Wigan Album

Eddie, on Friday 3rd May`13, I borrowed "Pagefield Motor Vehicles" by Tom Meadows, from Wigan Library.
Tom Meadows was employed at Walker Bros. from 1935 to 1960 as a skilled motor fitter.
There are lots of photo`s on it`s 127 pages.
Wonder if you`ve read it?

Yes Ernie ,I have a copy of Tom's book. As a young apprentice I would go on road tests in the mobile cranes with Tom, a difficult thing to drive being diesel electric, rev and wait!!! Tom came to our reunions at Sacred Heart Club in Wigan,every year until his death a few years back.He was also involved in rebuilding a mobile crane but I don't know where?

Up to the late forties Wigan Corporation operated this System of refuse collection. The loose body had a set of wheels and fittings for shafts for use horse drawn. These would go around the streets emptying the dust bins. The wagons ( Pagefield of Course)Would collect the full containers in exchange for an empty one at pr-arranged locations by using ranps,and take them to them to the tip whilst the bin men and their horse would continue to empty bins. How many times the exchange was made in a day and or how many Wagons and containers were in use at the same time I do not know.But I certainly remember the Wigan Corporation "Springfield" wagons

Ted, I spoke today to Jim Dooney who remembers working on these cranes as a young lad.at Walkers.

my dad would have worked on these his name was tom hall

I am very interested in the Walker mobile crane used by the railways. I would like to know, about the crane that Tom Meadows was said to be helping to restore, when he published his book, who printed it and how many were printed, and exactly when he died. I would also like to acquire a copy of his book if anyone has one that they would be willing to sell. Nigel Hancock.