A day at the peat.

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Interesting scene, good work and explanation David. I had two uncles in Co Mayo back in the late forties who dug their peat manually with peat shovels. I swear I still have the smell of burning peat in my nostrils today and can conjure it up without much trouble. No other smell quite like it. (-:

'A day at the peat' Latest commission and we are extracting peat for fuel in Meelin north Cork in the mid 90's. The lads are having a breather and junior has positioned himself in the cab of the Orenstein & Koppel RH4LC in the hope he might get a chance at the controls when work resumes !! The Fiat with the peat hopper is fitted with tracks to spread the weight of the tractor and aid traction in the difficult conditions encountered in a bog. The digger extracts the peat and loads the hopper, when full the Fiat will move forward and a screw mechanism will extrude the peat into uniform parallel lines on the ground to dry. In time the dried peat will be gathered up and taken for storage and eventual use as fuel which is what the little Massey Ferguson 135 and trailer is doing on the left of the scene. Enjoy.