OK so I’ve just Google mapped both Tankersley and where I’m at at Howden to our Bellshill subbys depot.
It’s 234 miles from Tankersley, it’s 233 miles from Howden - both places you’re going the A1M, A66 route. Looking at the industrial area at Tankersley we both have the same distance to the motorway, about a mile or so tops.
Assuming an absolutely perfect run, one of our fastest motors and literally a couple of minutes driving in the yard setting off with no traffic delays or roadworks whatsoever and sitting on the limiter over the A66, and I mean sitting on it literally slowing down only for the 40MPH section at Kirkby Thore where the speed cameras are the furthest I’m making it is Hamilton services. From experience of doing that over the last 20 odd years I’m pulling into Hamilton services with my arse nipping with at best 5 minutes left - if I do the speed limits on the single carriageway sections I’m not making Hamilton, if I get held up by the traffic lights at Penrith, especially on the roundabout at J40 where you can get hit by three sets of reds, I’m not making Hamilton or if I am I’m running in with a minute or two left. I certainly don’t have enough time to drive the extra 8 miles to the Bellshill depot and especially have even a few minutes I’d need in the yard.
We do not do Bellshill, even though technically each driver could do it twice a week. We have typically 10 wagons a night in two lots of 5 doing a night trunk up with Scottish loads and we do a changeover. Used to be Lockerbie truckstop, now just a bit before then, when it’s quieter then some will change over at Penrith truckstop. What my company does is send up half the wagons on an early trunk to meet and change over with the Scottish drivers then send the other half up 4hrs later. The Scottish drivers do the first change over then bob back up to Bellshill, drop off, pick up another trailer then go back down to the change over to meet the drivers from the later trunk run. Works OK, nobody is running to the limit, to their max hours, nobody is stressed.
If this job has you running up two nights a week, fair enough. If they’re expecting more than that without double manning the answer is can’t be done and that’s from someone who has been doing it for most of the last 8 years with the last few years being most nights of the week. Depending on what time you’re setting off will also have a considerable impact. At best I’m hitting Ecclefechan J19 on the A74M between 3h15m to 3h30m if I’m on a late hitting J44 A1M just above the A1/M1 split around 8.30pm and anything up to half an hour more added to that even with no accidents if I’m on the earlier run hitting J44 around 5.30pm. It takes the Bellshill drivers just under 1hr 30m driving to get to Bellshill from there and that’s without the roadworks on the M74 from J12 upwards there’s been for the last couple of months. It especially can’t be done at this time of year when the A66 gets closed to high sided vehicles on a regular basis. Whether you choose to go M62/M61/M6 or go A69 when the A66 is closed both options add another 40 minutes driving in each direction without accounting for the roadworks which both options currently have with full closures on a night - J33 on the M6, Junctions 65-68 on the A1 around Gateshead.