SL Parkinson & Derek Crouch Marion 191M shovels & Lectra-Haul trucks.

[Mark Williams]

Hello everyone,
Through my experience & reliable information from friends & workmates I have the following information. In the late '60s Sir Lindsey Parkinson Mining had 2 Marion 191m shovels. One worked @ the Dunraven site in South Wales,the other one worked @ their Pencosto site @ Ammanford. I am told that this second shovel had an early type of hydra-crowd & was very problematic.This shovel was paired with 4 x new Lectra-Haul M100 trucks.When Parky's finished @ Pencosto,the machine was moved with the Dunraven Marion up to the Leeds area (either Templenewsam, Wakefield or Gamblethorpe) Later one of the shovels ended up @ Blindwells in Scotland,where I believe it ended its life cut up for scrap. Later in their lives they were painted up in Fairclough Parkinson Mining orange & then became Amec. The Lectra-Hauls were also shipped up to the Leeds sites & were painted orange from their original yellow. Any more information would be appreciated.
Derek Crouch had a new Marion 191M shovel @ its Llanilid site in Llanharan.A new fleet of Lectra-Haul M100 trucks were purchased with the shovel. Crouch bought 18 of these trucks in total, not all for the Llanilid site, some were new I believe @ their Sisters & Radar sites in Northumberland. The trucks with the Marion 191M & various Marion 182Ms ended up @ the above sites & finally @ Westfield site in Scotland.
I have included some photos of the 191M @ Llanilid upside down,where the bank gave way one weekend.These photos are the property of Derek Crouch chief engineer Alan Armstrong. He told me how he over-saw the up righting of the shovel with the aid of a Lima 2400 shovel & 4 Cat D9Gs with special winchs. The shovel was turned back on its tracks with minimal amount of damage.
Shand mining had the 4th Marion 191M shovel, with an elevated cab.This was bought along with 6 x Wabco 75 ton trucks for their Glyn-Glas site,again in the Swansea valley, not too far from the Pencosto site.When Shands contract finished @ Glyn-Glas, the shovel I am told was shipped to their Meadowgate site near Rotherham.
I am told that 2 of the Marions were sold to coal mines in the USA, one went to Pennsylvania & the other went to Kennecott Energy's Cordero Roho coal mine in Wyoming as a coal shovel.
If anyone can add to this topic with information & photos,it would be greatly appreciated,as there doesn't seem to be much known about these machines.
Other photos provided are the property of Keith Haddock.

[Mark Williams]

Here are 4 more photos related to this post.

[Dah]

Hi,
If you look on the right hand side of the picture I posted a while ago you will see a big Marion that was parked in Dyggor Gaylords yard years ago (the yard was filled with DG, SIMMS, Murphy and Shand kit):

Marion rope shovels in UK opencast

Its a terrible picture but you can make out the big 'M' on the back and you can see how large it is compared with the Lima 2400 to its left and D9's at the back. Looking at your 191 pictures, they all seem to have a lifting bracket on the side of the counter weight and this one didn't. I wonder if this is more likely a 184M?

[Ian Fletcher1970]

Hi Mark,
There's some pics of 191M's at Butterwell in Dave Wootons Opencast Images book.
Can't help with pics myself - got loads of 195B pics though

[Mark Williams]

Hello,
The navvies that were @ Butterwell were Marion 182Ms.These came from Derek Crouchs Radar, Sisters & Llanilid sites.The Marion 182Ms also worked on some of Crouchs other sites,do any of you know where in the North east area.I beleive Taylor-Woodrow had a Ruston Bucyrus 195B & a P&H 1900AL there,these were transfered from their Trecatty site in Merthyr Tydfil. also @ Butterwell was an O&K RH75 & later O&K RH120Cs with the big Demag H285S.I will stay on subject with the shovels & not the other support plant for now.I don,t know exactly where Derek Crouchs Marion 191m went after sisters, but I think it went up to Westfield in Scotland, before being sold to the USA.If anyone can confirm.Taylor Woodrow moved various of those navvies to Chesterhouse & then to Nadins & Highcross & Brynhenllys as well as Clubroomfarm.2 of the O&K RH120Cs were shipped to Ghana, to Taysecs gold mine..Eventually the rest of the 120Cs were sold out in Africa.The RB 195B & the P&H 1900AL, were cut up, when Nadins & Highcross finished.
Can someone confirm what happened to Shands Marion 191M after Meadowgate.This is a mystery to me.You can just catch a glimpse of this shovel on Gareth Horns movie about Meadowgate on Youtube.
The Marion 191Ms in the UK had 15 yard buckets on them & would fill the Lectra Hauls with 4 buckets & Terex R65s in 2 1/2 buckets in a good dig.
Our fellow member VIM had the experience of working with Amecs Marion 191M @ Blindwells.Perhaps he can add some info?
As a young boy I can fondly remember sitting on the high-wall regularly @ Crouchs Llanilid site watching the Lectra Hauls & the Cat 777s,I was more fascinated in the trucks to be truthful.Never thought about a camera,big regret.I can remember being told to leave the site by the gangerman one afternoon,as he said it was to dangerous,but I still used to jump the fence & hide, then.
I stated in another post, that Wimpey had a Marion @ Maesgwyn Cap, this is incorrect, I found out off a Man I used to work with.It was a P&H 1900AL which he operated for many years,as well as an RB 195B which he also operated there.
The navvie in the picture @ Dyggor-Gaylords yard does not look like a Marion,if you look @ the 2 air ducts,I could be wrong though.
Hope this is of interest guys.

[68a]

[Dah]

Thats right - 182's at Butterwell - no 191's in Dave's book from what I have seen.

[Dah]

Hi Mark,

I will try and get a better copy of the DG picture but am 99% sure the picture on the back is the Marion symbol. The ducts are the same as this 182 as far as I can tell.

http://www.northernsteam.com/Unusualsuspects.htm

[Ian Fletcher1970]

I made a school boy error in mistaking the Butterwell 182's in Dave's book for 191'S

[Mark Williams]

Hi Guys,
There's an interesting video on youtube showing some Marion 191Ms & P&H shovels.Go to Tom Price Iron Ore Mines & search.Enjoy.There is another Marion 191m video on youtube,search a not so fast Dresser Marion loading Haul-truck.This one is still working in Alberta Canada.
I found out where one of the welsh Marion 191M's went to in the USA.It went to Beltrami entreprises,in PA,who are no more.Lehigh Coal used to have a Marion 191M,along side its extended Bucyrus Erie 195B shovel,which also had a 15 yard bucket.You can find pictures of the BE 195B on PA Minings website.It is painted in Lehigh's blue colour.
There are still quite a few Marion 191M's working around the world,so I have found,Arch-Coal has one in West Virginia,North American Coal has a coal version with extended boom & a 25 yard bucket working in North Dakota,as well as a Bucyrus Erie 190B with same specs,working alongside it.There are still some I believe working @ Highland Valley copper in Alberta.A turkish coal mine also has 2 working,along with their P&H shovels.
Over the years, the Marion's 191m's cab, can either be on the right or the left,though the later models are on the right.since Dresser took them over.The colour also changed from red & white, to blue & white.
I will post some more photo's of these shovels soon.