Hi all, this type of thread usually throws up a few disagreements over who actually got to where.
With regard to China, I think it was Croomes who went to the “border” but then had to tranship onto local trucks.
Kepstowe used to go along way east across Russia, ask Harry Monk for details, as did Ralph Davies who frequently went to the “Stahns”.
As for Pakistan, India and Afganistahn, they were mainly destinations in the long haul heyday, 70s and 80s, and as mentioned were covered by a few british companies.
Of course i am prepared to completely wrong with this info and will be lined up and shot to pieces by them who know!
China usually provokes quite a bit of …“oh no they didnt ,oh yes they did!!”
The old hands like mushroom man,Red desert Fox, bestbooties, Sinbin31, truckyboy, M & C Jamie etc will know for sure.
Was talking with a Ralph Davies driver a few years ago,and remember him telling me that they had been to Alma Ata carrying stuff for a bank re-fit.
I also remember a definite MMTM story about a GB truck who got cleared at the Chinese border,went to drive through a few times,and was waved back with an AK 47 each time.After a day or so,he sussed out that certain foreign trucks had to reverse into the country,so he tried it and all was ok.Don’t recall the company name,but it was probably Ralph Davies.Oh,I’m pretty sure I heard this on the train!!!
haven’t done the mileage as ‘viamichelin’ and others seem a bit flaky on actual routes, but our claim back in 2001 was krasnoyarsk in siberia, think it’s further than quetta in pakistan but not sure whether that dutch outfit who took supplies into india after the tsunami might have been further
and once and for all, forget china - it ain’t been done by anyone from the UK
hi all,
i have kept the mid-1970,s passport of a friend of mine who is sadly no longer with us.amongst the many entry visas and stamps for syria/jordan/iran/iraq etc,there are two for a place called rawalpindi,in pakistan?it may not be as far as some drivers went in their f88’s in the 70’s,but you wouldn’t want to walk back!
regards andrew
Hiya …IICR the year1969 ERF run a convoy of 50 steel cab trucks to Jordon phosphros co. anyone with a truck licence jumped on the
band waggon, serviceing was to be done enroute but 1/2dozen trucks did,nt make the trip not through reliability they was set fire to
and ransacked at nights.when the second batch was ready to go they used a agency as no workers wanted to do a second trip.
John
3300John:
Hiya…i think Comarts run to the Pakistan boarder with copper.It was bound for India but the permit would,nt let them through pakistan and the load was transhipped onto local lorries. i seem to have read the Ralph Davis did some work into China.with something stupid like mars bars or Kit kat.
someone will know more
John
Hi John, it was Alan Morrey and another driver who took the load of copper to India when they worked for Thor Transport from Stoke in the seventies. Alan lurkes on here sometimes under the name of Thor /Dow.
Jeff the Flying Foden knows the name of the other driver so maybe he can remind us .
Suedehead and gogzy, if you want a very interesting read have a look at the first part of Dave Mackie’s drivers stories to the Zarafshan Gold Mine, which is not too far away from the Chinese border .
bowser:
i just google mapped manchester england to the southwest corner of kazakstan and strangly it did it for me
dont know what the hell they base their info on because it says you can do it in 4 days 17 hours…
and i think i know the transport manager that would expect you to do it aswell … 5719 mls in just over 4 days what the hell ■■
Bowser, now google again to the southEAST corner of Kazakstan, to the two cities i mentioned before, you will find a hell of a difference !!
Regards Steve.
i type in error it was south east i googled not southwest … i have no idea why i typed that , its an age thing i think…
one hell of a trip i bet … i wonder how long that took. i remember as a kid my step pop doing middle east and i can just about remember him doing one pakistan and he was gone for several weeks at least thats where he told my mum he was going …
bowser:
i type in error it was south east i googled not southwest … i have no idea why i typed that , its an age thing i think…
one hell of a trip i bet … i wonder how long that took. i remember as a kid my step pop doing middle east and i can just about remember him doing one pakistan and he was gone for several weeks at least thats where he told my mum he was going …
Bowser,
whilst i too suffer from the “age thing”, i seem to recall them taking between 5 to 6 weeks for the whole trip, depending on time taken to clear customs / tip / reload etc. They had a to carry a local guide onboard for the latter part of the trip in the former USSR, something which caused many problems especially for ‘Nice Nigel’ Harness who was always a bit of a loner on his trips and always resented carrying a passenger whom he had to feed and water…
Should this not be Furthest / Most hostile and primitive… and when the trip was done.
Clearly a 15000 km trip in the 60’s early 70’s would have been a far more difficult mission than let’s say a 20,000 km trip from UK - Salalah - UK in the 80’s that was neither difficult or hostile. The furthest could end up being a case of; “mine is bigger than yours”
I sat on the ferry with a lad who worked for Peterlee.
He had two passports full of stamps of places I’ve never heard of. The reason for having two passports was that if you had a visa for one country in a pass port you may be refused entry into or a visa for another.
I never went out of Europe but it’s fascinating talking to those who did (And could prove it ).
Stupot:
I sat on the ferry with a lad who worked for Peterlee.
He had two passports full of stamps of places I’ve never heard of. The reason for having two passports was that if you had a visa for one country in a pass port you may be refused entry into or a visa for another.
I never went out of Europe but it’s fascinating talking to those who did (And could prove it ).
bit of the thread but stupot that avatar of yours I could watch it all day mate. fred m
Reg Cook did runs to Nigeria in early 80,s loaded with special cement but he did not drive back as the truck was sold out there.
The furthest i have been is Dubai, and that trip took 6 weeks round trip.
Klunk
Anyone know what happened to Reg Cook, the last time i saw him he was driving for United the turkish firm
Suedehead:
Did or did not ? a firm from the Uk do a run to Nigeria ?
Did i read it somewere . . or was it a Carlsberg export moment
Hullo Suedehead,
Yes there was one firm that I remember went out to Nigeria, Wake Brothers of Hull. They set up another company as Nigeria Transport. the road forman on the job was Norman Olsen from Hull (R.I.P), I knew him fairly well. The job never lasted very long though, as it very nearly broke them. That would have been if I remember correctly in or about 1973 /74.
Cheers. Archie.
M&C steve:
About 10 years ago a few of my customers were regular subbies for Kepstowe Freight, ( ‘Nice Nigel’ Harness, Chris Everit, Alan Johnson etc. ) and they went as far as Alma Ata and Bishkek a number of times. Look on a map and find Kazakhstan, you will then find those places in the south east corner of the country, not far from the Chinese and Mongolian borders.
Steve.
I know Nigel from a regular job I do down to Lt Tey. He does the onward deliveries for them.
Bumped into Alan at the BP in Fxt. I do the occasional job for him when he’s busy.
I seem to remember being told, Nick Whale (aka Rodders) took a truck to Vladivostok, the truck was to go on to Japan, IIRC he couldnt actualy drive the last 100kms and the truck had to go on a train.This was only back in the 90s.
Not sure on kms etc.
was krasnoyarsk in siberia, think it’s further than quetta in pakistan but not sure whether that dutch outfit who took supplies into india after the tsunami might have been further
a firm from the Uk do a run to Nigeria ?
