Civil Engineering Equipment

Details: Category: Civil Engineering Equipment; Created: 04 June 2010; Last Updated: 24 September 2015

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Civil Engineering

EARTHMOVING EQUIPMENT
We are continually updating the inventories with pictures and information, so please come back and check frequently:

MAKE	NUMBER	YEAR
Allen Trencher - trench digger Diesel model 4DWD Ser no 350748 Dorman engine with 4 cyclinders - John Allen & Sons of Oxford	350748	1950s
Invicta roller
Eimco excavator
Caterpillar grader DH8 restored
Caterpillar scraper Model	621
Caterpillar grader Model	212
Rex concrete mixer Model 5 S Milwaukee Chain Belt CO USA	5 S
Star borehole machine steam driven
Atlas Copco compressor
Caterpillar grader D6 8U6637	D6 8U6637
Fowler diesel roller
Scammell dump truck (2)
Ruston -Bucyrus excavator Boom no RB30054	RB30054
Hyster forklift
NVIC Petter road roller
Fowler Sandler road roller
VNC crane 35t with outriggers SWL 15t without outriggers
Atlas Copco compressor
Dam scraper Bright Gebruikte Trekkers & Implemente, Frankfort
Caterpillar trenchdigger
Caterpillar grader IH5768	IH5768
Portable concrete mixer
Coles crane
Ruston Bucyrus rope excavator	RB10
Caterpillar bulldozer	RD6
Diamond T trucks (2)
Huber diesel roller

Details: Category: Civil Engineering Equipment; Created: 16 May 2010; Last Updated: 24 September 2015

Sandstone Heritage Trust bids successfully on Phoenix Mill in Grahamstown!

agri_equip_pic001

On Thursday, 12^th May, 2010, the historic Phoenix Roller Mill went under the hammer. The auction, held by Dave Mullins of ReMax Frontier clearly separated the contents of the building from the property itself. By prior negotiation, the woodwork supporting the machinery, the lower and upper floors and the trusses, were included with the mill machinery. Sandstone Heritage Trust was represented at the auction by Wilfred Mole, Peter Elliott and Andy Selfe for technical back-up.

agri_equip_pic002

We were keen to keep the scrap-man away, there being a considerable weight in iron and steel, to say nothing about the used wood; there being several cubic metres of Oregon-type pine and possibly yellowwood involved. In the event, there were only two serious buyers for the Mill machinery, and the hammer fell to Sandstone Heritage Trust.

I did not stay for the auction of the property, rather returning to explore the Mill and photograph and video everything, with my mind on the next operation, marking and dismantling everything. Luckily, included in the sale is a General Arrangement drawing of the entire mill-house, which will be carefully reproduced.

agri_equip_pic003

agri_equip_pic004

The Mill consists of four Roller Mills and six rotary screens, on two floors, with line shafting under the ground floor and another shaft the full length of the building in the rafters. For handling the grain or flour, there are at least ten elevators. Motive power is a massive Crossley single cylinder open crank suction gas engine complete with its producer and scrubber, as last used. The Mill last ran 26 years ago.

agri_equip_pic005

A small amount of stripping has been done on the engine, and correspondence between the Mill owners and Crossley regarding their problems is included in the paperwork. It should be noted that Crossley were not entirely helpful in their reply regarding spares for an engine dating from 1907! The original invoice from Mangold Brothers was for £600, for the engine and plant, installed.

Dave mentioned in the preamble to the auction that he had been in contact with the still existing E R & F Turner of Ipswich, makers of the Mills, to check on their possible age. A helpful person there informed him that their records don’t go that far back, but according to their earliest records and their rate of manufacture, he assumed these Mills to date from the 1880s.

There follows a selection of photographs to give an impression of what the Mill entails:

agri_equip_pic006

agri_equip_pic007

agri_equip_pic008

agri_equip_pic009

agri_equip_pic010

agri_equip_pic011

agri_equip_pic012

agri_equip_pic013

agri_equip_pic014

agri_equip_pic015

agri_equip_pic016

agri_equip_pic017

agri_equip_pic014

agri_equip_pic016

agri_equip_pic015

agri_equip_pic022

What next? The property is likely to be sold for re-development, so after careful numbering, referring to the GA drawing, the entire contents must be dismantled and removed, loaded and removed to Sandstone Estates.

agri_equip_pic016

The best way to display it would be inside a large shed, big enough to enclose the entire building, and to substitute the walls with an exoskeleton of steel beams where the walls were. In this way, a visitor can stand back and view the four levels of the Mill working, while the whole is safe from the weather.

agri_equip_pic018

agri_equip_pic019

agri_equip_pic020

A Stencil for marking bags.

agri_equip_pic014

agri_equip_pic021

agri_equip_pic022

Included in the display must be the paperwork described above, amongst which are the complete records of every pound of meal it produced and a wonderful photo album.

agri_equip_pic023

agri_equip_pic024

agri_equip_pic025

Before leaving the area, we visited Ann Palmer, widow of the legendary Geoff Palmer, the guiding light behind the Bathurst Agricultural Museum. From there, we visited the Museum and were given a guided tour and entertained by the two Alan’s who are steering the Museum on a steady, uphill course!

agri_equip_pic026