hi there,has anyone got any photos of legendary haulier smith of maddiston?,id also like any in formation about smiths,depots traffic fleet,however small as im collecting information about them thanks
I worked for Smith’s out of Southampton depot in the late '60’s / '70’s.
Loads of anecdotes and a few pictures ( PM me if your interested )
BUT also, see this site, run by Brian Edgar in Scotland. EXCELLENT , and a whole bunch of pictures ref Smith’s. Go to Edinburgh and the Lothians, then General Haulage, then scroll down to Smith of Maddiston
Midnight Scot, I sent you a pm. I then realised that Fergie47 had provided you with all the detail that you needed. You will find that Brian Edgar,s site is the TOP truck info/ picture site on the web.Brian is also very helpful. ( although he is a very busy guy). Good luck with your searching about S of M
Could have been yours Fergie47. Parked on Bursledon Road, Bitterne Southampton regular enough!
This Atkinson tractor was exhibited at the 1964 Earls Court Commercial Motor Show…
Fergie47:
I worked for Smith’s out of Southampton depot in the late '60’s / '70’s.
Loads of anecdotes and a few pictures ( PM me if your interested )BUT also, see this site, run by Brian Edgar in Scotland. EXCELLENT , and a whole bunch of pictures ref Smith’s. Go to Edinburgh and the Lothians, then General Haulage, then scroll down to Smith of Maddiston
Thanks Fergie
240Gardner:
This Atkinson tractor was exhibited at the 1964 Earls Court Commercial Motor Show…
Unusual to see that kind of front end design on anything other than Munro’s of Aberdeen - or is that just my faulty memory? 
Notice the Mk 1. beyond it is the earlier version with the single heads, and what about the bonnetted one in the background, would have loved one of those just to get that noisy great lump out of the cab. 
Spardo:
240Gardner:
This Atkinson tractor was exhibited at the 1964 Earls Court Commercial Motor Show…Unusual to see that kind of front end design on anything other than Munro’s of Aberdeen - or is that just my faulty memory?
Notice the Mk 1. beyond it is the earlier version with the single heads, and what about the bonnetted one in the background, would have loved one of those just to get that noisy great lump out of the cab.
You’re right David, Munro did run some and there were others about with the concealed radiator, although it wasn’t popular with operators. Beecham Foods had some, and I do have photos of odd ones from various operators.
The exposed rad won through by popular demand and, of course, twin headlights became standard too.
The “semi-bonneted” tractor ws one of a handful built for Pickfords as Scammell Highwayman equivalents, on both 4 and 6 wheel form. A handful of them have survived into preservation after a life on the fairgrounds. I haven’t checked the fleet number on the Show vehicle to see if it’s one of them.
Never noticed it before, but was that a shuttered radiater cover? If so would it have been controlled by a thermostat? I remember some of the Macks and other Yank trucks too had that system.
They do look like Kysor radiator shutters, don’t they?
Didnt they have them on Scammel Crusaders as well?
They were fitted to plenty of different makes back then. Kysor listed them in their trade ads I think.
marky:
They were fitted to plenty of different makes back then. Kysor listed them in their trade ads I think.
N.I.T. had a policy of fitting them - JRN 38H still has one
gazzer:
Could have been yours Fergie47. Parked on Bursledon Road, Bitterne Southampton regular enough!
Gazzer
Thanks for the pic ! I was well before the " R " reg time , about '68 to’71.
I’m guessing by the location that it would be a driver called George Mitchell, who lived in that area. I actually got him a job on Smiths, having given him a lift once when he was driving for Dukes Mills at Bishops Waltham, told him how much we we’re earning compared to Dukes, and he started with Smiths a couple of weeks later. He was I think the very last man to work for them, even to the point that there were no others, and no office, just him, running ISR out of Hythe and using Bulwarks depot at Totton.
Fergie47
Hi Dave, i,m pretty sure you,re right, that would have been George the shunter.
Always smoked cigars and always took pride in his roping an sheeting.
As for the wages Dave, i think it was £30 odd basic when i started with them rising to that magic £1 an hour which most of Soton went on strike for,but which we working for Scottish company got first. Happy days.
In case anyone is interested, B.E.T. owned Smiths and many tanker firms all over UK, bulwalks was one of them, they ran the contract with Carlsberg, then later they formed a company with Carlesberg called Copenhagen transport. I purchased shares from B.E.T., and made money, then later got the maximum amount, and before I had paid for them, Rentakill made a offer and took over. A few years later I sold my shares, it was lucky I did, they nose dived. We used to fill up at Glasgow, the chap who used to repair tauntliners& sheets, was a nice bloke, one time he gave me a section of a tauntliner sheet, I made a fish pond with it. Then later they stopped us having nights out,and some of the scottish drivers came on to our firm, and done night trunking to near Preston,and we used to run up from Northampton and do a change over with 5 drivers, one of them had a place in a box at Rangers, I knew their names, but my memory is fading, but after 5years they was made redundant.
That would be Jack in the sheet store. The boss, Wullie McGuinness, always came into work early and walked round the yard. It snowed heavy one night and the Boss wondered why the roof above the sheet store had no snow on it while it was piled up at each end. The answer was Jack always left the heater on, it was as hot as Florida in there. It was also as hot as the water Jack was in when he came into work!
Alex.
Heres a few Smith’s from the Alloa depot, given to me by Frank Love who used to work for SOM in the office
Brian
alexsaville:
That would be Jack in the sheet store. The boss, Wullie McGuinness, always came into work early and walked round the yard. It snowed heavy one night and the Boss wondered why the roof above the sheet store had no snow on it while it was piled up at each end. The answer was Jack always left the heater on, it was as hot as Florida in there. It was also as hot as the water Jack was in when he came into work!
Alex.
By god you are dead correct, it was Jack, I can picture him now, with his tweed flat cap, and a moustache,and he did not like to be cold, I always got on like a house on fire with him, I always told him to fetch a bucket, and have the dregs of special brew out of my tank, after delivering to to the pop firm just down the road from the cross. So you can see he would ask me if there was anything I wanted, because he would have at least 2 bucket full. Sandman Norman
Jack’s yir man, right enough!
I’d guess you were tipping at Dunne & Moore just past Bridgeton Cross. I used to go in there with tanks of Guinness or Harp Lager when I was with BRS.
We used to go in a narrow lane in Arcadia St, just off London Road, next to Glasgow Green. If I remember right we drove in, blind side reverse to tip, pull round to the left again and reverse out.
Were you with Bulwark, Norman?
Alex