Snap!

Learn to operate the drag line excavator was a suggestion made to me and that was one I liked! So todays visit to the Rocks by Rail Museum saw some of my usual vegetational butchery in the morning and then a working lunch learning how to operate the machine.

This is the luxurious seat you operate from and the three leavers in front and the two brake pedals on the floor are the basic controls that allow the cab to slew and the bucket to lift and be hauled in. 

Sounds simple but it takes a clear mind to know which way to use the levers and brakes in coordination. After a while I felt I was getting the hang of it and Rob my tutor seemed happy. Then......SNAP! You can see the frayed cable hanging off the jib about one third the way down. It was obviously rusty to begin with and therefore weak - that is my excuse anyway!

The cable could have snapped at any time but it had to be when I was in the operating seat!

Not only did it have to snap but it has wrapped itself around the drum in such a way that it has jammed itself! 

Even with Rob's skills it looks like it will take a lot of work to repair it! So at the moment it looks like this with the bucket lying away from the boom!

Will it get repaired? Will I drive it again? Will I be allowed to drive it again? Who knows at the moment but I will find out!