Hi Chaps, like most, I’ve been following the posts, Brilliant !!
I myself started with Pickfords tank haulage (part of the group) in the 70s so missed the early days described in some of your tales. However been asking around for pics of BRS and managed to find some from Reading / Thatcham that might be of intrest. this batch may even follow the whiskey thread looking at the boxes?
Hi Sniffy,
Great pics there,the last one with the Nuffield tractor is a good working pic,a bit of history there,don’t see tractors loaded like that anymore.
Cheers Dave
hiya,
There’s some cracking pics there Sniffy, bet the guys doing the transhipping hid a bit of that lot away, plus finished up with a hangover to remember, is the pic of the wrecked unit the one in the roll-over??, looks like it’s been completely over, what a mess, stick a pup on that legger and i’ll be away.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry , When the boss said ring me when youre empty he did mean the whole load , mind you there were good checkers and bad uns depends how much you greased them , bad uns you had to strip out the load and start again , did that with a full load of tomatos in Pompy , this one could smell I`d worked in xtras , good uns and you could make a few bob extra at the market .
Them photos Sniffy made me start , the roll over looks like mine in 68 with a full load rubber after I jumped out and turned round to have a look , try getting back in the cab to retrieve your wallet and ■■■■ with your lorry that shape , the other rather flattened one looks like one of ours when it was flattened by a tanker rollover , driver was killed , it was parked in Gloucester BRS when I saw it just the your photo .
Some good some bad memories a Norm .
Regards Frenchy
I`ve just blown up that rollover pic , it has a Scammel-coupling spot the cable brakes , no wonder she rolled those trailers were very unstable .
Frenchy
Just scanned a few more, You’ll like these
no idea where the carnival was but check out the babes, not bad for the day (1957?).
Wonder if they worked for BRS
hiya,
Frenchy, don’t know which was worse units with Scammell couplings or those dreaded four in line trailers the both set-ups have had my heart in my mouth on more than one occasion, in my early pre BRS days worked for Fearings of Burnley had quite a few Scammell couplers and they did a lot of high loads they was a nightmare especially when it was windy they seemed very unstable although I always managed to keep them upright but i know of a few drivers who toppled them.
thanks harry long retired.
I think that the carnival is in Reading, it looks like the Odeon cinema in the town. Also the pic of the Nuffield tractor being loaded onto a Bristol is I think in the yard of Hewens Garage on Castle Street, Reading, where I served my apprenticeship in the '60’s. Before I started there they had been Nuffield agents but in my time they were dealers for Morris Commercial, Morris cars plus Wolseley, Riley and MG. Now all buried beneath the Inner Distribution Road and an office block! In actual fact we used to do a lot of work for the BRS depot on Cardiff Road, mostly fitting new cylinder liner seals to the BMC FFK models and the “Noddy” parcel vans in their workshops. They had far better facilities than we did and we were main agents! 
Pete.
Sniffy:
no idea where the carnival was but check out the babes, not bad for the day (1957?).
Behave, that could be someones mum 
, if she played her cards right 
Would health and safety allow that now? Smoking within such close proximity to a food lorry…
Great pictures Sniffy
Sniffy, wonderful pictures, those two girls from Reading, I was in the army and 18, comming up to 19, I got demobbed not far from there at Arbourfield in early 1958, and never saw those two beauties, Pete hope they was not your sisters 
, but those Scammells when I was on the Railway, they had loads of them, down at Castle station Northampton, never saw a vehicle that could turn in such a tight circle, remember when they came, but not when they went out of fashion 
.
Three more photo’s, I wonder where the Thatcham depot photo was taken from, Hill side, pylon or maybe a plane ?
hiya,
Great stuff Sniffy your’e putting a bit of sense back into Frenchy’s thread and thats good, never had cause to use Thatcham depot, nice to see pics of it, keep the pics coming, myself i never once took a pic of anything really i should have, did some quite interesting stuff like abnormal loads long loads on an eight legger with the trailer set back you never see that sort of thing nowadays i’ll bet it is’nt allowed anymore and the old red and rust had that sort of work off to a fine art, would’nt like to be a driver now.
thanks harry long retired.
I Just noticed that the registration on the first pic is the same as the photo added by Tipit on page 8 of the thread, noticed the gardner badge as well, I wonder if its had an engine change or someone just missed the badge off the original ?
I know the Crusader pic been posted before but added it for the detail at the bottom
hiya,
Those Bristols look a treat Sniffy, have done a lot of miles in them driven both rigid and bendy versions you was always sure to get home with those old girls they was as dependable as the day is long.
thanks harry long retired.
Hello Red and Rusties
Not the only Bristols youve had your grubby mits on Harry .Great pics Sniffy makes this BRS thread worthwhile , its amazing how such good quality photos are still turning up Only wish Id not only had a decent camera in those days but had taken more photo`s , especially of the depots and docks . How many times has that been said after the fact .
Regards Frenchy
hiya,
Frenchy never had grubby hands when on with t’other Bristols, i’ve always found a “lady” does’nt like mucky fingernails and have been involved with a few in my time, that’s a fact just ask any lady she’ll put you in the picture, er but i don’t know many ladies.
thanks harry long retired.
Ha ha, They seek him here, they seek him there, they seek that elusive Frenchy everywhere, be him in England, be him in France, that little devil gave us ex-drivers a merry dance.
Very poetical Norm , Im deafinately in France , I know because my neighbour doesnt know what " eh up " means when we looked at this winter white out thats just landed here , snow up to our ears , just planted my spring Daffs today now I cant even see T garden but I did have a Grimsby fish blue car once but not a redun , I dont believe that Harry he`s as red blooded as the rest of us and I bet he still gets misty eyed over them very reddish pretty Bristols too , Lorries I mean
Regards Frenchy
hiya,
Was’nt even a red and ruster at my last Brs depot it was more orange and rust the North East colours, although my first couple of motors was Tayforth Caledonian blue that had’nt got near the four inch brush and the forty five gallon drum of, was it burnt orange??. but definitely a thoroughbred red at heart.
thanks harry long retired.
unfortunately not red and rust, but as it says on the tin, BRS contracts
