One of aggregate merchants StownHall from the Kidderminster area.
Kens Tipper Hire Dodge,parked at their Welsh Border Depot.
Teme Valley Transport from Knighton,Radnorshire.
You never know,until you launch,what a well titled thread may unleash from the “dim and distant” brain cells contained within the craniums of the “gently ageing”, former, toilers from the world of Real transport!!! Just take this evening—Saviem will be staggering up to his pit and dreaming about 4LK engined Fodens and no doubt will wake up in the morning with a crick in his neck from having to assume the “neanderthal” driving position required to drive a Foden.Apparently it was a common affliction amongst Robson of Carlisle drivers!!! Cheers Dennis.
A shot of another Scania 82 rigid we ran at Bewick Transport which I took near Levens bridge on the old A6.
Chris Webb:
ainacs:
My 1972 AEC Mercury with home built sleeper pictured around 1977
Hi Pat,was it a flyer that Mercury? I had one on a wholesale market job in 1969,AWA 322G just about run in
,it would go all day and night at 65-70 mph and was a treat to drive.We had a Marshal and that was the same albeit a bit slower on hills with that AV505.
Hi Chris yes LTC 955K (Originally from a potato merchant in Ormskirk) did fly when I first had it and was not that bad to drive with the big steering wheel and air assisted handbrake. Until I built the sleeper had to make do with boards across from the window ledges to the bonnet. It was quite reliable too, the fuel pump packed up on the A74 one day and Gateside Commercials from Dumfries fitted a new pump at the side of the road! The rear gearbox bearing had a habit of breaking up, I think that the overdrive was an after thought and stuck on the end of the shaft outside the main box.
On one trip north to Montrose the AEC started to make funny noises in overdrive then the noise happened in top gear as well then in 4th gear, I made it as far as Gateside Commercials near Dumfries and a young fitter had a drive and said it was definitely the box so out it came and he could find nothing wrong, so he asked an older fitter who said check the diff and that was the problem. I asked if there was a breaker nearby and was told no eventually the said they had an old vanalised Irish AEC coach/racecar transporter at the back of the yard. I crawled underneath and sure enough the diff looked the same so they fitted it to my Mercury, at the same time I took the gearbox speedo sender out and fitted to mine. I left Dumfries heading home and found I had to use crawler to pull away, checked everything at Southwaite Services having not used overdrive at all from Dumfries.
I set off from the services and found I had to wait till well over 60mph to engage overdrive!! I never did drive it to it’s top speed as I think it would have probably topped the 100mph!!! I did take it to 90mph but felt very vunerable sat in front of the wheels with virtualll nothing in front to protect me. The only lorry to pass me that night coming down the M6 was one of Carmen Brit European’s ERF’s who must have been doing near on 90mph. The change of diff also gave me 1 extra mile per gallon up to 12! I never did get caught speeding but when I sold the Mercury the lad who bought it got caught on the M4 near Newport first trip out.
A Scania 82 we ran on for Hall & Pickles delivering steel.
I’ve great regard for the AEC Mercury ergomatic cabbed 4-wheeler at 16 tons gvw. They were the outstanding lorry of that era and I cut my teeth on JTB 148F owned by Ray Holden of Bolton. It had an ally body and could legally carry 11 tons payload. I got off to a late start one morning because of a failed starter motor that had to be changed before setting off on a trip to Glasgow. I had a return load of Scotch whisky to collect from Grants bonded warehouse in the Gorbals (you had to sheet and rope in the street outside the place) and I recall passing the clock outside Celtic’s football ground at ten past four in the afternoon. I was back in Ray’s yard at twenty past eight and had even taken a quick ‘comfort break’ at Southwaite Services on the way down. Average speed 52 mph fully freighted!
I also liked the Leyland Super Comet, not as powerful as a Mercury but better fuel economy at about 15 mpg, and the Leyland 400 engine did seem a bit noisier in the cab than the AV505 in the Mercury.
Some of Dave Neville & Sons of Hereford four wheelers.
This was a wee TK flat we had at Milnthorpe for a while in the 80’s
Roy Morgan’s Vulcan.
Apart from the Ford D1000 I drove from new until I sold it and had to give up regular driving,other than change overs and odd quick day jobs( ever tried running a transport operation from Phone boxes,various,via a 16 year old female on her own in the office!) This was my all time favourite of all the 4 wheelers we had through the Bewick fleet!
A nice Foden flatbed.
I was talking to the driver of this ERF a few weeks back and he was telling me he is still running it on a daily basis loading stone from the quarrys in Buxton.The day I took the picture he had just tipped at Rochdale and was on his way back over to Buxton for another delivery 
A Bedford O type tipper.
Bewick:
This was another tidy 4 wheeler we ran shot in the depot at Milnthorpe but based at the Rochdale depot.When it came out of service I sold it to an Agricultral engineers who put a beaver tail on it and it gave them reliable service for a good number of years afterwards.
still got one of them f6s in the yard it came of the road in 2001 and is awating some tlc its also a flat with the day cab on as well !
it was my first motor as an o/d i have also a 616 i bought years ago as a v short tipper but never got round to running it
moose
Your Dad and Grandfather must have owned a few four wheelers between them Moose, haven’t you any pics of them? When I started at Ballidon Quarry in 1975 the majority of O/D’s ran fours, some Bedfords and Commers and a few Fords plus an AEC and Grimshaws from Hartington ran BMC Boxers and Mastiffs, the quarries own trucks were all eight wheeler Fodens though. We did have a couple of Sed Ak 200’s, one of which I drove a couple of times, they always seemed very heavy on the “handlebars” compared to eight wheelers and you couldnt launch them into bends as comfortably!
Pete.
Hello Den…you’re Brie eating mate from France here, how are you ? all’s well I hope…
So tell me, If you were starting up again to-day, would you have any 4 or 6 wheelers ?, and what would be the make up of the fleet in Make and Model, also, would they be 6x4, 6x2, 4X2 twin steer, lifts, etc, taut-liners or flats, or a mixture…
All hypothetical I know…but…as a matter of interest.
There, that’ll keep you occupied for a bit… 
P.S. Found that elusive J with an 8 yet … 
Dave
windrush:
Your Dad and Grandfather must have owned a few four wheelers between them Moose, haven’t you any pics of them? When I started at Ballidon Quarry in 1975 the majority of O/D’s ran fours, some Bedfords and Commers and a few Fords plus an AEC and Grimshaws from Hartington ran BMC Boxers and Mastiffs, the quarries own trucks were all eight wheeler Fodens though. We did have a couple of Sed Ak 200’s, one of which I drove a couple of times, they always seemed very heavy on the “handlebars” compared to eight wheelers and you couldnt launch them into bends as comfortably!Pete.
i will have to dig them out! most are not at my house
moose
Fergie47:
Hello Den…you’re Brie eating mate from France here, how are you ? all’s well I hope…So tell me, If you were starting up again to-day, would you have any 4 or 6 wheelers ?, and what would be the make up of the fleet in Make and Model, also, would they be 6x4, 6x2, 4X2 twin steer, lifts, etc, taut-liners or flats, or a mixture…
All hypothetical I know…but…as a matter of interest.
There, that’ll keep you occupied for a bit…
P.S. Found that elusive J with an 8 yet …
Dave
Hiya Dave,hope you and yours are well? Obviously when I started with my first “A” licence a 4 wheeler was all that the licence allowed although the second “A” I aquired I was able to claim an increase in ULW which allowed me to run the first artic,a 26 ton gross single wheeled tandem outfit.IIRC you could claim a 10cwt increase in the ulw for each vehicle each time you renewed the carriers licence,I think! You couldn’t just pile in and jump from a 4 wheeler up to ,say,a Guy Invincible and 33ft Highway tandem!!! but you could get there eventually by increments I bet James and Alex were experts at the licencing game in their hayday!!.As for “fantasy land” !! If I was kicking off again I think I’d choose a rear steer(pusher) 3 axle Scania and an M & G or AHP coiler flat and run refactory bricks and coil between Scotland and South Wales!!! Being based in the Northwest right on the M6 I reckon that that would be about the best seam of traffic,bearing in mind,of course,there would still be that kind of traffic available(which there aint!!!) No poncy curtainsiders in my fleet!!! The elusive Big J 8 has yet to turn up,in photographic form that is!! Last I heard was Dave the Renegade was at the old Guy factory site in Wolverhampton with a JCB digging to Austrailia looking for an 8LXB chassis that was rumoured to have been buried!! Anyway there you have it Dave,the usual load of “■■■■■■■■”!!! We’ve bought a bit of French wine lately,against my better judgement but I was “overruled” as per normal! More a Chilean or New Zealand lad myself!! Cheers Dennis.
Two from different eras;
