D9T muckrail on blade

[nicky 68a]

It’s a sore point for me when I see muck rails on blades being regularly mangled by excavators mauling them out of a soft spot.It shoes bad management from the top down.
Don’t get me wrong,I’ve yanked them out that way in the past,but in the days of no muck rails and hyd tilt rams.
I’ve had this blade tidied up,allthough there is still some plate to fix back on around the twin tilt area.
Looks a whole lot better now.

 

[Nige]

It needed the before and after pictures Nicky....
And we all thought Blackwell’s was a decent outfit. Not any more, they’re probably run by accountants.

 

[nicky 68a]

Not many good pics of the mess before hand Nige.
Blackwells management are clearly hopeless.
No wonder they are bust.
The day to day running and repairs looks to have been carried out by Blackwells fitters.The work is pathetic quite frankly.
Fortunately,Blackwells were that bad at maintaining their kit in receant times,that Finning have done most of the work other than basic servicing.
The tractor is totally dry underneath.New engine and torque,eq and pivot shaft all done in last 18 months.The bills from Finnings are monumental.
This is what happens when big companies turn their backs on their fitters and opt for dealer r&m contracts.
That works all well and good if they run their business good enough to replace their equipment every few years or 15k hours.
When times have come hard for Blackwells,it’s their short comings in their fitters that have sunk them.They’ve been left to Finnings for all major repairs.

 

[Nige]

I see they have another D9T (RJS01773) up for sale. Got 225k for a punt on that one as well..?

 

[mitch504]

By muckrail you mean the trash guard at the top of the blade?

 

[CM1995]

Nicky or Nige what kind of work does Blackwells do?

 

[Nige]

They're one of the UK's biggest earthmoving contractors. I remember them back in the day when they were "C A Blackwell & Sons Ltd." - long before even these photos were taken in 1984 - https://www.earthmoversmagazine.co....blackwell-kit-in-action-blog-revisited_68.htm

They are now part of the Hargreaves Group of companies. https://www.blackwellgroup.co.uk/

 

[Nige]

By muckrail you mean the trash guard at the top of the blade?

If you were bush clearing I guess it could be, but when you’re pushing dirt (muck) 12hrs a day 7 days a week it’s a muck rail.

 

[mitch504]

Horses for courses, and nouns for.. uh.. err.. regions?

I just wasn't sure which part he meant.

 

[epirbalex]

If you were bush clearing I guess it could be, but when you’re pushing dirt (muck) 12hrs a day 7 days a week it’s a muck rail.

That rail would be a hazard clearing trees , stems would get caught in between the bars and twist the lot off before lunch , the solid build , rolled foward extentions are the way to go or nothing , it wold also be a problem clearing stems out from between the bars till the lot was torn off . May be an overheating problem for some dozers having a solid extention .

 

[MattR]

That rail would be a hazard clearing trees , stems would get caught in between the bars and twist the lot off before lunch , the solid build , rolled foward extentions are the way to go or nothing , it wold also be a problem clearing stems out from between the bars till the lot was torn off . May be an overheating problem for some dozers having a solid extention .

That's what I would have figured. But I'm usually wrong!

 

[nicky 68a]

Sorry for the late reply.
In the UK we tend to call them muck rails .Its the same word we use for scraper arse ends.
As Nige states,Blackwells were a well known construction company here in the UK.For many years they reigned supreme and the best of men worked for them.However,today it’s a whole different story.

 

[nicky 68a]

I see they have another D9T (RJS01773) up for sale. Got 225k for a punt on that one as well..?

I’ve not looked Nige.
Can’t afford too

 

[nicky 68a]

It’s nearly ready for work

 

[Nige]

As Nige states,Blackwells were a well known construction company here in the UK.For many years they reigned supreme and the best of men worked for them.However,today it’s a whole different story.

I dunno, I was never 100% convinced with Blackwells, even back then. There was too much of the "Sarf Lunnun/Essex Wide Boy" about their operation IMO. Maybe it was nothing more than the "North vs South" thing with me being a Northener and them being from almost as far South as you can get without falling off the end.?

Nicky, were you ever around Merrimans or Dyggor Gaylord..? https://books.google.com.co/books?i...oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Merriman Meighan&f=false

 

[nicky 68a]

I dunno, I was never 100% convinced with Blackwells, even back then. There was too much of the "Sarf Lunnun/Essex Wide Boy" about their operation IMO. Maybe it was nothing more than the "North vs South" thing with me being a Northener and them being from almost as far South as you can get without falling off the end.?

Nicky, were you ever around Merrimans or Dyggor Gaylord..? https://books.google.com.co/books?id=FqqWDwAAQBAJ&pg=SA4-PA3&lpg=SA4-PA3&dq=Merriman+Meighan&source=bl&ots=jw4RLPQz8N&sig=ACfU3U3iGfBcUOyFqQPRq-KcoqwE5hF41g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf-t6i_ovpAhWidN8KHQYrAv0Q6AEwD3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Merriman Meighan&f=false

Sorry for the late reply Nige,
I only worked on a coal site where Gaylord had some Euc R85’s and a 992 working,so don’t know much on them other than the obvious.
As for Merrimans,during the 1990’s they were selling overhauled junk in the form of tractor and scraper components.They traded on their good name,but we got wisened up to their tricks with a particularly bad run of luck on a D9H that was pushloading us.
I call it fraud

 

[Nige]

An old photo of Blackwell's at work. I think it might be the M11 in Essex/Cambridgeshire. Tandem pushing 657B's with D9G "Growlers".



Back in the day nobody moved scrapers on lowboys. Imagine you were in a car and meeting a fleet of 657's barreling down the road. Usually they were moved late at night or early morning on a weekend when the traffic was light...........
Photo is from late 60's/early 70's as far as I can tell.

 

[nicky 68a]

Can’t see me been allowed to drive these down the road anymore

 

[Nige]

No mate, those glory days are long gone ......

 

[56wrench]

brings back memories of when i was young. the company i worked for roaded scrapers most of the time. it was cheaper to pay me a days wages and burn fuel for a 50-80 mile move. they had TS14's and 631's. always had to pack a big lunch in case it broke down. usually no chase vehicle unless there were more than one at a time. only came looking for you if you didn't arrive in a reasonable time