In my last post about D series ford,
Reminded me,when i was a drivers mate for a small haulage firm,we used to collect fruit to run up to the London markets
over night.
This 7ton Thames trader was always if not overloaded down on the tyres,anyway the local ford dealer talked the boss into
trying out this new six wheel Thames trader COUNTY,long body,so off we go to do the first farm, loading as normal,stack
up to normal height for levelling load down the body,about a quarter of space filled,roped and sheeted.
Driver pulls up to go back onto the main road,like you do,goes to pull away goes no where,forward nor backward,
Farm road quite a steep slope off main road,this lorry was rear axle drive,floating axle,front axle so when front axle and float axle on main road,drive axle off ground no drive,farmer see problem,pushed onto road.
Lorry returned to dealer,no good to company.
The Thames Trader was a good lorry, I rode with a driver in the school holidays in 1959-60 in one, carrying bagged grain to the docks at Avonmouth Barry or Cardiff, carrying sacks of grain straight off the farm, when weighed at the Docks, the load was more often than not 11 ton, he used to load animal feeds back 10 ton, legal weight was 14 ton gross, this lorry had a four speed box with an eaton two speed axle and belonged to Roberts of Knighton, who ran quite a few.I later drove one myself on various occasions, good lorries, like the Bedfords and BMC’S cheap, but did a good job.
Good old truck the Trader, bit of a strange driving position you were more or less sat on the floor with your legs stright out, bit like sitting in a sports car.
My dad was fleet engineer at Smedley’s Foods in Faversham,and as a youngster I remember they had a fleet of them,including some bonneted normal control Trader’s.
They had box bodies with roller shutter sides for canned deliveries and fridge bodies for frozen.
He used to bring one home sometimes when he came home for lunch,and whilst he was eating,I’d be sitting in the lorry doing all the brrmm,brrmm business (as you do).
They were eventually replaced by D’series Ford’s.
Now,if anyone can find some pics of the old Smedley’s motors…
thames trader my father use to drive
Grant N.Ireland.
Cliff Hill quarries of markfield near leicester bought a lot of these around 1958 short wheelbase 4 wheelers like the previous writer said cheap only lasted a few years some ambitious operators in the leicestershire area converted them to 6 wheelers usually with disasterous results.Thames trader was a better bet in the lower weight range NCB used them widely for residential coal lorries…moving vans also had trader chassis…the only tipper operator I remember having lots of these was tarmac roadstone at their corby northants depot.
Seeing this thread on the Thames Trader reminds me it was the very first Lorry I drove when I started driving in 1967 , it would have been a pre 60s 6 cyl 4 wheeler on B licence with a high fruit headboard and painted in Cornicks colours ,an old Southampton Haulier .
and My First long distant run was also a Trader to Grimsby ,
Great photos
Regards Frenchy
Not far behind you frenchy started driving 1969 on a 1965 Thames Trader on fruit & veg deliveries.It`s unladen weight was 2t 19cwt& a few pounds & could carry 7t legal which was my limit because I was only 19 & to drive over 3t unladen you had to be 21.
Many a time we would pick up a dodgy 10t of spuds from farms steady away down hills with them vacuum brakes 
Steering wheel spokes were always breaking after using the wheel to climb in & out of the cab.
Far cry from now with I wont drive Brigade of anything less than a V8 with space cab 
This photo took last june at the Stockton to South Shields Vintage run same colour as my old one but this has tipper body
This one Helmsley Vintage & Steam Rally last yr !971 transit next to the Trader was mine
