Smalley Self Propelled, Towable, Excavator

A rare Smalley type 5-360 small excavator which is seen on the Island of Sark in the Channel Islands. It propelles itself along during work by it's bucket and it can be towed between sites by a Land Rover or similar strong vehicle. It runs on a Lister diesel engine and it's only major disadvantage is that only one lever can be operated at a time. If you try to use two the engine stalls.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Smalley
• self
• propelled
• towable
• excavator
• Island
• of
• Sark
• Channel
• Islands
• mini
• digger
• plant
• machinery
• grave
• building
• site
• Lister
• diesel

[DiggerPete1961]

Extra bars were original on these as time went on - were mainly a vandal gaurd.

M.O.D. did buy some of these but the grey is not olive drab army green.

When in good order all round these should be able to operate up to three levers at once - also dependant on driver skill. Does this one run???

oilyhands not my site but good record of old British unusual machines etc

[MrBooojangles]

As a guess I would say it runs as it is seen about 50m below a new house being built and there was a trench near it and several heaps of dug out subsoil near the house. It didn't look like it had been idle for too long.

Oilyhands certainly is a good website.

[DiggerPete1961]

This is a 5, MK2 some others can be seen on the oilyhands website. Am after any info/pics on the bigger & better Smalley 10. Other walking models included the 7, 15, 425, 807. see also

Smalley 6808 Dredge Ruoppaaja

video on youtube if interested in the floating models.

Also info on Smalley steep slope option wanted & in fact anything on walking Smalleys apprieciated

[MrBooojangles]

Thanks for the info. Funnily enough the oilyhands website was the only one I found anything about this digger on the internet.

I bookmarked it, Is it your website by any chance?

Do you think this ones ex-army with it's grey paint and extra grating below cab level?

[DiggerPete1961]

To see another one running. type, Smally Digger AVI into youtube the slight mis spelling means it may not be picked up by people who like Smalley stuff, there are two vids for it, same model as above but in use

[jdqontilt]

Got trained up on these when I was in the Royal Engineers.......used to have loads of fun racing these around (I also remember accidentally knocking my mate into a hole with the bucket when I swiveled the cab around) sorry about that JB lol :)

[ur2slo]

I own the Smalley 360 on Oilyhands site in Hawaii which is an earlier model. I was told by Richard Smalley that they did sell a few to the US Millitary. His site is the only one I know of too.

[DiggerPete1961]

Also meant to say machines like this made by Euromach - but more complex,

often called 'spider' excavators

Original maker still going now called

Richard Smalley International - no longer make walking units though. Lighter version of this called Cabrita - made Canada, was also Tow hoe 360 - not now made