Remember when looking for something, dont forget to look in your own back yard. Over the past year I have been on the look out for an excavator around the 10t - 15t size for the canal restoration project that I am a volunteer on. Funds are very limited but over the months we have managed to increase the pot as more people have bought in to the idea, this obviously increased the options. I have been trawling all the usual magazines and the web and found a Cat 211BL which I posted about and left alone. I then experienced an auction which while it was tied up with a visit to family still entailed a day off work :ban and a 600mile round trip, without a purchase. I had located 3 possible machines near to where I am presently working ( 100miles from home ) and as a result had to cancel an appointment for the Saturday morning back near home where I was intending to view a secondhand grab that I had hoped to fit to the work boat we now have. The resulting conversation threw up the fact that the local company was looking at selling or trading 3 of its present 13tonners in order to upgrade. RESULT. 5 miles from home dealing with a local company that I have had dealing with in the past and have a very good reputation. :scool Case CX130 2002yr 7800hrs Owned from new, Full service history, immobiliser, 4 buckets, hyd quick hitch, retracked last year, delivery included in the deal and weekend use of a breaker from their fleet when ( if ) we need it.
You sure you remember how to run one with tracks ? You know you cant drive this one home!! (ha ha ha)
The only negative was "no cab guards" probably not a consideration for a lot of members of HEF but a very real need for a UK user especially for a machine that will be unattended in the countryside. Mummies little treasures would have a field day with all that glass on show :bash. The great thing was to find that the machine has a factory fitted immoboliser which saved us £700 by not having to fit a Kosran. The best deal I could get on a set of guards was £600 so had to resort to DIY While some were butchering the wood a couple set to work with the hot air gun removing the sign writting. They wont win any design awards and wont stop anybody who really wants to be in, but they will hopefully stop mummies little treasures when they are bored.
You are too near the mark there Zaxis it will take a bit of getting used to, throwing it over ridges and wadding through water without worrying too much about how soft it might be
I bet you can handle it A-Rob!! I was just kidding around. Good pictures as always, (just the wrong shade of orange!!) looks like that little Case would go in the "soft stuff" well with those wide pads--neat woodwork :thumbsup
radio was the radio missing by any chance rob we have had machines from them before ,i think he has a few on the A3 at hindhead ,jcb 130,s i think good to see you are sorted out now cheers graham
700mm pads on it so yes I am hoping for no dramas but I'll keep the camera handy should the unthinkable ( but not impossible ) happen . Dont know that the woodwork is neat functional is probably the diplomatic word You know what, I haven't even noticed or missed a radio I must have been too engrossed in the other not so important features They do have some JCB 130's, the day I was looking at the Case they had just fitted a 'tilty' thing to one ready to go out on a hire. They are my local dealer for them and I asked if it was done deliberately just to wind me up Thanks for the kind thoughts. :beerchug
radio hi rob ,the owner of bph is a Plymouth brethren member they have no radio,s TV etc i worked with a bloke called stumpy once he worked for them and Les searle among may others and said when a new batch of machines came in all the radios were removed and put in the bin after being smashed j Brock's the tractor dealers from Essex are the same you wont find any radios communication with the devil hope the case serves you well cheers graham
Very nice Rob. Good find.
Nice score Rob! :thumbsup I like it, I like it, I like it!
Congrats Rob!:drinkup That is a nice looking machine and should give you guys great service on your project. Of course we will need some photo updates of the canal project.
Nice! Now it´s time to make an ATM withdrawl.:drinkup
:lmao :falldownlaugh
Great choice there Rob:thumbsup The cx130 I used for a couple of months was silky smooth to operate and suprisingly powerful. The bonus for your volunteer group will come with the fuel economy that is virtually unbelievable if you are used to Cat's. Best of luck with your new purchase and every success with the restoration work.
There's only one company that I know of that has protective gear over their windows on their hoes every night. It's a very rare thing around here which is odd because we do have plenty of remote areas where glass can become the new target. Nice excavator!
Nice little tool that is mate! That quickhitch line looks a little long though? Joe
That last picture ( post #10 ) Has what looks like a sports fork lift setting in front of it. Have any pictures of it?
YE can't cause you arn't iorish! Nisc machine Rob. Stook
Hey Stook, I mean Stock, I was wondering if you had one too many Guinness's when you posted this.:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup:dizzy Rn'R
The new machine looks like it was well worth the wait, Rob. You and your fellow volunteers must get a lot of satisfaction working on and restoring those canals that meander through the picturesque English countryside. Rn'R.
This Case machine looks almost identical to our Sumitomo SH120 Excavator. Very Very good machine. Faster and more breakout than our sumitomo 21T digger. http://www.equipmatching.com/uploads/images/ood144utl4.jpg
Thanks for all the positive comments guys. Everybody is really pleased with the purchase. It is getting its first real workout this next week as we have a visiting work party who are going to replace an old culvert. It will save the weeks hire of a machine we would have had to hire so its earning its keep already They are on the "to do" list they got picked up on the annual inspection that I requested. The only other shot that shows it is this. Why do you refer to it as a "sports" cause its got glass and cab?
Earning its keep So far so good. The Case has behaved perfectly over the past months and was indeed a great purchase. It got a good work out replacing an old culvert that crosses under the canal a short distance north from where we are now working, but as it was done by a weekday work group I didnt manage to get any pictures that time. This was the duct trench for the power supply to run the back pumps at the lock we are altering. Because we have no ready supply of water, (the original supply lake is no longer available due to many reasons) we install back pumps as we renovate each lock in order to recover the water that we draw under licence from the river. In hot / dry weather these licences are quickly revoked/suspended which has at times left us so short of water in the canal that the trip boats which are a major source of revenue for restoration have to be stopped. This is the vegetation strip in preperation for the construction of the winding hole ( a wide area where the trip boats can turnaround)
Winding hole The winding hole is being constructed over part of the old river line that formed an ox-bow when the river was diverted to build the canal. As a result I had to remove the old silt down to good clay, then build it back up again with good compacted clay. The machine is sat on the line of the old river, the canal passes to the rear in the shadow, with Devil's Hole lock in the distance directly above the cab. This is from the towpath, canal in the foreground. the stripped area that is the offside bank of the canal will be removed back to the digger. This is the extension being constructed to bring the lock up to the latest spec. This lock was badly damaged by a Canadian demolition team testing thier explosives prior to some WW2 action. The lock was extensively repaired several years ago but since then specs have changed and it was decided that the lock should be altered ( extended) rather than become a restriction/bottleneck in the future. Devil's Hole Lock in July 2004. The off side wall has been totally rebuilt from the invert up for approximately two thirds of it's length. There are more pictures here. http://www.weyandarun.co.uk/dhl2009.php
Thats a rather huge job A-rob! You'd be bussy every weekend for years....(i looked at the map) Also looks like all the voulentairs don't have so much to do at the daytime... You're not that old?
That's a cool job you guys are doing, Rob, restoring the canal. Ok...why ain't there no "Rob Taylor Plant" decals on the Case digger? :cool2
Yes its a major undertaking, I cant see it being finished in my life time. Many of the volunteers are retired or semi retired. The beauty of it is that there are jobs for all tastes and intrests, from want to be digger drivers who need to keep thier hand in to boat fanatics who can never afford to own a boat of thier own but get to crew, even skipper a 50 person capacity trip boat. Then there are the maintenace teams that do grass cutting, hedge laying and trimming plus all the other bits and pieces that an undertaking of this magnitude involves. Thanks, it keeps me out of the pub It aint mine its the canals. I managed to get one coat of primer on the backside before it went to work as you can see. It needs another coat then a nice blue with gold lettering to show members it belongs to them. I intend to do the dipper arm also, another form of security. Heres a compilation I did, I dont just play with diggers YouTube - Baldwins Knob Lock on the Wey and Arun Canal
Well, that answers my question. That's a cool video you did.
Great work Rob what type of cement did you use? Sika?
Honestly I dont know :Banghead I do know it was quick setting, It got opened up on top and sent down dry in the bucket. You can see I did all the wrong things, mixing it by hand like mum showed me how to make bread but speed was of the essence as what started as an investigation turned into the real possibility of a repair. To say we sort of achieved the (not impossible) but the very unlikely and definetly unexpected is an understatement, to do one was ambitious but two was not even considered
Great shots as usual, Rob. I find what you are doing there, really interesting and a credit to you and the other volunteers, considering that the bulk of those canals have not been used since 1871, the restoration project must be huge. Keep up the good work. Rn'R.
Im liking the DIY version! if it keeps the glass intact and a handful of money in the pocket, hell it works for me!
Very nice machine
Dont you just hate early deliveries! Somebody ordered water, it came too early, I hadn't finished the winding hole! But now you can see the line of the canal and what we are trying to achieve This was the last few metres of duct, total almost 500m Last weekend was cable time and nearly ended up with me getting divorced ! The day turned into a disaster. We got about 200metres of cable in ( pulling with the 4.5t Hanix) then the ropes kept breaking :Banghead We got there in the end, we had to, it couldn't be left on the surface. I got home at 20:00hrs, dinner was in the dog! and the wife not amused. It didnt help my day that as the pressure went up I forgot about the tree luckily only my pride dented! This is the extension work done, showing the upper gate recess. Just needs copings to be cast ( believe a couple already done ) and the training walls to be built. Training walls guide the boats into the lock rather than letting them smash into a flat end wall Note the buckets to hold a shutter in place. Flood water passing in the forground.
Great story! Really enjoy looking at it as it progresses! Hows the little CX130 coping with the job ? Standing up well i hope?
Thanks Joe, the Case has been nothing short of excellent. It has made a vast amount of difference. Placing concrete for example that used to be mixed and barrowed can now be mixed, tipped straight into the reversed bucket and placed. The duct trench would have required a hired in machine, dam building to hold and divert water, it goes on and on. It will be better as time goes on and others get the confidence to use the machine. We have working parties several days of the week it just a case of them learing not only to operate the machine but just what it can achieve to make their toil easier. I will be a lot happier come some good weather and I can get some colour and writting on that arse end
I've done a bit on canals rob....some of it is fun work....last one was on the grand union did a winding hole...like the pics you posted
Fantastic stuff your canal work Rob:thumbsup We are blessed with having the Cauldon canal right through the area where I live, but they had a bank collapse a couple of weeks ago and the resulting mess was unbelievable. Estimates arearound £500,000 to patch things up I believe! I thought of dropping my business card in! We have a project in it's infancy up here to re-open the Cauldon canal through to Uttoxeter following the remains of the route, although some was actually filled in and the railway built on top so it will never be the true original course. Love to get involved if they actually get digging on it.
Nice machine.
Time I gave you guys and gals an update on things. Apart from one small electrical problem I talked of in another thread I am pleased to say the Case has been very good. It has certainly earned its keep over the last couple of months. This is the altered lock, very nearly finished. Far side training wall ready for copings to finish it off Far side again with frost protection. Nearside wall showing copings peeping out from cover While this work has been going on I have been concentrating on getting the canal bed down to its original level between the New Lock and this one so we can get the boats onto it. A lot of clearing was done a good few years ago and some repairs done but no serious attempt to get the proper level back. The idea was to put the little Hanix 4.5t in the bottom and me sit on the towpath with the Case to load a dumper. It soon became clear there was a lot more material to come out than we expected so I dropped the Case in the bottom also.
The following Sunday I concentrated on getting a bucket width down to level This showed just how much material we had to move and a lack of time to achieve it. We have a grand opening of Devils Hole Lock planned for mid April. With this in mind, assistance in the way of a 10t tracked dumper and Zaxis 130 complete with gimpy bucket were brought in for a week.
WoW, Rob this is a GREAT thread i have enjoyed the entire post. and i question for u how long do u think the entire rebuild will take ??? and when can i come over there and help u guys LoL i would if i could for sure. tks
As many who play with muck will be only too aware, its always a problem finding somewhere to loose it Luckily these dumpers will go places a man can hardly walk But at a £1000 a week it had to go And we resorted to our own fleet View attachment 59119 With the poor little Hanix struggling to keep the tip clear for the dumper.
Glad you like it Dave, you are welcome anytime, no need to even bring a shovel, we have plenty spare. There are 10 locks to be rebuilt from scratch between this next one that we are almost finished on and the summit at Dunsfold. Thats the area where Top Gear is filmed with the Stig. They have to be rebuilt from scratch as originally built of brick, they were dismantled and the bricks reused for other things. Who said recycling is a new thing :Banghead If we managed to build a lock every 2 years, that will take us another 20yrs Its a long term project We are in the proccess of applying for planning permission for the next lock which is Southlands and the cap is out to raise the funds required. Estimated at £300,000 The last figures I have seen put the cost of the Devils Hole Lock alterations at £80,000 which includes £38,000 for the gates.
Nice work Rob. Looks like ya found a bit of a mudhole there fella. :yup Is that a Hitachi CG45 dumper?
Hi Atcoequip, sorry for the late reply I am away all week and although I have net access its via a mobile and deadly slow loading this site due to the colour and ads etc, so I get a little look but have to be desperate to post That mudhole is our tip the dumper had no problem but you can see what happened to the little Hanix Cant tell you the model of the dumper I'm afraid. First one I have ever got to play in and must say I was impressed, bloody expensive but gets the muck where you wouldnt get it otherwise. The new gates went on last week.
Nice looking work Rob. That place is going to look amazing when you guys are done.
Rob thank you for posting this thread. I have followed it as well as spent sometime on the Canal website, very interesting stuff. What you all are doing is very impressive and I like the construction techniques. The craftsmanship of the excavation, masonry and wood work is impressive. Keep up the good work and I hope to get to visit it one day.:drinkup
I wonder if I will live long enough to see it completed, some how I dont think so :dizzy Its my pleasure CM just glad folk like it. I am a big believer in the more it is talked about the more chance there is of just the right person ( multi millionaire maybe ) getting to hear about it. I do hope if you get the chance to visit the UK that it might be a possible stop off point for a boat trip or stroll in the countryside. :beerchug Today we have been building a quay / dock / landing stage area for the trip boats to stop at for folk to embark / disembark. These are regurgatated plastic, panels that look rather like cast iron :cool2 about 2"x10"x80" long bolted to a piece of galvanised steel 3" angle iron to create panels 10 wide. Each end panel has a 6ft threaded rod that goes back to a buried retaining pad. In front of the pad we have driven 3ft lengths of scaffold tube into the ground to help as an anchor. First panel placed last weekend. Swinging in another panel, note retaining bar which was subsequently removed during placement for safety reasons. View along the excavation during tightening. Out of time, so rough backfill to keep everything safe. The intention is to compact a couple of layers of clay along the front to aid retention.
Nice looking job on the Lock Rob.:thumbsup The quality of the wooden gates look exceptional in the pics and should hopefully provide some long service. Never come accross those panels before and I would be interested in a rough cost per panel? It would be interesting to compare against plastic piles which are easy to use and could be topped off with a concrete plinth. Just curious as to how it all gets funded? Usual mix of donations and grants I assume? All great work and plenty around this area needing attention!
Hi Eddie, Sorry I completely forgot about your request. The planks come from Bournemouth. Clicking a few links will bring up a full list price but it will be slow to load so I have print page and cropped half the page to give you an idea. http://www.reformedplastics.co.uk/recycled-plastic-products.php http://www.reformedplastics.co.uk/ReformedPlasticsPriceList.pdf You are quite correct on the funding, all by voluntary contribution, fund raising, profit from the boat trips and a little from IWA. Yesterday, 17th April 2010 was the official grand opening of the Devils Hole Lock and the stretch of water between it and the New Lock. This lock as I may have already mentioned was damaged by Royal Canadian Engineers in WW11 during testing of explosives prior to the Dieppe landings. With this in mind, it was decided to extend an invitation to the Canadian High Commission in London to see if they wished to partake in the official reopening. I am very pleased to say they sent a Colonel and two Lieutenant Colonels in full military attire to join us in the celebrations. We even had good weather
Due to a shortage of time the new quay we had built did not get used as we had not got rid of the muck that I had generated. It all got shaped back to canal profile to get the boat through. As a result we built a temporary landing stage that worked just as well. The other slight disappointment was due to a technical problem last weekend and into the week a lot of water was lost. There was insufficient time to back pump and draw enough water from the river to flood the short section I had bunded off above the lock. As a result the stop planks were installed at the head of the lock to allow the top gates to be opened during the ceremony. Once the big boat had returned to Loxwood it was deemed worth the risk to drop the lock water level and reflood it with a couple of small boats in. I've pinched these off the canal web site. Josias Jessop leads Zachariah Keppel departing New Lock on their way to DHL Small boats in DHL after the opening. Colonel Paul Rutherford conducting the official reopening of Devils Hole Lock.
Those pictures look great. Excellent work! Cheers to all of you!:drinkup:drinkup
Thanks for the list on the plastic planking Rob. I have to keep looking at the recycled alternatives for obvious reasons when looking at solutions in this Environmental work. Having just discovered that some really smart looking Bog Mats are now being produced in recycled plastic with many benefits over their timber alternatives, I am keen to purchase 3 (all I usually need to walk the machine about) to give a good workout. Apparently Murphys have used them on a pipeline with up to 60 tonne crawler cranes, so the Kubota shouldn't trouble them. However they are 5m x 1m x 90mm and only weigh 300kg, so should be strong and light to handle. As for the Lock and the opening, I can only give all concerned the highest praise for all their efforts and what a fantastic touch to link back into the story of the Canadians who originally blew her up. I wish the brave lads who were preparing to face that horror when they blew her up could have been there to push the gates back open theselves, but I'm certain they would approve of your efforts. Will an information board or plaque be installed to tell the full story?
Congratulations on a job well job well done Rob, I realise this is only a small section of a much larger project, but it is a credit to all of you. I bet the biggest thrill was watching the water flow into the newly constructed canal and lock, for the first time. RnR.
This thread is awesome! Really enjoyed reading it! Just wondering what will be happening to the CX130 when theres no more work for it on the canal? Will you sell it or keep it and hire it out?
Glad that was off use Eddie. Those mats sound amazing and I will watch with intrest any further comments you have on them. Thanks to everybody for your positive comments. Actually got to work this weekend so no canal. Dont worry Joe, there is far more canal work to be done than the CX130 is likely to manage. I dont think it will ever get sold off, maybe traded in in a few years time if we get real lucky. on the other hand it could still be active in another 10yrs with a bit of love and attention :drinkup
ah thats good then! They are apparently very good little machines! Wouldnt mind getting into something like this myself in a few years time to be honest!