Hymac 580C deep in a cold bath!

Date Added: 15 April 2017 Contributor: Norman Davidson Year of Photo: 1975 Picture No: 3659

Photograph is courtesy of Margaret Murray, daughter of Jimmy Munro who was the low loader driver and no doubt called upon to transport machinery in to help recover the bogged machine.

No information is known about this incident, location or year but assume this was a Road Squad machine being used to make roads over and through a deep peat area most likely in Sutherland or Caithness. David McQuillan has identified the machine with the Registration Number EHM 867J and fleet number FC59757 purchased in 1971 and sold in 1981.

At about or shortly after this period the Northern Scotland Roads team had two Hymacs fitted out with very wide lightweight track plates (certainly over 3 feet wide) and long booms that were exclusively used for working in deep soft peat conditions. When making and actual road if the peat was less than about four feet deep the peat was generally dug out to the hard base and spread alongside the route. The road was then built up as normal on the hard base material with the edges of the peat rising on either side which could, and often did, lead to prolonged snow blockages in winter as they filled level with the surrounding ground.

Deeper peat than around four feet and the choice was to skin the peat on either side of the route and place the skinned turf on the undamaged surface vegetation in the middle and leave to dry for quite a period. Fine gravel and sand if available was then tipped over the central turf covered area and built up to a depth of probably around three feet on top of which the road metal running surface was laid. The whole construction sank quite a bit and certainly shook but certainly was well able to take the construction traffic and very adequate for pre planting roads.

Perhaps someone remembers these particular machines and can say if this is one of them? Can the operators of the special Hymacs be named?

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Groups: Forestry in Action, Other Vehicles and Machines, Road and Bridge Engineers and Works

3 Comments

The low ground presure Hymac's had special box type track pads I think they were about 54 inches wide (changed track chains on them once up in Caithness and had to remove all 4 bolts from each pad by hand no air tools back then)
operators were John MacSween form Scalpy I think and Leslie Cran I theink he came from Inverness.
I think the one in photo is a standard one. Comment left on 06 June 2019 at 02:26 by Robert Brighton

That will teach them not to mess with nature.? Comment left on 06 June 2019 at 12:36 by leslie phillip

The Hymac was up in Strath Haladale across the river over the hill.
It broke one of the track links and the idler fell into the bog.
Another day as a Forestry mechanic it took ages to find it. Comment left on 17 January 2026 at 02:15 by Rob Brighton (Mech 5)

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