We Don't Know What Is Out There

Mike & Julie Blenkinsop search their archives and find some rare images of the Fordson-based Neal Pelican grab-loader.

The Pelican loader was an early grab machine invented by a New Zealand company, but built in the UK under licence by RH Neal, a Grantham, Lincolnshire, engineering firm. The company initially set up in Ealing in the Twenties and began to build cranes and loaders from 1937 at their HQ in Dysart Road, but the firm finished in 1959 when it was taken over by Coles Cranes.

The Pelican design was based on the Fordson Major tractor, except the loading operation was reversed so that the driver faced away from the engine; this made it, in effect, rear-wheel steer. A hinged boom arm pivoted over the cab area with a 2 cubic yard grab on the end. A supporting frame was bolted to the vehicle with a ballast tray at the front (or back in the Pelican’s case) containing a large block of concrete to keep the nose down; some were later adapted to use a standard crane hook.