Rail mounted dumper - can anyone identify?

[Kscanes]

Hello all

I wonder if anyone can suggest the base dumper for the rail mounted dump truck in these pictures?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimctomcat/15867535197/

https://bestieboy.smugmug.com/Trains/El ... -ZPVvnB2/A

It was converted for rail use circa 1986, for a preservation group in Sheffield, and has remained in the area now at the Elsecar Steam Railway, Barnsley.

The skip looks quite distinctive, but I'm undecided as to whether the chassis is original dumper or has been fabricated from scratch for rail use. And those wheels .....

Any thoughts appreciated

Regards

Ken Scanes

[womble3go]

Hi Ken,

Not really sure, with those photo but with zooming in the front beams don't look right, but could be wrong and it looks like it go a 2 pot and hydraulic on it?

But it looks like a usefully bit of kit, I did convert one worked well but the gearbox that I got did not match the diff it was slow reverse was less than walking speed but it never got stuck.

Kevin.

[Kscanes]

Thanks. Yes the front beam does look odd.

I found a photo of the other side
https://allanjenks.smugmug.com/Other/El ... -LjbMq8z/A

[Johnson Dumper]

I think it is a self made...

[FOWLER MAN]

Looks like a Petter engine, at a guess its a Petter AVA2.
Fred

[womble3go]

I would think a ph 2 with a hyd pump at the flywheel end think you can see it first pic.

only thing missing is tool carry for the staff on it.

[cobbadog]

The fins on the heads is different with huge injectors sticking up. Many manufacturers made all sorts of vehicles for different applications like under ground mining truck, passenger carriers and the mechanics truck with his mobile workshop on the front in place of the bin.
The bin in this case is purpose built to dump ballast in between the rails then out with the long handle shovels to put ballast out side of the rails.
It worked out well for the spacing of the wheels as it looks as if the train wheels bolted straight up to the axle flange/s front and rear.

[essexpete]

The fins on the heads is different with huge injectors sticking up. Many manufacturers made all sorts of vehicles for different applications like under ground mining truck, passenger carriers and the mechanics truck with his mobile workshop on the front in place of the bin.
The bin in this case is purpose built to dump ballast in between the rails then out with the long handle shovels to put ballast out side of the rails.
It worked out well for the spacing of the wheels as it looks as if the train wheels bolted straight up to the axle flange/s front and rear.

It is a well known fact mate that the railways were developed in close consultation with the dumper manufacturers.

[Kscanes]

Thank you all for your replies.

I have come to the conclusion that the donor dumper was a Johnson Rotaplacer, mainly based on the shape of the skip. Note the handrail curving round the back of the skip, also the slot in the back of the skip that leads into what I take to be a reinforcing web inside the skip. A couple of photos of a Johnson Rotaplacer here for comparison, need to scroll down https://www.oilyhands.co.uk/Johnson-Mac ... graphs.htm


While searching I found this vid of a couple of Johnson Rotaplacers fitted with flanged wheels working at Cricklewood:
https://youtu.be/woC2PDiBYtg?t=434 . Of course this invites the question, if it is practicable to simply put flanged wheels straight onto a Johnson Rotaplacer, why bother building a different machine based on Johnson Rotaplacer bits?

[Johnson Dumper]

Hi,
here you see an old German O & K S8 dumper with flanged railway wheels.
Nothing else was changed, even the steering is still there ...