Plenty of room for a reasonable size dining table and chairs for the operator and crew, and maybe ‘guests’, to have their lunchtime chomp.
Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr Plod, because that’s what it did: day in, day out, moving dirt. A lot more than people realised.
The 54-RB was a strong, steady machine, almost hypnotic to watch. Two and a half cubic yards a bite, and seen side on you’d swear it was about to tip over backwards with the overhang. It never did.
Step inside, behind its six-cylinder V-form 210 horsepower Ruston-Paxman diesel, and there was no clutter. No levery bits or rod ends to trip over, just space: plenty of room for a dining table and chairs for the crew, and maybe ‘guests’, to have their lunchtime chomp.
To the opencast and motorway crews it became a second home. You’d find carpet laid out, a china cupboard, groceries. Was it the occasional overnight hostelry? I never actually saw a bed, but…
There’s a whole chapter on the 54 in the book, so if you have mechanical questions you’ll probably find the answers there.
