Ditching with back actor on tractor

[shumungus]

The money was good, you got to see the world

That reminds me of something I once read.
I was at Ellis Island in New York where all the immigrants landed back in the day and they have some of their possessions on show, amongst them is a letter written by a young man from Cork back home to his mother. In it is a line I'll never forget,
' Mother, they told me the streets were paved with gold, but they aren't, in fact they are not paved at all. But do not despair as they are paying me to pave them.'
Priceless.

 

[shumungus]

You call a dyke a ditch? And the English call a ditch a dyke?



Bloody jesus ?‍

In the Glens of Antrim where ditches and dykes are common a dyke would be a field boundary which is mostly earthen sod and a ditch would be stone only. 'The Dyke Back' would be very commonly used to describe the last remaining dry sheltered place in a field namely along the edge of the earth mound. Clear as mud.

 

[shumungus]

Thankfully Lesbians aren't that common yet in the Glens, when they are it will give more confusion to some through the mis-interpretation of local sayings. "I found a hole in the Dyke" or "Its lying up the Dyke back"

 

[Nithsdale]

In the Glens of Antrim where ditches and dykes are common a dyke would be a field boundary which is mostly earthen sod and a ditch would be stone only. 'The Dyke Back' would be very commonly used to describe the last remaining dry sheltered place in a field namely along the edge of the earth mound. Clear as mud.

Aye I think the earthed up sod with sheugh is the original meaning of dyke. I guess on flat land, the sheugh of a dyke could fill with water making it a ditch (open drain)... maybe that's why in England that name has switched?

Over here all stone walls are "dry stane dykes" or just dykes.
"the dyke back" just refers to the most sheltered side of any wall

 

[Exfarmer]

Dykes in East anglia certainly mean a larger drain than a ditch and man made, unlike a river

 

[milkloss]

I would say 8 ton digger with zero swing be good for ditching and working in a tight spot

Give a man a machine like that round here then a nice tight, narrow bottom ditchturns into a six foot canal that doesn’t flow! Especially when they have what they incorrectly call a ‘ditching bucket’.

 

[Boohoo]

Give a man a machine like that round here then a nice tight, narrow bottom ditchturns into a six foot canal that doesn’t flow! Especially when they have what they incorrectly call a ‘ditching bucket’.

Keeps them in work. That wide, slow flowing canal silts up faster than the narrow, fast flowing ditch.

 

[davedb]

I do them with the cutting edge of the bucket try to keep the bottom narrow

 

[Peter1947]

Has anyone before and after pics of ditches cleaned out with a tractor back actor? Does it do a neat job?

 

[jd6820]

Has anyone before and after pics of ditches cleaned out with a tractor back actor? Does it do a neat job?

I'd say that depends greatly on the skill of the operator. I feel like just as good a job could be achieved with the back actor but a mini digger on servos will achieve the exact same result easier and quicker.

 

[Exfarmer]

The old boys used a Ruston Bucyrus dragline with a 24 inch bucket to make a V ditch

 

[Lincsman]

The old boys used a Ruston Bucyrus dragline with a 24 inch bucket to make a V ditch

Made a better job as it battered the walls solid, no undecutting slips after them, I have ditches that were done by one 50 years ago, they have very steep sides. It was all teeth marks when they had finished but a but of frost made the banks smooth like a modern bucket.
I doubt there is anyone is around who could do it now.

 

[Peter1947]

In terms of strength/digging power, what would a ditch king type back actor be equivalent to in a mini digger?

 

[Exfarmer]

In terms of strength/digging power, what would a ditch king type back actor be equivalent to in a mini digger?

About the smallest. They had more ballast, but actual digging power was very limited

 

[sahara]

Here's our set up, ditched many many fields with this, I knew there was a photo somewhere!

 

[Peter1947]

Here's our set up, ditched many many fields with this, I knew there was a photo somewhere!View attachment 866837

Cool pic. How did you get on while ditching? How many metres could you do in an hour? Did you push yourself along? Any pics of the cleaned out sheughs?

 

[sahara]

Hi Peter,
Our ditch might be a bit more canal than a true ditch, but they work.
Work rate was variations of slow, often me or a sibling in the tractor and dad on the digger. Of course cleaning silt from an existing ditch will be quicker than digging a new one. I think that the hydraulic capability of the tractor was often the limiting factor, I would be intrigued to put it on a modern tractor and see what it could do. Others are right in that a modern mini digger will do so much more, but this was often coupled up together for the winter so it was possible to nip out for an hour an do something. We also had a narrow trenching bucket with a clay ejector plate for doing draining work, of which it did lots.
For work in really wet areas, we could and did dual up the tractor so it would make less mess.
As a combination, far from perfect, but available to use at a moment's notice, and considerably better than a spade!.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

I take it " sheugh" must be a local term for ditching bucket?

Sheugh is commonly used in N.I., We also have an old saying , " Slow as Sheugh water"
which usually does not move fast.

 

[kevindb880]

Has anyone before and after pics of ditches cleaned out with a tractor back actor? Does it do a neat job?

Does it do a neat job? Depends on the operator!

 

[ollie989898]

The old boys used a Ruston Bucyrus dragline with a 24 inch bucket to make a V ditch

How would it be done with a dragline?