Priestman Beaver Excavator

[Nick Drew]

Here is an example of another machine that I doubt ever made it onto the US market.

This is a 1966 vintage Priestman Beaver which was one of Priestman Brothers early efforts in the Hydraulic excavator department.

This machine is still a runner and is lying on a farm in Devon.

It is powered by a Ford Engine.

 

[OKYLE]

looks like they are keeping the excavator in decent working shape little rusty but not horribly falling apart..., Looks like it has new steel in the cabin for the levers.

if you look at the bottom of the cabin in the first picture, it looks like new levers? its fresh steel atliest compared to the rest..

 

[guest]

Thanks for the pics of old excavators. Modern machines have come a long way in function and comfort. It's good to see their roots.

 

[LDK]

Here is an example of another machine that I doubt ever made it onto the US market.

This is a 1966 vintage Priestman Beaver which was one of Priestman Brothers early efforts in the Hydraulic excavator department.

This machine is still a runner and is lying on a farm in Devon.It is powered by a Ford Engine.

My father ran pretty much all of the Priestman equipment.
I remember him telling me a story about when he was on a Priestman Cub backacter (Cable operated but I think maybe one fucnction was hydraulic) on a trenching job, they brought in the first hydraulic excavator he had come across, I think it was probably a Hymac. Anyway the Cub left it standing but the tides were turning I suppose. He also spent time on the Beaver, Wolf, Lion and Bison.
He has quite a few pictures at home of some of that early stuff that I could post but we seperated by about 7000 miles at the moment, so that will have to wait.
I will check the facts on the Cub story with him but it will have to be at a more reasonable hour, he wouldn't thank me for calling him now.

 

[AJ.]

Priestman

I remember the hydraulic and cable Priestman excavators, I think that the boom and bucket were hydraulic and the dipperstick was cable,the cables to pull the dipper stick in came out under the boom and went on to the end of the dipper stick, that was a big setback because it could not reach over anything like sheet piling or the like, I only ever seen one or two of them,the first HyMac I seen could not do the 360° swing, 270° was their limit and only one movement at a time,I think the first full multifunction machine was the Poclain GC120 round 1963, that machine could pick up the boom, swing and push the dipper out at the same time without slowing up, but then they were slow anyway,to load 2000 yards a day was considered a good days,not many 20 yarders around that time cept a few old Fodens and AECs,there is a site at the link below, in the left top corner there is a box, type in Priestman and click on Cerca and it will bring up four pages of Priestman machines but I did not find the hyd/cable one.
AJ
http://www.album-mmt.it/index.php