oiltreader:
Retired in Malta, with thanks to hamster!.
Oily
My new employer from January will be very happy to see that.
Retired Old ā ā ā ā :
Muckaway- getting my passport renewed for the annual three-week stay in Fairford. Apparently I did such a good job of child minding last year that Iāve been invited to do it all over again this yuletide. I was fascinated by the posts earlier about the Fairford railway station so Iāll be trying to find the site of it while Iām there. Presumably it will be somewhere near the Railway pub?
Iāll be hanging around the Bull waiting for contributions to the retired lorry driversā whiskey fund.
The station site is just before Fairford on the A417. Just past the Shell garage near the water park. Itās a small industrial estate now but the railwaymens cottages are still there.
If you walk down āCinder Laneā (clue in the name!) past the football field you come to the opposite end of the station industrial estate. The overgrown area at the end was the engine shed and turntable.
Thanks, matey. If only Iād known, I used to park the trailer in the industrial estate when having a night out at the sprogās- parked the unit outside the fire station gates! The Bloke-she-married worked at the concrete casting works for a time.
Love those old films. I have a photo of the last train to visit my local station, but the computer isnāt allowing me to import media at the moment (must be female!).
I think the precast works are closed now.
Yes, they gave up the ghost quite a while ago, I believe.
Retired Old ā ā ā ā :
Just to add a bit of background to Daveās informative history, The two directors of Invacar , Bert Greeves and Derry Preston-Cobb were also the directors of Greeves Motorcycles, of Thundersley, Essex. Most of us will remember Greeves as very successful trials & scrambling bikes but they also achieved fame as road racers and a great deal of road machines were also built, using various Villiers engines. Derryās first threewheeler, built on the Greeves production line before the word āInvacarā was thought of, became extensively modified by Derry & the mechanics in the works in the quest for more speed. Apparently it was a regular occurrence for Greeves to receive a telephone call from a passer-by reporting that Derry had tipped the beast into a ditch & would Bert please send a van and two men out to rescue him.
The last Invacars were painted in the same shade of light blue as Wallās Ice Cream lorries- it came to be known as āMinistry Blueā and in the latter days they were fitted with Hillman Imp front wheels in an attempt to make them a bit more stable. They were a bit of a handful to drive- if you can imagine a half-length Reliant Robin with all the controls grouped around tiller steering you will have some idea!
As Dave comments, they were a life saver for many disabled people before the Motability scheme, but were eventually done for when they couldnāt pass the MOT test due to the stability issues, lack of braking and emissions that were way outside the testing machineās parameters. The government withdrew them from service, with only a handful saved by collectors and museums. All the rest were compulsorily scrapped.
Hi Casey,
I had a Greeves 325 two stroke twin motorbike in the early 60ās. I could do a wheelie with it, as it had trials handlbars on it. It would go like hell for its size, but was the heaviest thing Iāve owned on fuel. I nearly changed it for a Matchless 650, but bought a Austin A35 van instead, as I had passed the car test at 17.
I was a nutter on that Greeves riding it to work and back.
When I had my accident in the 70ās, several old patients from the spinal injuries unit at Gobowen had Invacars, and a mate of mine from Kington who was in hospital with me was supplied with one.
Cheers Dave.
Thanks for that, Dave. I never owned a Greeves, although my paraplegic mate, George has A Greeves Silverstone which he persuades other riders to race for him. He also has a Manx GP-winning Aermacchi which he keeps highly polished in his bedroom!
Given the handling characteristics of the Invacar, Iām surprised many of them made it to Gobowen without turning turtle. I could never get the hang of them but I was probably expecting too much! 
adr:
Hi Steve, Bennettās had a very mixed fleet too, but a lot of British in Sed-Atkiās, Leyland Buffaloās with Sleepers!!!, donāt remember them having any Marathonās but they did run quite a few T45 Roadtrains, ran some early F88s & a few Fodenās too. Quite a plain paint job really but smart, their flats/rope & sheet always looked good. We used to take Unipart spares etc out to them from 733 Warehouse, (wish I had a Ā£ for every hour I spent up there learning how to load trailers, sweeping off trailer beds, shunting trailers in/out the with Pete Crumpās old 500 Buffalo shunter, & the most important job any apprentice has to learn, MAKING THE TEA!) Regards Chris
Hi. I was the only one with Leyland Marathons. I had 1 on for Bennetts the blue one, and 1 on for Interoute the red one Roy Barrett was T.M. for Bennetts and I use to answer to Deby Chown on Interoute. This was the early 80s. I then went on to European and eastern bloc work. built up to 7 trucks and finally retired 3 years ago.
Big Ben:
adr:
Hi Steve, Bennettās had a very mixed fleet too, but a lot of British in Sed-Atkiās, Leyland Buffaloās with Sleepers!!!, donāt remember them having any Marathonās but they did run quite a few T45 Roadtrains, ran some early F88s & a few Fodenās too. Quite a plain paint job really but smart, their flats/rope & sheet always looked good. We used to take Unipart spares etc out to them from 733 Warehouse, (wish I had a Ā£ for every hour I spent up there learning how to load trailers, sweeping off trailer beds, shunting trailers in/out the with Pete Crumpās old 500 Buffalo shunter, & the most important job any apprentice has to learn, MAKING THE TEA!) Regards ChrisHi. I was the only one with Leyland Marathons. I had 1 on for Bennetts the blue one, and 1 on for Interoute the red one Roy Barrett was T.M. for Bennetts and I use to answer to Deby Chown on Interoute. This was the early 80s. I then went on to European and eastern bloc work. built up to 7 trucks and finally retired 3 years ago.
Hi Big Ben, canāt place your Marathonās at moā although I must have seen them about, have you got any picās of them? Regards Chris
adr:
Big Ben:
adr:
Hi Steve, Bennettās had a very mixed fleet too, but a lot of British in Sed-Atkiās, Leyland Buffaloās with Sleepers!!!, donāt remember them having any Marathonās but they did run quite a few T45 Roadtrains, ran some early F88s & a few Fodenās too. Quite a plain paint job really but smart, their flats/rope & sheet always looked good. We used to take Unipart spares etc out to them from 733 Warehouse, (wish I had a Ā£ for every hour I spent up there learning how to load trailers, sweeping off trailer beds, shunting trailers in/out the with Pete Crumpās old 500 Buffalo shunter, & the most important job any apprentice has to learn, MAKING THE TEA!) Regards ChrisHi. I was the only one with Leyland Marathons. I had 1 on for Bennetts the blue one, and 1 on for Interoute the red one Roy Barrett was T.M. for Bennetts and I use to answer to Deby Chown on Interoute. This was the early 80s. I then went on to European and eastern bloc work. built up to 7 trucks and finally retired 3 years ago.
Hi Big Ben, canāt place your Marathonās at moā although I must have seen them about, have you got any picās of them? Regards Chris
Hi Chrisā¦ It was 1982 to 1984. Mike Verran was the contracts manager then, he went on to Satchells, now owns Verran Freight as you probably know. He was my best man at my wedding in North Devon but I now live in Kent. I donāt have any photos of any of them lost with all the moving ive done over the years. My yard used to be in Wessex Road Bourne End. The blue marathon was FSG 680X but I cant remember the number of the red marathon. Regards Ben
Anybody know Kevin 
at Plymouth thanks to Graham Richardson.
Oily
Did Timbmet have names on all their units??
Mine has 2 holes in the front grill above the model badge, so maybe that had a name plate on it once upon a time?
Toddy2:
Did Timbmet have names on all their units??Mine has 2 holes in the front grill above the model badge, so maybe that had a name plate on it once upon a time?
All drvers names are on the side of cab,if you look closely you can see it above the front wheel.I think that is Kevin Osbourne.
MG Race Transporter from Abingdon, in the pits at Le Mans in 1955.
Another of same, wouldnāt have minded a job driving that old girl around the race-tracks of Europe, at least youād see some proper racing from proper racing-cars 
adr:
MG Race Transporter from Abingdon, in the pits at Le Mans in 1955.
google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ā¦ dHgCFDtBTg
The tragic yearā¦
The only Daf 8wheeler without Hiab on the fleet and due for replacement in January. Based at Shipton Quarry
Muckaway:
0
The only Daf 8wheeler without Hiab on the fleet and due for replacement in January. Based at Shipton Quarry
An 8 wheel tipper AND a Hiab Nathan ! 
That sounds like a bit too much āgearā for you me thinks ! How many āticketsā have you got? Probably have to let Callum use the Hiab eh!.Anyway I will wish you and the Family a very noisey Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Cheers Dennis.