hgv training ■■ i would have thought that you would have known enough to start with . you should have learned by your mistakes like a true tipper man .
rigsby:
hgv training ■■ i would have thought that you would have known enough to start with . you should have learned by your mistakes like a true tipper man .
I still needed to get a licence though Dave, I didn’t live in lawless Buxton! 
Tilcon paid for everything except the medical! A 1968 Foden eight legger plus two weeks lodging in Pickering during March, lovely… 
Got back home two days before our first wedding anniversary, good job that I passed as I couldn’t afford a divorce on Ballidon’s wages! 
Pete.
i passed my driving test 10th march 1963 when i was working on a building site . when i got back the gaffer said i was driving the crew van in the morning , and on friday he sacked the lorry driver and i was on the bedford monday morning . no hgv test in those days .dave
rigsby:
i passed my driving test 10th march 1963 when i was working on a building site . when i got back the gaffer said i was driving the crew van in the morning , and on friday he sacked the lorry driver and i was on the bedford monday morning . no hgv test in those days .dave
I was just starting secondary school in 1963…trying to get educated so that I didn’t have to drive a lorry like my dad, only it didn’t work out. 
Pete.
Oh Gentlemen,
Im just on my way to the land of nod…and then Pete tells of his 1963 adventures, and rigsby as well , then Larry, (who I suspect is approaching my vintage as well)…`63, I was failing in my career as a watch maker, and Jeweller, (perhaps it was the lure of the fair ■■■ that was my influence)… Oh yes it was.
Weekends, oh I was shunting with an S18 Foden, O`rrible little 28 ft steel carrying tandems…and herding sheep into a well shot Bedford O serie! but sadly my incompetence seemed to reign supreme…daydreamer…that was my downfall…
The cataclysmic On reflection, end, was a spectacular incident with a whole window display of chiming 8 day monolithic clocks… (have you any idea of the tremendous gravity of their thunderous chimes…when there are 40 of them arranged on 4mm plate glass shelves)…Down they came…and the Police arrived in black Austin Westminsters with ringing bells…to add to the chagrin of this poor youth!!!
So after the carnage, I was obliged to work for 4 weeks without pay…then I was off to join the family firm up in Shropshire…and the pvc seat of a worn S18 was my perch for a few months…then a promotion, (to one with brakes), a worn S20 4 wheeler…then delight…an S20 4 LK Gardner powered box van…and Scotland bound each week.
Suddenly I was the family`s International Division, same lorry, but no longer “sunny” Scotland, but France, and then Italy, delivering to Prevantoriums, and Hospitals, mainly situated in inaccessible places up in hills far steeper than anything Scotland or Wales could offer! That little S20 was a dream, a real delight, there was nowhere that she could go! Then came mega power, 150 Gardner power in an S21 “Micky Mouse”, and a 33ft Tandem box, (that took some sorting out to back onto a ferry…even worse going to Sicily where the ferry was straight from WW2…and surrounded by excitable Latinos!!!
But 150 hp made light of Cenis, and Cerdon, as fast as anything that the French or Italians drove…(but they were working at at least 6/8 tons more than me)…ah well, I was young!
We lost the medical job! …What a surprise…it paid well…so the Sharks moved in…(and we wondered why)■■?..But it was the start of the “Antiques” for the USA…So mugs that we were , with a brand new S36 day cab, (big power Leyland .680, and 12 speed), I was off to sunny Sicily with a new York Freightmaster Tandem, (and several , nay, many bottles of best Wolverhampton Bankss Beer for an Italian customs man of my acquaintance,.........(did things ever change)......Yes they did......I could power over Cenis on wings of gossamer with all that power, ......must have been nigh on 200 hp........but the dear old worm drive diff, and those paper thin hub seals kept my velocity down to a mid 50s mph......(Boy did I hate changing those seals if they blew.......and they would at 56 mph on a long run)!!!!........And with my hatred of being enclosed I never ever used Mont Blanc even after it opened in 65…but Cenis was oh so quiet after July that year…for a time!!!
IBut in `69 it came to an end, we were chasing dreams…more equipment, more overheads, more pressure…more for less was the mantra…Not for me, I loved my time on the road, I loved, (and still do), my Fodens, but new to marriage, and needing a “proper” job, I went off selling lorries…Atkinsons…and my days of Foden driving were done…but I loved every minute, and I loved those beautiful lorries from Sandbach!
Cheerio for now.
ye gods john , that stirred the memories a bit regarding the old fodens . the first one i was "awarded " was an fg of uncertain vintage , back diff removed ( and no doubt used in another ■■■■■■■ ). the driving seat on it’s little pedestal was vaguely attached to the floor and held in place with a lump of timber . the speedo in the steering wheel was just a face , nowt behind it but ideal to keep the ■■■■ to hand . 28 mph flat out until one of the old hands applied the wire to the governor . but hey ho still wet behind the ears and happy to get a start on real lorries . i was’nt just on locals either south wales and london were regular trips . i thrashed it to death but it refused to die , but then promotion to an s21 twin steer with real brakes and a heater ( in summer )i never ventured over the water like you , but there was plenty of britain to explore. cheers , dave
Well Dave, one of the FG’s in the pic was the first Foden that I ever rode in but of course I was very young! The old man did Reading to Fort William regularly in it, loaded Sunday-set off Monday-returned either Friday or Saturday and gave it a grease round before loading on Sunday again. I only went with him on locals, though we did get to the Corona factory at or near Nottingham and I remember being taken round the factory and watching the bottles come down the rails and then having their tops crimped on! I bet they gave me a free sample as well?
Pete.
There are threads on this forum that go on about the demise of Leyland and Bedford. Foden were far superior of either of those marques right up until Daf stopped producing them. I know a lot of operators who would still buy them if they were still in production.
use a name:
Cheshire , still in front line service this foden.
excellent still got years left in it by the looks of it.
They also fitted the lighter S21 cab to K types but I don’t think that they sold particularly well. They only had the four cylinder two stroke engine and four speed gearbox so I guess were only really suitable for light bulky loads or ‘Flat country’ running? Looked impressive in the sales brochure though I suppose.
Pete.
windrush:
They also fitted the lighter S21 cab to K types but I don’t think that they sold particularly well. They only had the four cylinder two stroke engine and four speed gearbox so I guess were only really suitable for light bulky loads or ‘Flat country’ running? Looked impressive in the sales brochure though I suppose.Pete.
Did the odd firm actually buy a Foden 8 wheeler with the 2 stroke engine and 4 speed box ? unbelievable ! and I thought that the Guy Warrior Light 8 with the AEC 7:7 engine 5speed/2 speed was a poor spec ! Cheers Bewick.
hauliers up our way never considered spec dennis , especially the own account quarry firms . if it got from a to b eventually that was good enough . 8 wheelers 6lw , 4 speed box . 4 wheelers 4lk 4 speed box , that was how it was and continued to be . one old lad did a load to castle ford glassworks every day , back empty , paid 14 hours . they had one 8 wheeler with a manual auxiliary 12 speed but the garage foreman said they would never catch on, too complicated . dave
My apologies! 
It was the lightweight six wheeler that had the four pot two stroker, the eight had a six potter. Still with a four speed gearbox though and single drive rear bogie. It did have all the wheels braked though, normally the second steer was unbraked on eight leggers.
Pete.