Muir-Hill: Difference between revisions
→Dumper Trucks: Clarify that the steering wheels are now the rear wheels as the driver faces the bucket |
→Dumper Trucks: Bit of info on the post war dumpers (1948) |
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===Dumper Trucks=== |
===Dumper Trucks=== |
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Muir-Hill came up with the concept of the dumper truck in 1927, effectively a Fordson tractor in reverse. The drivers seat was placed alongside the engine over the steering wheels (now the rear wheels), and a 2 cubic yard tipping bucket was mounted over the driven axle. The early versions of this 'dumping tractor' for sale in 1931<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=17 November 1931 |title=The Roads and Transport Exhibition |url= |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=520}}</ref> had to change wheels for use off-road or on road, but in 1933 new Dunlop low-pressure pneumatic tyres came available which removed this limitation,<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=4 August 1933 |title=Increasing the Scope of the Dumping Tractor |url=https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/4th-august-1933/32/increasing-the-scope |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=880}}</ref> and the trucks by now known as Muir-Hill dumpers were rapidly adopted for construction work. By the 1937 Road and Transport Exhibiton Boydell's Muir-Hill dumper range had expanded to handle 1 to 3 cubic yards. They all had gravity tip and all had pneumatic tyres. In addition they continued to market their type 45 loader, again based on the Fordson tractor.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=12 November 1937 |title=The Roads and Transport Exhibition |url= |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=538}}</ref> |
Muir-Hill came up with the concept of the dumper truck in 1927, effectively a Fordson tractor in reverse. The drivers seat was placed alongside the engine over the steering wheels (now the rear wheels), and a 2 cubic yard tipping bucket was mounted over the driven axle. The early versions of this 'dumping tractor' for sale in 1931<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=17 November 1931 |title=The Roads and Transport Exhibition |url= |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=520}}</ref> had to change wheels for use off-road or on road, but in 1933 new Dunlop low-pressure pneumatic tyres came available which removed this limitation,<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=4 August 1933 |title=Increasing the Scope of the Dumping Tractor |url=https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/4th-august-1933/32/increasing-the-scope |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=880}}</ref> and the trucks by now known as Muir-Hill dumpers were rapidly adopted for construction work. By the 1937 Road and Transport Exhibiton Boydell's Muir-Hill dumper range had expanded to handle 1 to 3 cubic yards. They all had gravity tip and all had pneumatic tyres. In addition they continued to market their type 45 loader, again based on the Fordson tractor.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=12 November 1937 |title=The Roads and Transport Exhibition |url= |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=538}}</ref> |
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After the war Muir-Hill adopted a system whereby the drivers seat and controls could be rotated to face forward or backward. In 1948 they exhibited 3 models, the 10B (2.5 to 3 cubic yards), 14B (3.5 to 4 cubic yards) and the 20B (5 to 6 cubic yards). The 10B retained the four cylinder side-valve engine and conventional dumper appearance. The 14B and 20B looked more like commercial vehicles with a cab, the 14B using a Perkins P6 oil engine, while the 20B had a 7.7litre AEC oil engine.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=7 May 1948 |title=Aids to Production at B.I.F. (British Industries Fair) |url= |magazine=Commercial Motor |location= |publisher= |access-date=|page=388}}</ref> |
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They also built [[forklift]]s based on a tractor skid unit for a period before other manufacturers entered the market with better machines, and built some of the earlier articulated dumpers that evolved into the modern ADT. |
They also built [[forklift]]s based on a tractor skid unit for a period before other manufacturers entered the market with better machines, and built some of the earlier articulated dumpers that evolved into the modern ADT. |
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Revision as of 14:46, 5 September 2022
Muir Hill (Engineers) Ltd was a general engineering company based at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. It was established in the early 1920s and specialised in products to expand the use of the Fordson tractor, which in the pre-war days included sprung road wheels, bucket loaders, simple rail locomotives, and in particular in the 1930s they developed the dumper truck. Later they built high horse power tractors.
Company History
Muir Hill (Engineers Ltd) and Muir-Hill Service Equipment Co Ltd both appear in the 1920s. The latter being announced in 1921 as appointed as sole distributors for Great Britain and Ireland for Dearborn and Hinckley-Myers service equipment, K.W. rubber-tread wheels for Fordson tractors, and Meehan steel tipping bodies and gears.[1] Both Muir Hill (Engineers) Ltd and Muir Hill Service Equipment Ltd appear in patents of 1924 (along wih Walter Llewelyn Hill as co-author) suggesting the two companies ran side by side, possible with Muir Hill Service Equipment Ltd as a subsidiary.
In 1931 Edward Boydell took over and the company was renamed E. Boydell & Co Ltd, though the Muir-Hill trademark continued to be used for its products, and this continued after E. Boydell & Co came under the ownership of Winget Ltd of Kent in 1959. In 1962 the factory was moved from Manchester to Gloucester, and in 1968 Winget Ltd was acquired by Babcock and Wilcox Ltd, and the E.Boydell company was renamed Muir Hill Ltd.
Products
Initially Muir-Hill appears to have been a reseller of accessories for the Fordson tractor as outlined in the Company Hiistory section, however patents in the mid-1920s indicated they were developing their own accessories, such as sprung wheels.
Rail Locomotives
Muir Hill machinery have included basic petrol engined railway locomotives, mainly for narrow gauge. The early locos were little more than a Fordson tractor skid mounted on a rail chassis, with a chain connecting the rear axle of the tractor to the rail wheels. All surviving examples are from the 1920s (up to 1929), suggesting they were phased out in the 1930s in favour of other business.
Users of Muir Hill locomotives included the slate quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog, and the granite quarries of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.
The Ffestiniog railway evaluated a 4wPM locomotive of around 20 hp constructed by Muir Hill (Engineers) Ltd in about 1922. It came to the FR on loan from the Aluminium Corporation's Cowlyd Reservoir Railway near Dolgarrog, arriving at Blaenau Ffestiniog on 9 April 1924. The loan was arranged by Henry Joseph Jack, who at the time controlled the WHR and FR and believed that a fleet of these units could provide cost-effective haulage for most purposes.[2]
Based on a Fordson tractor, the Muir Hill had three speeds in forward but only one in reverse. Trials were conducted in early May. It performed about as well as could have been reasonably expected, being barely able to pull 'an ordinary guards van' from Beddgelert to South Snowdon (Rhyd Ddu). Later in May it was tried to power the machinery at Boston Lodge. In a further trial it ran very well from Blaenau Ffestiniog to South Snowdon with a small van but could only return to Beddgelert at 2¼ mph because of its inadequate reverse gearing. These poor results were reported to the Board in June and the unit returned to Dolgarrog in August 1924.[citation needed]
Dumper Trucks
Muir-Hill came up with the concept of the dumper truck in 1927, effectively a Fordson tractor in reverse. The drivers seat was placed alongside the engine over the steering wheels (now the rear wheels), and a 2 cubic yard tipping bucket was mounted over the driven axle. The early versions of this 'dumping tractor' for sale in 1931[3] had to change wheels for use off-road or on road, but in 1933 new Dunlop low-pressure pneumatic tyres came available which removed this limitation,[4] and the trucks by now known as Muir-Hill dumpers were rapidly adopted for construction work. By the 1937 Road and Transport Exhibiton Boydell's Muir-Hill dumper range had expanded to handle 1 to 3 cubic yards. They all had gravity tip and all had pneumatic tyres. In addition they continued to market their type 45 loader, again based on the Fordson tractor.[5]
After the war Muir-Hill adopted a system whereby the drivers seat and controls could be rotated to face forward or backward. In 1948 they exhibited 3 models, the 10B (2.5 to 3 cubic yards), 14B (3.5 to 4 cubic yards) and the 20B (5 to 6 cubic yards). The 10B retained the four cylinder side-valve engine and conventional dumper appearance. The 14B and 20B looked more like commercial vehicles with a cab, the 14B using a Perkins P6 oil engine, while the 20B had a 7.7litre AEC oil engine.[6]
They also built forklifts based on a tractor skid unit for a period before other manufacturers entered the market with better machines, and built some of the earlier articulated dumpers that evolved into the modern ADT.
Four-wheel-drive tractors
The company's four-wheel-drive tractors with equal sized wheels by fitting a driven front axle running from output from a sandwich plate between the gearbox and rear axle casings. Because of the size of the axle this meant the whole tractor was raised considerably from standard height. However the traction gains were considerable (as with County and Roadless tractors) and Muir-Hills have been and are used for heavy draught applications.[citation needed]
Preservation of Early Examples
Muir-Hill tractors have survived longer than comparable models,[citation needed] and a number have been subject to restoration. Threlkeld Quarry Museum holds examples of Muir Hill equipment.[7]
At least two Muir-Hill locomotives survive, two at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, one in the Museum, the other greatly modified.
References
- ^ "Wheels of Industry". Commercial Motor. 11 October 1921. p. 248.
- ^ Henry Joseph Jack
- ^ "The Roads and Transport Exhibition". Commercial Motor. 17 November 1931. p. 520.
- ^ "Increasing the Scope of the Dumping Tractor". Commercial Motor. 4 August 1933. p. 880.
- ^ "The Roads and Transport Exhibition". Commercial Motor. 12 November 1937. p. 538.
- ^ "Aids to Production at B.I.F. (British Industries Fair)". Commercial Motor. 7 May 1948. p. 388.
- ^ "Threlkeld Vintage Excavator" Flickr photograph
Further reading
- Webb, Brian; The British Internal Combustion Locomotive 1894-1940, David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-6115-5
- Gibbard, Stuart; Ford Tractor Conversions, Old Pond Publishing Ltd (2003). ISBN 1903366429
- Bradley, Vic "Industrial Railways of North Wales" Colonel Stephens Railway Museum web site[citation needed]
External links
Media related to Muir-Hill tractors at Wikimedia Commons
- Muir-Hill Website Official Muir-Hill Website
- Clevedon & Portishead Railway - used a Muir hill locomotive.
- Book featuring Muir Hill tractors