did anyone pass then went over the water on their first job 
thanks keith
Passed test thurs fri night Larne to cairnryan boat with a load of hanging sows for Germany.
bigtruck:
Passed test thurs fri night Larne to cairnryan boat with a load of hanging sows for Germany.
brave man 
keith
keith 2:
bigtruck:
Passed test thurs fri night Larne to cairnryan boat with a load of hanging sows for Germany.brave man
I was craping myself lol
Passed test december 91 took my dad to work in the january after xmas break two lads on sick terry morgan(TDS morgan freight) rang insurance company to see how much extra it would cost to insure a 21 year old they said i would be covered so off i went to shotton paper to load for Milan that was a fun trip never really drove artic except for my test made it there and back in one pice and still at it now 
keith 2:
did anyone pass then went over the water on their first job
Didn’t need to, I was already there 
I did cross a river though 
19 tonnes of Leigh’s paint to JCB uttoxeter…fresh faced 21 year old in a brand new iveco eurotech. Felt on top of the world.
Back in 94.
keith 2:
did anyone pass then went over the water on their first job
A bloke I knew very well got laid of after 7 years as a bricky so he went to Turkey as a subbie for DT on a couple of runs with his mate. He previously had no interest in trucks, his mate offered him a go and after a few trips he did his test. As soon as he was through his test his mate hired another truck and tilt for him and he followed on for another couple of trips until it he thought he would be alright on his own. As far as I know he’s still driving for a living.
Jeff…
Many years ago i was the fitter for M & C TPT, owned by a character called Mervyn King.
I ask your forgiveness in advance as many names i cannot recall or maybe i remember them a bit wrong…
I had passed my class one a couple of years before, but my only experience was taking trucks / trls for MOT at Chelmsford, which was about 15 miles away from our yard at the time. I had never been abroad before, not even on holiday.
It was about 1980 or maybe ‘81, a bit over a week before Christmas, Mervyn had an Astran load for somewhere in the Middle East and it needed to be shipped. Trouble was we only had the UK ‘shunter’ in the country at the time, an MAN 16-280 4x2 unit. The reg’ was UVX 840S, ( funny how mechanics remember those things ), also it was one of the first 280’s and had the column gearchange, hence it’s nickname the " Vespa". The driver who’s truck it was was very under his Mr’s thumb and because Christmas was looming she would not allow him to go on a trip abroad.
So Mervyn asked me if i would like to take it to the National, near Belgrade, there i would be met my ‘Tricky’ Ricky Foster who was returning from the M/E. We would exchange trls and i could return back to the UK. I was a bit nervous about taking it on, but after a couple of hours in the local watering hole the Ducane Arms it was duly agreed that i would leave the next morning.
I was to go “Commie Bloc” and return via Austria, due to permit shortages and the fact that Tricky had an Austrian permit with him that i could use.
Now as always, Mervyn did what he could to help me, but also as always Mervyn made things sound far simpler than maybe they were…( that make sense ■■ )
He gave me the running money, much of which i was to pass onto Tricky when we exchanged trl’s. A whole heap of papers inc’ a Carnet TIR, various permits and an old Routiers atlas of Europe on which he highlighted the route i was to take. More about that later…
Early the next day i set off to Dover’s Eastern docks feeling very nervous but with a great excitement too.
I got through the customs ok and the ferry booking was all done as promised. Eventually i drove onto the biggest floating thing i had ever seen, can’t recall the name of the ship but it took me and numerous other vehicles to Zeebrugge.
I was feeling full of butterflies when i drove off the ramp and into the Belgium rain, telling myself to stay on the right side of the road and take things slowly.
The Belgium and then later the West German customs were done without any problems, had to ask other drivers which window i needed to go to next, and i would give the official most all the papers i had and after giving me a dirty look they would return the ones they did not require. Heading across Germany the weather was getting colder…
Finally i got to Waidhaus, the border with what was then Czechoslovakia, my first culture shock !!! The West German customs was very modern, clean, well run and staffed by immaculately dressed staff who dealt with me in a most professional way. After traversing across no-mans-land, around the anti-tank defences etc i came to the Czech customs. I was in a different world, everywhere was filthy dirty, the staff all dressed in misfitting uniforms and peaked caps which seemed to be as large as an average dustbin lid. I entered the building and looked to see where to go, there were no other drivers there to ask. After a couple of wrong windows i was directed to the correct one, but as they were all so old and dirty it was difficult to see who or what was sitting at the other side !! I again passed the person all the papers i thought he may need and while he was sorting them out i remember trying to count the dog ends stamped out on the floor, i had no chance as there were 100’s of them, along with many dubious looking patches of either dried snot / spit / chewing tobacco or some other nasty substance. After a while my papers were handed back and i was ushered out and told to drive to an inspection area, there they looked all over the truck, top and bottom, had a nose about inside the cab and finally gestured that i was ok to proceed.
By now it is getting very dark and i am heading toward Plzen, the ground is covered in a light layer of snow and it’s getting much colder. I pass through villages, but they appear to be largely deserted, i see buildings silhoeted (?) against the night sky but no lights in them other than the very occasional flickering of what i think were candles.
I recall that i got to Plzen and the road took a very sharp turn to the right and up a steep hill, i could feel my drive wheels sometimes break loose and spin up, not the most comfortable feeling…
After a while i came to a large empty parking area next to the road, nothing else in sight, just a piece of empty ground, i drove onto it and parked up, i felt VERY alone…
I looked at the atlas that Mervyn had given to me and got the small stove on to heat up some soup. Up until now the route had been pretty easy to follow and had been true to what he had marked out. I was not far from Prague, but had heard the drivers mention many times before about how it’s full of low bridges and tram lines and as such could be a nightmare to get through, so decided to tackle it the next morning during the daylight hours. I had driven further than i had ever done before in my life and felt quite chuffed with myself, still a long long way to go though.
The next morning i was awake very early, mainly due to being frozen to the bone, no night heater in the Vespa and when at a high idle not much heat coming out of the heater either !! Got my boots on and jumped out for a leak, hit the ground with a sort of muted ‘crunching’ sound, i was knee deep in snow, DEEP JOY !!!
Well, much to my surprise, i drove back onto the road with no problem, even thought the drive axle was fitted with just normal road tyres and not the usual snow / drive type tyres the other trucks were fitted with.
The remaining route to Prague was NOTHING like what Merv’ had marked out and i arrived far from where his route entered the city, but we were there just the same.
Outside Prague i pulled into a roadside coffee shop, well more of a shed actually but there were a few trucks there. I had a coffee, most welcome to feel that heat inside, and chatted to a couple of Bulgy drivers who had a spattering of English, they were heading south and said i was welcome to follow, i breathed a sigh of relief. We finished the coffee and off we went, it was hard to keep them in-sight but i managed to long enough to clear the city of Prague and joined the motorway which took me down to Brno and Bratislava, they soon disappeared from my view. I trundled on being very careful of the places where the snow had blown over the road or the road was in the shadows of trees which meant there was likely a thick layer of ice.
All went well until i got to the Czeck / Hungarian border, Raijka i think ■■ Was told to slowly drive over the weighing machine, the chap came up to me " Problem Mr. Axle 2 ( drive ) 1.2 ton over, big problem " Then he kept saying “Camarno Camarno Mr.”, but i had no idea what he was on about and at the time i was on the route that Mervyn had marked for me.
So another chap said that back in Bratislava there was a customs yard who would be able to re-arrange my load and re-seal the trailer and amend the paperwork, so off i went. I eventually found it after employing a taxi driver to show me the way to it for very little cost i thought. They opened the tilt and we moved 1 pallet from the very front of the trl to the very rear plus another from the front to the middleish section. All was sealed up and paperwork done. Seem to recall it costing about the same as 2 pints in the local at home, plus i gave him a copy of Parade which i had found earlier tucked away in the box above the windscreen, if i had given him a gold ingot he would not of been happier !!
So off back to the border i went, the same chap greeted me and we went over the machine again, the axle loads were ok this time, not perfect but just within the tolerances they allowed, a few questions about changes to the seal number but all was ok and the paperwork was done. We are on the way again, it’s still bitterly cold, even inside the truck cab, and the snow was coming down harder than i would of chosen…
The route was again not quite as the marking on my old Routiers, but i could see a few signs and names of towns etc to know i was going in the general direction. I came across a place where there were many trucks, of all Nationalities, i pulled in trying to keep as close to the road and away from any slushy areas i could. I walked to the building there which had steam / smoke coming out of a high chimney, it looked warm and inviting. Before i even got to the door i was called at by a couple of English drivers and i had a big surprise. " Hey mate, are you Steve that is bring the trl for Ricky ■■ He’s at the National now waiting for you. But don’t rush as he’s on the p*ss big time !! " . No surprise for me there, but i was amazed that in the middle of nowhere strangers to me knew who i was, where i was going and what for !! So we had a few big mugs of tea served by one of the chaps from his trl box, i cannot remember their names or even who they were working for, but i do recal them saying that there was a few unsavory chaps in the Truckstop place and they were being astute in brewing up outside. Not what i really wanted to hear as i was still feeling very nervous at the time but also the excitement was still there too. I told them about the chap at the weighbridge and asked them what he meant by " Camarno", they explained that it was another border crossing from Czech into Hungary which did not have any weighing devices, so no problems with the axle loads. ( But BIG problems if caught in Hungary overloaded ) We finished the brew, and we all headed off in our own directions.
I made it across Hungary without to many problems with traction and cleared the Hungarian / Yugoslavian customs without too much bother. Signs to Belgrade were aplenty so the fact that Mervyns route was by now on different roads to the ones i seemed to be on i did not matter. I got to the outskirts of Belgrade and by pure chance opted to turn right ( East ) on the main route there as Mervyn had said that the National was a few k’s outside of the city, but within a short time i saw signs and pulled into the National parking. I recall that i was happy to see a fuel station there as i was running low.
I stepped out into the snow to be greeted by an Scottish chap who informed me that Tricky was asleep in the bar / restaurant, ( another chap who knew who i was ■■ ) i entered the place and there were a number of chaps in a worse for wear state, so i decided the best course of action was to join them !!!
The next morning i was woken up by loud banging on my door, it was another of M & C’s drivers, a chap called Alan Hayes, he was a right nutter when behind the wheel, and he informed me that i was to join him and he would show me the way back via Austria, He was to reload in Salzburg and i was to reload my new trl somewhere in Munich, but first we had to wake up Tricky and get the trl’s and paperwork swapped over.
After doing that we all went back into the National to have a hearty breakfast and loads of strong coffee, it was then that i found out that most every waiter in there seemed to be called George !!
It was not snowing when we left, although still bitterly cold and a strong wind blowing. As i said before, Alan was not a slow driver, plus he had a newish Scania 111 which was LHD and fitted with very good winter tyres, i was in a RHD MAN on not so good summer tyres so it was not easy to overtake and keep up with him. Also the road to Zagreb was, and still is, infamous for being ultra dangerous, not a comfortable journey !! We eventually arrived at Maribor, it was snowing again but not too hard, also by now i was used to the MAN losing traction at times but because i was far more relaxed about it i learnt to let it sort itself out, which thankfully it always seemed to do. Alan got us both through customs in no time at all and off we went, even though i had asked him a number of time to slow down a little it was to no avail…We crossed Austria and i marveled at the scenery, it was a first time for me and i wanted to savour it a little more, but i also had to keep the back of Alan’s tilt in sight too. We entered Germany and now it was quite plain sailing, even for a novice like me.
Alan stopped at a services a little before he had to turn off to collect his re-load, we had more coffee and a big piece of some sausage which came out of a vending machine, lovely stuff. It was a world apart from what i had seen in the previous few days. He gave me directions to where i was loading, and true to his word it was very easy for me to find. They even gave me a meal, some beer (?) and let me phone my then wife back at home. She was very worried as other than a short call from the National she had heard nothing from me. I remember it was the 22rd December and the kids were worried that i would not be there for Christmas. I was soon on my way, but now following the directions that Alan had given me and Mervyn’s ancient atlas was somewhere on the bunk behind. I arrived at Zeebrugge sometime during the afternoon of the 23rd. Again a ferry booking was there in my name, but i had a few hours to wait, so it was in the bunk for a much needed sleep. Once again i was woken by Alan bashing on the door, and soon we were crossing the channel. Through Dover with no problems and back to the yard at Hill Farm Tiptree. From there i called the wife and within the hour she was there to collect me, the kids too.
It was a great experience, un-nerving at times and a little worrying too, but the excitement and sense of achievement made it something that i shall always look back on and smile to myself.
That, my friends, is the story of my first ‘proper’ load in an arctic.
Regards Steve.
Good story Mr Gray,
Reckon that atlas, or another one similar was handed down to me,
“You’ll be alright boy” still rings in me ears.
First trip abroad solo was in a 2800 daf to Seville, Malaga and Granada. Tacho stopped working on the way to Dover. “You’ll be alright boy” was the advice I receveid, what should I do ? I asked ? Keep going 'till you can’t go no more boy.
Essex finest haulage companies
Hi Steve,yes that was a excellent story keith
keith 2:
Hi Steve,yes that was a excellent story
got any more good tales like that steve,very good reading,keith
keith 2:
keith 2:
Hi Steve,yes that was a excellent storygot any more good tales like that steve,very good reading,keith
Thanks for that Kieth, and in answer to your question, yes there are some other tales to tell, ( hey i worked for M & C Transport, so life was never dull !! ). When i next feel in “typing mode” i shall endeavor to recall some of the things that went on in those days. My grey matter is not what it was, so the dates / names may be not 100% accurate, but it matters not.
I am leaving this morning on another motorbike trip, this time i’m heading north, staying tonight at Chris Everitt’s home in Korat ( some may remember Chris from his days subbing for Kepstowe Freight ) and then i will go to Nong Khai, which is on the Laos border. From there i will head west and follow the Mekong river and the Thai / Laos border up to the Golden Triangle, the area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar ( Burma ) all meet.
So it will likely be 8 - 10 days before i am back home, quite possibly more if i get sidetracked along the way…
Regards Steve.
passed my test in1987 first load was in a scania loryy& drag with a load of bulls to sicily for Peter Gilder , must say it was doubled man still nothing like getting chucked in the deep end,i was greener than grass
M&C steve:
keith 2:
keith 2:
Hi Steve,yes that was a excellent storygot any more good tales like that steve,very good reading,keith
Thanks for that Kieth, and in answer to your question, yes there are some other tales to tell, ( hey i worked for M & C Transport, so life was never dull !! ). When i next feel in “typing mode” i shall endeavor to recall some of the things that went on in those days. My grey matter is not what it was, so the dates / names may be not 100% accurate, but it matters not.
I am leaving this morning on another motorbike trip, this time i’m heading north, staying tonight at Chris Everitt’s home in Korat ( some may remember Chris from his days subbing for Kepstowe Freight ) and then i will go to Nong Khai, which is on the Laos border. From there i will head west and follow the Mekong river and the Thai / Laos border up to the Golden Triangle, the area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar ( Burma ) all
So it will likely be 8 - 10 days before i am back home, quite possibly more if i get sidetracked along the way…Regards Steve.
Hi Steve,thats a fair old ride,been to pattaya myself 3 times,stayed in the amari hotel top of beach road.have a safe trip,keith
I went to Forfar to Don and Low. I didn’t think I was ever going to get there in my F7. I got stopped at Stirling by the Ministry and asked him how much further it was 
I had a 30’ Huktra pressure tank behind me and my first week was running out of Gartcosh and back up to Forfar
M&C Steve. That was a fantastic introduction to the Eastern Bloc. I felt for you every word as my own initiation was somewhat similar. I had been to Greece on the ferry but decided it was too expensive and I opted for the overland route from then on. I never went to Brindisi again. But I spent many memorable nights in and around Plzen, Brno and Prague
The log cabin in one hit was a fair days work for a new beginning
Wheel Nut:
M&C Steve. That was a fantastic introduction to the Eastern Bloc. I felt for you every word as my own initiation was somewhat similar. I had been to Greece on the ferry but decided it was too expensive and I opted for the overland route from then on. I never went to Brindisi again. But I spent many memorable nights in and around Plzen, Brno and PragueThe log cabin in one hit was a fair days work for a new beginning
Not sure where you mean by the “Log Cabin” ■■
First nights sleep was somewhere between Plzen and Prague, the next was at the National, as having to have the load adjusted at Bratislava took a few hours and I grabbed a couple of hours there whilst I waited for them to start. Then it was a long way to Belgrade, I remember that, but I was nervous about the weather getting worse so I kept at a steady pace and just kept going, stopping only for the mugs of tea with the chaps in the parking area or to fill up with squirt.
Slept for many hours when I finally got to the National, well after a few too many beers and the obligatory mixed grill !!
Steve.
I spent a few months on a 10 tonner then first day out in artic tipped a trailer in south London, back to yard changed trailers and handed a list of about 15 wine collections in Alsace and Champagne! All in WKL 906S a B series ERF with a 240 Gardner.
Mine was summer 1978, having been on the plates for Tolemans in Hull since just before Xmas, they asked a few of us if we would take our Class 1 if they paid. As you can imagine we bit their hands off as the money on that job was unbelievable in those days.
Passed my test in an old Dodge with a 5 speed box - like stirring custard to get a gear! trailer was a 30’ flat with one axle right at the back - turned very quickly!.
Was then allocated a Ford “D” Series 8 car carrying wagon & drag with the Perkins engine. Went like the clappers on the flat but died the death on any kind of hill.
First load was 8 Cortina’s to Tolemans Widnes depot, reload Halewood with LHD ■■■■■■ vans for Hull Docks, what a doddle!.
Athough reversing it was no picnic, and you had to be dead straight to get the ramps on between the wagon & drag.
Retiring this year as Ops Manager for Bulk LPG company, after 37 yrs in transport. 