...And Still They Work

David Reed finds a Pelican in a coalyard. Is it still capable?

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It was great to see a Pelican loader still earning a living loading coal in a yard ready for delivery at Haltwhistle in Northumberland. The machine is still used daily by Billy Treloar and his son Graham.

Billy bought it some 23 years ago and said: “It was new in the Blaydon area and worked there until I bought it. I got it to load coal in the yard, a job that it still does. It was going to cost £1,500 if I paid by cheque or £1,000 if I paid by cash, so I paid by cash.”

The Pelican’s frame carried a two cubic foot grab, enabling the operator to lift coal and other bulk materials from difficult locations, making it ideal to unload coal from 16-ton railway wagons due to their long reach and deposit it in hoppers ready to fi ll the traditional coal sacks. With the demise of coal deliveries by rail to local stations, their role became increasingly redundant; their day had passed with many succumbing to the cutter’s torch.