by Nick Drew | Wed 18 Nov 2015
Diggers day at the auctions
On the final day of my whirlwind tour of the UK last week, I stopped off to sample the delights of Brightwells Plant & Machinery auction which is held once a month at its premises in Madley, Hereford.
I have to be honest, this was the very first time I had ever attended any form of auction, so I was not entirely sure quite what to expect, but my walk-around proved to be very interesting as I spotted some rare old beasts in and amongst all the newer kit that was up for sale. This old British classic caught my eye straight away. The Smalley towed excavator was really one of the very first mini excavators built in the UK, in fact it was these machines that first inspired Joseph Kaiser and Ernst Menzi to first start making “spider” style hill climbing excavators.
This machine was on offer with 3 buckets and would make a great restoration project for any would be machine preservationist out there.
At the other end of the scale were some fine examples of the latest Dash-4 Kubota mini excavators in the shape of two U55-4 models which were ex Danaher & Walsh machines and in very good condition.
Another rarity on offer was this Lewis Badger mini backhoe loader which attracted a fair bit of interest throughout the day. It was in very good condition and had at some point had a respray, a great little machine for the jobbing builder or farmer and probably at a snip of a price.
A wide variety of Hitachi mini excavators were on offer all ex Keyway fleet with some looking better than others cosmetically anyway.
A piece of classic Cat history was available with this Cat D6C serial number 47JI068 of late 1960’s vintage. This machine was fired up throughout the day with interested punters taking to the controls.
There were all sorts of weird and unusual machines up for grabs at the auction like this zero tail swing IHI 38UJ which featured a knuckle boom and an umbrella canopy.
Larger items of kit included articulated dumptrucks from Volvo in the form of an A35D and this Bell B30D example.
A number of Yanmar products caught my eye including a very unusual mini tracked dozer and some ageing mini excavators, but this 2007 model SV15 mini excavator in the unusual colours of a German contractor was one of the best examples of the 1.5 tonne class machines on show around the auction.
One of the most modern machines on offer was a demolition spec Hyundai R145LCR-9 compact radius excavator. This example featured cab cage, vandal guard’s hydraulic quick hitch and one bucket.
The range of kit at the auction was impressive and there was quite a buzz going on as the auction progressed around the site selling off the individual lots. I also bumped into a number of my regular contacts in the industry and had a good catch up with old friends, I will definitely be going again in the future that’s for sure! The next auction takes place on the 11th December.