Wotcher Mr.Smith. With regards to your comments about Burnholme Transport, I would suggest that you contact your old mate Daryll Lee, and put the same question ,( about being on the way up or on the way down),to him. He drove for them at some point in his early career. I also drove for Darryll for 6 years at DK & JA Lee of Shap. Following which I spent the final 15 years of my driving career with Yours, and TNUK,s favorite haulier ESL. 
With regard to my personal abilities as an HGV Driver , and in answer to your â
(
Bewick:
got a start as a novice on the way to better things or you were on the way down and a decent outfit wouldânt touch you with a barge poll.-- I assume that you meant pole 
]â
In the 57 years since I first kicked off punting around Malaya,(Where I was on active service for 3 and a half of the 5 years that I spent in the service of my country), driving Bedford QL 3 Tonners /LandRovers/Jeeps/Daimler Scout cars /and other assorted Military Vehicles, and up to date, I have never had a stamp on my cards, or have ever been charged with any Road Traffic Act violations.
I did not spend the whole of my 49 years, 4 months,and 1 day working life in the road haulage industry: Having for various reasons spent about 16 years in other employments. Steam Engine FiremanâSoldierâShipyard worker. While you were a lad in Kendal in the 1960s, I was helping to build Nuclear Submarines at Cammell Laird of Birkenhead.
I have submitted myself to the Drivers HGV Medical every year since being required to do so. Passing, once again, with flying colours last August. Thereby allowing me to still hold my Class1 license. Not bad for a 75 year old. 
I got the feeling, as I read your post that I was being given the Bewick " put an upstart in his place" treatment.
My final response to your post is this. If I needed to choose to work for Burnholme Transport of Penrith, or Bewick Transport of Kendal/Milnthorpe, having read much of what you post on this site, I would choose Burnholme every time. I say that with all due respect of course. Bearing in mind that neither of us know each other.
If another of your old mates, the late Gordon Furness was still alive, he would tell you that I am always prepared to stand up for myself ,if I get the feeling that anyone is âhaving a little digâ. That is my last comment on your post, and on this thread. Buenos Noces.
As a one time steel haulier, I think I had better point out that unusually Mr Smith is somewhat wide of the mark with his comments on BSC rates.
Each works ran as a separate business, with its own ways, rates and hauliers, there was no such thing as a BSC haulier, I seem to remember that the maximum number of works in which you could be a prime haulier was three, any others you went in at âtraffic centreâ rates i.e about 2/3s, or set up a reciprocal subbing arrangement with somebody else. Some works, Lackenby (Redcar) for instance was generally a straight in and out load, but it was low value steel so the rates were pretty average, unless you were on the long stuff. Now if you were working out of a works which produced high value motor body or plastic coated such as Gartcosh or Shotton, the rates were in a different league, but both places could and would, leave you sitting there all day, and at Shotton there wasnât really the option of shunting. Even so some Shotton hauliers never dreamt of backloading from anywhere! Pembroke Dock, Chrysler Linwood, Ford Dagenham, just tip, re-sheet the empty coiler and straight back.
Just to show the point, when I started with powder tanks, the rate for PVC from EVC Runcorn to Newton Aycliffe with a 55m3 tipping tank was ÂŁ70 less than for a slide-a-flex coiler from Shotton to Newton Aycliffe. Inevitably though after de-nationalisation it was downhill all the way.
Buycrider:
Wotcher Mr.Smith. With regards to your comments about Burnholme Transport, I would suggest that you contact your old mate Daryll Lee, and put the same question ,( about being on the way up or on the way down),to him. He drove for them at some point in his early career. I also drove for Darryll for 6 years at DK & JA Lee of Shap. Following which I spent the final 15 years of my driving career with Yours, and TNUK,s favorite haulier ESL.
With regard to my personal abilities as an HGV Driver , and in answer to your â
(
Bewick:
got a start as a novice on the way to better things or you were on the way down and a decent outfit wouldânt touch you with a barge poll.-- I assume that you meant pole ]â
In the 57 years since I first kicked off punting around Malaya,(Where I was on active service for 3 and a half of the 5 years that I spent in the service of my country), driving Bedford QL 3 Tonners /LandRovers/Jeeps/Daimler Scout cars /and other assorted Military Vehicles, and up to date, I have never had a stamp on my cards, or have ever been charged with any Road Traffic Act violations.
I did not spend the whole of my 49 years, 4 months,and 1 day working life in the road haulage industry: Having for various reasons spent about 16 years in other employments. Steam Engine FiremanâSoldierâShipyard worker. While you were a lad in Kendal in the 1960s, I was helping to build Nuclear Submarines at Cammell Laird of Birkenhead.
I have submitted myself to the Drivers HGV Medical every year since being required to do so. Passing, once again, with flying colours last August. Thereby allowing me to still hold my Class1 license. Not bad for a 75 year old.
I got the feeling, as I read your post that I was being given the Bewick " put an upstart in his place" treatment.
My final response to your post is this. If I needed to choose to work for Burnholme Transport of Penrith, or Bewick Transport of Kendal/Milnthorpe, having read much of what you post on this site, I would choose Burnholme every time. I say that with all due respect of course. Bearing in mind that neither of us know each other.
If another of your old mates, the late Gordon Furness was still alive, he would tell you that I am always prepared to stand up for myself ,if I get the feeling that anyone is âhaving a little digâ. That is my last comment on your post, and on this thread. Buenos Noces.
At least I got a good response Buycrider! however my remarks were based purely on what I read about âstanding waiting for hoursâ and Burnholm motors breaking down all over the place and being the â â â â of jokes with their fellow hauliers!! What conclusion do you expect a former haulier to have reading statements like that? Bewick vehicles never broke down all over the motorway network and we never operated for customers who inflicted lengthy waiting times on us either! And as for a choice of driving for either Burnholm or Bewick well thats your choice but on the other side of the coin Bewick may have declined to offer you a job anyway so it would have meant carrying on on the F86! I know we havenât met but I trust we can have a meaningful discussion about by-gone times without falling out.Regards Bewick.
acd1202:
As a one time steel haulier, I think I had better point out that unusually Mr Smith is somewhat wide of the mark with his comments on BSC rates.
Each works ran as a separate business, with its own ways, rates and hauliers, there was no such thing as a BSC haulier, I seem to remember that the maximum number of works in which you could be a prime haulier was three, any others you went in at âtraffic centreâ rates i.e about 2/3s, or set up a reciprocal subbing arrangement with somebody else. Some works, Lackenby (Redcar) for instance was generally a straight in and out load, but it was low value steel so the rates were pretty average, unless you were on the long stuff. Now if you were working out of a works which produced high value motor body or plastic coated such as Gartcosh or Shotton, the rates were in a different league, but both places could and would, leave you sitting there all day, and at Shotton there wasnât really the option of shunting. Even so some Shotton hauliers never dreamt of backloading from anywhere! Pembroke Dock, Chrysler Linwood, Ford Dagenham, just tip, re-sheet the empty coiler and straight back.
Just to show the point, when I started with powder tanks, the rate for PVC from EVC Runcorn to Newton Aycliffe with a 55m3 tipping tank was ÂŁ70 less than for a slide-a-flex coiler from Shotton to Newton Aycliffe. Inevitably though after de-nationalisation it was downhill all the way.
Hiya acd1202 I am not at all claiming to be familiar with BSC rates I was just taking the facts as stated and passing fair comment as I saw it ,obviously it was a sore point in some quarters but "breaking down "all over the country and being a joke to your fellow hauliers would niether be funny or a joke to me!And as for standing all day waiting to load and then being expected to be on the âdoorstepâ next morning is totally out of order!! they used to operate like that off Heysham harbour with the fruit and tattie boats when Heysham Transport would ring and promise that what they were offering was legal ! They conned us a couple of times and the third time the answer was Foxtrot Oscar!You mentioned the differential on the rate to Newton Aycliffe was ÂŁ70 but what were the full charges for each job and what year are we talking about?At least I stimulated a short sharp debate on Steel haulage!!! Regards Bewick.