred choice of dozers were Komatsu,with a large amount of Komatsu 155As. His company catered from civil-engineering,road jobs,quarrying & open-cast contract work,mainly back-filling with his large fleet of scrapers.His company was known for working long hours,7 days a week.
It was around 1987 that this small open-cast coal site was being worked.It was right @ the edge of Dowlais top,across the road from the Taylor-Woodrow,Trecatty site,which was still in progress by this contractor. In fact,you could say that this was the start of the Great White tip site,which Wimpey Mining,eventually carried on after Locke completed this small job.It was more or less a land reclamation job for Locke plant.
The site was very small & was right behind the terraced houses @ the top end of Dowlais.I remember to gain access to the site,you had to go through the entrance to a warehouse that sold house hold appliances.
The plant on site consisted of a Caterpillar 245B front shovel,with a clamshell type bucket.I remember quite clearly that this shovel had a green & grey 45 gallon drum on a bracket positioned above the diesel tank,as this shovel could not work the 12 hour shift on its own fuel tank & needed a top up.
There were 3 older Komatsu HD320 dump-trucks that were loaded by the 245B shovel.
There was a Caterpillar D8H with a ripper.
The coaling machine was an early Komatsu PC200 Back-Hoe.All of these Komatsu machines,were in the early orange colour.
The dry steam coal had lots of old workings in it & was loaded into lorries & taken up to the Cwmbargoed disposal point.
I can remember sitting on the side of the Dowlais to Merthyr slip road,looking down the sloped bank watching the 245B shovel working away.
This contract did not last very long & was completed in less than a year.
I hope this was of some interest,
Regards,
Mark Williams.