…and they all offered prompt payment - very spurious word prompt! I recall that one of, or maybe even the last one of Silver Roadways operations ended up trading from an office over a garage on Kingsway in Warrington (near the old GL Baker yard) am sure they used to sub the bricks from Armitages in Leeds, in fact I think everyone did
One Day in the 60s I was in a Clearing House in Huddersfield looking for a load cant remember the name ,anyway did not get a Load ,on the way back to the Wagon I was approached by a well dressed Gent who said he was a Councillor from Masham and he had been to an Auction in Huddersfield and bought a Monorail for the Sewarage Works in Masham and was looking for Transport,I worked for Davis Bros at the time and could go anywhere you wanted,I went and loaded it ,up to Masham that Night he arranged about a Dozen Men to unload me in about half an hour, bought me a Meal in the Hotel paid me,which I paid into the Office whe i got back to London.Wonder if it it is still working.
I was never sure about back loading, only running a few 4 wheel motors I nearly always needed them back pretty quickly. I tried it on recommendation from fellow hauliers, but found it to be a lot of hassle usually. To me it was only a couple of hours back from London and they could keep a motor hanging about to load for that long! then it was usually a case of two or three drops around the Midlands, (that bit they omitted to tell you.) It worked a bit better when I had a warehouse facility, but by then I only did work for people that requested it, so it was more under my control. Does anyone remember the chaps that had a cabin behind a cafe on the A13 (I think) Dagenham/ Purfleet area. They would tell you to send the driver in for details of collection, then keep him waiting for hours, and often send them back to Rochester or the like, for a load of timber! I Didn’t have much of that. 
Running around Portugal,before the mobile phones were around,told to park up for a few days,find a cafe with a fax,ring us back when you have recieved it.Or dictate about 20 collections if it was getting to the end of the day or a weekend looming.
BigG-Unit:
I was never sure about back loading, only running a few 4 wheel motors I nearly always needed them back pretty quickly. I tried it on recommendation from fellow hauliers, but found it to be a lot of hassle usually. To me it was only a couple of hours back from London and they could keep a motor hanging about to load for that long! then it was usually a case of two or three drops around the Midlands, (that bit they omitted to tell you.) It worked a bit better when I had a warehouse facility, but by then I only did work for people that requested it, so it was more under my control. Does anyone remember the chaps that had a cabin behind a cafe on the A13 (I think) Dagenham/ Purfleet area. They would tell you to send the driver in for details of collection, then keep him waiting for hours, and often send them back to Rochester or the like, for a load of timber! I Didn’t have much of that.
DJV were behind the cafe on the A 13 and was mainly timber, don’t remember hanging around though,
Dieseldogsix:
BigG-Unit:
I was never sure about back loading, only running a few 4 wheel motors I nearly always needed them back pretty quickly. I tried it on recommendation from fellow hauliers, but found it to be a lot of hassle usually. To me it was only a couple of hours back from London and they could keep a motor hanging about to load for that long! then it was usually a case of two or three drops around the Midlands, (that bit they omitted to tell you.) It worked a bit better when I had a warehouse facility, but by then I only did work for people that requested it, so it was more under my control. Does anyone remember the chaps that had a cabin behind a cafe on the A13 (I think) Dagenham/ Purfleet area. They would tell you to send the driver in for details of collection, then keep him waiting for hours, and often send them back to Rochester or the like, for a load of timber! I Didn’t have much of that.DJV were behind the cafe on the A 13 and was mainly timber, don’t remember hanging around though,
Perhaps my drivers were having me on then! They reckoned he used to tell them to wait in the cafe and he would get them when he was ready, so they didn’t mind that too much. But to me, I always thought, by the time they got back down there to load they could have been home. I think it was just the way I operated that it didn’t suit me, although when we were quiet, if I subbed a motor out to a mate in Cannock, he would load multi drops down one day and load them for back up the next. Usually out of a place in Belvedere/ Erith, which seemed to work ok. Even with my motors on our regular multi drop work that had nights out, we would tip the last one or two second day and then run back to load in the afternoon, unless things were really slow!
Hayday was it ARDFIELD’s they used to be in Headlight. Another hopeless case in the late 60’s was John Palmer Romford Road did a lot of Scotch and N.West allways the same story come on in there will be something shortly,and if you got something it had been handed down about 4 times.I was on for John Campbell of Irvine and most of our work south was Massey Fergusson combines I used Smith of Maddiston’s St Albans depo. allways tractors from basildon nice and quick and coupled with the tearout log sheets good for the mileage bonus. Eddie.
Nearly every time i went into DJV they would send me the other side of the water for a load of paper out of Conveys at Deptford.
BigG-Unit:
Dieseldogsix:
BigG-Unit:
I was never sure about back loading, only running a few 4 wheel motors I nearly always needed them back pretty quickly. I tried it on recommendation from fellow hauliers, but found it to be a lot of hassle usually. To me it was only a couple of hours back from London and they could keep a motor hanging about to load for that long! then it was usually a case of two or three drops around the Midlands, (that bit they omitted to tell you.) It worked a bit better when I had a warehouse facility, but by then I only did work for people that requested it, so it was more under my control. Does anyone remember the chaps that had a cabin behind a cafe on the A13 (I think) Dagenham/ Purfleet area. They would tell you to send the driver in for details of collection, then keep him waiting for hours, and often send them back to Rochester or the like, for a load of timber! I Didn’t have much of that.DJV were behind the cafe on the A 13 and was mainly timber, don’t remember hanging around though,
Perhaps my drivers were having me on then!
Hiya …back loads… i remember going to Mortons brs for Massy tractors to Liverpool. you parked at the bottom
of a slope and in 5 mins you had about 7 tractors on a 40ft all side ways…that loading was top notch.
all you could see in your mirrors was front wheels in the nearside and big back tyres in the os mirror.
John
Dieseldogsix:
General haulage, Leeds I think, Kerbs & slabs out of SouthowramPaper out of Convoys Deptford
Picked up a few loads of slabs at Southowram, Halifax, via General Hauage, Leeds having previously demolished a few sheds at Convoys, Deptford. Sometime around 1990/91 
I worked for S & M Street of Watchet Somerset between 1959 and 1966,we often loaded lorries from Watchet to the North and Scotland mainly, I remember Robt Aromstrongs Liverpool, Caledonian and Forth from Scotland an owner Driver John Looker from Milnthorpe, H 7 A Pate from Bury, and Wallmans of Manchester (Scammell Artic)
I had a good company in Tipton. They advertised in Headlight & could always load a 4 wheeler back home, after a while, they used to pay me up front, which was nice!
Another good payer was Dearborn Chemicals in Widnes, I can’t remember how we got in contact with them but they always had loads back to Yorkshire for me and my running buddy. I had the advantage as my Mum dealt with the outward loads, so I could be in Widnes quite often. 
Does Associated Hauliers of Hallfield Road Bradford ring a bell with anyone? With the miserly rates he offered I imagine he retired to Barbados to a luxury villa.
As previously mentioned Mainland Market Deliveries were one of the better back loaders and they are still in business today. I once did a delivery of export David Brown tractor loaders to Newhaven Docks, (about 1971), tipped my load, went round to the MMD office on the docks (a wooden hut) and got an immediate load back of onions to Manchester Wholesale market, loading out of the next shed I’d just tipped at.
The haulier I was working for also loaded OXO essence from Brooke Bond Liebig at Stratford, East London for Great Harwood. Can’t remember who subbed us the work, but I went in for a load one sweltering hot August morning and the stuff wouldn’t set in its polystyrine drums because of the temperature. I finally got loaded late afternoon after waiting all day.
when working for tommy williams in bristol we used to load copper t bars out of avonmouth dock for prescot. it used to be £150 a load then tip was 15 mins through the wallasey tunnel to the docks and pick up cow lick blocks for shepton mallet. worked well for a while till geest of bath started doing the copper for 90 a load and ran back empty!!.and the drivers wondered why they went ■■■■ up and were sold to ollis of keynsham. trouble is once these prats done it for less couldnt get the rate back up tommy wouldnt work for crap rates and the as they say is history 
erfguy:
Hayday was it ARDFIELD’s they used to be in Headlight. Another hopeless case in the late 60’s was John Palmer Romford Road did a lot of Scotch and N.West allways the same story come on in there will be something shortly,and if you got something it had been handed down about 4 times.I was on for John Campbell of Irvine and most of our work south was Massey Fergusson combines I used Smith of Maddiston’s St Albans depo. allways tractors from basildon nice and quick and coupled with the tearout log sheets good for the mileage bonus. Eddie.
…yeah Ardfields, that’s the one and I’m sure thay did have some of their own motors (prob all O/D’s)
gingerfold:
The haulier I was working for also loaded OXO essence from Brooke Bond Liebig at Stratford, East London for Great Harwood. Can’t remember who subbed us the work, but I went in for a load one sweltering hot August morning and the stuff wouldn’t set in its polystyrine drums because of the temperature. I finally got loaded late afternoon after waiting all day.
Perhaps a Bowker job? The OXO factory was Waterden Road, E.9, I think - we knew it as Hackney.
240 Gardner:
gingerfold:
The haulier I was working for also loaded OXO essence from Brooke Bond Liebig at Stratford, East London for Great Harwood. Can’t remember who subbed us the work, but I went in for a load one sweltering hot August morning and the stuff wouldn’t set in its polystyrine drums because of the temperature. I finally got loaded late afternoon after waiting all day.Perhaps a Bowker job? The OXO factory was Waterden Road, E.9, I think - we knew it as Hackney.
Yes, that’s the one, thank you.
I remember loading out of convoys of deptford, are they still going, loading reels of paper on flats and sheeting it, i dont reckon they would let you do that anymore!, i still run flats and remember loading cans and cardboard tubes on flats , dont reckon ya would do that any more, but back then we all did,and didnt have any problems with it,.We used to and still do, load for djv, now at tilbury but back then behind the cafe at rainham, mick they man i dealt with 22 yrs ago, is still the main man there.
richmond:
I remember loading out of convoys of deptford, are they still going, loading reels of paper on flats and sheeting it, i dont reckon they would let you do that anymore!, i still run flats and remember loading cans and cardboard tubes on flats , dont reckon ya would do that any more, but back then we all did,and didnt have any problems with it,.We used to and still do, load for djv, now at tilbury but back then behind the cafe at rainham, mick they man i dealt with 22 yrs ago, is still the main man there.
Hiya “richmond”,to-days drivers couldn’t sheet and rope a flat! there’d be reels lying in the road at every roundabout!!Bewick.