Sadly,in the late 60’s/early 70’s it was still accepted that if you had to load from the docks then you wrote the day off whether loading a full load or collecting part consignments from various sheds. If you were delivering exports to Union Castle at 104 Berth then 3 or 4 day delays were not unusual.
The advent of 201 Berth revolutionised the transport industry. It was possible |(sometimes ) to be in & out loaded in 30 minutes. As container traffic grew,the local haulage industry quickly evolved. Though many hauliers had just invested in new equipment to embrace legislation changes ( 24T G on 4 in line trailers,28’ & 33’ tandem axle trailers etc) they didn’t hesitate to invest again in PSK’s or hire from the many new rental companys.
The Docks Board vision for a common user terminal quickly proved to be a success,hence the need for additional berths.When it worked,it worked well.When it didn’t,it was the haulier that suffered. Long queues would build up of vehicles waiting to enter 201,the queue often stretching back beyond the dry dock & into West Bay Rd (later similar situations occurred at 204/5 Berth with vehicle queues sometimes stretching back via Dock gate 20 to Millbrook roundabout.)
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Shipping Lines often spot hired vehicles for shunting containers from the various storage locations Dart Compound/Repcon/Containercare/Sykes & Trimmer etc. It wasn’t unusual spending a whole day in the vehicle queue to offload a box
roolechat:
0
Great pictures of containers and their handling,I took numerous Seatrain containers to both Greenock and Felixstowe from Manchester.
IIRC wasnt the management of Seatrain involved with using their containers as a way of “exporting drugs”?,I feel sure I read something along those lines.
I recall dropping a loaded Seatrain container at Greenock,picking up an empty and back to Glasgow for digs.
In the morning I checked oil and water in the Atkinson,but I didn’t check the screw down container pins on the trailer,this resulted in the box(after some Scottish scroat disengaged all 4 pins) coming off at a T junction on my way home!..very embarrassing!
Lesson learned,never happened again!
David
The intransigence of the stevedore was inherent throughout the port & IMHO no different at 201/2 berth (& later arguably at 204/205)
Whether it was stopping for tea/meeting/shift changeover or for no apparent reason,there was always a reason why something couldn’t be done.In the early days of containerisation,the container depot, which received exports & devanned imports, was located behind AC Delco in West Bay Rd.Getting a container moved from the berth to the depot was never easy & took an eternity. It was expensive & slow. Speed became a determining factor & the delays,lack of information, restrictive working hours & costs led customers to vote with their feet & start using facilities outside the port whether hauliers own or ICD’s like Chobham Farm in East London.
Hence the argument between dockers & drivers as to who should handle stuffing & devanning of containers.A local dispute which quickly escalated to all other NDLB ports & led to a national dock strike & picketing/blacking of various facilities & companys
Under the NDLB Scheme,the stevedore had a guaranteed job for life (even when there was no work) but he still wanted control over what he considered to be port related activity undertaken outside the port
It was certainly a period of great change.
5thwheel:
roolechat:
0Great pictures of containers and their handling,I took numerous Seatrain containers to both Greenock and Felixstowe from Manchester.
IIRC wasnt the management of Seatrain involved with using their containers as a way of “exporting drugs”?,I feel sure I read something along those lines.
I recall dropping a loaded Seatrain container at Greenock,picking up an empty and back to Glasgow for digs.
In the morning I checked oil and water in the Atkinson,but I didn’t check the screw down container pins on the trailer,this resulted in the box(after some Scottish scroat disengaged all 4 pins) coming off at a T junction on my way home!..very embarrassing!Lesson learned,never happened again!
David
“5thwheel” as you say make all the checks in the morning before setting off and as your alias states that was one of the first things to check so as a precaution I used to put a padlock on the 5th wheel knife instead of a clip, also on many trips abroad it was not uncommon to lose your light lenses so always carried a couple spare sets.
As for the militant dockers I have experienced that first hand when loading fruit out of Southampton docks, for a start there were usually only half the amount of dockers actually there as they used to run a half go home and half stay system, every one knew what was going on but nought was said else the lot would walk out but that is how it was back in the day, I found the best time to load fruit was after lunch as the dockers would always say to the checkers how many we got to load and then say is it job and knock and you should see them shift there butts then, Cheers Buzzer.
Buzzer:
5thwheel:
roolechat:
0Great pictures of containers and their handling,I took numerous Seatrain containers to both Greenock and Felixstowe from Manchester.
IIRC wasnt the management of Seatrain involved with using their containers as a way of “exporting drugs”?,I feel sure I read something along those lines.
I recall dropping a loaded Seatrain container at Greenock,picking up an empty and back to Glasgow for digs.
In the morning I checked oil and water in the Atkinson,but I didn’t check the screw down container pins on the trailer,this resulted in the box(after some Scottish scroat disengaged all 4 pins) coming off at a T junction on my way home!..very embarrassing!Lesson learned,never happened again!
David
“5thwheel” as you say make all the checks in the morning before setting off and as your alias states that was one of the first things to check so as a precaution I used to put a padlock on the 5th wheel knife instead of a clip, also on many trips abroad it was not uncommon to lose your light lenses so always carried a couple spare sets.
As for the militant dockers I have experienced that first hand when loading fruit out of Southampton docks, for a start there were usually only half the amount of dockers actually there as they used to run a half go home and half stay system, every one knew what was going on but nought was said else the lot would walk out but that is how it was back in the day, I found the best time to load fruit was after lunch as the dockers would always say to the checkers how many we got to load and then say is it job and knock and you should see them shift there butts then, Cheers Buzzer.
Of course you are right Buzzer,IIRC I had overslept,dressed and rushed out of the digs,no breakfast or even cup of tea,a quick “walk around” that for some strange reason did not include the 4 screwed pins,I remember the door being open or at least unlatched (empty)so closed and relatched it,but didn’t check the 4 trailer corners!
David
A large US adding machine manufacturer shipped large quantities from it’s plant in Dumbarton to the US via the SML service from So’ton which meant each day running an empty from So’ton to Dumbarton & collecting a loaded cont for return to So’ton. Happy days for those drivers with “creative” log books !!
[/quote]
Just read this post, “Creative” log books and I would add == “INSOMNIA”. Think the fruit company from Portsmouth had the record for that, more blue log books in the cab than A-to-Z’s Harvey
roolechat:
Shipping Lines often spot hired vehicles for shunting containers from the various storage locations Dart Compound/Repcon/Containercare/Sykes & Trimmer etc. It wasn’t unusual spending a whole day in the vehicle queue to offload a box
Morning “roolechat”,
Great to see the old Graving dock with the door shut, happy memories, Had a picture once my father took of a cargo ship with a large hole in its side (Torpedo hit) that toppled over when the water was pumped out.
They had loads of props but it was unbalanced due to the damage. you have some great photographs, thanks. Harvey
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? Buzzer
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? Buzzer
Hi Buzzer its western esplande the railway line is behind the wall the old brick building is where Toys R US is .If he went straight on he would pass
the cable works swimming baths down towards the pier
Regards Kev
KNS64:
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? BuzzerHi Buzzer its western esplande the railway line is behind the wall the old brick building is where Toys R US is .If he went straight on he would pass
the cable works swimming baths down towards the pier
Regards Kev
OR, Kev, he is about to pass the old Lido. now that brings back some memories, cheers. Harvey.
PS: Bit further down on his left is what we called the 40 steps, “remember”.
my mother, long gone, told me about a young soldier who in an air raid at night jumped over the wall for protection and broke both legs not realising it was a 20 foot drop the other side, mum and a friend cared for him till help arrived. I often wondered if that could have saved his life as he would have missed D day.
KNS64:
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? BuzzerHi Buzzer its western esplande the railway line is behind the wall the old brick building is where Toys R US is .If he went straight on he would pass
the cable works swimming baths down towards the pier
Regards Kev
Yes,that’s correct,the Atkinson is turning south into Western Esplanade.The photograph was taken at the bottom of the Civic centre Hill,with Nelson Gate & Central Station top right & the old Soton Power Staion on left. It closed & was demolished in 1977. The marks on the body of the 1974 Wiltshire registered Atkinson suggest it’s more suited to coal or scrap.
HRS:
KNS64:
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? BuzzerHi Buzzer its western esplande the railway line is behind the wall the old brick building is where Toys R US is .If he went straight on he would pass
the cable works swimming baths down towards the pier
Regards KevOR, Kev, he is about to pass the old Lido. now that brings back some memories, cheers. Harvey.
PS: Bit further down on his left is what we called the 40 steps, “remember”.
my mother, long gone, told me about a young soldier who in an air raid at night jumped over the wall for protection and broke both legs not realising it was a 20 foot drop the other side, mum and a friend cared for him till help arrived. I often wondered if that could have saved his life as he would have missed D day.
It’s slightly more than 20ft !
I was told the stairway was the 39 Steps referencing the John Buchan novel and Hitchcock film.
Long time since I was there, and never actually counted them! [emoji3]
The coalyard near Mount Pleasant crossing Radcliff Rd was the Co-Op Society yard.
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? Buzzer
Thanks for all the input about where the Atki pic was taken.
However i thought it was Britannia Road i was thinking off where Saints now have there football club. As a kid i can
remember being parked in a que along that road with loads of other bulkers. Almost certain we were loaded with grain
but for the life of me i cant remember where we delivered it. Was there a grain silo ,storage warehouse there can anyone
remember ■■ 
Would have been around 1977/78 ish.
DEANB:
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? BuzzerThanks for all the input about where the Atki pic was taken.
However i thought it was Britannia Road i was thinking off where Saints now have there football club. As a kid i can
remember being parked in a que along that road with loads of other bulkers. Almost certain we were loaded with grain
but for the life of me i cant remember where we delivered it. Was there a grain silo ,storage warehouse there can anyone
remember ■■1
0
Could it have been Dibles Wharf ■■
DEANB:
Buzzer:
Roolechat or any one else, this picture was posted on Paul Gee’s thread and Dean reckons it is in Southampton, can anyone confirm this as to me it looks familiar, there was a coal yard by Mount Pleasant rail crossing so that’s why I am thinking it was near there, don’t think it is a grain truck but Dean thinks it is, any one know the road junction ? BuzzerThanks for all the input about where the Atki pic was taken.
However i thought it was Britannia Road i was thinking off where Saints now have there football club. As a kid i can
remember being parked in a que along that road with loads of other bulkers. Almost certain we were loaded with grain
but for the life of me i cant remember where we delivered it. Was there a grain silo ,storage warehouse there can anyone
remember ■■
Hi DEANB `This is a picture of the railway station you can see the tower block on the right and western esplande on the left
Regards Kev