Lawrence Dunbar:
jonnyA:
jonnyA:
Bewick:
For reasons best known to Robsons they never established a UK depot system in the 50’s/60’s along the lines of Smith of Maddiston,Suttons,Ridings etc.From what I gathered they used the Silver Roadways network as their “agents”,although Robsons did run an extensive Trunking operation it was all operated from the Carlisle traffic desks and they just employed outbased drivers/shunters who got their orders via telephone from Carlisle.They had quite an impressive traffic office at Carlisle,each traffic clerk had their particular area of responsility,trunkers,roamers,shunters etc. and this was all prior to the Mobile phone era,all done from GPO landlines in an era when the drivers were also excpected to use their own “commom sense” much of the time,totally different from the operations of to-day, urr!! my head hurts !!! Cheers Bewick.Hi bewick , happy days at robsons had a short spell there 7 yrs ,got made redundant in 1990 from the birtley depot, yet seems like yesterday , re drivers using initiative, , remember me dad phoning regular after been tipped or loaded pending further instructions , got clear memories of several drivers both shunters and trampers waitng in the st lawrance cafe on newcastles quay side. Haulge companies must had cafe on speed dial, drivers would answer phone then just shout , any robsons drivers in , or jakeys drivers or whoever , how times changed , people came and went, but yet the industry rolls on , i eventually packed in after suffering at the hands of fergy sunderland , absolutely crap that was, used to get parked up regular at 3 in afternoon with a merc that wouldnt pull ya granny oot ov bed , and she been deed 10 yor , nee god whatsoever when ya paid by the hour, used to get lumbered with a lot of work for pits countrywide , turn up at 2pm and i would get sorry youngen to late to p about with that , hence parked up again ,done a lot of agency woork just to keep me hand in , workin at nissan now , piggin s######## , but pays the bills , as you know once a driver always a driver … suppose thats where the saying obey last instructions came from ,. All the best bewick , ps bill bateman ran us lot in north east from a little desk in carlisle , or i and he had a phone aswell , fworhhhh
[/quote Hi Jonny A, Ive never met you but I did know one of Robsons drivers called Cliff Charlton I used to see him regular at the Carnation Milk Works in Dumfries, Mind you that was in the 50/60s era, He allways spoke top dollar about them I used to back load from them from British Gypsum at Kirkby Thore, & The Metal Box Co at Botchobey for Tyne Brand at North Shields, Happy long gone days, Regards Larry.
I , little secret , used to work for fergies aswell , spoke to ya a few times up at wimbourne quay and south harbour, nowt important usual driver stuff , like where ya gannin nd stuff like that , my days at fergies is best forgotten , pile ov chit units 1628 merc errrh no thanx , crap wages . But a think thats cos we ran out sunderland depot , used to do a lot ov the pit work around the cou try , on an hourly rate gettin parked up at 3 waitin till following day to offload , nee gud , even then wen i got hours pay was poor , gan to south harbour see geordie and get a tautliner . Tell him its for nissan later , i … never saw one. Well they were for blyth , anyway ropes and sheets rule , 10-4 rubber duck nd all that , regards john ,