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Introduction
Revolution in rubbish
A heavy task
Ram repair
Bang on
When the Salvage Squad first see the dustcart it's in three very rusty sections on a landfill site in the Isles of Scilly. When they realise the state it's in, they are lost for words.
Custom-built in 1982 to navigate the narrow, twisting Scilly Isles streets, the Shelvoke & Drewry Revopak PN Mini was the only one of its type. After 20 years of hard work, it finally ended up on the rubbish heap itself.
A couple of years ago, dustcart fanatic and ex-binman Steve Jones acquired the Revopak Mini. He has had a lifelong passion for refuse collection vehicles and had always dreamed of owning one.
The Victorians were the first to organise the collection of refuse using vehicles, initially horse-drawn and later mechanised. The now defunct company, Shelvoke & Drewry, started making specialised commercial vehicles in 1922 and enjoyed immediate success with the Freighter. This was designed as a universal transport vehicle but was soon adapted specifically to collect rubbish.
The name Shelvoke & Drewry soon became synonymous with specialised, hand-built dustcarts. In 1971 they introduced the Revopak, a revolutionary vehicle that broke up and compacted rubbish using hydraulic power.
The Squad are faced with a massive task when they take on the dustcart. Claire's main job is to get the tines, the big crushing forks, turning in the compactor unit; Jerry has to refurbish the intricate valves and pipes that supply the hydraulic oil and Axel has the essential task of restoring the hydraulic ram to its original condition so it can eject rubbish again.
After removing the hydraulic ram from the dustcart, Axel realises it is beyond repair. He tracks down a replacement from another, larger, scrap dustcart but then has to work out how to fit it into the Mini Revopak.
The ram is made up of four oil-tight sections which extend like a telescope when hydraulic fluid is forced in under pressure. Peter, the hydraulics expert, decides that it would be simpler to prevent the ram from extending to its full length than to cut it down.
Axel has to replace the oil-tight seals inside the ram and then manufacture a metal tube called a stroke-limiting sleeve to fit into a section of the ram. When hydraulic pressure builds up, the sleeve becomes wedged in the tube, preventing the ram from extending fully. Axel's work has to be very precise: the sleeve has to fit perfectly as any leaks will prevent the ram from working.
When he has reassembled all the parts, it is time to bench-test the ram and check that it's all functioning as it should. The ram shoots out with such a loud bang that Axel jumps about a foot in the air, but he is delighted that all his hard work has paid off.
The completed dustcart copes brilliantly with all the rubbish thrown into it by Steve and the Squad. The Squad members are delighted – and amazed that a morning 'on the bins' can be so much fun.
Steam plough | Crane | Morgan | Tram | Steam car | Loco | Dustcart | Fireboat | Gallopers | Watermill
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