Two ISEKI machines are keeping the grounds and woodlands at Audley End Miniature Railway in pristine condition.
Located in Essex, the Audley End Miniature Railway is a delightful 1.5-mile ride on Lord Braybrooke’s private 10 and a quarter inch gauge railway through estate woodland designed by the legendary Capability Brown. Teddy bears take pride of place throughout the route, a tradition that was started many years ago by the Braybrooke family. Fairies and elves may also be spotted on occasion.
Shaun Elliot is the man responsible for maintaining the grounds which are on view to thousands of daily visitors. In fact, Shaun has been doing this job superbly for over twenty years and perhaps this is why he was recently treated to two ISEKI machines.
“We had some old second-hand machinery which needed replacing,” said Shaun. “Therefore, I arranged for a new ISEKI tractor to be demonstrated here and I thought it was superb – so the manager very kindly bought me one. Two weeks later he said I could have a new ISEKI mower as well, so I was very happy.”
Shaun’s first purchase was the ISEKI TXGS24 compact tractor. Used in a huge range of applications where a small multi-use sub compact tractor is required, the TXGS24 is the ultimate compact multipurpose tractor. With 3-point linkage, mid and rear PTOs, optional mower decks and front loader the uses for the TXGS24 tractor are limitless.
“The ISEKI tractor has been a massive game changer,” he said. “We use it for so many different jobs such as unloading lorries; using the forks to unload palettes of teddy bears; picking up things like wood chips with the bucket and putting them around the field when we have too much mud in the winter.
“When I’m on forestry work and I have to cut trees down, I’ll put the grab on the front of the bucket and pick up big piles of wood to take it to the fire; you can also use it for PTO work if you need to; attaching scarifiers; rolling – anything we choose to do here we can do it with that tractor.”
Shaun admits that he felt like Christmas had come early when he was also gifted the ISEKI SF235 Outfront Rotary Mower which boasts a 32.5hp engine and a choice of cutting decks measuring 1370mm or 1525mm wide. This mower-collector has been designed to facilitate grass cutting in the most difficult areas. Furthermore, the height of cut can easily be adjusted from 25-120mm without use of tools, using the single height adjustment lever.
An impressive 950 litre, turbine driven, high-tip collector boosts efficiency when collecting grass. Its clearance height of 2125mm provides superior access when depositing the cut grass into waste skips, collector trucks or bins.
“I love this machine because it does the work of two mowers,” said Shaun. “One day I can give the grass a nice striped finish, just like a professional football pitch, and then the next I could be up in the woods cutting three- or four-foot nettles and thistles and doing general forestry work. It is so robust that I call it my jungle buster!
“It is very manoeuvrable, and very good on the turn,” he continued. “I also find the transport box on the back very beneficial. If I’m going from one place to another, I can load it up with strimmers, leaf blowers and all my other tools. It’s a very versatile machine. This mower is also road-registered and has 4-wheel drive which means it never gets stuck.
“I would not hesitate in recommending these two machines to the likes of contractors, councils, golf clubs, anyone that might do verge mowing – or basically for people that work with turf or in forestry.
“If you can’t get the job done with these machines then you are doing something seriously wrong, because they are simply superb.”