Adrian Baggot of ABA Cranes in the UK spotted one of his old cranes, a Coles Hydra T 150 by the look of it, parked up on a street in Malta, with a concrete bucket on board.
He says: “Some machines retire… others relocate to the Mediterranean! One of our first cranes is enjoying life in Malta. It's great to see this old workhorse still standing proud and continuing its journey overseas.”
“We like to think it's spending its days lifting by morning and enjoying sea views by afternoon!”
“Any guesses as to the year of this machine?”
The Hydra truck 150T was launched - we think - in the late 1960s and was built at the Coles’ factory in Sunderland into the mid 1970s. It has a four section 24 metre boom topped by a jib for a maximum tip height of around 29 metres, and was mounted on a 6x4 carrier, we think a 6x6 was available at one time. Once on site, the operator rotated his seat to look out the back of the cab and reach the controls to operate the crane. They were quite popular in their day.
As to the age of this one? Take a guess and post it with a comment.
Lifting
He one hell of a lot of hours Harry built to last
Lifting
I feel bloody old now I drove one. The noise of the engine at the side of you when operating it shook you teeth out lol
Harry Sharp
1970. But I’m more interested to know the number of hours on the clock!