Bewick's fuel deliveries [Split from Eddie Stobarts Tanker.]

matt watson:
Thanks dieseldave &Bewick ive just joined this site ive put a few photos of tankers i drove in scotland on the oil companies page and on the tanker companies page (globe petroleum 1970s). I hope i wasnt being disrespectful to anyone but i know and have trained a few drivers who use a company like the one i worked for as a ist step to the big companies. when they go to the major companies they think they know it all after 6months, I am still learning every day i go out on the road and if i am not sure about something i always ask. sorry about the caplocks on my last post regards matt.

Not at all Matt,Ive had dealings with Shell,BP,Texaco,Philips,Gulf and various contractors for these majors also numerous Ad’s and have had to endure many mistakes over those years! So take it from me when the “trainers” tell you it can never happen it will, and does,Tanker drivers always had a high opinion of themselves but IMO,as an employer,they couldn’t hold a candle to most of the lads I employed.The only thing they exeeded our lads in was their “inflated” wage packets! Cheers Dennis.

Dennis I would think that there are a few lads on here who have either driven or are still driving road tankers for a living who would take exception to your last remark about having an high opinion about themselves just because they drive tankers.Everyone to there chosen career I say.

Stanfield:
Dennis I would think that there are a few lads on here who have either driven or are still driving road tankers for a living who would take exception to your last remark about having an high opinion about themselves just because they drive tankers.Everyone to there chosen career I say.

Your Avator says everything John :wink: .
Cheers Dave.

Bewick:

matt watson:
Thanks dieseldave &Bewick ive just joined this site ive put a few photos of tankers i drove in scotland on the oil companies page and on the tanker companies page (globe petroleum 1970s). I hope i wasnt being disrespectful to anyone but i know and have trained a few drivers who use a company like the one i worked for as a ist step to the big companies. when they go to the major companies they think they know it all after 6months, I am still learning every day i go out on the road and if i am not sure about something i always ask. sorry about the caplocks on my last post regards matt.

Not at all Matt,Ive had dealings with Shell,BP,Texaco,Philips,Gulf and various contractors for these majors also numerous Ad’s and have had to endure many mistakes over those years! So take it from me when the “trainers” tell you it can never happen it will, and does,Tanker drivers always had a high opinion of themselves but IMO,as an employer,they couldn’t hold a candle to most of the lads I employed.The only thing they exeeded our lads in was their “inflated” wage packets! Cheers Dennis.

I’m glad you didn’t include proper tanker drivers that tramped the country with chemicals Dennis.Oil company drivers were well overpaid in t’olden days,but I never classed mesen as owt special when working for A E Evans,just another driver carrying summat a bit special that didn’t need R an S which I learned from other drivers and later through the ADR.
And I never had an “inflated wage packet” just paid paid by the hour,a little bit extra in Sheffield area and above the rate neet out money,but nowt extortionate and only because it was a London based company.

Stanfield:
Dennis I would think that there are a few lads on here who have either driven or are still driving road tankers for a living who would take exception to your last remark about having an high opinion about themselves just because they drive tankers.Everyone to there chosen career I say.

John I’m not tarring them all with the same brush but believe me there was a larger % of Richard Heads in the Oil tanker fraternity than in the general haulage ranks.I used to personally deal with the fuel deliveries into the depot,sometimes two artic loads a week,and over a good number of years as well.So I speak as a customer/recipitant of fuel companies various.So obviously things must have changed dramatically in the last 15 years or so then? Cheers Dennis.

Hi Dennis.I understand where you are coming from but I also think you will agree that due to the type of work/deliveries they make there is more of a chance of them dropping a (testicle) eg spillage/crossovers etc, than there is on general.I know this should’nt happen with all the training they get (more so these days than 20yrs ago) but it does.I myself have been involved with tankers since 1976 in one form or another and I agree that there are one or two richard heads as you call them but there must also be one or two on general as well…It doesent seem to happen as much nowadays due to the hitech equipment on vehicles which are better and safer than years ago.cheers John

Bewick:

Stanfield:
Dennis I would think that there are a few lads on here who have either driven or are still driving road tankers for a living who would take exception to your last remark about having an high opinion about themselves just because they drive tankers.Everyone to there chosen career I say.

John I’m not tarring them all with the same brush but believe me there was a larger % of Richard Heads in the Oil tanker fraternity than in the general haulage ranks.I used to personally deal with the fuel deliveries into the depot,sometimes two artic loads a week,and over a good number of years as well.So I speak as a customer/recipitant of fuel companies various.So obviously things must have changed dramatically in the last 15 years or so then? Cheers Dennis.

I doubt Bewick Transport was a bad drop, but there are a lot of hauliers who thought an old tank precariously balanced on pallets, bricks and a wing and prayer was going to hold 7 or 8 tonne of fuel, glycol or lube oil. If you got a broken ladder with a bit of fuel soaked rope to tie the pipe in at the manlid you were honoroured, but than left to your own devices. So I speak of a transporter/driver of fuel and oil companies various. I didn’t do much road fuel but did ship oil bunkering for a fuel distributor. I didnt get a premium rate either, it was standard tanker driver wages as Chris said.

matt watson:
Thanks dieseldave &Bewick ive just joined this site ive put a few photos of tankers i drove in scotland on the oil companies page and on the tanker companies page (globe petroleum 1970s). I hope i wasnt being disrespectful to anyone but i know and have trained a few drivers who use a company like the one i worked for as a ist step to the big companies. when they go to the major companies they think they know it all after 6months, I am still learning every day i go out on the road and if i am not sure about something i always ask. sorry about the caplocks on my last post regards matt.

Hi Matt,

It looks like you trained 'em on the practical stuff after I’d trained them their ADR in a classroom. :grimacing:

SQA won’t let us instruct the ADR tanker module unless we can prove that we’re ex-industry, but having done both the practical and training sides of the tankering job, I can vouch for what Dennis said about some of the above-ground fuel delivery boys being Richard Heads.

No problem about the capslock Matt, the ‘preview’ button is your friend. :wink:

I delivered fuel to bewicks in the old days for pillips petrolium,it was one of the better drops i looked forward to going ,they were’t all this good.i think someone may be trying to wind the others up!!!

v7victor:
I delivered fuel to bewicks in the old days for pillips petrolium,it was one of the better drops i looked forward to going ,they were’t all this good.i think someone may be trying to wind the others up!!!

Did you work out of Seal Sands then v7victor?

Reason for asking is that I used to drive a Phillps66 contract tanker for John Forman and remember a Vic there.

TMS:

v7victor:
I delivered fuel to bewicks in the old days for pillips petrolium,it was one of the better drops i looked forward to going ,they were’t all this good.i think someone may be trying to wind the others up!!!

Did you work out of Seal Sands then v7victor?

Reason for asking is that I used to drive a Phillps66 contract tanker for John Forman and remember a Vic there.

Yeh,that’ll be me,i was on stiller’s contract 76 till 2010 (Who are you) as i will know you?Vic.

Tom Stovin, Vic. Perhaps before your time as Stiller did not have any vehicles on Philips when I was there.

Did you ever work for Bulmers?

TMS:
Tom Stovin, Vic. Perhaps before your time as Stiller did not have any vehicles on Philips when I was there around '71.

Did you ever work for Bulmers?

PS - I also worked for Stockton Haulage for a while and then went owner/driving and subbied for most of the Teesside outfits like Copley, Verney Dawson etc. So I’m sure we’ve met up somewhere.

I think perhaps the Vic I knew was on for Monckton Motors at Phillips and then Bulmers when Monckton packed in.

TMS:
Tom Stovin, Vic. Perhaps before your time as Stiller did not have any vehicles on Philips when I was there.

Did you ever work for Bulmers?

No,not Bulmers,i was at Stillers from 72 till 2010,before that i was at Tayforth Darlington depot,the lads i knew on Phillips were Ron Roth,Bry Pears,Billy Patterson,and some more newer ones.Vic.

Yes, I remember seeing Stiller tankers about - Lagged/GP center discharge barrels in Stillers own colours.

TMS:
Yes, I remember seeing Stiller tankers about - Lagged/GP center discharge barrels in Stillers own colours.

Yeh they were spot hires on black oil,before he got the contract veh’s.

Lousy heading for a thread Vic!! Still it will have to do! Ah! Philips Petroleum,now there’s a tale for telling.IIRC I started dealing with them in '82 after receiving regular visits over a number of months from their Penrith based rep.a chap called Brett(his first name)At that time I was dealing with both Shell and BP(Stanlow and Partington) and maybe because I liked my fuel coming from different terminals in case of strikes I thought well a supplier from Teeside wouldn’t hurt!! So I contracted to take 1 load a month for a start to see how things went but the deal was rather more involved than that! Philips could only do business on the following terms—payment by Direct debit on the 10th of month following delivery----which were a lot worse terms than how we paid the other two suppliers,end of month following!!! In order to compensate me for the keener payment terms(and we hated DD’s) Philips garanteed to always be at least 1p per litre less than the others,no danger!!! After 6 months we did an excercise and guess what there was little or no difference and I was paying Philips 20 days earlier.So I got stuck into them again and this time I hounded them every month to get the lower price,which we did manage.However the “bomb shell” was yet to come! I told the rep at the outset that we didn’t like DD’s as they could go wrong and we had no control! never happen said our man from Penrith,impossible!!! Oh yea! Guess what one month Philips took £20,000 out of our account instead of the £10,000 which they should have taken! You can well imagine the pain and agony I gave our man from Penrith,at first he wouldn’t believe me which sent me into orbit I can tell you!! Then a quick call to his accounts office,he came off the phone and his face was a picture!!! It took us a week to get our 10 grand back and I,of course,told him and Philips to Foxtrot Oscar!!I wouldn’t care but a motor running on Philips derv couldn’t travel as far as another one running on Shell or BP,proven fact! The two things that I liked about Philips though were they were the first Oil co. to split their invoice figures down into basic cost,duty and vat,and the second was they used all liveried contractors to deliver and they were decent lads into the bargain!!! But you can’t lay yourself open to some outfit dipping your bank account for “double bubble” can you? Cheers Dennis.

Bewick:
Lousy heading for a thread Vic!! Still it will have to do! Ah! Philips Petroleum,now there’s a tale for telling.IIRC I started dealing with them in '82 after receiving regular visits over a number of months from their Penrith based rep.a chap called Brett(his first name)At that time I was dealing with both Shell and BP(Stanlow and Partington) and maybe because I liked my fuel coming from different terminals in case of strikes I thought well a supplier from Teeside wouldn’t hurt!! So I contracted to take 1 load a month for a start to see how things went but the deal was rather more involved than that! Philips could only do business on the following terms—payment by Direct debit on the 10th of month following delivery----which were a lot worse terms than how we paid the other two suppliers,end of month following!!! In order to compensate me for the keener payment terms(and we hated DD’s) Philips garanteed to always be at least 1p per litre less than the others,no danger!!! After 6 months we did an excercise and guess what there was little or no difference and I was paying Philips 20 days earlier.So I got stuck into them again and this time I hounded them every month to get the lower price,which we did manage.However the “bomb shell” was yet to come! I told the rep at the outset that we didn’t like DD’s as they could go wrong and we had no control! never happen said our man from Penrith,impossible!!! Oh yea! Guess what one month Philips took £20,000 out of our account instead of the £10,000 which they should have taken! You can well imagine the pain and agony I gave our man from Penrith,at first he wouldn’t believe me which sent me into orbit I can tell you!! Then a quick call to his accounts office,he came off the phone and his face was a picture!!! It took us a week to get our 10 grand back and I,of course,told him and Philips to Foxtrot Oscar!!I wouldn’t care but a motor running on Philips derv couldn’t travel as far as another one running on Shell or BP,proven fact! The two things that I liked about Philips though were they were the first Oil co. to split their invoice figures down into basic cost,duty and vat,and the second was they used all liveried contractors to deliver and they were decent lads into the bargain!!! But you can’t lay yourself open to some outfit dipping your bank account for “double bubble” can you? Cheers Dennis.

Hi dennis,we have talked about this somewhere before,mind you that old guy Brett was a grand bloke ,and like yourself had time chat,unlike the reps on the east side they were more likely to look down on the drivers, Vic.P.S. the heading is’nt the best eh.

v7victor:
Hi dennis,we have talked about this somewhere before,mind you that old guy Brett was a grand bloke ,and like yourself had time chat,unlike the reps on the east side they were more likely to look down on the drivers, Vic.P.S. the heading is’nt the best eh.

Maybe Diesel Dave as ex industry, could split this thread from the top of page three, from V7Victors post and call it Bewicks Fuel Supplies or something. It is misleading as Stobart and Fuel Tankers do not normally go together.

There are several tanker threads that this would flow into quite easily. See how I did that? :wink:

Ignoring the totally inapropiate title of the thread( although “the Fast One” RIP could give us all a lesson on “buying Derv”) I started thinking about my first fuel suppliers!!! When I started with one motor there was only one local fuel supplier who would deal with a “scroat like what I was” and that was Brook & Rees Ltd. the GULF A.D. of Carnforth who supplied me with a 600 gal tank and fittings.bearing in mind I was only 100yds. from Galbraiths ESSO depot on Shap Rd. at the time!(But they got told to take “a running jump” many times over the coming years from 1968!!!) Anyway from 500gal a month as we grew to taking 2500 gal full tanker loads from Brook & Rees as well as Gulf Lube oils we got to a point in circa 1973 when Gulf Oil decided they should deal direct and at a keener price.We then enjoyed about 5years of buying from Gulf Oil( although I had started to use Shell derv and lube oil as well) In late '78 Gulf withdrew from the UK and we carried on with Shell and then when the split with BP came about we dealt with both of them.Shell tried desperatley to get me onto a “sole supplier” contract until there was the shell tanker drivers strike ,which scuppered the “sole supplier” deal!!! Thats why afterwards I always had my fuel coming from 2 or 3 terminals!! Getting back to Gulf Oil,when they delivered direct from Ellesmere Port I did a deal with them to take my deliveries on their night shift(first job) and for a discount which was well worth my while to meet the tanker in the depot at 10/11 o’clock at night!! Our storage at the time was a 6000gal tank with a 4000gal over the top,which we dropped into the one below.Gulf used to send a “reet” nice Guy Big J 8 wheeler,single drive,150 Gardner,with 17000 litres of derv,straight into the top tank.That Guy was like a little sowing machine,smooth as silk!!! It was a pleasure to watch it pump off,and the driver’s liked the drop,waist height connection,plenty of room in the tank and I saved myself abot £100 IIRC for 45 minutes or thereabouts,work!!Interesting days!! Cheers Dennis.