had to smile when I read the bit about horses.
When I started there was still a few old timers around who actually had driven horse drawn trucks.
it was really funny to sit around the stove in the garage and listen to the tales.
One used to tell the story (every bloody week it seemed!) of when the cart wheels used to drop into the tram tracks and he had to go past the yard to the terminus to get them out again.
or the times (at british rail) when they got so drunk at lunch time the horse used to take them back to the yard, stopping at all the regular calls on the way.
did you know that at british rail depots the stables were usually double decked!
poor lookout for the horses in the bottom tier
hotel magnum:
yes the good old days, split fingers from the wet hemp ropes that went slacker than knickers with no elastic, only to shrink when dry so you could not get the knots undone.
Funny that,I’m sure my hemp ropes went tight when wet and slack when they dried out!
There again,it’s a long time ago…
Better than a horse but still no doors, heater or tail lift. No FLT at the other end and only a sack truck to help.
That a hull museum Santa?
There couldn’tve been many horses still in use during BR time? 1948 BR was established, yet our local station (RIP) had converted its’ stables to being a “road motor shed” during GWR days…
We were happy in those days and the Hosses enjoyed a trip to Scotland and back three times a year.Wages weren’t good £1 a week and a jar of marmalade and tripe on a crust ,but we all enjoyed it 
.
the drivers I was talking about were in their 60’s when I started there in around 1968.
most of them would have worked at the railways man and boy.
So they would have been born somewhere between 1900 and 1910, giving them a working lifespan from 1915 onwards. thus many would have been using horse drawn carts through the inter war years
The scammell mechanical horse was first introduced around 1934 but didn’t replace horses entirely for several years.
edited to add
reading the last few above posts describing the 80’s as “the old days” makes me feel ancient and I’m only 62.
edited again to add
we did have cruise control in them days, either a stick or a brick did the job and you could always get a bit extra by jamming the cold start in
oldsid:
Yes its all coming back to me , changing tyres by the roadside flailing about in the wind trying to sheet up but on the bright side no mobile phones and a pocket full of ten pence pieces and ringing in when it suited to be asked “Where the [zb] have you been”
Didn’t you have trouble with telephone boxes being jammed with those old ha’pennies that looked like 2p bits with ships on them?
pre-decimilisation, I remeber getting a float for using the phones…4d!
Muckaway:
There couldn’tve been many horses still in use during BR time? 1948 BR was established, yet our local station (RIP) had converted its’ stables to being a “road motor shed” during GWR days…
Last two horses in BR service were retired as late as 1967! British Railways inherited over seven thousand horses at the time of nationalisation in 1948; not just used for delivery work but also as shunters in small yards.
gnasty gnome:
Last two horses in BR service were retired as late as 1967! British Railways inherited over seven thousand horses at the time of nationalisation in 1948; not just used for delivery work but also as shunters in small yards.
and later as filling for sandwiches available from the buffet car.
limeyphil:
the old days havn’t gone.
it’s simple, don’t send a CV, don’t ring up, just turn up.
knock on the door, and say “i heard you’re looking for a driver”.
they may say “have you sent in a CV”?
you will then say “No, but i’ve got something better, ME and my own personal Customs & Excise security ■■■■■■.”and you get the job.
FTFY. You’re welcome.
I remember a coal man who was using a horse and cart in 1970, this was in Arbroath. Also there was a jute horse wagon in Dundee at that time as well.
Coffeeholic:
gnasty gnome:
Last two horses in BR service were retired as late as 1967! British Railways inherited over seven thousand horses at the time of nationalisation in 1948; not just used for delivery work but also as shunters in small yards.and later as filling for sandwiches available from the buffet car.
Back in the 60s there was a guy with a horse and cart who used to work the London Docks. In those days it was common to queue for a day or more to get tipped - if you only had a few boxes then he would take them for you for a small fee. I guess he had some arrangement with the dockers to get tipped quick.
London and Liverpool Docks… And we complain about a couple of hours at an RDC. This is Hull but it gives a good idea of the chaos.
the horse and cart thing at the docks was due to bylaws limiting the time they could stand at the roadside . a v crutchley made a fortune at liverpool taking goods into the docks and the drivers would take small cases in for a bung , cheers , dave