dieseldog999:
and then theres the option of a backload of bananas from dock number 9999999999 or similar from antwerp when you havent a clue and antwerp is built round the docks…actually the biggest shock was the price of a roll and bacon and a coffee in bolougne canteeen…
Many Friday afternoons spent loading Plantains at Antwerp and then delivering them at stupid oclock Saturday morning in the London markets,
Oh for the old days on G&S…
Conor:
Grumpy_old_trucker:
We still have the puddle jumpers running the fish at night from Larkhall to Boulogne.Not really continental experience though is it? Get off Eurotunnel, join A16 motorway, get off 30 minutes later.
Like you could hack the fishmarkets 
A.
muckles:
I regularly see UK registered UPS trucks going across into France or on the way back, and I think there is quite a bit of Air Freight moving between main hub airports across Europe.
There was a large move in that sector away from ground transport more to air and what remained went from direct UK international trunks to just swapping boxes/trailers near to the channel ports in France or Belgium which are then taken onward by foreign trunking operations.To the point where drivers working for the old Seabourne operation for example ended up running more miles here in the UK to from the UK depots and on Belgian/French changeovers.As opposed to running across the Continent as they’d done previously.Ironically I’d foreseen that change when I looked into working for Seabourne just after its UPS takeover and before the Carryfast takover and decided to stay where I was.
We used to collect Bananas out of the Belgian New Fruit wharf, that was often a day run. Over empty, load the 'nanas steam back to the port for a boat, over and tip in the london area…Long old day though 
Grumpy_old_trucker:
dieseldog999:
and then theres the option of a backload of bananas from dock number 9999999999 or similar from antwerp when you havent a clue and antwerp is built round the docks…actually the biggest shock was the price of a roll and bacon and a coffee in bolougne canteeen…Many Friday afternoons spent loading Plantains at Antwerp and then delivering them at stupid oclock Saturday morning in the London markets,
Oh for the old days on G&S…
wasnt much better elsewhere…i was with andersons for a while,run from glasgow to aberdeen areas colecting all day…back to bellshill mid evening,fill out and straight to bolougne,an hours kip then a few drops,join the queue to washout,load antwerp for next morn delivery at some poxy fruitmarket in england,load for home,then tip and do it again…and again,it was a murder inquiry if you were seen with the 3rd axle down on the trailer loaded or otherwise.them tyres cost a fortune you know!!! 
ezydriver:
biggriffin:
ezydriver:
I know a few years ago MAM transport of Northampton did some Paris trunks. I’m not sure if they still do. It might be worth a phonecall.Still do, as do Pearce, mainly tnt, ups do regularly every day.
Do you know if the MAM work is double manned?
Believe it’s solo, and you don’t keep same wagon. Also TNT at Northampton is relocating to purfleet, meant to be a super-hub.
I keep seeing some DAF 105s for The French Garden on the M25, I guess they do Rungis, don’t know what they take out though.
thornypete1:
I keep seeing some DAF 105s for The French Garden on the M25, I guess they do Rungis, don’t know what they take out though.
Could be fish, if they are not going to Rungis.
Suedehead:
thornypete1:
I keep seeing some DAF 105s for The French Garden on the M25, I guess they do Rungis, don’t know what they take out though.Could be fish, if they are not going to Rungis.
Looking at their website Rungis looks like there only destination, they’ve even built a warehouse there! I wonder if they would ever occasionally run out empty since importing food for the restaurant trade is the core of there business?
Suedehead:
thornypete1:
I keep seeing some DAF 105s for The French Garden on the M25, I guess they do Rungis, don’t know what they take out though.Could be fish, if they are not going to Rungis.
Looking at their website Rungis looks like there only destination, they’ve even built a warehouse there! I wonder if they would ever occasionally run out empty since importing food for the restaurant trade is the core of there business?
Carryfast:
muckles:
I regularly see UK registered UPS trucks going across into France or on the way back, and I think there is quite a bit of Air Freight moving between main hub airports across Europe.There was a large move in that sector away from ground transport more to air and what remained went from direct UK international trunks to just swapping boxes/trailers near to the channel ports in France or Belgium which are then taken onward by foreign trunking operations.To the point where drivers working for the old Seabourne operation for example ended up running more miles here in the UK to from the UK depots and on Belgian/French changeovers.As opposed to running across the Continent as they’d done previously.Ironically I’d foreseen that change when I looked into working for Seabourne just after its UPS takeover and before the Carryfast takover and decided to stay where I was.
Virginia do a lot of the UPS work. Tidy little job. You either run from Tamworth or Barking to Paris or Koln, drop trailer, take rest and head back up Road after with reload of parcels. Did one unusual run for them though, a trunk to Northern Spain via Portsmouth Santander. Off boat, hour to drop, tip & reload and back on same boat. Spain and back in 2 and a half days. Was very relaxing but never repeated as I think it was an experiment
switchlogic:
Virginia do a lot of the UPS work. Tidy little job. You either run from Tamworth or Barking to Paris or Koln, drop trailer, take rest and head back up Road after with reload of parcels. Did one unusual run for them though, a trunk to Northern Spain via Portsmouth Santander. Off boat, hour to drop, tip & reload and back on same boat. Spain and back in 2 and a half days. Was very relaxing but never repeated as I think it was an experiment
Subbing out of a lot of what international trunks there were was also a factor in my time too.What you’ve described regarding the Spanish job was the standard regular type of work for the old Seabourne drivers with regular trunks to Italy etc.IE an absolutely brilliant job.Which then gradually degenerated to mainly box/trailer swaps at what was then their big hub at Mechelen or just around/near Calais as I’d heard it.With their drivers by then just as likely to be found doing UK trunks among our depots as going across the Channel.While there was also talk that those of us on the UK side on drawbars would also be put on the international change overs as and when required.Which didn’t seem to happen for whatever reason anyway and which I wasn’t bothered about probably being happier running from Feltham-Luton-Dewsbury than just boring short haul cross channel shunting.