Dartford Tunnel Euclid Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Built by George Foard in June 2008
I initially built this machine in 1976 from memory, having no camera at the time. Then, in 1979, I managed to photograph it and realised I’d made a right mess of it! Incidentally, I was given a book for Christmas (2008) which contained a photo (with text). The photo was taken in the exactly the same spot as mine. How’s that? Unfortunately, no detail is or was available of the rear or right-hand side, so those elevations will have to be guesstimation.
The model has been ‘in build’ for six months, having undergone about thirty or so modifications.
It has four major units: The Euclid prime mover, the semi-trailer, the crane and the extending jib.
- The prime mover is powered, has a steering system and a tilt cab (The actual vehicle is steered by hydraulic rams).
- The semi-trailer is straight-forward. On the model a major problem was how to overcome, or balance, the front overhang of the unit.
- The crane has four movements: slew, hoist, luff and a telescopic jib. On the model these movements will have to be handraulic — apologies!
The real machine has long gone, having been withdrawn in 1985.