Birmingham and black country firms

could have had a chance with hayes roadways mid eighties but opted for w.a brotheridge

Great thread this, found it looking for pics of PJ Butlers trucks.

3 Netherton companies, does anybody remeber these:
Kite Brothers from St Peters Road, I remember them running Bedford rigids, then moving on to Leylands, then DAF’s, Marathon artics, then DAF 2800’s and a 95, green red and white colours. Also used to have C & S Steels trucks parked in their yard.

Evans and Mundon Scarp Merchants, Northfield Road. Ran a mixed fleet over the years of Bedford KM, Leyland Freighter and Ford Cargo skips, Atkison, Sedddon Atkinson 300 and Volvo F86 rigids, Atkinson Borderer, Seddon Atkison 400 and Volvo F88 tractors, and parked up for many years in their yard a pair of Berliet tractors. Ran in maroon and yellow. Might still be trading from another site.

And next door to Evans and Mundon, the sign on the fence said HS Massey. Ran a selection of used tractors including a Seddon Atkinson 400 with a 401 front, ERF B Series, DAF 2800, Leyland Marathon and a pair of Ford Transcontinentals, one early, one late. All painted green with red relief and red roof except the late Transconti which was in BRS half red and white. They ran ex Skol lager trailers. Never changed the curtains. Also the previously mentioned Hudsons of Dudley used to park some of thier low loaders in the yard.

There are some great memories and photo’s on this forum… In particular it’s great to be reminded of the fleet of Bob and John Hayes of Brierley Hill… I dealt with them for a number of years when I was at Tipton Transport… Also nice to see mention of my grandfather’s company - WJ Jenkins & Sons (Tipton) Ltd… Tho it was actually started back in around 1890 by HIS grandfather…

richie747b:
Hi Paul,

Some great companies there, all of whom I also fondly remember, and similarly to you grew up in the area and started on the spanners. The company with the yellow and blue Scanias was Jack Jones Transport (JAJ Transport) and they used to deliver for Britvic as well as bricks / tiles etc. JAJ finished when the land on the Thornleigh was bought for the Dudley by pass.

PauliePaul:
Loving this thread… grew up in (and still live in) Dudley…

Did my work experience from school at Hingleys in 1990, then went straight onto the spanners for Priests in Woodside in 1991. I went over to Adam Jones when they bought out Priests in 1992… didn’t stay long though. Moved to William Round after for a short period before deciding that I didn’t like getting me hands dirty!! Came out of transport for a few years, but returned on agency driver’s mate work and then into the office at ACS&T in Wolves… stayed for 7 years before going off on other projects (running my own tippers etc)… now back in the office for N.R.Evans in Aldridge…

Companys I remember seeing locally…

A. Hingley, Highfield Haulage, Hayward, A.R.Davies (Kingswinford - green/red Scania + DAF flats), JHC (Pensnett - blue Volvo F88’s + Scania with brick trailers), Male and Son (Pensnett - red Leyland tippers - loads of them too!), D.J.Leddington (Pensnett - blue/red Sedd Atki + coiler) T.R.Mitchell (Hartshill/Brierley Hill - red Scania 110 with coal/coke trailer), Barry Birch +J.B. (Hartshill/Brierley Hill - purple F10’s + F86’s), Timmins (Hartshill/Brierley Hill - white motors, DAFs etc), Hudsons (Hartshill/Brierley Hill - black/red Scania heavy haulage), William Round (Hartshill/Brierley Hill - red/white Bedfords, Leylands, Mercs, Dodge furniture vans), R.W. Priest (Woodside - red/yellow/blue Scanias with flats on steel), C.Brown Steel (Woodside - light blue Leyland, Guy, Seddon Atki on steel), W.J.Daniels (Brierley Hill - red/white/blue ERF with curtain trailers), H.Hancox (Thornleigh Trading Estate - two tone green Ford D series tipper, Volvo powder tanks), Round Oak Motor Services (Gornal - red/green Scanias, flats, skips), Robinsons Steel (Brierley Hill - dark blue Daf 2800/Guy Big J4/ Fiat tractors and flats), Jenkins (Tipton - dark blue Leylands etc flats)…

There are loads more that I can remember… will have to put another list together… and some of my photos up!!

Three more which I used to see regularly which still really stand out are Applebys of Wolverhampton… I used to wait on the Pedmore Road to see these pass… 'Mississippi Showboat" was a Scania 141 usually with a bulk tipper in tow. The there was the Danish Bacon Scania fridges that used to always look like they were speeding!! Finally there was a company with a number of yellow and and blue Scanias, 111’s, 112’s etc based on the Thornleigh Trading Estate, their name escapes me right now, but they used to tug brick trailers with cranes on… ring any bells with anyone?

Here are a few photo’s from my archives…

…and here are a couple from Tipton Transport… We had some real characters driving for us there… Real drivers… most of them were known by their nicknames!!!

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Seeing this reminded me that at Tipton Transport we had A400 KDH - an identical day-cab flatbed Freighter than Ken Warrilow drove on daywork, and doing collections of groupage consignments back into the depot for consolidation… Ken retired in the mid 1990’s… Every evening he would come to the ‘hatch’ in the office and ask: “Same time tomorrow Mr Dungworth?”

He was a real gent, with a very dry sense of humour, and was a ‘train spotter’ every weekend, once avoiding serious injury at Crewe when football fans launched a pork pie at him from a passing train - he was grateful it was an M&S pie, saying had it been a British Rail pie it could have proved fatal!!!

fryske:
Bob Taylor

Somewhere I’ve got a couple of photo’s taken at The Patent Shaft, I think mainly Guy’s of RW Priest (later absorbed into Adam Jones Transport) but with some of Hampton’s trucks in frame too… I will see if I can dig them out…

harry_gill:
hiya,
Hamptons used to pull for Patent Shaft mainly E R Fs, siill going??, sorry no pics.
thanks harry long retired.

LPT is still going… LittlePot is Les’ younger son Julian…

MIKE P:

BigG-Unit:
How about L.P. Transport. Les Pottinger was very keen on Cradley Heath Speedway, did a lot of sponsoring in the '60s & '70s and lead a campaign to save the stadium in the '80s. Think his son took over but does anyone know if they are still going? :confused:

LITTLE POT HAULAGE ITS KNOW AS THESE DAYS MATE, NICE TIDY MOTORS ABOUT 6 OR 7 PARKED IN BIRDS YARD OLDBURY

Yes - you are correct - Pat Blackburn was Chambers & Cook (but sadly died a couple of years ago)

BigG-Unit:
Hi Wagsie, nice to see you posting again, seen you’ve been looking in, hope you are keeping ok. That’s a fair old list of firms there! some I remember some I don’t, but It got me thinking. I remember a couple of chaps I came across at R.H.A. meetings,that quite impressed me at the time. One, a fine upstanding fellow, who’s name, I believe was Bert Neeley, and traded as Neeley Transport. I heard some years later that his company had folded, being caught up in a lot of bad dept, (which came as a shock to me, as he seemed very professional and rock solid,) however I could never get this substantiated. Another was a chap of slight statue, but very articulate, and IIRC was manager of Chambers & Cook. I think his name was Pat, could have been Blackburn, but not too sure on that. He was into speedboat racing in a big way and was a Champion at some level but I can’t remember what! He later had a big accident from which he took a long time to recover, but I was told he did fully in the course of time. I seem to remember hearing that his son followed in his footsteps, but again I am a bit vague on that" Funny what comes into your head isn’t it, but was just wondering, does anyone remember either of these guys.

From memory (and I also used to wait in the security lodge until Dad had been tipped and was ready to leave) the main gate was in what is now Lea Brook Road South (the entrance I think to the metro parking) hidden behind what was the Atotech chemicals warehouse (now City Link?)

M G B:
Can anyone tell me where Patent Shaft was ? cos I remember going there in the 70s as a kid with my Dad taking Scrap in.They made me get out each time so the security bods made me a cup of Tea while waiting. I seem to remember it being on the right just before a Railway bridge and once through the Gate it when’t uphill to the Weighbridge I think.
Cheers.

Another name long since gone… Harry & Peggy Mason… I remember meeting them at RHA Dudley Sub Region meetings when I was about 17…

richie747b:

curnock:
i used to work for w a brotheridge in wednesbury about 22 years ago.they had a mixture of wagons,they used to sub work off and too kites from netherton

Hi Curnock,

Now there’s a blast from the past
I remember going into W A Brotheridges yard before they moved to Wednesbury when they were in Delph Road, Brierley Hill (Now Delph Trading Est) with my Dad in the late 70’s when I was a kid. If I remember rightly they were predominatly Commers and Dodges at the time.

I remember seeing lots of photo’s of Reg Coopers’ Guy trucks some years ago… I also had the pleasure of working with an ex Coopers man… Mick Morris… he was at Tipton Transport for many years… Looked after the records for the warehousing…

THE SHERIFF:
Does anyone remember Coopers of Wednesbury, I worked for them on night trunk in the early seventies, so did half of the west midlands I think. I worked out of Crawford at the scotch end. THE SHERIFF.

Here’s a photo of one of our Seddon Atkinsons… registered in the same batch as the Butler one…

jase:
Heres some more pictures of P.J.Butlers & sons trucks.
Moving on from the Leyland Marathons.to the Leyland Roadtrains,the Scanias and finally Seddon Atkinson Strato.

Heres my dads Roadtrain,ex Curries of Dumfries,absolute cracking truck,loaded with paper reels,all roped and sheeted,not many curtainsiders then.



Then came the Scanias,makes me chuckle how we managed to sleep 3 in a p cab lol!!,first pic was taken at the site of the National Eistedfford at Portmadog in 1987,first trip for it to collect some Portakabins.

and then back in the yard
Then came the Sed Ak stratos,tipping timber in Birmingham,back in the yard,all waxed and cleaned.

In between the Y reg Roadtrain and the Scania,he had a c reg Roadtrain which i thought was useless,so i never took any pics of it.

andyj1970:
I remember seeing lots of photo’s of Reg Coopers’ Guy trucks some years ago… I also had the pleasure of working with an ex Coopers man… Mick Morris… he was at Tipton Transport for many years… Looked after the records for the warehousing…

THE SHERIFF:
Does anyone remember Coopers of Wednesbury, I worked for them on night trunk in the early seventies, so did half of the west midlands I think. I worked out of Crawford at the scotch end. THE SHERIFF.

hiya,
“Scottish” end please THE SHERRIF, scotch is the finest drink in the world of which I am very partial,
sorry for being a nit picking “old git” my friend,feel free to give me the red card,
thanks harry long retired.

Can anyone help me with photos of the following black country firms? Phil Jenkins from Bilston, K transport, there original green and red livery and Gills transport, again with the original dark green and white colours. Thanks Peter

harry_gill:

andyj1970:
I remember seeing lots of photo’s of Reg Coopers’ Guy trucks some years ago… I also had the pleasure of working with an ex Coopers man… Mick Morris… he was at Tipton Transport for many years… Looked after the records for the warehousing…

THE SHERIFF:
Does anyone remember Coopers of Wednesbury, I worked for them on night trunk in the early seventies, so did half of the west midlands I think. I worked out of Crawford at the scotch end. THE SHERIFF.

hiya,
“Scottish” end please THE SHERRIF, scotch is the finest drink in the world of which I am very partial,
sorry for being a nit picking “old git” my friend,feel free to give me the red card,
thanks harry long retired.

Hi Harry. It must be a Midland thing, As far back as I can remember anything we did to or from Scotland was always refered to as ‘‘Scotch’’.
Graham.

patent shaft gates at wednesbury ,been moved onto the roundabout–alan

now refurbed

r slicker:
here is a blast from the past for you.

i worked at stokes drums in west brom. are they still going ?. 2 ford cargo tractor units all steel drums handball on handball off. thats how i honed my crown green bowling skills rolling them off. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

still going but contracy load out know this is the last truck my dad drove he had it from new

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curnock:

Chris Webb:

Trev_H:

Chris Webb:
Well,somebody correct me if I’m wrong but Hayes and Bakers must be two of the oldest Brum/Black Country hauliers still going.
I certainly remember T Bakers loading angle iron out of the District Iron and Steel Co down Brasshouse Lane off Holyhead Road in the late 60s,and Hayes running up the A38 to Sheffield in the same era,along with Webbs,Hemmings,Coopers,Davis Brothers,Hamptons - the list is endless - steel up,steel down. :laughing:

You may well be right about Hayes and Bakers, I can’t think of any firms from that time in that area still running, I remember all the firms you mentioned. A couple that spring to mind which I haven’t seen mentioned on here is Joseph Foulkes, a big outfit in the sixtes and Cartwright transport of Wolverhampton both probably running over 100 lorries back then mainly Scania fleets. Cartwrights ran to the middle east in the early seventies but also ran a lot of traffic to Ireland, their trucks were maroon and white if anyone remembers them.

I forgot about those two Trev,Joseph Foulkes worked for the Wednesbury Steel Tube Company I think.Leonard Green,BRS,GKN,Joseph Lucas,20th Century Transport and some motors still in Richard Thomas and Baldwin colours after nationalisation.Lye Steel and Round Oak Motors were another two.There were so many hauliers out of WM in those days on steel haulage just like Sheffield and now they have gone.
If I tried make a list of them somebody would keep adding to it :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

joseph foulkes worked out of seamless tubes in wednesfield.which is now corus steelpark wednesfield.the original entrance was in waddens brook lane wednesfield.

Joseph Foulkes merc

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