Coal Handling Machines

[Mike d550]

Have been looking on the net recently and found a couple coal terminals which have coal dozers/scrapers working.

I have tried Drax powerstation to try and get a visit and was told no photographs are allowed to be taken on site! The other site i've found is Jarrow docks on Tyneside but due to security gates on all entrance/exits its looking like i'll be unable to get some photos there either!

Is there anywhere i can get photos of coal dozers/scrapers working either by arranging a site visit or where the site boundry is close to a road/walkway etc?

Any comments/photos would be appreciated

Cheers

Mike D550

[Jeremy Rowland]

Thats a real shame Mike but I suppose you can thank our unwanted green party idiot environmentalists for the no photograph rules at powerstations, you can understand their security worries.
I seam to recall a while back there was an article in CP&M magazine about a couple of old Terex scrapers that were still operating in the Worcester area but that has indeed been a while ago now.

Jeremy

[Nick Drew]

This no photo ruling is becoming more widespread at many sites !!

I heard last week from Graham Black of Earthmovers that the Alberta tar sands operation is banning photography shortly and he told me that Keith Haddock is doing one of the last reports from there for the magazine.

I expect they are all fed up with the photos of cock ups appearing on the internet !!

Sad times tho!

Nick

[Ross]

This no photo ruling is becoming more widespread at many sites !!

I heard last week from Graham Black of Earthmovers that the Alberta tar sands operation is banning photography shortly and he told me that Keith Haddock is doing one of the last reports from there for the magazine.

I expect they are all fed up with the photos of cock ups appearing on the internet !!

Sad times tho!

Nick

Aye well it never stopped me snapping away 007 style

The Tar Sands: They dont want anyone to see the Enviromental disater ..

[Mike d550]

Its a shame the like of Alberta are closing their doors to photographers, not many people are fortunate to see the likes of 797's etc working, let hope more people adopt Ross's 007 style to keep us updated on the kit working there

I was at Corus Teesside yesterday and was standing next to the fence when a 988H roared up and the operator began to get out! I thought he was going to start chatting about earthmovers or photography but instead he demanded to know why i was there and when i told him it was because i wanted to take photos of their cat machinery he did not believe me and said "are you sure" I dropped a couple of names from Multiserv and looking unimpressed he roared off 10 mins later security turned up and with his stab vest on he approached me and asked me to leave the premises and that photos were not allowed !!!!!

Guess all the crap thats being going on there has made them a little edgy and they must have thought i was a journalist. Even when i enquired through the propper channels i was told "no we are not doing site visits anymore"

Sad times!

I can understand why the likes of powerstations are tightening up on security but its a shame for all those who genuinely want to take photographes of earthmoving equipment!!!!!

Regards

Mike D550

[Mike d550]

Found these couple of photos on my external hard drive that i saved off the internet somewhere in the past.

I dont anything about this machine as i did not take the photos but would be interested to know if its still working and where?

Regards

Mike D550

[Gavin Phillips]

The Port of Tyne coal handling area is certainly interesting! I don't know of anyone who's ever managed to get permission to go inside to take snaps but it would be a great chance to get some snaps of interesting equipment. They have 4 early 1970's Terex 3305 30ton trucks with high volume bodies. These are actually used for handling scrap and seem to be loaded by a Leibherr 954 rehandler. I've only seen these by boat, obviously you have to be really lucky! It seems the only way to get any kind of photographs of sites like these...otherwise you have a selection of wheeled (and a couple tracked) loaders, Stothert & Pitt rail-mounted cranes, Leibherr and Gottwald harbour cranes, container handling forklifts and some bulldozers too. Next time I'm going past in the boat, I'll take the big lens and see what else turns up..

As for the coal scrapers at a power station. I do believe I know which site you are referring to although I really cannot be sure what its called. There's a part of the M1 (I think) which is relatively new and has been cut through some low hills (travelling south). You cross a bridge and for a couple of miles, have an almost uninterrupted view of a power station and the coal heaps. On this site was a least one Terex twin-engine coal scraper, a Cat IT18B toolcarrier, and an RB-I VC20 long reach dredging excavator. As you'd expect, motoring along in a tinted-window bus at about 50mph with no near-by stops; I didn't get any pictures.

[muckshifter]

port of tyne is easy to get in to, turn up at security and ask for the coal yard. there wont be any problem as long as you dont cross the restricted area on the dock side.

[Gavin Phillips]

port of tyne is easy to get in to, turn up at security and ask for the coal yard. there wont be any problem as long as you dont cross the restricted area on the dock side.

Well speaking for myself, I'd be more than happy just to get pictures of the 4 1970's Terex trucks!

I can't see security allowing just anyone onto the premises though... A guided tour though hmm...talk about a late Christmas present.

[BulldozerD11]

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As for the coal scrapers at a power station. I do believe I know which site you are referring to although I really cannot be sure what its called. There's a part of the M1 (I think) which is relatively new and has been cut through some low hills (travelling south). You cross a bridge and for a couple of miles, have an almost uninterrupted view of a power station and the coal heaps. On this site was a least one Terex twin-engine coal scraper, a Cat IT18B toolcarrier, and an RB-I VC20 long reach dredging excavator. As you'd expect, motoring along in a tinted-window bus at about 50mph with no near-by stops; I didn't get any pictures.

Do you mean the new A1M section at ferrybridge, ?
I,ve tried to snap some as i,ve pased but you have a very small (time) gap unless they are on the heap by the road when traveling past & stoppings not a gd idea with all the CCtV on the motorway now. You may be abe to walk in from the old A1 or along the canal bank as they bring coal in by barge. & get a vanage point on some of the land scaping works.

I may have posted this scan before of the wheeled dozer at Drax from the 1980s when they had site visits .


source here -
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/tractors/images/1/13/Clark_wheeled_dozer_at_Drax.JPG