Telekonsteve:
Telekonsteve:
Here’s another I came across, spent a lot of time on their yard when I was a kid
After finding that got digging round on tinterweb and dug these beauties up
Absolutely superb 
Bewick.
bob-lad:
we had GBF 736N at bowies bought from the sale great motor but got pinched in london
Hiya…so was GBF new to plants. ive see her at a few rallies and never knew who’s she was new.
I worked at harrisons of milton we had 5 A series 240’s. tideswells had 2. they was hard to get hold of
gardners wouldn’t/couldn’t turn them out quick enough so ■■■■■■■ got a foot hold.
John
3300John:
bob-lad:
we had GBF 736N at bowies bought from the sale great motor but got pinched in londonHiya…so was GBF new to plants. ive see her at a few rallies and never knew who’s she was new.
I worked at harrisons of milton we had 5 A series 240’s. tideswells had 2. they was hard to get hold of
gardners wouldn’t/couldn’t turn them out quick enough so ■■■■■■■ got a foot hold.
John
When ERF were building about 3000 chassis per year in the '70’s, Peter Foden told me that they were getting 1000 Gardners,1500 ■■■■■■■ and 500 RR engines and they could sell each Gardner engined chassis more than twice over but they were on strict allocation from Patricroft same as Atkinson and Foden plus a few that went to Seddon and Leyland group.Cheers Dennis.
Gordon Plants traffic office was one place I would have liked to spend a day in,prefferably on a Friday because that would be the day it was really “buzzing” I would guess,all those motors to sort out and get loaded for the following week,I wonder how many lads there were on the desks ? 
At Bewick Transport on a Friday there would be easily 100+ loads crossing the desks regularly,■■■■■■■ mayhem at times but it all got sorted in a proper manner and the pressure subsided around 6 pm ( unless it was REALLY busy 
) Happy days, now long gone and not a modern day “planner” in sight 
Cheers Bewick.
There was an article in one of them old cm’s about erf and how they wanted to stop dealing with customers direct, instead they must go through the local dealer, I’ll try and dig it out. I should have saved it when I saw it, bloody typical 
It wasn’t that bigger traffic office as I recall but I was only a kid, I can remember them calling the tm door mouse I’m not 100% but I remember me owd man having a book full of places he used to get loads from. I remember him saying if you hadn’t got a load you didn’t come back. They did a lot from goldhanger fruit farms if I remember right
Telekonsteve:
There was an article in one of them old cm’s about erf and how they wanted to stop dealing with customers direct, instead they must go through the local dealer, I’ll try and dig it out. I should have saved it when I saw it, bloody typical
Hiya did you know at one time Beeches was the main ERF agent, every chassis went through them, Beeches said it was less trouble
to deliver chassis to the customer or sub agent (BIG MISTAKE)as they got a commision of each chassis.It wasn’t that bigger traffic office as I recall but I was only a kid, I can remember them calling the tm door mouse
Bewick:
Gordon Plants traffic office was one place I would have liked to spend a day in,prefferably on a Friday because that would be the day it was really “buzzing” I would guess,all those motors to sort out and get loaded for the following week,I wonder how many lads there were on the desks ?
Hiya Bewick did you know that every lorry at Plants had its own parking place. on a Monday when all the ERF’s had gone Gordon
would walk the lorry park looking for oil on the parking place. if oil was found the lorry would be pulled in to get the oil leak sorted out.
i went to the yard one day. gordon come to me and told me never to go back into his yard as i’d dripped oil on his yard.
I said show me a Gardner engine that dosen’t drip oil. he said i have 70 Gardners that don’t drip oil.
John
Telekonsteve:
There was an article in one of them old cm’s about erf and how they wanted to stop dealing with customers direct, instead they must go through the local dealer, I’ll try and dig it out. I should have saved it when I saw it, bloody typicalIt wasn’t that bigger traffic office as I recall but I was only a kid, I can remember them calling the tm door mouse
There used to be an owner driver from Milnthorpe (John E. Ion RIP) who bought his new motors direct from ERF late 50’s through to the mid 70’s,and a foreman at ERF always sold his secondhand,low mileage,well maintained,motor for him for a good price.But it all came to an abrupt halt when ERF put the blocks on direct sales to operators,as you say Steve.Cheers Dennis.
3300John:
Telekonsteve:
There was an article in one of them old cm’s about erf and how they wanted to stop dealing with customers direct, instead they must go through the local dealer, I’ll try and dig it out. I should have saved it when I saw it, bloody typical
Hiya did you know at one time Beeches was the main ERF agent, every chassis went through them, Beeches said it was less trouble
to deliver chassis to the customer or sub agent (BIG MISTAKE)as they got a commision of each chassis.It wasn’t that bigger traffic office as I recall but I was only a kid, I can remember them calling the tm door mouse
Hiya Steve…is your dad Charlie Robo■■? I worked with a few ex Plants lads at S Coopers.
John
3300John:
Bewick:
Gordon Plants traffic office was one place I would have liked to spend a day in,prefferably on a Friday because that would be the day it was really “buzzing” I would guess,all those motors to sort out and get loaded for the following week,I wonder how many lads there were on the desks ?Hiya Bewick did you know that every lorry at Plants had its own parking place. on a Monday when all the ERF’s had gone Gordon
would walk the lorry park looking for oil on the parking place. if oil was found the lorry would be pulled in to get the oil leak sorted out.
i went to the yard one day. gordon come to me and told me never to go back into his yard as i’d dripped oil on his yard.
I said show me a Gardner engine that dosen’t drip oil. he said i have 70 Gardners that don’t drip oil.
John
Aye John,I had heard he was quite a character in his day,but how he managed to stop all his Gardners 100% from dripping oil must have been “mission” immpossible,but then again a great man always has to have a distant,unreachable, achievement to aim for 
Bewick.
3300John:
3300John:
Telekonsteve:
There was an article in one of them old cm’s about erf and how they wanted to stop dealing with customers direct, instead they must go through the local dealer, I’ll try and dig it out. I should have saved it when I saw it, bloody typical
Hiya did you know at one time Beeches was the main ERF agent, every chassis went through them, Beeches said it was less trouble
to deliver chassis to the customer or sub agent (BIG MISTAKE)as they got a commision of each chassis.It wasn’t that bigger traffic office as I recall but I was only a kid, I can remember them calling the tm door mouse
Hiya Steve…is your dad Charlie Robo■■? I worked with a few ex Plants lads at S Coopers.
John
No Kenny Howe , not with us now alas but there was 3 or 4 of them in Chesterton worked for Gordon. My father Harold Hughes and bill seaton. Gordon bought my father a little ford van so they coul get there. I almost sure a bloke I worked with for a bit Alan blood worked there. Bill did a bit later for Philip and Harold went glyn John then later critlows he had a new F7 first then erfs after and that other lad from chess good lad went on to have his own motor but had a bad bump,blow a front tyre and crossed the m1 I think, lost both his legs, but last time I saw him he was fine,got two of them metal legs and could get about great,think his name was John
Bewick:
3300John:
Bewick:
Gordon Plants traffic office was one place I would have liked to spend a day in,prefferably on a Friday because that would be the day it was really “buzzing” I would guess,all those motors to sort out and get loaded for the following week,I wonder how many lads there were on the desks ?Hiya Bewick did you know that every lorry at Plants had its own parking place. on a Monday when all the ERF’s had gone Gordon
would walk the lorry park looking for oil on the parking place. if oil was found the lorry would be pulled in to get the oil leak sorted out.
i went to the yard one day. gordon come to me and told me never to go back into his yard as i’d dripped oil on his yard.
I said show me a Gardner engine that dosen’t drip oil. he said i have 70 Gardners that don’t drip oil.The garage was out of this world for its time, spotless and all tiled pits he used to strip right down and there was a wash bay with four or five undercover bay’s just as you went in. He go round sun morning checking as he used to pay them bonus for washing etc,it was very impressive very regimented with is a good thing in my opinion a credit to the man, like mr bewick took pride in what they did just a shame it seems to have all gone down bank
JohnAye John,I had heard he was quite a character in his day,but how he managed to stop all his Gardners 100% from dripping oil must have been “mission” immpossible,but then again a great man always has to have a distant,unreachable, achievement to aim for
What was the reason that caused Gordon to “up” and pack in so suddenly? Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
What was the reason that caused Gordon to “up” and pack in so suddenly? Cheers Dennis.
From how I understood it mr bewick it was because the drivers wanted more money,well a certain element of them did, so he gave them the choice, my father and his friends worked there at the end. From what people have said over the years he did pay good money but there’s always some that think that there’s more to had. It’s a shame really it would be interesting to see how such a company and fleet would have progressed. This is a sad thing that I discovered with some of the people that I employed, 99% were good hard working people! but there’s always one that causes trouble and tries to disrupt the others! regardless of what you try and do for them. It upset me at times, I hadn’t got that killer instinct required to deal with them straight away, I always remember my father saying be more like planty used to be. I did try in every other respect, give them good money and the best tackle to do the job. I remember the day I got rid of everything and the blokes, the good ones were on the yard and would have done everything they could to carry on, but with that 1% and with a certain customer letting me down for a large sum. Of money and some spotty little kid at the bank telling me he’d help us overcome this if I was prepaired to sign almost everything apart from me dogs collar over to him. From how the job has gone it was the right choice although I miss the daily challenge that went with it. As for Gordon he appeared in the local paper a couple of times, I remember on one occasion have he said how him and his wife only drunk champagne and thought then how good , he’d deserved it. There you are, that’s how heard it went, somebody might have a different end to the story, oh and sorry for having my little rant on this thread but it said now
3300John:
doby3926:
does eneybody rember hollands cheese from nantwich the red ford traders looked like covered waggons. based at the basin end had about 17 trucks in the 60,sHiya we built 3 vans and put them onto Bedford KM’s for Hollands cheese at Jennings in Sandbach. i remember one came back after a while
a cheese rolled forward and crashed through the headboard.as you said bright red with black chassis
John
Here ur go john
Telekonsteve:
3300John:
doby3926:
does eneybody rember hollands cheese from nantwich the red ford traders looked like covered waggons. based at the basin end had about 17 trucks in the 60,sHiya we built 3 vans and put them onto Bedford KM’s for Hollands cheese at Jennings in Sandbach. i remember one came back after a while
a cheese rolled forward and crashed through the headboard.as you said bright red with black chassis
JohnHere ur go john
Hiya…thanks for that steve…is it just the one page.i see the date 1764 when they started.
John
3300John:
Telekonsteve:
3300John:
doby3926:
does eneybody rember hollands cheese from nantwich the red ford traders looked like covered waggons. based at the basin end had about 17 trucks in the 60,sHiya we built 3 vans and put them onto Bedford KM’s for Hollands cheese at Jennings in Sandbach. i remember one came back after a while
a cheese rolled forward and crashed through the headboard.as you said bright red with black chassis
JohnHere ur go john
Hiya…thanks for that steve…is it just the one page.i see the date 1764 when they started.
John
Yes John just a full page ad, not an article sorry
Remember these
Telekonsteve:
Bewick:
What was the reason that caused Gordon to “up” and pack in so suddenly? Cheers Dennis.From how I understood it mr bewick it was because the drivers wanted more money,well a certain element of them did, so he gave them the choice, my father and his friends worked there at the end. From what people have said over the years he did pay good money but there’s always some that think that there’s more to had. It’s a shame really it would be interesting to see how such a company and fleet would have progressed. This is a sad thing that I discovered with some of the people that I employed, 99% were good hard working people! but there’s always one that causes trouble and tries to disrupt the others! regardless of what you try and do for them. It upset me at times, I hadn’t got that killer instinct required to deal with them straight away, I always remember my father saying be more like planty used to be. I did try in every other respect, give them good money and the best tackle to do the job. I remember the day I got rid of everything and the blokes, the good ones were on the yard and would have done everything they could to carry on, but with that 1% and with a certain customer letting me down for a large sum. Of money and some spotty little kid at the bank telling me he’d help us overcome this if I was prepaired to sign almost everything apart from me dogs collar over to him. From how the job has gone it was the right choice although I miss the daily challenge that went with it. As for Gordon he appeared in the local paper a couple of times, I remember on one occasion have he said how him and his wife only drunk champagne and thought then how good , he’d deserved it. There you are, that’s how heard it went, somebody might have a different end to the story, oh and sorry for having my little rant on this thread but it said now
Thanks for that explanation Steve,I can I.D. with most of it,apart from boasting about the Champers,I have never liked the stuff (on the odd occaision I’ve been offered it )but I would never have spouted about it either.I used to have some right verbals with the shop stewards in later years but I could always “look them in the eyes” honestly and if all else failed I would “agree” with them and wonder why,if we were so bad an employer why had they worked for us for so long So why didn’t they ■■■■ off out the gate and start for one of our competitors,none ever did I would add 
Happy Days Bewick.
Anyone remember W P Twibells l worked there from 82 till 97 still the best job I ever had lots of great nights out in The Shant at West Thurrock also lots of great drivers there some now long gone.
Also the Spanish Dodges were the fastest thing up and down the M1/ M6 when they were running.
Shame most of these great old firms have gone these days.