Where do diggers go to die?

[Pillock]

To digger heaven, obviously. Which is just off the A15.

A friend had been sent some pictures of an old airfield which had some old machiners parked on it - first glance looked like a few diggers and tractors. Looked interesting enough to travel to see, plus it was near some woodland so we stuck the bikes in the back of the car (two mountain bikes in an E36 saloon is a task!) just in case it was crap, we could spend the day getting muddy instead.

 

We didn't use the bikes. What we found defies belief.

 

As we looked through the fence (marked with things like CAUTION, 24HR SURVEILLANCE and things about DOGS) we saw this

 

 

"not bad" though we, have a quick look at those and then a ride after. Must be what, 30 vehicles there? But the signs, they were scary so we decided to trek into the woods, up the side of the site, and see if there was a less obvious way in. There was, as it happens, since there were no fences anywhere so it was just a case of popping out of the woods and just keeping an eye out. As soon as we popped out of the woods we began to gibber slightly. This place was HUGE. In fact it was so huge, you can't really grasp it from the ground so I loaded Google Earth on my phone to see what we were dealing with, and to get our bearings in case we had to leg it.

 

 

Riiiiight. Those brown bits? Rusty metal. That the whole length of a runway covered both sides by rusty shite, and more to the sides. Time for some photos! I have no idea what most of these things are, or if they'll be interesting, but it's rusty right? You lot love rust. Feel free to jump in and identify anything.

 

Ironic

 

Most of the stuff had been reclaimed by nature and not moved in a considerable time

 

... and indeed was pretty stripped. It looks to be an active breakers yard in places with obvious parts-robbing going off, but it's not clear if the stuff has been dumped before or after stripping. A lot of it was lined up in categories too - a lot of JCBs together, lines of excavator buckets and so on

 

It was pretty much all machinery on offer - tractors, excavators, plenty of road-making equipment

 

 

 

SERCK ALERT!! SERCK ALERT!!

 

At this point we just started clambering over stuff, it was a lot less organised on the main runway and there were various surprises hidden behind big stuff

 

This didn't look nearly as old as some of the tat on display

 

These were BIIIIG.

 

The hip-hop roadbuilders were in force with their hydros. Crazy fools.

 

There were also more traditional road-going stuff from a variety of decades. We got into an argument over this - mate said Bedford, I said Dodge. It had a Simon lift on the back:

 

SERC.... oh we did that.

 

 

 

[Pillock]

Have some arty ones:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any ideas what a Royal Navy milkfloat was doing in the middle of Lincolnshire?

 

 

Finally, this picture I think sums it all up. Every time I see it, I picture the poor thing just going "Oh..... bugger".

 

 

Rest of piccies here

[eddyramrod]

That truck you were arguing about is a Ford A-series, which was one step up from the biggest Transit in the early 70s, but short of a D-series which was a proper "lorry." Nice find!

[Alexg]

Incredible, just incredible! What a totally amazing place, I can' believe how much is there and that it's all left to rot!

[Albert Ross]

Battery and fresh diesel in hand, most of that lot would crack up....

[barrett]

I mis-read the title of this thread and was momentarily quite shocked!

 

But yeh, this is pretty mindblowing stuff, great to know that not everyone with huge amounts of scrap stuff weighed it all in during the height of the silly prices

[dollywobbler]

Blimey!

[retrogeezer]

wow - awesome and what a fab way to spend the day!!

 

I might have to pinch the Simon lift one for my avatar (yes, thats my name!)

 

Is this a Green Goddess fire truck?

 

[Tayne]

 

Is this a Green Goddess fire truck?

 

No, Green Godess s were Bedford RLs.

I don't know what that is but its not a Bedford RL.

[garycox]

Your name is Simon Lift?

[eddyramrod]

My last barber in England was called Simon, and his dad was Dennis... guess what they chose to restore?????

[Inspector Morose]

 

Thornycroft?

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

My last barber in England was called Simon, and his dad was Dennis... guess what they chose to restore?????

 

A Subaru 1600 GLF?

[Justin Case]

Is this a Green Goddess fire truck?

 

 

No, 'tis a Thorneycroft airfield fire tender, possibly a Nubian, but i think those were six-wheeled

 

Bonus Agri-shite content for those who like to see it at work. A 1970s Priestman VC 20 long reach excavator still at work a year ago doing the job it was designed for, pond-dredging

 

[Vin]

In the early Fifties, when my Grandad left British Rail (he was a fireman) he went to work at the 'Ruston Bucyrus' factory in Lincoln as a crane slinger.

[trigger]

What a great thread!, I'd love to go hunting around here, i wonder what the story behind them all is?.

 

 

Muir-Hill

 

The vehicle details for YAC 301X are:

 

Date of Liability 01 04 1993

Date of First Registration 01 04 1982

Year of Manufacture 1982

Cylinder Capacity (cc) Not Available

CO2 Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type Heavy Oil

Export Marker Not Applicable

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour YELLOW

 

 

Massey Ferguson

 

The vehicle details for FBJ 961J are:

 

Date of Liability 01 02 1980

Date of First Registration 01 02 1971

Year of Manufacture Not Available

Cylinder Capacity (cc) Not Available

CO2 Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type Heavy Oil

Export Marker Not Applicable

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour YELLOW

[VWPowered]

epic find, simply epic

[CreepingJesus]

The fire tender's a Thornycroft alright. Possibly a Nubian, I'm not so sure. Probly got one of the big Rolls straight-8 B-series petrol engines in there, mind you! What a toy...

There's some valuable stuff in there - at least to collectors. The 'Plough Master', looks like a County of some sort: there's what looks to me like a Muir-Hill behind that. Might not be - I'll add the caveat, that my knowledge of agri stuff isn't the best.

Never mind the old Bedford O, there's a Scammell Pioneer sat beside it! I now want half of this stuff. I'll have the Ford A, and the subsiding Aveling Barford for a start.

Oooh, toys, toys toys. Great find!

[Split_Pin]

Fabulous photos!

 

I love the Ford A-series spot

[pompei]

Can you disclose where this oasis is?

[Angrydicky]

Blimey! What a find

 

 

 

 

Is this a Trojan?

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Awsum find, a spot of mechanical urbexing.

 

Perhaps some of this stuff needs to be donated to our local councils, in the hope that they can fix some of our fucking roads RANT ALERT mumble mumble mumble mumble......

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Is this a Green Goddess fire truck?

 

No, 'tis a Thorneycroft airfield fire tender, possibly a Nubian, but i think those were six-wheeled

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

Thanks for that, I wondered what this one was

[Vin]

Blimey! What a find

 

Is this a Trojan?

 

 

It's a Ford Thames. An ET6 I think.

[Justin Case]

Edited (double posting)

[Justin Case]

Blimey! What a find

 

 

 

 

Is this a Trojan?

 

To the rescue again This one is a Fordson Thames ET6 ex Civil Defence control vehicle. Here's a picture of one restored to new condition:

 

[/qoute]

 

I don't claim to be an expert, I just spend too much time wandering around steam fairs looking at the heavy stuff or on this site:

http://ccmv.fotopic.net/

 

which has everything you could want to know, for example that the Scammell next to it is an Explorer (and well worth saving)

[bangers & mash]

Great find. I wouldn't mind taking a wonder around this place sometime myself.

 

Found this aerial picture of the site in 1944.

 

[Pillock]

OK, I don't really want to disclose exactly where it is although it seems some are already in the know. I will tell you if you PM me, I just don't want to put it in the thread and have it coming up in Google searches and stuff, it wouldn't be fair.

 

For the record, we were stopped on the way out by a country-type gentleman in a Merc 4x4. He was clearly a little displeased at us being on his land although wasn't as batshit as I would have guessed from the contents of his garden. He even suggested that if we'd have phoned him first, he'd have allowed us proper access. This may be an option if anyone wants to go look at this, since it's on private land and there ARE cameras and stuff. And he had a shotgun. But still, he was pleasant as you can be when you find people snooping around your stuff.

 

The Thorneycroft had a similar neighbour with this badge, which I guess would have given away the guessing game had I posted it!

 

The Fordson Thames Civil Control vehicle was marked up as "Rescue Section" which was slightly ironic given that it'd take a mentalist to rescue that.

 

I really can't express how bizarre the selection there was - a 90's roadsweeper next to a 60s roadroller next to a pre-war tractor. Some of the stuff looked fairly new - certainly post-1996 as it had the "new" dialling code on the company number, other stuff clearly paid for it's last tank of fuel in shillings.

 

I'd be interested in going back, but I think out of fairness to the landowner I'd get permission next time.

[FredTransit]

 

Mk2 based A Series. Is any of this available to save? I know a coup;le of people who would be interested in that.

[eggy]

Wow! Just brilliant