lots of memorys of gartcosh,not all of them happy ones,worked for curly cargill, remember waiting all day to get loaded then getting a check weigh, back to mill sheets off check the load re sheet and try again but a great bunch of lads to work alongside burnholme,hendersons darly lee,taits owner drivers as well as the rest just as well there was a canteen
Hi, Gartcosh I used to deliver fuel to this site with phillips petroleum. I thought is was one of the worst deliveries we had. We went on weighbridge waited for at least 20 mins.(went to office was told we will get to you) Another 10…15mins later .Go to offloading point someone will see you.50feet vertical tanks no chance of emptying hoses etc ,had to reverse pump into empty pot then back to weighbridge (20 mins later ) weighed off back to depot ,check what was on board ,put back into storage ,I have no happy memories of gartcosh.
Only loaded there once…think it was a quick load, everybody was friendly and the breakfast was
great with square sausage…what a memory 
I remember taking steel into Gartcosh (plate from Consett, angle from Jarrow) but rarely loading out of there
as the waitng was ridiculous. We had to ring in if we were’nt loading in two hours and the “Duke”
(Ken Lancaster) usually pulled us out and sent us to Dumfries for Carnation stock for our depot.
Ps. You know how to ruffle feathers Dennis!! I bet you stroke your dog from the tail foward. 
Regards kevmac47
kevmac47:
I remember taking steel into Gartcosh (plate from Consett, angle from Jarrow) but rarely loading out of there
as the waitng was ridiculous.
Were you on for Cazaly of Wideopen by any chance ?
No Robroy, I worked for Waughs Newcastle from1972 to 1984. regards kevmac47.
kevmac47:
I remember taking steel into Gartcosh (plate from Consett, angle from Jarrow) but rarely loading out of there
as the waitng was ridiculous. We had to ring in if we were’nt loading in two hours and the “Duke”
(Ken Lancaster) usually pulled us out and sent us to Dumfries for Carnation stock for our depot.
Ps. You know how to ruffle feathers Dennis!! I bet you stroke your dog from the tail foward.
Regards kevmac47
Hiya Kev, I only respond,I hope,with common sense comments! no wonder Burnholme’s CB handle was “Fawlty Towers” but in some quarters (Penrith) the shambles of their operation is now looked on with affection!! I would have strung my-self up if I’d had to tolerate the number and regularity of the breakdowns apparently suffered by Burnholme! We were fortunate at Bewick Transport to have a quality list of customers that didn’t treat you as mobile warehouses or “took the ■■■■” by making you wait hours for a load !! But I fully agree with claims about some of the rates for Steel haulage being " better than average" they needed to be if you took all the waiting time into consideration. So I would claim that in comparison to the steel industry the Paper industry that we mainly operated within was a far better enviroment for a haulier. This should set the thread “buzzing” again I should think. cheers Dennis.
Hello Dennis, talking of B/HT. I sometimes loaded big coils from Endevour Wharf at Whitby in the 80s90s… Slaters Transport did some & I think B/HT. did some too, they used to fly going over the 66, to the Metal Box at Carlisle,you smell the ferodo . Did they at some time run under a different name ? Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Hello Dennis, talking of B/HT. I sometimes loaded big coils from Endevour Wharf at Whitby in the 80s90s… Slaters Transport did some & I think B/HT. did some too, they used to fly going over the 66, to the Metal Box at Carlisle,you smell the ferodo . Did they at some time run under a different name ? Regards Larry.
Hiya Larry,I think you maybe right there,were BH/T part of ,or called themselves,The Burnholme and Forder group at one time or am I thinking of someone else? Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Hello Dennis, talking of B/HT. I sometimes loaded big coils from Endevour Wharf at Whitby in the 80s90s… Slaters Transport did some & I think B/HT. did some too, they used to fly going over the 66, to the Metal Box at Carlisle,you smell the ferodo . Did they at some time run under a different name ? Regards Larry.Hiya Larry,I think you maybe right there,were BH/T part of ,or called themselves,The Burnholme and Forder group at one time or am I thinking of someone else? Cheers Dennis.
Don’t know about another name but it was a funny old set up at Penrith!!! P.S.Gartosh was a bit of a bugger working as i did then for a scotch firm did’nt make it any better,Vic.
v7victor:
Bewick:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Hello Dennis, talking of B/HT. I sometimes loaded big coils from Endevour Wharf at Whitby in the 80s90s… Slaters Transport did some & I think B/HT. did some too, they used to fly going over the 66, to the Metal Box at Carlisle,you smell the ferodo . Did they at some time run under a different name ? Regards Larry.Hiya Larry,I think you maybe right there,were BH/T part of ,or called themselves,The Burnholme and Forder group at one time or am I thinking of someone else? Cheers Dennis.
Don’t know about another name but it was a funny old set up at Penrith!!!
Your treading on very thin ice here Vic as there is an ex BT driver in Penrith who has a very “thin skin” and dosen’t take kindly any sort of aspersions toward BT !!! I know as I got the thick end of his tongue a while ago !! Cheers Dennis.
Oops good job i don’t get up their often then Dennis.
Burnholme, Bewick they are all the same I suppose in my opinion, both no longer hauliers I am led to believe.
You must be all young fellas have,nt seen Allisons of Dundee mentioned once …when I was with them there were about 15 or more trucks contracted to them all painted in Colvilles colours . I seem to remember that in about 65/66 there were a couple of the new F86 demonstrators there too us tramping drivers used to get sent there to load often some times leaving our rigs there to be loaded for Sunday take off but most times the load s were still coming and you would,nt get away till late in the afternoon usually to Fords at Dagenham good loads once you got them but the wait !!! enough said
all happy days just the same I had a Colvilles hand me down 1418 benz which was agreat work horse before that an AEC Mandator AV 690 park royal cab also a great machine in its time except the rachet hand brake would get caught in the arse of your pants when you were dismounting the cabin
Anybody got any memories of British Steel Gartcosh in early 80s(now flattened) it was normal to go to load at say 8am, do a couple of “locals” to Grangemouth( which would take you up to about 4pm by the time they loaded you,) then back and re.load again at about 8pm, which would be for maybe Swindon or S.Wales where they expected you to be there for about 8 next day, that was ok for the big firms who trunked the loads, but a lot of owner drivers were given the same job on a take it or leave it basis,they had HP payments and mortgages so a lot of them done it, BSC knew this and turned a blind eye ,but that was 80s trucking.
Gartcosh!!. I spent some of the happiest years of my driving life parked up. facing the bays, and standing around in front of the loads office, or having a kip,for hour after hour, waiting for your load to be allocated. 
I was driving for Burnholme Transport from Penrith at that time. Our shunter Alex McX( I,ve not put his full name in coz he was/still is hopefully, a top man), would be busy swapping tyres off our trailers onto one of his mates trailers, and organising his fuel supply for his car, to get any of our trailers loaded for us 
.
Wee Alex was great crack. He used to work for Smith of Whiteinch. and he told us one story about doing a load of furniture to somewhere down South. They had arrived outside the house where they were tipping at about 2.00 am. Alex needed a crap. So, according to him, he got in the back, opened the lid of the woman,s spin dryer, and dropped his guts in there. 
That sort of stuff kept us amused, as we waited for our loads and our paperwork .
It was not unusual to arrive there after a one -hitter from the Grant,s Norfrost factory at Castletown, to then sit there until about 8/0pm getting loaded, then to end up at about 0500 the next morning sitting at PSF at Swindon waiting to tip. Before tootling up to John Summers Steel, Shotton to get loaded for your next trip North, and repeating that performance , having had your much needed rest .(4 hours if you were lucky)
Insofar as Gartcosh itself is concerned, it was a great place to spend your waiting hours, all of the staff were good crack, and all of the drivers from all the different companies generally got on well with each other. I also loved the bridies in the canteen 
They were happy, stress-free days. Or am I looking back through rose tinted glasses??
Buycrider:
Gartcosh!!. I spent some of the happiest years of my driving life parked up. facing the bays, and standing around in front of the loads office ,for hour after hour, waiting for your load to be allocated.
I was driving for Burnholme Transport from Penrith at that time. Our shunter Alex McX( I,ve not put his full name in coz he was/still is hopefully, a top man), would be busy swapping tyres off our trailers onto one of his mates trailers, and organising his fuel supply for his car, to get any of our trailers loaded for us
Wee Alex was great crack. He used to work for Smith of Whiteinch. and he told us one story about doing a load of furniture to somewhere down South. They had arrived outside the house where they were tipping at about 2.00 am. Alex needed a crap. So, according to him, he got in the back, opened the lid of the woman,s spin dryer, and dropped his guts in there.
It was not unusual to arrive there after a one -hitter from the Grant,s Norfrost factory at Castletown, to then sit there until about 8/0pm getting loaded, then to end up at about 0500 the next morning sitting at PSF at Swindon waiting to tip. Before tootling up to John Summers Steel, Shotton to get loaded for your next trip North, and repeating that performance , having had your much needed rest .(4 hours if you were lucky)
Insofar as Gartcosh itself is concerned, it was a great place to spend your waiting hours, all of the staff were good crack, and all of the drivers from all the different companies generally got on well with each other. I also loved the bridies in the canteen
They were happy, stress-free days. Or am I looking back through rose tinted glasses??
Yeh I think it is a severe case of rosy vision. I cant remember Burnholmes shunter, the only Alex I knew was Russels shunter, he told the odd tale also, was it him who maybe moved to Burnholme. Did you drive one of the old F86s that were often seen in the hard shoulder, I remember them in convoy on the A74, we used to wind them up on the CB, by asking whos turn it was to carry the spanners
robroy:
Buycrider:
Gartcosh!!. I spent some of the happiest years of my driving life parked up. facing the bays, and standing around in front of the loads office ,for hour after hour, waiting for your load to be allocated.
I was driving for Burnholme Transport from Penrith at that time. Our shunter Alex McX( I,ve not put his full name in coz he was/still is hopefully, a top man), would be busy swapping tyres off our trailers onto one of his mates trailers, and organising his fuel supply for his car, to get any of our trailers loaded for us
Wee Alex was great crack. He used to work for Smith of Whiteinch. and he told us one story about doing a load of furniture to somewhere down South. They had arrived outside the house where they were tipping at about 2.00 am. Alex needed a crap. So, according to him, he got in the back, opened the lid of the woman,s spin dryer, and dropped his guts in there.
It was not unusual to arrive there after a one -hitter from the Grant,s Norfrost factory at Castletown, to then sit there until about 8/0pm getting loaded, then to end up at about 0500 the next morning sitting at PSF at Swindon waiting to tip. Before tootling up to John Summers Steel, Shotton to get loaded for your next trip North, and repeating that performance , having had your much needed rest .(4 hours if you were lucky)
Insofar as Gartcosh itself is concerned, it was a great place to spend your waiting hours, all of the staff were good crack, and all of the drivers from all the different companies generally got on well with each other. I also loved the bridies in the canteen
They were happy, stress-free days. Or am I looking back through rose tinted glasses??Yeh I think it is a severe case of rosy vision. I cant remember Burnholmes shunter, the only Alex I knew was Russels shunter, he told the odd tale also, was it him who maybe moved to Burnholme. Did you drive one of the old F86s that were often seen in the hard shoulder, I remember them in convoy on the A74, we used to wind them up on the CB, by asking whos turn it was to carry the spanners
Sounds like Gartcosh was a nightmare from a hauliers point of view! I can understand using a shunter but to have a taxed/tested road-going motor and driver stood all day waiting —no chance! I have an old pal in Shap Daryll Lee who was a Gartcosh haulier and he seemed to have the job well sussed if my memory serves me right from over 30 years ago as he had access to a number of casual drivers who had other jobs but were happy to do change-overs and shunts for him.I know that Burnholms nickname was "Fawlty Towers " now I realise why ! Gartcosh to Swindon and then back M/T to Shotton (not counting waiting time)I know BSC rates were “not the best” but come on this must be S**t traffic at its worst surely!!Probably when one of the old 86s broke down the driver went and got him-self a branch out the bushes and give it a good beating then got back in and carried on!!! Bewick.
Now then Mr, MacGregor, ( it,s gorra be that with your handle) The memories are getting rosier by the minute, How I loved my F86 with the 9inch wide scaffolding board hanging off the back of the cab on which I used to kip.as i waited for Alec to get me on the bay, to get loaded. I was 11 stone in those days, and fitted on it a treat (lying sideways). The one thing about the time spent on the hard-shoulder, was that it built up the sort of camaraderie amongst that lads, that you do not see so much of today,helping each other overcome all the various breakdowns. Whenever we meet each other even now, 30+ years later we still have a good laugh about all the trials and tribulations that we overcame. Like I said about all the other companies who loaded out of Gartcosh, everyone got on well with each other. We even got on well with those who used to take the mickey on the CB.(Usually Russell of Grangemouth), when we were square-wheeled on the various motorway hard shoulders. We were on first name terms with all of our tormentors.So our feelings were not really hurt. 
I,ll be sending you a pm with Wee Alec,s surname
Buycrider:
Now then Mr, MacGregor, ( it,s gorra be that with your handle)
I,ll be sending you a pm with Wee Alec,s surname
Hiya Buycrider was Burnholm the worst haulier to work for round Penrith in the 60s/70s &80s because as per your description with all the breakdowns ect. it sounds like one of those outfits where you got a start as a novice on the way to better things or you were on the way down and a decent outfit would’nt touch you with a barge poll. I remember one “Burnholm” incident as a lad growing up in Kendal in the ealy 60s when one of Burnholms Guy Invincibles was stopped in Longpool by the Station with its load propped on lampost and the driver refusing to move as the bobby was waiting to book him for an insecure load if he he did!! Bewick.