The story of a recovery for charity in Co Fermanagh, congratulations to all involved and a big well done....................... This unusual mission was set by Sean Donohoe, the owner of the land where the giant excavator was bogged in October 1992. The incident occurred on the banks of the Woodford Canal during the regeneration of the Shannon-Erne waterway. Several attempts have been made to rescue the excavator by the machinery owner, WAM GB Ltd Civil Engineering, which resulted in the excavator being buried further underground. It is currently resting 12-15ft underground with only the jib visible in the bog land. According to Sean Donohoe, "Myself and my brother Oliver were there when the digger went down and always planned to make an attempt to take it out. However, my brother died in 1999 from Cancer and this galvanised my resolve to take on this challenge." Subsequently, Sean Donohoe purchased the sunken excavator a number of years ago from the owner for the humorous sum of £10. There was great elation on the site of the excavation on the banks of the Woodford River/Erne Shannon Waterway Canal when the Atlas 30 ton 1702 Excavator sitting 15 feet below the wetlands of Fermanagh since 1992 was finally raised to the surface. Cavantv.com recorded the event on Saturday and Sunday and spoke to the elated members of the organising committee after the event. The event attracted a large gathering of supporters on the Saturday and Sunday. The Woodford River/Erne Shannon Waterway Canal was lined with Boats for all of the proceedings. All procedes from this event will be donated to charity Dernagore, Derrylin, Co.Fermanagh Email: [email protected] http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=baRMrWwopmA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAwyUj3XeaA&feature=relmfu
Links were fixed. My post is no longer needed.
Thanks gravel washer I think I have them fixed but you might reverse the order in your post please. Stock
That's pretty cool Stock, thanks for sharing.:drinkup That's a charity event I would be exciting to participate in.
Raising money for a good cause, and saving an old machine! :drinkup The old machine starts again after 20 years in the dirt! http://youtu.be/zFdQeiLTP70
I like the 'elevated work platform', was there a charge for riding in that? Nearly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFdQeiLTP70&feature=relmfu
Very interesting. Helluva job pulling a digger from a helluva mess.
Wish they told us what they did before firing her up again. Very cool to save this machine!
great to see this very professional recovery. I used to love working with the Irish ground workers, hard working, knowledgeable and great fun, thanks guys
That was really interesting, Stock and a credit to all of those involved. I was surprised at how well preserved the excavator was, after twenty years in the bog, anywhere else it would be a bucket of rust. RnR.
the bog the machine sunk into is comprised of peat.There is no oxygen in this morass which explains the lack of rust.Ancient bodies in a remarkable state of preservation have been found with fingernails and hair still intact.
Nice post Stock I learned a few things I hope to never have to put to use. Makes my worst stuck look like it was nothing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1so6iSWmCk&feature=player_embedded Well here is the 1702 tracking under her own steam after twenty years in the mire.............one must salute the German engineering. Easy to see why Atlasrob uses them........ Some additional information............................ http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/plantmachinery/3668828
Thanks for the update stock. Made me watch the recovery vids again. :notworthy