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Vickers-Onions Box Scraper


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Well I had an interesting little bit of earth moving delivered for a restoration, grit blast and repaint.A Vickers-Onion scraper box. It was a hedge row find, and is in prety good nick. All of the pullys turn even the cables look good.Even all the tyres are a matching set and look to have done hardly any work, even has a spare blade. Heres a couple of pics. Are update as the project goes along. Howard

chevrolet c60s and scraper 001.JPG

chevrolet c60s and scraper 002.JPG

chevrolet c60s and scraper 003.JPG

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Ahh!! The memories. I remember using these things a good many years ago. Towed behind a Cat D6C or a Fowler dozer, which was a far better machine for towing, as it had a proper clutch and gearbox rather than a power shift transmission.

 

There used to be one on display outside the office block at the Chattenden digging fields. Anyone know if it is still there?

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Is a D4 big enough?

I also spent many hours sat on a D6 at the Ponderosa towing one round the field.

Any idea what Cube size it is?

I think that there were 2 sizes in service 8 Cu yds was one but cannot remember if the other was bigger or smaller.

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Well Work commenced on the scraper box today. After getting the cable removed from the bottom spring that pulls the back plate back, I was able to push it forward. The two pins that hold the front gate in position were siezed solid even with heat they did not want to budge so they were cut off. The front gate was then lifted off with the fork lift as was the rear ejector plate. We managed to get the front gate blasted and primed. I also took measurements to make a new top hat section for the rear slide.

Scraper box, chev and gmc parts 003.JPG

Scraper box, chev and gmc parts 004.JPG

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Scraper box, chev and gmc parts 013.JPG

Scraper box, chev and gmc parts 022.JPG

Scraper box, chev and gmc parts 023.JPG

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If it is of interest, I have a copy of a precis for the V/ Onions Scraper 4/6.

Issued by the Plant Roads and Airfields school at RSME Chattenden around 1978.

Runs to 7 page A4.

I may be able to scan and mail if you want.

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If it is of interest, I have a copy of a precis for the V/ Onions Scraper 4/6.

Issued by the Plant Roads and Airfields school at RSME Chattenden around 1978.

Runs to 7 page A4.

I may be able to scan and mail if you want.

 

Keeping all your old POM trade notes from back then, there's dedication for you :D As I recall the "other" RE size was 8 yd3 and yes there still is one parked outside the Ponderosa Offices at Chattenden, drove past it last week. Unfortunately I did not have a camera to hand at the time.

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How much of Chattenden is left Rob? I was Guard 2IC for a week at the DEODS(?) camp over Christmas "cough cough" 20 years ago while we were on our A1 at Brompton.

 

Bit off thread so I'll keep it brief. The digging fields by the Ponderosa offices and the training camp at the bottom of the hill appear to be intact and just as they always were. Every thing else, Chattenden Barracks, Lodge Hill, and DEODS has gone.

 

The Married quarters patch on Lodge Hill Lane has also been torn down and replaced with a modern housing estate, except for one row of four quarters which for some reason has been left alone. I find that a bit disconcerting as the end one of the four, number 197 Lodge Hill Lane, was issued to me in the 1990.

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So I take it all remnants of the Chattenden and Upnor light railway have also disappeared?

Last time I was at Lodge Hill in the 80s some tracks were still visible in the ground.

 

As to the training areas I remember taking Graders and Buckets down the lane past the Pub at Upnor to get to the field.

Grader training Chattenden 78.JPG

Last time I was there was in 1986 for Project Star when a lot of reservists were recalled for training updates.

In other words a weeks piss up.

Edited by ploughman
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well more done to the earth scraper box, its been grit blasted and primed and top coated. The rot has been cut out of the back and a new piece of metal folded, Thanks Adrian. Now got to weld the new piece in. Heres a few pics.

onions earth scraper 001.JPG

onions earth scraper 003.JPG

onions earth scraper 004.JPG

onions earth scraper 006.JPG

onions earth scraper 022.JPG

onions earth scraper 023.JPG

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what a cracking job and on an unusual piece of kit too ! wonderful work !

.....bit of a thread deviation but........

Reading the post I wondered if any of you guys on here served a bit of time at Army Apprentices Barracks at Beachley near Chepstow ?

The reason I ask is that the barracks used to have a fairly big earthmoving 'practice' site just down the road from me at Allaston Grove just outside of Lydney .......

The road to the ground they used was very narrow and approached up a very steep hill out of the town of Lydney...back in the 1970s it could be pretty hair raising to meet 3 or 4 huge army artic low loaders , loaded up with big dozers and other plant or even more daunting was meeting a convoy of massive motor scrapers which they never bothered putting on low loaders...they simply drove them there from Beachley under their own power along the road and up the hill from the town ... There would be machinery there for weeks on end with the soldiers learning how to handle the kit ....bulldozing dirt up and down and back and forth and there were also a few rudimentary nissen style corrugated steel workshops there and a cookhouse / accommodation block too as I recall ?........

I'd guess the Army stopped using it by about the mid 1980's and the whole site then lay disused and derelict 'til a couple of years ago when a gang of hippy types took advantage of the cloudy 'ownership' of it all and moved in to set up a 'free farm'.

I think at the time it was the Royal Engineers at Beachley but I may be wrong ..........Did any of you spend some time there maybe ?

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Thanks John. Well the scraper is all back together now. Here are a couple more pics. Are take some better ones once i get it outside.I wrapped the spare wire rope cable in sacking thought it looked a bit more authentic. The spare cutting blade sits on the back.

onions scraper 001.JPG

onions scraper 002.JPG

onions scraper 003.JPG

onions scraper 004.JPG

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