My lad took this photo when he went over there for a month
DIG:
DEANB:
Thanks for the reply and pics Dig,the motors all look tidy. I imagine the Kenworth was alot better
after the cab extension. With regard to the 575bhp engine that you replaced at 600,000 kms what
would you expect to get out of an engine on roadtrain work as obviously they are working hard all
of their lifes pulling that weight !Heres a big old mack from 2008.
I used to see the Blisset trucks when in Darwin possibly had a beer at the Berrinah with them but can’t recall for sure.
Deanb the K19 and the Cat both did kms of a million or so without too many problems, with the K series [same unit that Gulf transport used but with different hp settings] I did 2 out of chassis and one in chassis rebuild in the 14 years we were together, the in chassis was due to an assembly problem at 180000 after the first out of chassis and she dropped a valve so I couldn’t blame the engine ,I believe the Cat had a head fitted around 700thou km [after I sold the truck] and it pulled triples Perth Darwin for a number of years with the new owner, the K19 is still going retired to local work.
My work was mainly doubles probably 20% triples but i think its the old story work them hard but with care and they will do the kms,its always difficult to put figures on engine life though some were better than others but I was told when I bought the Mack V8 to get my head tested as the electronic engine was renowned for its problems,I thought geared right and driven right I could get a return but alas not.Cheers DIG
PS now you know what I have been up to during my Aus transport life time for some of your history lol we seem to agree that timeslot transport of today is a pitter.
Thanks for the information there Dig ,you cant knock getting a million kms out of an engine on
that work ! With regard to the Mack and electrics again thats the world over now all these modern
lorries are a pain in the arse with too much technology. Warning sensors for ever coming up on
the dash and all sorts of other crap ,then just goes off again 5 minutes down the road. 
Theres a couple pics of one of my trucks on the shipping into out of Poole thread,when i used
to do removals.
Another mack from 1983
rastone:
My lad took this photo when he went over there for a month
Nice pic rastone, any more mate ■■
DEANB:
rastone:
My lad took this photo when he went over there for a monthNice pic rastone, any more mate ■■
No I’m afraid not but he did take some motors from a distance which I have but not roadtrains
For something a little older go to bpvideolibrary.com and look up Cattle Carters.
A 1961 film which is a bit corny, but this was used to test the colour transmissions (along with other films) on BBC before mainstream transmissions.
I would rush home from school, and hope they were showing this one, Algerian Pipline or The Men Who Ride The White Horses.
Little did I know 40 years later, I could watch it on a “glass plate” in my hand!
I hope you enjoy (some of)it.
mi13ke:
For something a little older go to bpvideolibrary.com and look up Cattle Carters.
A 1961 film which is a bit corny, but this was used to test the colour transmissions (along with other films) on BBC before mainstream transmissions.
I would rush home from school, and hope they were showing this one, Algerian Pipline or The Men Who Ride The White Horses.Little did I know 40 years later, I could watch it on a “glass plate” in my hand!
I hope you enjoy (some of)it.
Thanks for the website,i have the dvd of the cattle trip we used to watch it at school about 40 years
ago ! 
DEANB:
Hello DigHi. Hope I have this right here,this is the first time I have ever posted on this group.
The article you have posted with the Western Stars running in Western Australia for Gulf Transport from Darwin, is actually, or rather was until 2010, owned by my family.
Gulf was originally foundered in 1939, just pre-WWII in Darwin by Ben Hingston. Ben sold out to his nephew, Bob McMillian in the early 1960’s. My father, Jim Cooper, purchased Gulf in 1971, and over a period of 40 years, built it into Australia’s largest privately owned Road Train Company.
With the purchase of RTA, Roadtrains of Australia, in 1992, the company was then known as The Gulf/RTA Group.
In 2006, the RTA Company was sold to Hampton’s Transport from Western Australia. In late 2010, Gulf Transport and its subsidery, Bulkhaul, were sold to BIS, Brambles Industrial Services.
If you are interested, I have many many photos and an extensive knowledge of the companies. As my username states, yes I am a female, not too sure about the lady part, and yes I was a truckie, or rather, a Road Train Driver.
If you are interested in any further information, pls do not hesitate to contact me and I will be only too willing to share my knowledge of one of Australia’s most iconic Transport Companies.
RobynHeres another article from 1989.Click on each page to read as will focus better.
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ladytruckie:
DEANB:
Hello DigHi. Hope I have this right here,this is the first time I have ever posted on this group.
The article you have posted with the Western Stars running in Western Australia for Gulf Transport from Darwin, is actually, or rather was until 2010, owned by my family.
Gulf was originally foundered in 1939, just pre-WWII in Darwin by Ben Hingston. Ben sold out to his nephew, Bob McMillian in the early 1960’s. My father, Jim Cooper, purchased Gulf in 1971, and over a period of 40 years, built it into Australia’s largest privately owned Road Train Company.
With the purchase of RTA, Roadtrains of Australia, in 1992, the company was then known as The Gulf/RTA Group.
In 2006, the RTA Company was sold to Hampton’s Transport from Western Australia. In late 2010, Gulf Transport and its subsidery, Bulkhaul, were sold to BIS, Brambles Industrial Services.
If you are interested, I have many many photos and an extensive knowledge of the companies. As my username states, yes I am a female, not too sure about the lady part, and yes I was a truckie, or rather, a Road Train Driver.
If you are interested in any further information, pls do not hesitate to contact me and I will be only too willing to share my knowledge of one of Australia’s most iconic Transport Companies.
RobynHeres another article from 1989.Click on each page to read as will focus better.
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Hi LT Robyn
I.m sure there won’t be any objections to your photos the more the merrier ,do you have any of the trucks that were operating out of the mine that was close to the Stuart Hwy near the Batchellor turn off in the late 80s ,I forget the name of it which has nothing to do will my age lol, I seem to recall one of the trucks was an Autocar body truck she was a big lorry in those days and they were tipping in the wharf area. I was carting Drilling mud in bulka bags from Port Hedland and unloading at the cement company shed at the wharf at the time and remember seeing them tipping, they may even have been belly dumpers.
Cheers Dig
In hindsight ,if the British manufacturers had designed lorries for the Australian market it would have probably stood them in great stead to fight off the European invasion of the late `60s onward . But the writing was on the wall as far as Leyland were concerned with their attitude of take it or leave it with MB quite happy to accomodate the requirements of the customers
ladytruckie:
DEANB:
Hello DigHi. Hope I have this right here,this is the first time I have ever posted on this group.
The article you have posted with the Western Stars running in Western Australia for Gulf Transport from Darwin, is actually, or rather was until 2010, owned by my family.
Gulf was originally foundered in 1939, just pre-WWII in Darwin by Ben Hingston. Ben sold out to his nephew, Bob McMillian in the early 1960’s. My father, Jim Cooper, purchased Gulf in 1971, and over a period of 40 years, built it into Australia’s largest privately owned Road Train Company.
With the purchase of RTA, Roadtrains of Australia, in 1992, the company was then known as The Gulf/RTA Group.
In 2006, the RTA Company was sold to Hampton’s Transport from Western Australia. In late 2010, Gulf Transport and its subsidery, Bulkhaul, were sold to BIS, Brambles Industrial Services.
If you are interested, I have many many photos and an extensive knowledge of the companies. As my username states, yes I am a female, not too sure about the lady part, and yes I was a truckie, or rather, a Road Train Driver.
If you are interested in any further information, pls do not hesitate to contact me and I will be only too willing to share my knowledge of one of Australia’s most iconic Transport Companies.
RobynHeres another article from 1989.Click on each page to read as will focus better.
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Hello Robyn
Please feel free to add any thing you like to the thread the more pictures/stories the better. Thanks.
You have been busy again Dean good stuff your archive of material is unequaled.Keep it up.
The outdoor catering for yourself was a way of life it had changed a bit as the Australian continent has pretty well sealed all the main roads and more truck stop/ roadhouses have appeared but regrettably as the major oil companies have taken over the majority they have closed the kitchens so your lucky if you can get more than a sandwich these days so a lot of the drivers have gone back to the old ways of catering for them selves.
Cant honestly say that it was mandatory to have a beer while refuelling in my own case usually at knock off though a cold one on after a hot day was something to look forward to.
Cheers Dig.
DEANB:
Article from 1985,click on pages to read.3
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Hi Dean this choo choo train article brought back some memories, I did it once at about the same time as the article was written in the days before road trains were allowed across the Nullabor Eyre highway between WA and eastern states on the southern route.
The road north from Perth to Darwin was closed in the Kimberly due to cyclone activity flooding the roads and the freight was for an oil company operating out of Darwin and as usual had to be there so I put the truck and 2 trailers on the train in Perth and travelled to Alice Springs changing trains in South Aus and riding the Ghan to Alice disembarking there and doing the last 1000miles by road on the Stuart Hwy.
Worthy of a mention was the method of tying each trailer down it was done with about 20 ropes per trailer per side passed through the the tie rail on the trailers so a loop was formed and then twitched up windlass style until tight then tied off stick still in place, the end result was by the time we got to our destination the ropes were all stretched and slack and the truck had been moving backwards and forwards a couple of feet in either direction,Drivers who regularly travelled this way said check your wheel bearings regularly once back on the road as the train motion was hard on the bearings with the brakes locked on,however it was a very relaxing enjoyable atmosphere on the train there were 14 truck drivers on board we made a big communal stew and it was a help yourself deal when hungry and I recall a card game going non stop and somewhere a bottle of alcohol with a worm in the bottle [I think I swallowed the worm] so the first day s driving out of the Alice was a bit of a hazy lol can’t see a man getting away with that these days.
Cheers Dig
Thanks for the reply Dig you certainly got about ! I bet that was a good crack on the train.
Heres an article from 1985 !
