Gidders:
When I worked for a Belgian company I used to give lessons to any of their drivers who were sufficiently interested in the finer arts of sheeting correctly with envelopes,etc on the corners and the use of fly sheets.They were all amazed how easily dolly knots could be undone.Before that they used to undo them with a knife.
Hiya,
A bit like when I pulled for Northern Ireland Trailers those Lancashire
flats that arrived at Preston Dock took for ever to unravel and the
knots ages to undo and you couldn’t cut them you needed the ropes
to rope the flat when reloading it for back oe’r the water.
thanks harry, long retired.
You wouldn’t require a “rope” spanner to undo any of these ropes “H”, hope your feeling a bit better mate ! Kind Regards Dennis
0
Hiya,
Aye Dennis those trailers of yours look a treat some trailers I’ve had to
pick up have needed a complete redo before I’d leave the yard a little
more than a “ping” on a rope or two Oh’ and and a quick kick on the
tyres with my 90 PSI boots was all that was needed with your gear.
thanks harry, long retired.
Ray Smyth:
Paul…Were you responsible for the 2 perfectly sheeted loads on the Bowker trailers ?
Sadly not Ray.
The Bowker pictures were given to me around 10 years ago by Bowker’s driver the late Peter Davis who was responsible for the sheeting and roping.
0Here’s one of Riding’s Atkinson Borderer’s outside Heinz’s Kitt Green factory near Wigan where driver John white had just loaded 20 tons canned goods.
John appears to be larking about sheeting up the tractor unit as well as the load.
Riding’s delivered full loads of empty GKN pallets and loaded up to 16 loads daily out of Kitt Green, even having their own shunter based there a guy called Mick Davies.
Several hauliers had yard shunt motors based at Kitt Green, including Bowker, Riding and Hill’s, and the work was split up mainly on a regional basis as I recall - this was the early 1980s. As far as Bowker was concerned, the night shunter would load and sheet the trailers, and the driver collecting them would rope them up.
Ray Smyth:
Paul…Were you responsible for the 2 perfectly sheeted loads on the Bowker trailers ?
Sadly not Ray.
The Bowker pictures were given to me around 10 years ago by Bowker’s driver the late Peter Davis who was responsible for the sheeting and roping.
0Here’s one of Riding’s Atkinson Borderer’s outside Heinz’s Kitt Green factory near Wigan where driver John white had just loaded 20 tons canned goods.
John appears to be larking about sheeting up the tractor unit as well as the load.
Riding’s delivered full loads of empty GKN pallets and loaded up to 16 loads daily out of Kitt Green, even having their own shunter based there a guy called Mick Davies.
Several hauliers had yard shunt motors based at Kitt Green, including Bowker, Riding and Hill’s, and the work was split up mainly on a regional basis as I recall - this was the early 1980s. As far as Bowker was concerned, the night shunter would load and sheet the trailers, and the driver collecting them would rope them up.
I remember the above arrangement very well in the early 1970s when I worked for Robert Baillie. Other Kitt Green based drivers and artic units
that I recall were Wm. Gaskell from Upholland and Jays of Atherton. It was quite common for a driver to go for his dinner, and if one of his trailers
was needed on a bay that had become empty, one of the other drivers would bring a trailer in from outside and drop it on the empty bay for him.
The job was so much easier if you all pulled in the same direction.
The trailer park was outside of the Heinz factory fence, and it was usual for up to 15 loaded and sheeted trailers to be parked up waiting to be
taken to their destinations. I remember that a trailer loaded with 20 tons of Heinz canned foods was illegally taken from the trailer park to a
farmers field, some where between Wigan and Preston, It may have been in the Eccleston and Leyland area. The loaded trailer was then surrounded by bales of straw, front and back, the full length of the trailer, the full height, and right along the top, so that it looked like an
enormous haystack. I don’t remember the outcome, whether or not if it was found intact or otherwise. Someone out there will know.
Suffice to say that it wasn’t just a passing driver without a trailer that took it. Regards, Ray Smyth.
Bewick:
Another yard shot of the loaded trailer rank
All that investment and a yard full of holes
Now then Dan’l I believe you maybe “smoking” some dodgy ■■■■ ! because if you can see any holes in that yard, I can’t ! But then I must get my “gear” from a different pusher than you ! Right on man !
Bewick:
Another yard shot of the loaded trailer rank.
0
The holes look to be occupied by water
IIRC Dan’l when I took that shot the temprature was in the 70’s and it was dry as a bone, and level ! Your eyes a probably glazed mate so it may look like there are puddles, similar to a Mirage in the desert when it causes hallucinations through being short of water but not in this case Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Another yard shot of the loaded trailer rank.
The holes look to be occupied by water
The holes ARE there Dan, 60 ton plus of planings courtesy of Bruce Cook are temporarily hiding them though! Poor chap couldn’t afford tarmac.
Pete.
You are a cheeky ■■■■ Pete Our yard was surfaced eventually and here is the proof, it took a week but it was like a billiard table after these lads finished, and I took the shot ! then carried on leaning on me No 10 shovel ! Cheers Dennis.
windrush:
Aye, but I seem to remember you saying that was a ‘freebie’ as they were testing out some new tarmac?
Pete.
Shade that cab in an awful greenish colour Pete it could of Been you above !
“Awful Green” Dan? It was blue actually, I forget the exact shade but it was classified as blue. But yes, it does look very similar to my last truck, certainly a ‘rose among thorns’ in Bewicks yard that day eh!
windrush:
Aye, but I seem to remember you saying that was a ‘freebie’ as they were testing out some new tarmac?
Pete.
■■■■■■■ 'ell Pete I thought only you and me knew that secret ! Now you’ve gone and ■■■■■■■ blabbed It will now take 24hrs. for all the other members to forget about it all again ! Sorry but I wouldn’t show you a “birds nest” from now on 'cause you can’t keep a secret I despair ! Cheers Dennis.
Another day another load 
