gingerfold:
Chris Webb:
Earls Transport Volvo F86. Dont remember seeing many 8 wheelers with a rear lift ? There were
thousands of six wheelers fitted with rear lift.1
Robert Earl Ltd.,from Greenland Road Sheffield 9. I remember seeing this F86 with “Crazy Daisy” int windscreen.
The first 8-legger F86 they bought was driven by “fat Chris”,long wheelbase one for 30 ton gross and it was a handful to get round some of the roundabouts on Derby Ring Road he was telling us int pub one night. He had to shunt the &&**%%$ thing to get round one of em.He were also known as “egg on legs”.
Didn’t Earls run quite a few Marathon’s Chris? I went in their yard one snowy winter’s day and I was directed by someone in the office to “find the old bloke in the yard”. So I did, found an elderly gent in overalls and flat cap pottering about in the yard, turned out he was the owner. Typical of quite a few old school hauliers of that era, they preferred being in the yard to sitting in the office.
Yes they did run some Marathons Graham,they had quite a big fleet as well. They took over Talbot Transport and Rivelin Valley Transport over the years. I remember late 60s four of their drivers went to Liverpool Docks and couldn’t get tipped that day. They all parked on Arthur’s Café on the East Lancs and went home to Sheffield in a tractor unit and back over next day to get back int queue. Owt were better than Arden House Bootle where the “look after yer lorry mister” brigade were ever present. 
