Hauliers around the Ashton in Makerfield area

[eddie_heaton]

Jolodas were a brilliant concept John, of that there can be little doubt, but as you know, should there be any movement of the load during transit, and it did occur on occasions, then it only required one box to snag on an adjacent pallet and it could be an absolutely pain in the derrière trying to get them separated, probably not too bad with bog roll, but at least with a pallet truck, you could rock the pallet from side to side to square it up, and as you say, the system only worked with perfect pallets. We got round the problem to a degree with those 8’ X 4’ sheets of 3/8" ply that we used to separate the pallets. You’ll remember those of course. The memory of the splinters in my fingers will remain with me until the day that they Joloda me into the back of that long black Daimler.

Did you ever do any of those loads of cheese from the Scottish creameries John ? The cheese was packed in plywood boxes, which were as slippery as ■■■■, then palletised. They weren’t shrink wrapped or banded to the pallet, and the load didn’t always exactly match the dimensions of the pallet either, so it was necessary to load them with the pallets arranged alternately, or dog leg fashion as I call it, in order to close the gaps. Well Mack brought a load down from Scotch one time that I was given the honour of delivering.

The dozy bugger had only loaded the trailer with all the pallets narrow end on, the full length of the trailer and when I arrived at the delivery point and opened the back doors the scene that met my eyes was reminiscent of that old film footage of the bombing of Coventry. The product wasn’t damaged in any way, as it was encased in plywood, but it was a handball job to get the thing tipped.

Twenty tons of effin’ cheese to re-palletise. Thanks a bundle Mack. Polishing your ■■■■■■■ motor every day is one thing, loading it properly is another matter entirely.

Regards. Eddie.

[john_west]

Eddie Heaton:
Jolodas were a brilliant concept John, of that there can be little doubt, but as you know, should there be any movement of the load during transit, and it did occur on occasions, then it only required one box to snag on an adjacent pallet and it could be an absolutely pain in the derrière trying to get them separated, probably not too bad with bog roll, but at least with a pallet truck, you could rock the pallet from side to side to square it up, and as you say, the system only worked with perfect pallets. We got round the problem to a degree with those 8’ X 4’ sheets of 3/8" ply that we used to separate the pallets. You’ll remember those of course. The memory of the splinters in my fingers will remain with me until the day that they Joloda me into the back of that long black Daimler.

Did you ever do any of those loads of cheese from the Scottish creameries John ? The cheese was packed in plywood boxes, which were as slippery as [zb], then palletised. They weren’t shrink wrapped or banded to the pallet, and the load didn’t exactly fit the dimensions of the pallet either, so it was necessary to load them with the pallets arranged alternately, or dog leg fashion as I call it, in order to close the gaps. Well Mack brought a load down from Scotch one time that I was given the honour of delivering.

The dozy bugger had only loaded the trailer with all the pallets narrow end on, the full length of the trailer and when I arrived at the delivery point and opened the back doors the scene that met my eyes was reminiscent of that old film footage of the bombing of Coventry. The product wasn’t damaged in any way, as it was encased in plywood, but it was a handball job to get the thing tipped.

Twenty tons of effin’ cheese to re-palletise. Thanks a bundle Mack. Polishing your [zb] motor every day is one thing, loading it properly is another matter entirely.

Regards. Eddie.

^^^

Got to keep the ‘MANS’ sparkling!

[ray_smyth]

I have just read the interesting comments from Eddie Heaton and John West regarding Jolodas.
The 40ft Boden van trailers that I worked with at Connals of Glasgow at their Wigan site were
fitted with a plywood centre board, from front to back, and floor to roof. Using a Pallet Truck
was not a good option, so it was important to keep the Joloda wheel channels clean.
Two of Connals artics are seen here the yard of Robert Baillie Transport, Chapel Lane, Wigan.
These pictures are from the Trucknet Connals thread, courtesy of Eddie Heaton.

Ray Smyth.

[eddie_heaton]

The On Time Freight Line. c.1974., but can anyone identify the location ?

The prize for the lucky winner may very well be a cruise for two in the former coal barge ’ Ambush ', along the beautifully picturesque valley of the river Douglas, from historic Wigan pier to the old bone works at Appley Bridge, taking in breathtaking views of Heinz’s factory and Wincanton’s warehouse at Kitt Green, Roburite’s old dynamite factory at Shevington, and the regally soaring splendour of Gathurst viaduct…possibly…, or a bundle of well thumbed Viz magazines…more likely. ( entrants must be over 18 yrs, terms and conditions apply ).

[eddie_heaton]

An F88 of Connal’s on the trailer park of Pritchett Bros, aka ’ the beach ’ c.1975.

[eddie_heaton]

An S21 of Pennington’s taken sometime back in the 70’s. From memory, this heap was powered, if the word ’ power ’ can legitimately be applied here, by a Gardner 6 LW. The photograph was taken at R.G.Brown’s, the steel stockholders at Ince. R.G. Brown as a company ceased to exist many years ago.

This wagon was the only one out of Pennington’s entire fleet that was ever liveried in this not unattractive colour scheme. I’m guessing that B&Q must have been running a promotion on light blue at the time.

[cja1]

Not Ashton But just up the Rd, Close enough.

[eddie_heaton]

Hi Chris, I’d be interested to learn where you keep finding these photos mate.

I remember JRE,… just about. A lad by the name of Keith France, who came working for an outfit that I was driving for in 1969 or thereabouts, told me that he’d driven for them.

Apparently, the owner of the company, Mr. Entwistle lived in one of those big houses up Ladies lane in Hindley, quite close to Hindley golf club evidently.

The following is second hand information, so I can’t vouch for its authenticity, but I was told that the firm got into financial difficulty, sometime in the late 60’s by all accounts, and possibly as a result, Mr. Entwistle’s life was terminated…tragically.

As stated, I wasn’t personally aware of all the details, and I don’t know precisely when the company folded, so I’m open to correction, but I don’t recall seeing any of their motors around after this time.

I’m pretty sure that their Alder Heys site became the depot for Clarington Coach and Haulage, who held the contract for hauling hydraulic pit jacks out of Gullick Dobson on Seaman Way in Ince. During the era of the widespread pit closures, when production at Gullick’s fell off, Clarington threw in the towel. The place is now the site of a care home.

Joy Mining took over Gullick’s, and I believe R.N.Bolton from Highfield in Pemberton moved their stuff about, in curtainsiders of all things. I haven’t been up there for quite some time, but I believe the substantial site that Gullick Dobson once fully occupied, has now been divided into small individual units.

I was also informed that Pritchett Bros inherited a lot of JRE’s traffic after their demise, United Biscuits being one of the foremost customers, so there’s an interesting link, but again, this is second hand information and could possibly be flawed.

The Entwistle name still lives on in Wigan however, as one family member, I don’t know which one but possibly the son, was instrumental in founding the tool company ’ Entwistle & Joynt ', who are still trading from premises off Darlington St. East in Wigan, although one of the partners, Graham Joynt died quite a number of years ago. Graham was a keen fisherman by all accounts.

I still have a set of Britool metric combination spanners that I bought from their place, purchased one piece at a time, in about 1982, long before I had any disposable income, and long before the government started paying me a king’s ransom to stay at home and stop annoying the British motoring public by adhering to the statutory speed limits and clogging up the country’s highways.

JRE’s depot in Darby lane I don’t recall, but judging by those wagons in the photo, it would appear that this site predates the Alder Heys site. Someone better informed than I am will no doubt put me right if this isn’t the case.

Incidentally, if you’re looking to buy tools, although Entwistle & Joynt sell some quality stuff, be warned, they don’t exactly give it away. But as my old man used to tell me, " quality only comes at one price, expensive, it’s the junk that sells at various prices ".

So, many thanks for the interesting photos Chris, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next time.

Regards. Eddie.

[coomsey]

Eddie Heaton:
And you’d have to lay awake for a fortnight in order to come up with a better logo than " The On Time Freight Line “, wouldn’t you agree John ? Far catchier than all this " logistics " nonsense that everyone appears to have plastered across their trailers these days. That’s my view at any rate. Who was responsible for starting that trend off anyway? …” Bishops Move " was another good one, as was " Transflash Units " from Bradford, and not forgetting " The Shore Porters Society " of Aberdeen…There may be the embryo of a new thread hatching here.

I see the ad also boasts Joloda system fitted in all the trailers. Theoretically an excellent idea, in practice however, the ■■■■ things were about as much use as a concrete trampoline. The hydraulic pallet truck, I found, was a far better option, and I don’t remember going to many places that didn’t have at least one of those.

Punctilious Pullage

[eddie_heaton]

Yeah, good one that coomsey, …Punctilious Pullage eh ?, I like it. It kind of rolls off the tongue doesn’t it ?..Punctilious Pullage…It would look good down the side of one of Pennington’s trailers…or better still, one of H Parkinson’s tautliners…I can visualise it now, Parkinson’s of Penwortham for Punctilious Pullage,…nice one that mate.

By the way, every time I try to type coomsey into the iPad, the spellchecker keeps coming up with coo ■■■■…No seriously, try it if you don’t believe me.

Cheers. Eddie.

[coomsey]

Eddie Heaton:
Yeah, good one that coomsey, …Punctilious Pullage eh ?, I like it. It kind of rolls off the tongue doesn’t it ?..Punctilious Pullage…It would look good down the side of one of Pennington’s trailers…or better still, one of H Parkinson’s tautliners…I can visualise it now, Parkinson’s of Penwortham for Punctilious Pullage,…nice one that mate.

By the way, every time I try to type coomsey into the iPad, the spellchecker keeps coming up with coo ■■■■…No seriously, try it if you don’t believe me.

Cheers. Eddie.

I think it was Pointer lorries who used it Eddie. Cheers Coo-■■■■. Made me n missus laugh These computers are clever bits of kit I reckon

[cja1]

Who Remembers Peter Ellams, Dam Lane off Edge Green Lane CPC work Groupage /Storage and Continental wrk[Traction] for Unitmovements outta Wallhaven Rotterdam Sadly no Piccs. That b as good as Ashton LoL""■■

[john_west]

Eddie Heaton:
Yeah, good one that coomsey, …Punctilious Pullage eh ?, I like it. It kind of rolls off the tongue doesn’t it ?..Punctilious Pullage…It would look good down the side of one of Pennington’s trailers…or better still, one of H Parkinson’s tautliners…I can visualise it now, Parkinson’s of Penwortham for Punctilious Pullage,…nice one that mate.

By the way, every time I try to type coomsey into the iPad, the spellchecker keeps coming up with coo ■■■■…No seriously, try it if you don’t believe me.

Cheers. Eddie.

I’m a bit worried about ‘Coo ■■■■’ now Eddie. When I built my website, I phoned a chum up (not you!) to have a look at it. He commented that he liked the Thai Bride adverts that it was carrying. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the adverts you get reflect what you’ve been typing in!

John.

[eddie_heaton]

Ah, now that would explain all those ads for Preparation H, and Tena for Men that have been appearing on my iPad just recently John.

[ray_smyth]

A BRS Dennis, and a Thornycroft with a Wigan Number Plate entering Bryn Street, Ashton In Makerfield,
heading North, some time in the 1950s. Picture by Ron Hunt. Ray Smyth.

[eddie_heaton]

A recent post by John West on Buzzer’s thread regarding the long defunct London Carriers, prompted me to rummage through my collection of old photos and I came up with this one.

It isn’t the clearest of shots I’m afraid, but my stance has always been this, and it remains to this day, that a poor image is infinitely better than no image at all. It was taken using a Kodak instamatic camera, the first camera that I ever owned, and the only one that I could afford at the time.

The photograph shows RBA 68N backed onto one of the loading bays at the Hamilton depot of London Carriers ( or was it Philips? ). I never really understood the connection between the two, but then, it was never stipulated in my contract of employment that I was obliged to be familiar with the ins and outs of these things. I was merely paid to drive the ■■■■ wagon. ( and even then not that much it has to be said )

The 1418 Merc was one of a number leased to Pritchett Bros. by Trevor Ratcliffe. The trailer I assume would have been rented,… from where,… I have no idea, but it obviously isn’t painted in Pritchett’s iconic ’ The on Time Freight Line ’ livery.

It may be observed, that just to the viewer’s left of the Merc, and also backed onto one of the loading bays, but unfortunately mainly out of shot, stands one of John’s favourite motors, a London Carriers Guy Invincible.

It’s just a tad bit unfortunate that the photographer hadn’t stood a few feet farther back and got a bit more of the Guy into the frame, but I can’t be held responsible for that, as I’m the one sat in the Merc.

I seem to recall that we loaded automotive bulbs out of this place. As most posters on this site will already be aware, back then, regulations not being quite as stringent as they are nowadays, it was possible to roam relatively freely around the loading area to watch, or assist with the loading operation.

The pallets, having been loaded, would then have a large plastic bag placed over each of them. They would then be lifted individually onto a kind of turntable, where a bloke with a propane fuelled flamethrower type of thing would spin them round whilst shrinking the plastic bag taut with the heat gun before subsequently loading them onto the trailer. Fascinating stuff eh?..or could it just be me that’s easily entertained?

We used to load out of a Philips/London Carriers depot just outside Northampton as well, but I’m buggered if I can remember the,… no…wait…was it Sywell? …I think that was the name of the place.

Incidentally, the caption on the rear of this photo reads…London Carriers Hamilton 1975…you’d have been well on your way to the KSA when this shot was taken I would imagine eh John? That’s if you weren’t already there of course.

Regards. Eddie.

[eddie_heaton]

Although it bears little relevance to road transport, this old photograph that I borrowed from a local site depicts a portion of the workforce of Riding & Anderton’s sawmill in Wigan, taken at some point in the early 70s.

It’s just remotely possible that John West may be able to recognise the odd face from amongst
Geronimo’s assembled congregation of Apache braves.

I can’t help thinking that if you dumped this lot in Afghanistan, the Taliban would s**t their trolleys, throw down their Kalashnikovs and surrender unconditionally. I know I would, and no ■■■■■■■ danger.

[john_west]

Couple of great pics there Eddie. Weren’t you young. It only seems like yesterday. I remember loading a full trailer of colour TVs out of Sywell and heading back to Ashton. Darkness and fog came down, about 1/2 an hour from Ashton. Doing about 25 on the M6, following someone else’s tail lights and ■■■■■■■■ myself with about £200,000 quids worth of TVs on board. Relief on pulling off at the A580!

The motley crew at Riding and Anderton’s! Can’t remember any faces, but if you counted the fingers I think you’d be a few short. I was looking for the swarthy slinger, ‘Art thou going for chips and fish for thy dinner’, but can’t see him. He would have frightened off a platoon of Taliban, he was bigger than Rambo!

John.

[eddie_heaton]

Can’t be arsed trawling through the entire thread, but I’m reasonably confident that I haven’t posted this one before.

Taken around about 1980 during the recession, it’s a photo of two of Gaskell’s motors, the old shed on the left being one of S&A’s, ( Stan and Alan’s ) fleet, the more modern Sedak on the right, belonging to Wm&C, William and Colin Gaskell. ( I believe that they were cousins and their forbears made their pile running red shale about using ex army Ql Bedfords after the war). I actually remember seeing them on the road in the 50s and 60s. They were unmarked and painted red.

The guy behind the wheel of the Sedak is the late, great, Vinny Roberts, aka ’ Country Boy ’ to anyone who came across him in the days of c.b. radio.

For those of you in black and white, the livery on the Sedak was cream and brown, the other heap was painted red and grey.

The scene was captured at Parkside colliery, that’s the one that was adjacent to the M6 motorway, a mile or so south of junction 23 on the western side.

The place first started producing coal around about 1960 or thereabouts, however not too many years after this photo was taken, Thatcher’s government decided that it would be far more economically viable to close these places down and import coal from the other side of the globe to supply power stations such as Fiddler’s Ferry, a mere 10 miles or less as the crow flies from this place.

I try to avoid political debate as much as possible. But to be honest, I have to admit to struggling a bit to get my head around that one.

Having dipped my toe into the political briny however, perhaps someone could come up with an answer for this one.

Considering the amount of bleating about atmospheric pollution, Co2 emissions, global warming etc. due, allegedly, to the burning of fossil fuels, that emanates from various government departments, then why does this same government then grant licences to Cuadrilla for fracking for shale gas in various areas around the country ? Answers on a postcard.

Or maybe shale gas isn’t a fossil fuel…yeah right…But then, what would I know?..I’m only a wagon driver.

[john_west]

Found this photo on FB. ■■■■ Stafford was transport manager at Pritchett’s before I started subbing off them, but left to start his own company, taking a good portion of Pritchett’s work with him. Such is life.

Who drove this?

Eddie Heaton says he applied for a job with them in the early 70s. He says the basic wage was £22 for a 40 hour week. I seem to remember a general drivers’ strike in about 74 for £1.00 an hour basic.

John.