Blue Metal & Gravel Prop

A view of the quarries (may be 1950s)
Prospect, Widemere, with Styles quarry tucked away in the centre left.

I hope this is not getting too far away from the truck forum.


180 Michigan Dozer
This used tp run all over the place cleaning rocks of the road & around
the face shovel truck loading area, saved a fortune in tyre damage.
( JT Cummins power)
......................................

275 Michigan.
NRTO cummins power.
(Basically a 5.1/8.bore 220 with a turbo & what ever else was needed to poke out 335 hp.

(same eng as used in the Inter Payhaulers)

This Mitchy was used for loading the gravel trucks from the stock piles,
as well as a bit of face loading.

A little story here if i may ?
One day the usual operator didnt front,so the grader driver took the controls (a versatile sort of bloke).
He was sent to load the side tippers at the rock face,
so he spots a large rock & sez "Ill have that one''
Charges in , picks it up with a bit of trouble,backs out with the bucket goin up (as you would).
With the bucket fully up then swings around forward towards the side tipper.
At this point the rock becomes a bit too much for the Michy ,
Next thing the Michy is standin on its nose with the bucket on the ground.
Then (you guessed it)...........the rock rolls out of the bucket.
Next, the old Michy is jumpin around all over the place similar to a buckin horse.

Well, old Reg, smokin on his pipe, never missed a puff, dives right back in,
has another go ..........and made it ............second time around.

It took the truck driver a week to stop laughin.
There was just no end to it all.
..................Billy..............

I hope this is not getting too far away from the truck forum.

There'll be NO complaints from me BillyP..........

As far as I'm concerned,

Keep 'em coming...

Used to have a little michigan 55A , was a good machine 'tho occasionally would break the CV joint if the operator would give it with steering on full lock . To be expected I suppose.

I've enjoyed this little series immensely. If you have any more pics, or anecdotes, please post them.

Many thanks, ASW.

Yep, The michigan loaders did a good job.
With the 275 there was two 175s with 4/71 GMs, They took care of all loading of the gravel trucks.

Another part of BM&G was the operations on the Nepean river.


This was McCans Island
When Warragamba dam was being built aggregate from here was sent to the dam
via the old flying fox, It used to run parallel to the river & over the western h/way...remember ?...
...............................................

Bottom dump Euclids would be loaded by the dragline then come up river to the unloading boot (above)
The stuff would be crushed & loaded onto said flying fox.

The eucs had a NHRS cummins
Basically a 220 with a supercharger & what ever to give about 320 hp
A 5 speed Fuller crash main box (that kicked like a mule.........when you started drivin these,
if you had a good right arm in the mornin it was as sore as hell in the arvo.....L/H drive....
With a 2 speed joey box.

A little story.......
One day a few BM&G chiefs from down town came up to have a bo peep at the set up,
in their nice shiny new car.
They scoot down & pull up next to the R/H side of the euc (no common sense of corse)
Now the euc had just got the last bucket of rock on board so the driver pops it into gear,
and choofs off , hard R/H down, didnt really expect any thing to be along side,
& promptly drags the trailer wheels over the car , takes off up stream with out realising what
had happened.
What have we now got ?
A few chiefs jumpin up & down, & a low slung saloon.

After things settled down the euc driver kept his job & i suppose the chiefs got a new car,
...............Never a dull moment at BM&G..........Billy...........

I remember, Harold Payne, Rippy Wager, Barry Overton (dec), Kenny Walker and Kevin Downes.

Mobile Plant P/L.

This is the banner that all the red gravel trucks ran under.
Unfortually i do not have any photos of these , relying on old btochures that i have instead.



An old manual thats been in my cubboard for about 45 years.



Shaws Island plant on the Nepean river.

In the background is two ""train"" bottom dump 20 ton cap trailers.
(so called because they resembled bottom dump railway carriages).
Those 2 are pulled by 190 bogie drive inters (I suppose you could call them 195 inters).

...... olddon....mentioned in another thread about a Henschell re powered 195,

I can recall a repower on a 195 with some thing that i had never heard of at the time,
MAYBE that could have been it ? .
The JS cummins 195 was under one of thesetrailers.

Any way, the mobile plant work shop was in 3 main parts.
Top floor,
Did virtually all the service work with a night (evening) shift.
All major work was mostly on an exchange basis.
Engine, gearboxes diffs etc One out one in so the trucks were ready to roll next morning.

2nd or middle floor ( as i recall )
Body building,........This was where all the truck bodies were made & fitted, repaired or what ever.
Small smash work & repowers Or any new projects
As olddon said they set up a couple of the first acco 8 wheelers.
This was run by a bonser bloke called ""Horse"" so called because of a nice set of choppers .
When he laughed , well...................

Then there was the ""snake pit"" run by Tony Attard aka ""snakey""....sound right?
All the recon work was done here , eng, boxes diffs walking beams etc
This was in the days before hendrickson mobile replacement bush fitting.
(actually i replaced a set of centre bushes on an aggitator in situ once , making up a porta power set up
to do it , not long after that it became common practice ......hhhmmmmm.)

Next of corse was the spare parts & store.

Below this was T.I.P. where i hung out.
......................................





Delivering gravel to a BM&G batching plant at Liverpool (D-Y Ready Mixed Concrete)
(before RMC days )
..............................................

Another BM&G plant.
Specified Concrete. P/L
Albion Park
Sth Coast.



This time Certified Concrete P/L
Bankstown..........Sydney






Well thats it 4 to nite
did i hear some one say ''thank christ for that "?