Specialised trench excavators, also known as trenchers or ditchers, largely took over from hand excavation in the 1930s and became very popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Before the advent of the hydraulic excavator and popular loader-backhoe in the 1950s, trench excavators were commonplace on industrial sites, road construction, housing developments and wherever pipes had to be laid.
For the big cross-country pipeline jobs often many miles in length, and in the right geological conditions, nothing can compete with the continuous output of trench excavators. These high-output machines are manufactured by companies who have specialised in such equipment. In recent years, powerful ditchers fitted with special
