Can’t be arsed trawling through the entire thread, but I’m reasonably confident that I haven’t posted this one before.
Taken around about 1980 during the recession, it’s a photo of two of Gaskell’s motors, the old shed on the left being one of S&A’s, ( Stan and Alan’s ) fleet, the more modern Sedak on the right, belonging to Wm&C, William and Colin Gaskell. ( I believe that they were cousins and their forbears made their pile running red shale about using ex army Ql Bedfords after the war). I actually remember seeing them on the road in the 50s and 60s. They were unmarked and painted red.
The guy behind the wheel of the Sedak is the late, great, Vinny Roberts, aka ’ Country Boy ’ to anyone who came across him in the days of c.b. radio.
For those of you in black and white, the livery on the Sedak was cream and brown, the other heap was painted red and grey.
The scene was captured at Parkside colliery, that’s the one that was adjacent to the M6 motorway, a mile or so south of junction 23 on the western side.
The place first started producing coal around about 1960 or thereabouts, however not too many years after this photo was taken, Thatcher’s government decided that it would be far more economically viable to close these places down and import coal from the other side of the globe to supply power stations such as Fiddler’s Ferry, a mere 10 miles or less as the crow flies from this place.
I try to avoid political debate as much as possible. But to be honest, I have to admit to struggling a bit to get my head around that one.
Having dipped my toe into the political briny however, perhaps someone could come up with an answer for this one.
Considering the amount of bleating about atmospheric pollution, Co2 emissions, global warming etc. due, allegedly, to the burning of fossil fuels, that emanates from various government departments, then why does this same government then grant licences to Cuadrilla for fracking for shale gas in various areas around the country ? Answers on a postcard.
Or maybe shale gas isn’t a fossil fuel…yeah right…But then, what would I know?..I’m only a wagon driver.