TRACTORS, CRAWLER, SIZE 1, VICKERS VIGOR (VR 180) & VICKERS VIKON (VR 110)

[Mick Norton]

Dear All,

Vickers Vigor VR 180 bulldozer issued to the War Office - WO Code Number 18395, Contracts 6 /P & EQ/ 23873 & 24334

Actual production of the Vickers Vigor VR 180 commenced in approximately 1952 , with a prototype available in 1950, and was accepted and extensively used by the Royal Engineers and the RAF's Airfield Construction Branch in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Of the Vickers "Vikon" VR 110 it is believed only 20 were manufactured and ended up in New Zealand.

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE ANY MORE DETAIL ON THE EXACT PROCUREMENT OF THIS VICKERS DOZER BY THE THEN WAR OFFICE AND HOW THEY WERE DEPLOYED.?

Any detailed images highlighting the differences between the Vigor and Vikon models would also be of great interest

 

 

[john1950]

That is a later VR180 as it has an upright exhaust, early ones the silencer ran along under the foot plate and came out at the rear.   They were prone to breaking mushroom shafts and stretching the retaining bolts letting the drive sprocket move around. Another problem that Vickers did not eradicate was the transfer gear in the final drives used to collapse the bearings locking the final drive, even though they increased the bearing size on the later models. Torque converter models came later using the diesel from the tank which heated the fuel but meaning you had to keep it topped up regularly. They went from manual steering clutch and braking to servo assisted fairly quickly. A Vickers Vikon used to reside in Walker Brothers yard at Newburn many years ago I will hunt a photo out. There is a well looked after running example in Tasmania. They were powered by the Rolls Royce C4SFL engine as opposed to the C6SFL in the larger VR180/VIGOR. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by john1950

[Mick Norton]

John,

Would the attached oil painting of a Vickers, by Terence Cuneo be a Vigor or a Vikon?

Mick

[john1950]

VRI80 and VIGOR. early tractors had a penny washer in the outer end of the mushroom shaft which was partly hollow that is missing in the 3rd photo. Some tractors had a front mounted winch for the blade, doing away with the A frame. An early problem if you were reversing uphill or in heavy ground was the front two rollers used to turn over and put the track adjuster on the bottom. This was cured by the addition of two stops on the frame either side. Main frames were made in two halves split at the front of the gearbox held together with a row of bolts. Very early machines had 6 bolt track plates in a crescent shape later ones had 4 bolt fixing. Tracks were early sealed and lubricated with two aln screws accessed through the track plates which had to be removed and a long grease nipple screwed in to be topped up with oil or grease. Later Vigors had a different nose section instead of being rounded it was square and it pulled the cooling air through the front instead of in through the top. There is I think a video of the Tasmanian Vikon on Utube.

Edited November 26, 2023 by john1950

[john1950]

1st picture my father at work with a VR180. 2nd picture a Vigor going to work. 3rd picture going into the slewing clutch on a Vigor. 4th picture a High front Vigor being pulled of a low loader to get a new main clutch. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by john1950

[john1950]

There is a preserved example of a Vigor high front at the Royal Engineers Museum  in Gillingham Kent, there is also a round front at the Honey Farm near Berwick upon Tweed. It spent its working life on the Otterburn Ranges. So they both have an MOD connection. An ex Mod high front was sold in the South West of England last year. There are several examples in Austrailia and New Zealand, including the Vikon. Canada and the USA also have examples of Vigor's. 

[Mick Norton]

John,

I am most grateful for your feedback you've filled several gaps in my knowledge bank.

Mick

[john1950]

Thank you, of course the holy grail is to find any Shervic's the VR180'S immediate predecessor. I think the most likely place now is in the jungle of what used to be Tanganyika, the area of the ill fated Ground nut scheme of the late 1940's and early 1950;s. Next to that Another Vicon. Or a Tetrarch that the VR180'S suspension is supposed to be based on.  A photo of Shervic's in the Elswick works of Vickers Armstrong, ready for dispatch. I purchased it many years ago. As you can see the middle tractor is slightly different.  There were two tractors built that were larger than the Vigor. It was powered by a C8SFL engine. It was still of the round front design, Built to compete with the Caterpillar D9. They were tested at the Cramlington Open Cast Coal Site, operated by Dowsett. This site was reopened in later years as the Shotton OCCS. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by john1950

[john1950]

A couple of photos from my collection.

[Mick Norton]

John,

Once again many thanks for sharing your treasure trove of images/memories concerning the Vickers.

Is there anyone on this forum who might have access to the original War Office details of purchase of "Vickers" items in the 1950s/1960s for use by the Royal Engineers or the RAF's Airfield Construction Branch (ACB) ?

The attached image was taken at Andrew Beulieu's farm and highlights two Vickers from his vast collection of plant items.  Well worth a visit to one of his open days on his farm near Beverley in East Yorkshire.  Dragline collection second to none.

Mick

[john1950]

There is a high front Vigor and a Vikon at the Sandstone Museum in South Africa. They were retrieved from the bush in Zimbarbwe.

[john1950]

I think there was an ex military high front working at Syston open day this year, I think the number reads OO DW 53.

[john1950]

A repair my father carried out on an early broken mushroom shaft

[Tarland]

The New Zealand connection

https://contractormag.co.nz/classic-machines/vickers/vr180-vigor-vikon/

[Mick Norton]

Thanks Tarland, very interesting backdrop.