Thought I’d start a new thread rather than hi jack Willie Roadstar’s TD Morgan Overland one.Does anyone remember Merzario’s Kangaroo (Kangourou) tilts early '70s? Blue tilt covers,yellow signwriting,and a half round roof.They were very numerous on M1/M6-almost the ESL of their day.It’s this fact alone that makes me think it was they who first thought of the Kangaroo concept.Any thoughts?
Sir +:
Thought I’d start a new thread rather than hi jack Willie Roadstar’s TD Morgan Overland one.Does anyone remember Merzario’s Kangaroo (Kangourou) tilts early '70s? Blue tilt covers,yellow signwriting,and a half round roof.They were very numerous on M1/M6-almost the ESL of their day.It’s this fact alone that makes me think it was they who first thought of the Kangaroo concept.Any thoughts?
I well remember the odd looking Merzario trailers,I believe they were that shape so they could be piggy-backed on rail waggons through the Alpine tunnels.And your dead right ,whatever “Fast Eddie” claims as a “first” now-a-days has always been done many years before! but they make it sound like they’ve re-invented the wheel or similar! Bewick.
Dennis you done well leaving them alone we done some for Ernie Felgate who had a lot of the Merzario work down this end trust it was ■■■■ them trailers had the old trilex wheels on so when you pulled up sharpe the wheels spun and chopped of the valves the sheets just about fitted and the side bars and dropsides you had to be like ■■■■■■■ Garth to put some of them back but Ernie had chaps on there for years so yet again one mans meat is another mans poison they were that funny shape for the rail It was Andrea Merzario Arturo a racing driver but i suppose with 8 to 12 drops on groupage on a shilling a mile theres no differance
mrken:
Dennis you done well leaving them alone we done some for Ernie Felgate who had a lot of the Merzario work down this end trust it was [zb] them trailers had the old trilex wheels on so when you pulled up sharpe the wheels spun and chopped of the valves the sheets just about fitted and the side bars and dropsides you had to be like [zb] Garth to put some of them back but Ernie had chaps on there for years so yet again one mans meat is another mans poison they were that funny shape for the rail It was Andrea Merzario Arturo a racing driver but i suppose with 8 to 12 drops on groupage on a shilling a mile theres no differance
We never had anything to with them,just used to notice them as they were so un-usual!! Dennis.
Hi mrken you always gave me them it that because you thought i was like a gladiator lol Gondrad had a load of them as well so did Interroute Jamesons and there was another firm in Kent some where had black Fiats they did lots but cant remember the old nuts going now think it was chairomellow or simalar all good days we all moaned but we all did it Myers did lots as well i think
Now then “mrken” have you been unmasked as aTraffic Manager then? Dennis.
Me Dennis no. Bill you never did listen with the amount of liquid in your body I said radiator.your right thou loads had them infact when you look back
I can remember Myres being one of the first to have factory twinsteers instead of those add ons I had one put on a F1220 0nce which was a longer wheelbase you could have done skips as well as traction with the gap behind the cab Infact Myres are about the only ones of that era still going on that sort of work so must have done there sums right and they have all nice vehicles
Yes, we (Myers) are still going and on traction work 27 years after taking on those terrible Volvo F1224
trucks in May 1983.
In fact, we had the first purpose built six wheeled tractors on the road to comply with the new 38 tonne
law and our vehicles rolled onto the road at 00.01 hrs on 1st May 1983.
These were four of the first five built by Volvo and were, frankly, an unmitigated disaster - the second
axle reacted to sensors and often went into a roundabout with the second steer trying to face the wrong
direction - as a result they ate tyres on the second steer and on the drive axle - 30000 miles on a set of tyres
was common.
The six wheeled part of the fleet at that time was the four Volvo’s, one V10 engined LHD MAN, abandoned
in the UK the previous year by a Greek haulier and extensively renovated by ourselves, two 8 month old
DAF DKX 3300’s that were coverted with Granning rear lifts by Vehicle Systems Engineering of Stratford,
London, followed by four Scania 112 rear lifts four months later.
The deal with Merzario, I seem to recall was four 25 vehicles initially as all their old Kangarous were
tandem axles. We supplied 12 tractors, Brain Haulage 10 (all existing vehicles coverted by Vehicle
Systems, I think it was 9 x Scania 111’s and 1 early 112) and three Chiaramello from Ramsgate.
We employed some of the hardest working proper old school drivers at that time - they must have been
to cope with stripping out those trailers DAILY to load steel, and when I say strip out, I mean it not
open curtains like today.
Sir +:
Thought I’d start a new thread rather than hi jack Willie Roadstar’s TD Morgan Overland one.Does anyone remember Merzario’s Kangaroo (Kangourou) tilts early '70s? Blue tilt covers,yellow signwriting,and a half round roof.They were very numerous on M1/M6-almost the ESL of their day.It’s this fact alone that makes me think it was they who first thought of the Kangaroo concept.Any thoughts?
yes i do…seem to remember a few coming through poole docks when i was younger…
lespaul1765:
Sir +:
Thought I’d start a new thread rather than hi jack Willie Roadstar’s TD Morgan Overland one.Does anyone remember Merzario’s Kangaroo (Kangourou) tilts early '70s? Blue tilt covers,yellow signwriting,and a half round roof.They were very numerous on M1/M6-almost the ESL of their day.It’s this fact alone that makes me think it was they who first thought of the Kangaroo concept.Any thoughts?yes i do…seem to remember a few coming through poole docks when i was younger…
We did quite a few Merzario Kangaroos through Poole subbing for Molo’s I seem to remember when they had a small yard near Upton Poole behind a house (Was it Furnell’s?) Used to load steel out of Wales and take the loaded trailers back to Poole or Dover.
Had to carry lightboards and palm couplings and extra palm fittings as the couplings would sometimes pilfered from the trailers in the docks!
HI Knowall when I worked for mrken we had 3 of your old units E45/47FMX and C96PMV all good motors and he ran them for another 3 years i hated then no storage low roofs but he liked a IVECO had about 12 of them in the end that firm Charmello was that the one with the black Fiats Remember
years ago going to drop of a Marothon before I worked for Ken at a firm called Halls i think in sillwood street near some arches and you had loads of those square cabbed mercs in ther in the grey colours sure that was you