davemackie:
At the time I took this photo, This vehicle was owned and driven by Rollie Long from Hampshire .The photo was taken on the M32 in Kazakstan May 1996.
hope this is of some use to you.
rollie long 
, thats the same guy who used to have an 141 scania with an XXL cab with an high roof
thanks for the info 
Hi here’s a question for you Astran Drivers/subbies
In the picture below is that man second from the left the infamous Jerry Whelan?
I knew Jerry very well attended his wedding in Fordingbridge and visited him when he had a pub in Killaloe Ireland and bought his old Scania 140
KJN 391P (I think) from him, sadly he died a year or so ago.
Regards Pat
Pat
He looks very familiar, did he drive for Phillips after he finished ME ?
Hi Kerbut
No I don’t think he drove for Phillips I know that he had apub in Ireland and he worked for a while in America truck driving.
Regards Pat.
Doesn’t look like the Gerry I knew,but I could be wrong!
I was searching on a well known search engine for information on companies as I want to start driving overseas and would love to get into driving abnormal loads… What a suprise when this forum pops up in the search with a picture of my grandad!! Dave Anderson… I will point him in the direction of this forum so he can see for himself!!
Just read the book A Thousand Miles From Nowhere. Andrew Wilson-Young is mentioned of the book as being the fastest driver on the M/E run.Also a true English excentric .Other info says ■■■■ Snow was the fastest on the run .Who Was the Fastest?
bunsen:
Just read the book A Thousand Miles From Nowhere. Andrew Wilson-Young is mentioned of the book as being the fastest driver on the M/E run.Also a true English excentric .Other info says ■■■■ Snow was the fastest on the run .Who Was the Fastest?
Could have been anybody!We all had good trips as well as bad trips.If you had a hold up at a border,which was most of the time east of Bulgy,there was not always a quick way through.
I did a lot of Baghdad when I first started and the longest trip was about 6 weeks,whereas the shortest I can remember was just over 3 weeks.
For a round trip of about 8,000 miles with all the border delays,that’s not hanging about.
If you lost time at a border,or back loading,the only way to make time was to drive day and night!
I don’t get it…
A SOILED (!?!?!) copy with dust cover and some pages missing is currently going for £367.11p
No matter how good a book is, you’ll never find me paying more than £50!
Alex
The picture below shows one of the good thing about the ME the crack.
The man that did the fastest runs in my days was Andrew W Young round trip Carlisle Baghdad Carlisle in under 14 days and Saudi/Qatar round trips 21 days his record was on the Baghdad was 10 days because he had to get back to Southwaite for the wifes birthday.
I have a lot of stories about Andrew but no pictures sadly.
The picture below is the british trucks waiting at Faluga west of Baghdad for the Philipinos to arrive with the black market fuel
Clic on link below for my photo bucket pics
s144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/klunk-■■■■■■■■
Bestbooties said holdups at the borders,
A queue
Andrew had a knack at the border crossings he always knew a high up officials name and went strait to the front, because he had to meet this man for Tea, and with his posh silver spoon accent he would bluff his way through anything leaving us behind .
A real character and gentleman i once pulled in to Hilton park northbound and heres Andrew in the trailer box brewing the tea waiting for someone to come in that he knew.
Or as Andrew put in his usual posh way
Ah just just the man come here and sit down and have a brew and we will have a talk .
It did not take him long to borrow one of my 3 spare wheels to get him to Carlisle and guess who got dirty changing it 
The merc did look odd with a normal 1100 x 20 on one side of the front and his i think 22" sand tyre on the other.
He maybe did fast trips but he had a lot of pile ups and the merc was rebuilt quite a number of times, he used to when you asked him, when are you buying a new truck and the reply was
The bloody things brand new you know, the only original parts is the chassis
Another thing he would say to the southern lads would be
I dont live on the beck edge like you chaps i have a days drive to get to Dover
harry:
Much clearer picture, thanks harry!
Trawling throgh the web I came acros thes Astran trucks.
Salut, Oldtimer Trucker
klunk/■■■■■■■■
The picture below is the british trucks waiting at Faluga west of Baghdad for the Philipinos to arrive with the black market fuel
Yes,many’s the time I’ve queued up on the desert at Fallujah waiting for the Philipino or Bulgy drivers,and darknes of course.
a guy i worked with said he worked for astran and is mentioned in the cola cowboys terry tott is his name anyone remember him
Trawling throgh the web I came across these Astran trucks. (2)
Salut, Oldtimer Trucker
Cheers for those oldtimer…out of interest, anyone know where the now iconic Astran “A” on the front of the vehicles came from.
I know its a combination of the company intial and an indication of a motorway/highway/autroute/bahn etc, just wondered who thought that up and when it was introduced? It certainly has done the job and is instantly recognisable (well among the transport community it is!! 
) probably from the UK, throughout Europe and down into the M/E.!
Oldtimer Trucker:
Trawling throgh the web I came acros thes Astran trucks.
quote]This one was featured in the Scania Worldwide magazine,it was loaded for Kabul with the Hy-Mac digger.
Strange it has an Ipswich reg no though.
Oldtimer Trucker:
Trawling throgh the web I came across these Astran trucks. (2)
This one was featured in the Scania ad’s in Truck magazine when the 2-series was released.
