Does anybody know if any of Charlies men are still around, Ian Bruce, Ian Campbell, George Grant,Dougie McKenzie, Graham Holland,
Regards Edd ex Charlies Preston Depot.
CLASSIC HAULAGE from different times
Nice pics , but once the TDG got hold of Charlie’s it was goodbye !
LB76:
Nice pics , but once the TDG got hold of Charlie’s it was goodbye !
TDG absorbed some of the best fleets in the UK now part of Norbert Dentressangle (and French!)
Charles Alexander bought out a company from Plymouth Devon, can anyone remember who it was?
i think it would be nrs who made and distributed industrial chillers and fridges. they used leyland marathons in light blue and white colours
and were based in hillington ind est glasgow
scottie0011:
laybuy:
It’s not a beaver it’s a lynx.
Laybuy
Looking at this picture I think this was taken just outside Aberdeen on the back road to Cove which would tie in with it being a promo pic taken when the motor was brand new.
I’ve looked at this picture of the “Lynx” a few times and I’ve only just realised that there aren’t any dollies in the ropes!!!
I’m suprised that the “sheet police”, Bewick? hadn’t picked this up. Standards must be slipping, either that or the whiskey
must be taking its toll. 
regards Kev.
A loveley photo of a classic Leyland Lynx, 1938. Way head of its time for design, wouldnt you say, I certainley think so for that Era, Regards Larry
kevmac47:
scottie0011:
laybuy:
It’s not a beaver it’s a lynx.
Laybuy
Looking at this picture I think this was taken just outside Aberdeen on the back road to Cove which would tie in with it being a promo pic taken when the motor was brand new.
I’ve looked at this picture of the “Lynx” a few times and I’ve only just realised that there aren’t any dollies in the ropes!!!
I’m suprised that the “sheet police”, Bewick? hadn’t picked this up. Standards must be slipping, either that or the whiskey
must be taking its toll.
Publicity shot Kev,probably the bloke with the collar and tie on behind the wheel had “sheeted and roped” the empty boxes !!! Not worth commenting on mate ! Dennis.
Charles Alexander had a number of drivers based in Kendal for many years,a number of our drivers at Bewick Transport had previously been day shunters for CAPT.There will still be one or two living in Kendal,IIRC you could always get a start on Charlies as it was a gruelling job with starting times from midnight to 2/3 AM and back in Kendal for early afternoon.Their origional fleet colours were Dark Blue cab with Red side flash and a White roof.I think TDG had bought them out in the 50’s and their demise was as a result of the steep decline in the Scottish fishing fleet due to the EU quotas system.Oh! and their foreman in Kendal for many years was a chap called Arnold Cook,his son Ron was a salesman at the local Mercedes Benz dealers and I bought a number of new merc cars from him over the years,decent bloke like his Dad !! Cheers Bewick.
Quite possible, but I worked with a bloke who only put hitches on the off side of the load, ■■?< His theory was you only pulled the ropes to the off side to stop the load slipping to the near side, What a load of ■■■■■ I thought, A load has got to be made secure when you are taking it on a 200mile run , I worked it out, & I came up with the answerto his remarks, Lazey B…rd & I new I was right as time went on, he lost a couple of loads off, so Ill say no more about it, Regards Larry
If I remember rightly Chas E, had a depot on Oldham Road Manchester, it was on the left hand side of the A 62 heading towrads Newton Heath, they used to come into Trafford Park , Thos Hedleys SoapWorks, but if they couldnt get loaded by a certain time , they did a shoot, because I was told the wagons had to get back for their changeover & back to Aberdeen, Great stuffhas any of you oldies wtched the fish run? I have several times, its worth a look, It includes Shap, Regards Larry
georgeking:
LB76:
Nice pics , but once the TDG got hold of Charlie’s it was goodbye !TDG absorbed some of the best fleets in the UK now part of Norbert Dentressangle (and French!)
Charles Alexander bought out a company from Plymouth Devon, can anyone remember who it was?
The company that Charlies bought out down the south west was Lawrence & Ray of Brixham who also operated out of Plymouth and Newlyn. I used to do a change over with them at Stonehouse near Gloucester in the 80s and early 90s till Charlies closed in 1991.
Edd ex Charlies Preston Depot.
HIYA. FOLKS. When we used to carry paper out of the North Wales paper co it was all over the country .Our Scotish drops went as far as Aberdeen we used too deliver our selfs on most loads till the tonnage started to drop off .WE contacted Charles Alex they gave us good deal for single pallets to Aberdeen .We took them to a yard between Glasgow and Edingbourgh i think it was PETER MACCULLAMS old yard all went ok for abount 6 months then loads of complaints abount wet paper .Found out they were sending it on the fish run lorrys sheets were still wet from the load down. So it was back Aberdeen for us with 1 pallet for us most of time good old days .yous Barry Waddy
kevmac47:
Bumper, CA had a depot at Double Row Seaton Delaval in the early 70s. My old pal Mad John Hook worked for them, he could make those beaver’s shift!! only trouble was he was never sober. I worked with him at Alec Muat’s in 1971 what a character he was. PS anyone know if he is still around? the last time i saw him was in the “Old Hundred” in North Shields many years ago. regards kevmac47.
Charlies still had a depot at Seaton Delaval in the early eighties. I drove (301 sed/ack tractor unit!) for a small company called TR Transport at the time pulling Cape insulation liveried trailers and we used to borrow Charlies steam cleaner. Their fitter was a guy called Brian Black…I think he still lives in New Hartley.
Chris K.
wheeltapper:
CLASSIC HAULAGE from different times
The MAN here reminds me of a day I spoke to a driver of theirs back in the mid 80s. He reckoned there was a batch of new MAN units in the workshop having sleeper cabs swapped for days cabs prior to delivery because Charlies Angels (as he called them) only wanted day cabs. They must have been big customers to get dealers to do that, if it were true of course.
BB
Basilbrush:
wheeltapper:
CLASSIC HAULAGE from different times
The MAN here reminds me of a day I spoke to a driver of theirs back in the mid 80s. He reckoned there was a batch of new MAN units in the workshop having sleeper cabs swapped for days cabs prior to delivery because Charlies Angels (as he called them) only wanted day cabs. They must have been big customers to get dealers to do that, if it were true of course.
BB
Their CB handle was Charlies Angels, in those days they bought both sleepers and day cabs. The former probably were the trampers and the the latter were on double shifts.
Nearly all Charlies motors at Bilston West Midlands depot were sleeper cabs, Mercs and Mans.
God happy (and smelly memories) I used to live on the Royston Rd in Glasgow near the Markets and for a year/possibly two year the Blochairn road into the Fruit/Fish Mkt was closed so all the Charlie Alexandia motors would struggle up the hill at full(possibly over) weight .The smell was bloody awfull and due to the drainage in the trailers the smell was on the road for a long time after they had left lol.
When working in the market i remmeber speaking to one of the drivers and him telling me one of the drivers who must have upsett someone as they pulled off his door cards and threw a few FISH HEADS in there !!!
Poor guy God only knows how bad that smell was ,
Didnt C/A loose two motors on the French picket lines i seam to remeber two divers allegidly tryed to run the blockade and where pulled out cabs and trucks & trailer with loads burnt ■■? or am i wrong ? Think they was Scania 143’s■■?
Just found this, parked outside Claben’s in Aberdeen!
