It’s a bloody nightmare. Pot holes and police galore.
happysack:
It’s a bloody nightmare. Pot holes and police galore.
Happysack,We always used to hold the Irishman up,they did"nt like it,Sumtimes if im lucky,wen the Ferry lands & they all leave,I have my break,then i miss em all,haha,I think the Irishman took 2hrs from Stranraer to the Moss cafe!!,but i found sat & sun the A75 was"nt to bad,I knew every favourite place the old Bill used to hide,30mph speed trap through Springholm,& also The used to hide at Bottom of Glenluce,& clock u from the Top,Retired Now,Done 28yrs of it,glad im out of it.
Norman croad,Torquay.
hodgeturbo:
Ken Graham sent me this,he found it in the commercial motor archives
Loaded wid wood for Bowaters at Ellsemere Port I would think Hodge ! When I were a lad I used to go up the side of Ennerdale with the Boyes Lads and help load the same stuff, all graft in them days Paul nee “mamby pamby” crane loading eh! Cheers Dennis.PS I wonder if Kenneth was driving it Paul, well it was on Forestry Commission road eh!
6LX:
Hi happysack,wats the A75 like these days,i used to run to Stranraer docks with the Milk Tankers from Penrith,3hr run at 40 to 45 MPH,Mayhem,done that for 3yrs,
Norman croad,Torquay.
I used to do that in the opposite direction twice a night working for a contractor pulling trailers out of Stranraer docks for Atkins of Derby, By the end of the second trunk I was a nervous wreck, starting to shake again just thinking about it…
My clapped out ERF with its 240 Percy could give them Irish/Scots lads a shock going down hill.
Dave.
Hi Hodge & Bewick I can remember this Commercial Motor publication very well, it was published two weeks after I started driving for Jim Lawson and was doing the same job with a mouth organ front Leyland Comet. Yes the timber was destined for Bowaters at Ellesmere Port. I seem to remember this Comet of Grahams was driven by Lawrence (Lol) Jackson. Thanks for posting this memorable copy, I think the photoshoot was in Thornthwaite Forest.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Hi Hodge & Bewick I can remember this Commercial Motor publication very well, it was published two weeks after I started driving for Jim Lawson and was doing the same job with a mouth organ front Leyland Comet. Yes the timber was destined for Bowaters at Ellesmere Port. I seem to remember this Comet of Grahams was driven by Lawrence (Lol) Jackson. Thanks for posting this memorable copy, I think the photoshoot was in Thornthwaite Forest.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Now I hope you are not going to tell us that Jed’s Comet had a Hi-ab crane on it L600 !! 
Cheers Bewick.
No Dennis it was an Armstrong !!!
Cheers Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
No Dennis it was an Armstrong !!!
Cheers Leyland 600.
Question Gerald! as I was only a lad and knew nowt about the “in’s and out’s” of the job in those days. So with the pulp wood being an important traffic in those days during the '50’s did one haulier handle all the traffic for the Forestry Commission or did all the hauliers that carried the wood work direct for the Commission ? I can remember being with both Boyes lads on occasions when they used to call at J W G’s garage at Embleton so would AD have been subbing the loads of wood off them ? Cheers Dennis.
I did many trips to Bowaters at Ellesmere Port with ‘pulp’ in my Comet. This was 4’ lengths of softwood, spruce or scots pine, loaded exactly as in the photo. I very well remember my first. April or May 1969. My Uncle Jack, from whom I subcontracted, on a ‘contract A licence’ had his own timber firm in the borders. If I wasn’t loading my Leyland I would help. This included everything from ‘burning’ (policy then to leave no trace of having felled the softwoods.) to loading my or other trucks as and when required. I drove the crane, the tractors to pull the timber from the wood - whatever - it wasn’t about money, I loved it, as an alternative to working in Glaxo labs!
Having spent all day working in the forest, I loaded 10 tons of ‘pulp’ - all manual of course. I set off from ‘Netherurd’, vaguely near Biggar, Lanarkshire, at about 6.00pm, just as the ‘fellers’ were heading home.
I arrived at Bowaters somewhere near midnight, expecting to spend the night in my cab until opening time in the morning. It was a 24 hour operation. After they finished their tea break, a wheeled sort of D8 pushed my load off the side. I think I threw a few of the remainder off and I was empty!
Not the slightest bit tired I headed back up the M 6. I was back at Netherurd by about 7.00 am. The lads arrived back at about 8ish and they were surprised to see me. There was a load of mature timber (that is it had been lying about having fallen ages ago.) we loaded this for the board mills at Hexham. I arrived there early afternoon, unloaded, and headed back to Uncle jack’s house at St Boswell’s, arriving early evening.
So, 2 days without sleep! Log sheets were somewhat more flexible them!
John.
Hi, Backsplice, re, Allison’s Freight Lines, I see you’re on line on your topsy turfy timescale! Thinking back to those good old days in 1969, where did you all congregate to eat? Elvanfoot?'had some of the guys had a pint or two with their Sunday lunch?
Where did you all finish up at ? Carlisle? Kendal?
John.
Hi John, your traffic pattern was and hours were very similar to mine, after tipping at Bowaters I loaded straw in the Rainford, Ormskirk, Southport areas back home, tipped then livestock container on and up to Hawick or St Boswells load sheep for Banbury and run down, tip and load straw again in the container fo home and back up. By then I was getting rather tired !!! No motorways then apart from Lancaster By Pass and Preston By Pass with lots of little flaring oilcans instead of cones, A guy used to go along in the mornings with a dumper picking up all those flattened by the night trunkers.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Hi Dennis, I can’t remember whose traffic the pulpwood was, I think some I carried was from a private forester I very rarely loaded the wood it was usually loaded for me while I was in a much needed bed JWG could possibly have been involved.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Hi Gerald, When I used to ride with AHB as a lad we used to go down Gilerthwaite at Ennerdale to load wood, and I recall one day AHB and me left Ireby Square with a crawler tractor for Gilerthwaite on the Trader ( which obviously had been badly loaded 
) and when we were going down that steep click at the Overwater road end past Ruthwaite the crawler rolled or slid down the flat and the drawbar came straight through the back of the cab and pushed me and my seat up into the windscreen, I was no worse but it left a nasty hole in the back of the cab. We had to keep going to get the ■■■■ thing off and I think they just bashed the hole in the cab back out, it was lucky the cab never got knocked off it’s mountings, I think ADB went mad with AHB as there was no excuse eh! Cheers Dennis.
Hi Dennis, a likely tale I have no doubt, I thnk their customer was a forestry contractor called Raymond Warwick and he liver somewhere near that sharp bend and hill at Overwater road end. I know they used to haul a lot of pitwood, props & chockes etc for him to various large collieries in West & South Yorkshire. I cant say I have ever heard this incident mentioned over the years but cann imagine the dialogue up in the garage that night with AD railroading AHB.!!
Cheers, Leyland 600
Leyland600:
Hi Dennis, a likely tale I have no doubt, I thnk their customer was a forestry contractor called Raymond Warwick and he liver somewhere near that sharp bend and hill at Overwater road end. I know they used to haul a lot of pitwood, props & chockes etc for him to various large collieries in West & South Yorkshire. I cant say I have ever heard this incident mentioned over the years but cann imagine the dialogue up in the garage that night with AD railroading AHB.!!
Cheers, Leyland 600
Hiya Gerald, and when the Crawler was unloaded AHB stuck a rag in the jagged hole !! I kid you not ! When you mentioned the sheep sales in Scotland I can recall going on a couple of occasions ,possibly more, with RWB in his Morris 1000 so would have this been as a “foray” to see if there was 'out doing before ADB sent a waggon up to load, I’m only guessing as I would have been only about 9 and 10 at the time. Cheers Dennis.
One of J.W Graham, dated 1963
pete smith:
One of J.W Graham, dated 1963
Great shot that Pete I think it is also on a much earlier thread and would have been taken at a ■■■■■■■■■■ Agricultural Show, and was probably supplied by Milburn Motors of Carlisle. It has the lighter Albion back-end so it more than likely has the 600 engine as well. “Hodge” could probably get the full “Spec” off Ken Graham ! Cheers Dennis.
