The first of Scatter Rock Macadams’ hoppers at Christow appears quickly to have been abandoned, perhaps because stone could not be taken for use at the depot. The second hopper, the one that remains today, had shutters and a conveyor beneath so that stone could be used to make tarmacadam and concrete castings.
The bank which lay between the single running line and Scatter Rock’s gravitational private sidings has been replaced by a retaining wall, allowing the passing loop to be lengthened.
The hoppers are seen, with their superstructure, at this end of the bridge which protected the railway from the overhead ropeway.
Coombes Cottage is seen at left.
Behind the section signal, which would be removed as part of these works, is a platelayers’ hut.
Thinking it could be blown up as an army exercise, the scout called at Exeter’s recruitment office. Before the door had shut behind him, he was met with a barked: “ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE!?” He stuttered, “Er, I’d like some explosives,” in response. He was advised where he might find some.
The Royal Engineers at Chatham didn’t have any, so they said, and the WO2 from the Royal Marines who came to look at the edifice said that it was too close to property to be blown up; there would be multiple claims for shattered window panes.
The work was done instead by Plant Hire (Torbay) Ltd. and cost £1,500, which even then was not a great sum. The owner of the firm had been in the tank regiment during the war and was fond of tracked machines.
Two 360° excavators worked for nearly a week to demolish the ferro-concrete structure, which measured 70 ft. x 12 ft. and was 30 ft. tall.
Before demolition could start, the pit beneath the ropeway terminus had to be cleared to provide space for some of the broken concrete. After removing all the usual refuse and scrap iron, including at least one car body, a lot of large stone was uncovered. This may have been used to fill the weight boxes which strained the track ropes. These, according to one old boy who had seen the ropeway working, could be seen gently rising and falling as the load on the line varied.
Also at the bottom of the pit were two cast iron bearing shells which had been left behind by the scrap metal men. These were considered a challenge and were manhandled out and onto the railway’s truck. When taken to the scrapyard, they were found to weigh 13¾ cwt. They did not do the man’s back any good.
The name Komatsu was new at the time. Until then, Japanese competition came in the form of motorcycles, televisions, washing machines, etc., but now heavy plant was starting to be shipped half way around the world.
The reinforcing steel caused problems, not only holding pieces of concrete together, but getting caught in the machines’ tracks and pulling off their hydraulic hoses, so a fool had to go in to the trembling structure, with lumps of concrete dangling in mid air above his head, to flame-cut as many of the bars as possible.
Eventually, 10 tons of round steel, from ⅜ in. to one inch diameter, were taken to the scrapyard. Around 500 tons of concrete were disposed of on site, much of it going into the adjoining pit.
