has anybody got any information on maylens. was based in wigmore medway.i drove for them for 12 years from 1972
Hello. I remember Maylens very well. My mate Brian Roger was on there in the early eighties. He drove a Leyland Marathon but i think they had some Scammell Crusaders as well. I think the name Maylen came from the two owners names, May & Len but i’m sure you would know better than me…i used to see their lorries parked at Gillingham where the big Tesco store is now on the A2 roundabout loaded up with paper reels on flat trailers. Do you have any photos of their motors?.
Rgds MR.
Brians Marathon was XKM 660S.
yes the name was made up from may palmer & len lewarne ,i started just after it changed from palmers transport,i past my test there at 21 .
we had ford d1000s as 28 ton artics before geting some marthons & crusadas,we had 1 old mamath magor doulble drive artic.trying to sort out phots.
It would be nice to see an old Maylen photo…i think i might have one somewhere. Was it a good firm to work for?.
If I recall the yard was in Wigmore Road, just up the road from Tesco’s. I think it was redeveloped and is now a housing estate. They had an account with us, but hadn’t used it for a long time. My guv’nor knew the owners as he dealt with them years back. I remember being taken to their yard, probably to drum up some business. They had a striking orange & white livery. Of course Tesco’s roundabout should always be known as Bowaters Roundabout! Here’s a fleet list from about 1986
M35 AKL 349K AEC Mandator
M29 WJJ 505M Leyland Marathon
M30 SMY 427M Leyland Marathon
M?? SMY 436M Leyland Marathon
M27 OKR 334R Leyland Marathon
M11 VKL 34S Leyland Clydesdale
M12 ■■? ■■? ? Leyland Clydesdale
M33 VKR 974S Leyland Marathon
M51 XKM 658S Leyland Marathon
M?? XKM 659S Leyland Marathon
M54 XKM 660S Leyland Marathon
G4 XKM 661S Leyland Marathon
M?? XKM 662S Leyland Marathon
M?? XKM 663S Leyland Marathon
M59 VNJ 518S Leyland Marathon
M5 VVS 444S Dodge Commando G10
M36 AKN 220T Leyland Marathon 2
M37 DKM 830T Leyland Marathon 2
M?? EKO 922T Leyland Buffalo 2
M?? GKR 234V Leyland Buffalo 2
M60 MKN 677W Mercedes-Benz 1626
M58 SLF 490W Leyland Roadtrain
M57 SLF 493W Leyland Roadtrain
■■? OOY 55W Leyland Roadtrain
■■? VKM 771X Leyland Buffalo 2
■■? XKJ 587X Leyland Roadtrain
Can you fill in the gaps with the fleet numbers?
I did’nt realise they had as many lorries as that…i certainly dont remember the Mercedes either. I guess the Scammell Crusaders must have gone by then. Its a shame you did,nt take your camera with you that day, id love to see a few old Maylen photos.
i remember maylens they used to load out of maybanks in frindsbury nr strood
There are a lot of times I wish I had taken the camera.
Not all of those trucks were on the fleet in 1986, as there are some later additions. It looks like the M reg Marathons and some of the Roadtrains were added after.
Does anyone know when and why they finished up?
Maylens also had storage at otterham quay storing reels from kemsley and were regularly in number 6 shed loading. A photo I found on Flickr, I take no credit for it as it belongs to wally llama on there
as far as i can remember the m reg marathons were the first marathons to arrive second hand from brains haulage essex these were painted black &white we were told from there fleet based in middeleast.i drove M29 WJJ 505M until i had M37 DKM 830T from new. the first secondhand marathons had the brake Master valve mounted on the back axal with a cable between peddle and valve which broke often.these were fitted with the tl20 engine and were very fast.still cannot find photos.
This came from either the Leyland Marathon thread or the Scrapbook Memories.
Nice photos mate…that would have been a step up from the Marathons. Why did,nt they buy any?. Too expensive maybe.
Here’s a few pics from around 87-88 when I worked for Maylen’s at Otterham Quay.
g503.be/Trucks/full/IMG_0002.jpg
g503.be/Trucks/full/IMG_0003.jpg
g503.be/Trucks/full/IMG_0004.jpg
g503.be/Trucks/full/IMG_0005.jpg
g503.be/Trucks/full/IMG_0007.jpg
Took a pride in the old girl then!
Still a dirty lorry is a busy one.
Thats certainly one grubby looking Marathon…but great old photos nonetheless. Thanks for taking the time to put them on, i remember them well.
It was a long time ago but I don’t remember much in the way of cleaning facilities there. Pretty sure I gave it a clean when I could. The inside was certainly better.
Jack Henley would have had a fit to see one of his wagons like that. It wouldn’t only have been the driver to suffer an ear blasting either!
BUT. great pictures of what it really was like. That lane to Otterham Quay would also mean that no vehicle stayed clean for long. You can only do what you can do with what you are given.
Still think they are great working shots of a well used truck .