I suggest what you members have been written in this forum should be in book. I have visited many truck forums but you member is the one and only who have written so much from your trucking carrier so it must be saved. Do you think all in that forum would be saved forever? The server and all backups can be destroyed. The last backup should be stored in a secured place. I don’t know how it is today but I know you peoples are sensible. It is typical for this forum. Start a tread as is enough appealing and we have tree or more pages after a week with a lot of important information and knowledge. And you all know one side is longer than other forums. Sometimes I wonder when I will reach the bottom. Another forum as Truckers trucking in USA have a lot of ads and not much is impressed over.
Let me say I am impressed over you guys. Places, peoples, Lorries and much more are written down here and all photos as is attached. I think I newer will reach the end of this excellent forum. But one thing is a problem. Uploaded photos can/ have disappeared and how solve this? Upload photos via other servers as say “you have exceeded the allowed limit” isn’t good.
It is perhaps problem have all as is said and done in a book. There are names as perhaps not accept stand on a side of book and other issues of juridical character. And who/whom will be paid?
Guys, you are fantastic humans.
Kind Regard
Lars-Gunnar
Only just seen this thread but, the Ace Cafe is now demolished and, was on the A45 eastbound side, about a mile west of the A5 crossroads. It was a cafe again in the 90’s but closed again and, is now gone, along with the garage next door.
thanx for the response fryingpan, its all gone then! along with the memories,ah well such is life. just a thought fryingpan, i used to stop over at a cafe on the A303 at sparkford, s/west with the same namesake as yours any connection? teecee65
I named myself after the Frying Pan at Sparkford yes, although my only involvement was as a customer. Open 24 hours and with a seperate accommodation block. Closed in 84 and rebuilt as a Happy Eater then, a Little Chef. Now boarded up with a To Let sign. The garage is still open.
yes i thought as much frying pan, with regard to the opening of the cafe, i dont know, it was open in 1969 when i started using the establishment. teecee65
alanwalker:
It is really is great to hear from people that were in the fantastic transport industry I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a lot of first class people, I was so lucky to be there at the right time but I will never forget all the great truckers that I had the priveledge to train and meet. You never knew it but you made my life so rewarding and I will be ever grateful for that. I have no grudges and so many great memories that money just could not buy.
Alan Walker ■■
Hello Alan I stay in Sanquhar on the A76 I remember in the late fifties seeing S&R’s 8wheelers going up and down to Ardrossan I was serving my time in the garage on the left as you went into Kirkconnel could’nt wait to hit the road and after 40years could’nt wait to get back OFF IT. The early days were definatly the best. Eddie.
Is the Brocks Fireworks factory still going ? I used to deliver loads of imported salt there 60/70s, & dine at the old Tamashanter, long gone now I know but they were happy days, I was driving a Ergo cabbed AEC For F.Short & Sons Ltd Newcastle.
Hello Lawrence Brocks factory is still there now owned by a Bristol firm. They now make explosives for
the opencast coal mines in the south Ayrshire area I dont think they do fireworks now. Eddie.
Hi Eddie, I also used to run Lime uo to Aukenleck, If I remember rightly the plsce was on the right hand side of the road, a bit like an old railway station yard, ? Regards LARRY ps. That was 1976.
Hi Lawrence You’v got me there cant think of that one, There was one in the next village Mauchline it was on the right about half a mile through the village.
I liked the photos of your Foden’s I drove for McMurdo of Sanquhar I had an S21 she had a 2stroke when new but by the time I got her she had a 150 Gardener transplant Then I had a new S39 Jan.73 thought I was top dog then, They were good reliable motors it’s a shame they got swallowed up and then closed.
Eddie.
i worked at smith and robinsons trafford park depot from 1982 until it closed
i worked on the tanker wash bay with allan trout ( trouty ) i was privileged to work with a great bunch of guys
who taught me every trick in the book i left there when the depot closed and i am currently employed as site driver on the old shell carrington site . now called basell chemicals.
we also had a great canteen run by bernard and eileen lovely couple who i still see today, there only fault was the menu full English or sausage egg and chips lol
the only other ex drivers i still see are alf lomas ( selwyn ) who was on the lankro contract and frank kirby who was on the ici contract.
while i was there we merged with c.b.l. tankers a great bunch of lads
we was then bought out by united transport tankers merging with ancliffe who had a depot in urmston.
well im sure there are many of the lads still out there feel free to drop me a line
steve.
Hi Steve
I remember when I drove for MAT we went to Smith & Robinsons on the park for some Haz Pack training. There were drivers from several hauliers and some from S&R.
Cliff
steve royle:
i worked at smith and robinsons trafford park depot from 1982 until it closed
i worked on the tanker wash bay with allan trout ( trouty ) i was privileged to work with a great bunch of guys
who taught me every trick in the book i left there when the depot closed and i am currently employed as site driver on the old shell carrington site . now called basell chemicals.
we also had a great canteen run by bernard and eileen lovely couple who i still see today, there only fault was the menu full English or sausage egg and chips lol
the only other ex drivers i still see are alf lomas ( selwyn ) who was on the lankro contract and frank kirby who was on the ici contract.
while i was there we merged with c.b.l. tankers a great bunch of lads
we was then bought out by united transport tankers merging with ancliffe who had a depot in urmston.
well im sure there are many of the lads still out there feel free to drop me a line
steve.
Absolutely i would love to sit down and write my life on the road,im semi retired now 63 and i started when i was 19 (yes hgv) actually it was on Homeworthy Furniture Edmonton.lots of people have said i should as i have such a memory of all my years uk and European driving with so many stories but sadly only a couple of photos to go with it maybe one day i suppose i just need a good push.
Any of you lads help me as i remember working for a company over in Loughton Essex near Epping back in the early eighties all i can remember of the Company it the wagons were Yellow and they were all (or mostly Scania 110 s) no bloody sleepers and we were doing mostly Bulgaria and cheq and Romania, also i remember the rumour that the boss did nothing but sit in his office and count the money he was making every bloody day ! they paid good money,you never loaded your trailor over here all done by uk drivers,and old the units were, he had 3 full time Fitters,every time you came back the wagon would have to be parked up outside the workshop ready for a Service (and i mean ! every trip !) but for the love of money i cant think of the name of the company only there for a year and only left cos he wouldnt buy sleepers .
fonzi:
Cor What a hoot, I found this site by accident and I’ve just spent the best reading time and what a memory jerk-er. some of the stuff here was a distant memory slotted away in the old memory draws until now that is. the mention of some of the old names ( companies ) brought back many thoughts ( some good some really bad ) but all part of my life gone by. I started driving trucks in the UK when I reached 21years 1971 ( I started in Aussie two years before as you only had to be 19 to drive a semi their ) and when I returned to the UK I got my UK licence through J. SPURLINGS who were then in silver town way. I didn’t stay there long before moving on to G L BAKER in channelsea road ( think that’s spelt write ) stratford e15. Ronny Muggleton was transport manager then I think.
and i used to drive a GUY I thought it was the bees knees then. But I had my sites set on driving on the continent so I just kept phoning around till someone would give me a chance. And that happened to be LACEYS OF BARKING. my first truck was a leyland buffalo non sleeper ( used to have a drop down bunk behind the seats ) but I didn’t care at the time ( I was young and full of glory hahaha ) I used to do a regular run to Frankfurt ( there were two of us with the old buffalos ) we must have been insane but i had such a good time I was trucking and on the wrong side of the road… Then i went into the yard one Sunday morning and lo and behold I had been given a Scania 110 ( again a non sleeper ) I felt like i had won the pools ( no lottery then ) but at least you could hear the radio and it went up hills faster than walking pace. I worked for LACEYS on and off over a period of time, and I drove my all-time favorite truck with them that being the Ford transcontinental what a cracking truck and I loved that old ■■■■■■■■ engine bugger to start in the winter up the blanc but I loved it…
JOHN NICHOLLS.
Ha Ha i to worked for Laceys for a while while in between jobs ok to work for i think but as you say no sleepers how many times have you slept under the Trailor then ? or even in the back if you had to somehow i cant see drivers of today putting up with what we had to then but we were young and enjoying life abroad and getting paid for it.From there i went to work for a small haulier in Chelmsford nice faily new Scania Sleeper do you remeber the peach runs ? out t5o Italy empty load peaches (loading point depended on the time of the season) and we had to do 5 a month !!! that was bloody hard. Sleep ■■? Ha Ha you d be lucky i you ■■■■■■ 5 hrs each way only lasted one season with that i was an old man at 26 back to the Eastern Block work much slower and yes hours of hanging around.
I don’t know if I’ve got all the times correct but that’s memory for u. I went to work for a guy called Phil Gibson ( P G INTERNATIONL ) I drove a MAN with a column gear change comfy motor but gutless engine, I used to pull FRIGOSCANDIA TRAILERS from Stratford yard, mainly to FOGGIA in Italy. again they were good times Used to stop at the BAKEHOUSE at MACON always full of Brits and had some good laughs there. I could go on and on but I think I will have a break now and give my self time to recall more of them dusty old memories, keep up the good work I just love it…
john.nicholls:
Any of you lads help me as i remember working for a company over in Loughton Essex near Epping back in the early eighties all i can remember of the Company it the wagons were Yellow and they were all (or mostly Scania 110 s) no bloody sleepers and we were doing mostly Bulgaria and cheq and Romania, also i remember the rumour that the boss did nothing but sit in his office and count the money he was making every bloody day ! they paid good money,you never loaded your trailor over here all done by uk drivers,and old the units were, he had 3 full time Fitters,every time you came back the wagon would have to be parked up outside the workshop ready for a Service (and i mean ! every trip !) but for the love of money i cant think of the name of the company only there for a year and only left cos he wouldnt buy sleepers .
Hullo john.nicholls,
The only bloke I can think of with Yellow Scanias out of Loughton was Ray Phillips. He was up in North Farm in Loughton, Expo Freight. His motors were all well kept, but he also ran a lot of Sleeper Scanias, and I think he had a couple of Volvos as well. The only others I can think of in The Farm were Deptford Commercials ( Don Alexander ), Mavertons and Susbideries ( Lew Saintz and Nigel Downey ) Alex Fairlie, I forget what he was called, AF something ? or other. And another bloke who’s name escapes me. The only other firm I can think of was Green Dragon. But they were up the hill, about a mile away. Expo Freight were the only Yellow ones though (Yellow with a Blue Stripe )
Cheers, Archie.
Hi Archie
Thats him Ray Phillips i cant remember him having sleepers maybe you had to wait for one or whatever but he was a good bloke to work for though. North Farm !! bloody heck your memorys good yes it was. Also you mention Green Dragon bloody heck mate i used to work for them as well which is realy where i started my continental driving,no i tell a lie it was with a small company called Anglo Deautch from Leytonstone worked for a great bloke there called Jim for about a year then i met a Roger in a pub called the Wake Arms nr Epping and he offered me a Job with his company (more money of course) which was Green Dragon.used to carry Repro Furniture to mostly Germany,Swiss with up to 35 drops so vehicle had to be loaded properly which he had a packer who did all.God ! that Boy (Adrian) was an Artist as a packer.Yes it was a great firm to work for,i only left because i bought myself a unit had money saved up etc and pulled for P&O Perishables running mostly Spain Italy,and Greece.Its strange you know you could sit down and ask youself how many companys can you remember you used to run with and probaly only remember a Handfull but as soon as i went on to the Scrapbook Memorie Page they just come flooding back 100 s of them names you think blimey yes !what a great site this is so much to look at and read.Take care mate
John
never did me but did spend 10 years on international but thats not the point can anyone tell me when now i live and work as a driver in france driving a nice comfortable cf daf 410 with heaters annd air conditioning air sprung seat and a radio you can hear above the engine WHY do i keep thinking of the A series erf 180 gardener engined artic i started my driving career in no sleeper across the bonnet job no heaters only in summer did they seem to work and a seat blocked with a pallet block so i could see over the steering wheel wich wasnt power assisted av i got the start of alziemers or is it the rose tinted illness seting in what was i talking about got to go docters comming with my deisel injection
talking of nostalgi did any one run into smithfield meat mkt in the 70 one hell of a good place to learn how to reverse an artic with no power steering does it still exist
Oh yes it still exists, there was a series of BBC programmes about Smithfield meat, Billingsgate fish and Spitalfields fruit & veg markets from the old days to now. What an insight…
any connection? 
teecee65