Hunt's Yard photos.

[TooTallMike]

I think it's worth starting a new thread for this as there are a number of photos to show. All of these were taken in autumn '95 and autumn '96 as the yard was closing. I also have photos of the lorries, buses and other assorted stuff that was there if people are interested? I've posted some of these elsewhere on HMVF but I'll put them all here as well for completeness. Apologies for the porr quality but the scanner isn't that great :-(. I've tried to caption them but any corrections are more than welcome. Enjoy!

 

Antar:

 

Explorer cab:

 

Matador:

 

Unidentified logger:

 

Unidentified Gulf War 1 truck:

 

Other view of same truck:

[TooTallMike]

Unidentified:

 

Martian?:

 

Green Goddess:

 

1st Austin K2 fire engine (you'll have to trust me on this!):

 

Mk1 Millie:

 

Same truck:

 

Thorneycroft Nubian crash truck:

 

Unidentified lorry body:

[TooTallMike]

2nd Austin K2 fire engine:

 

Other side:

 

Thorneycroft cabs:

 

Another Thorneycroft cab:

 

Thorneycroft with Constructor in background:

 

LHD Mk3 Millie cab on rear of Constructor above:

[TooTallMike]

Pioneer 1:

 

Pioneer 2:

 

Green Goddess body & Martian:

 

ex-Billy Smarts' Mack NM:

 

Alvis Salamander:

 

Albion Cheiftain? and Leyland Hippo?:

[Joris]

Boy that sure was all in a sorry state...

[6 X 6]

Mike, thank you very much for posting these fascinating 'photos. I think I must have visited this yard at about the same time as you. The picture you have captioned "Martian ?", judging from the driver's door handle and other details, is indeed the remains of a Martian.

 

The picture you caption "Unidentified lorry body" I think is the body from a Martian Gun tractor I can remember seeing there. I had a couple of very successful visits to Hunts and bought some bits that were, even then, getting hard to find.

 

The first picture of post No. 2 "Unidentified" chassis with a blue front wheel certainly looks like a Militant MK 1 but the front hub isn't right for 6 X 6, so is this a 6 X 4 ?

Edited May 28, 2008 by 6 X 6

[Snapper]

I can't add to the details, but these are really interesting snaps. I'd like to see the others when you have the time....do you negatives ????? or do you just have the prints???? These are great - bloody shame, though.

[TooTallMike]

I can't add to the details, but these are really interesting snaps. I'd like to see the others when you have the time....do you negatives ????? or do you just have the prints???? These are great - bloody shame, though.

I'll post the others when I have the patience to approach the scanner again. I nearly threw it against the wall the other day. :argh:

[Richard Farrant]

 

Explorer cab:

 

 

Matador:

 

 

Unidentified logger:

 

 

Unidentified Gulf War 1 truck:

 

 

 

Mike,

 

This is a Light Mobile Digger, known as LMD. Built on a Thornycroft Nubian chassis with B81 engine. Fascinating piece of kit, but troublesome, another gem from ROF :-D. They were used to dig slit trenches, gun emplacements, etc. Not loved by the troops, who done there level best to wreck them..........we then had to fix 'em

[Richard Farrant]

 

 

Albion Cheiftain? and Leyland Hippo?:

 

It is an Albion on the right, but not a Chieftain, it is a WD/HD/23 6x4 10 tonner, not many around now, but there was a mobile workshop version in REME collection at Bordon, known as Machinery, RE .

[chambers101]

It's quite sad seeing those vehicles in that state as some of them were very rare and must have had a lot of stories to tell. Oh and i was gonna ay martian artillary body aswell.

[N.O.S.]

Great pics, Mike. I made quite a few visits ("Hello, Master") to the yard, from around the same time and also after Joey's demise. Sadly I took no pictures, but always enoyed the experience of just 'wandering and wondering'.

 

The front wings from an exeedingly well-buried Martian donated the 'top rear outer' double radius for my Constructor front wings (I had to wait a long while for these, as they were not removable without the hot spanner and someone doing the same thing had caused a devastating fire a while before :shake: and it was a fair while before they got around to clearing that area).

 

I had a fair bit of good s/h steel out of there during the last days, the Albions alongside the entrance road were amongst the last to depart for fundries new, the axles were being carefully dissected for the bronze diff worms.

[FEC]

I think it's worth starting a new thread for this as there are a number of photos to show. All of these were taken in autumn '95 and autumn '96 as the yard was closing. I also have photos of the lorries, buses and other assorted stuff that was there if people are interested? I've posted some of these elsewhere on HMVF but I'll put them all here as well for completeness. Apologies for the porr quality but the scanner isn't that great :-(. I've tried to caption them but any corrections are more than welcome. Enjoy!

 

Antar:

 

Explorer cab:

 

Matador:

 

Unidentified logger:

 

Unidentified Gulf War 1 truck:

 

Other view of same truck:

God knows how a Mk3 Antar ended up in this condition. also interesting is the National Health Chest Mobile X-ray Unit behind the chopped Explorer.

[Brooky]

What a shame about the ex Billy Smarts Mack LMSW

When I used to visit the yard in the late 70's early 80's this vehicle was complete and running and could have been driven out of the yard

Unfortunately I didnt have the cash to buy it

 

Still some great Sunday mornings spent in there, and yes I remember the "Hello Master" greeting from Joe

[FEC]

Mike,

 

This is a Light Mobile Digger, known as LMD. Built on a Thornycroft Nubian chassis with B81 engine. Fascinating piece of kit, but troublesome, another gem from ROF :-D. They were used to dig slit trenches, gun emplacements, etc. Not loved by the troops, who done there level best to wreck them..........we then had to fix 'em

 

Yup nightmares.

[ploughman]

Mike,

 

This is a Light Mobile Digger, known as LMD. Built on a Thornycroft Nubian chassis with B81 engine. Fascinating piece of kit, but troublesome, another gem from ROF :-D. They were used to dig slit trenches, gun emplacements, etc. Not loved by the troops, who done there level best to wreck them..........we then had to fix 'em

 

Sorry about bumping this thread.

 

I nearly didn't recognise the LMD.

I was one of those who used to try to wreck them for you to fix.

Definately do not stick your thumbs inside the steering wheel.

First modification all operators made if you had the side screens was to weld a cradle on to the exhaust just in reach of your hand, Hot tinned soup in 10 minutes.

Great to drive, not so great if you had to find the fuel to use them.

What was it Straight 8 Rolls petrol engine. 15 gallon an hour.

At working revs it was a flame 10ft long out of the exhaust could see it for miles around on Salisbury plain.

In February on the plain you were the infantry's best friend.

You dug their trenches and they warmed their hands on your exhaust, sometimes a can or two came your way as well. Unless you got some little hitler demanding this and that. That was when the side conveyor speed shot up and instead of dropping the spoil nicely on the trench edge it was spread for miles.

Fill that trench back in mister.

 

Went on a staff college demo at Larkhill. Bits of kit from everywhere on display. I had the LMD nobody took any interest until this old bloke wandered up and asked about it. I Went through the spiel, at the end he asks then what it was really like. I told him, a bit of a beast, can be awkward but it did what it was meant to.

He then said he was one who designed it.

[Richard Farrant]

Sorry about bumping this thread.

 

I nearly didn't recognise the LMD.

I was one of those who used to try to wreck them for you to fix.

 

 

 

hi Bryan,

"C" vehicles and plant was a major part of my job in Workshops in 70's/early 80's, and I found the LMD a fascinating machine, but had a few weak points. Most of the problems were due to the periods out of use, when the digging chains siezed up.

regards, Richard

[FEC]

hi Bryan,

"C" vehicles and plant was a major part of my job in Workshops in 70's/early 80's, and I found the LMD a fascinating machine, but had a few weak points. Most of the problems were due to the periods out of use, when the digging chains siezed up.

regards, Richard

 

Have not heard you mention the dammed air cleaner. Would shock the life out of you when you were having a quiet moment.

[eddy8men]

we had an lmd at kiwi barracks bulford, nobody knew a bloody thing about it and it very rarely ventured out onto the plain and when it did it was soon back in the wksp VOR, i remember someone telling me the design dated back to 1928 that might have been an exaggeration but it certainly looked old enough

 

rick

[RattlesnakeBob]

fantastic pictures ...sad to think even only 20 years or so ago there were probably hundreds of yards such as that ....not so many these days at all

I do love the Militant with what looks like a Coles Crane on the back

Looks like a Coles 'Argus' ..5 or 6 ton lift ??? ...not sure....

Either way a right proper handy piece of kit that and I could certainly have made good use of her in my dismantling days....

Edited February 28, 2013 by RattlesnakeBob

[Bob Grundy]

I purchased two of these LMD's at a MoD sale mid 1990's, one of them cost me a fortune........£380.