A 1956 Dennis Loline ready for despatch to the bodybuilders. Picture courtesy of Alexander Dennis website
Spardo:
Ray Smyth:
coomsey:
Stainless steel doodahs for this job, when men were menNMP off FB
0Great picture Coomsey, It looks like late 1960s or early 1970s. The " Trade Plate " on the front is from Bristol,
so I am thinking this is probably a Bristol RE bus chassis. Up until the late 1960s, most Bristol bus and coach
chassis were bodied at Eastern Coachworks at Lowestoft in Suffolk, a 255 mile journey. It must have been a
dreadful trip, particularly in winter weather. At least their return trip would have been in a complete vehicle.Ray Smyth.
Would they always have something to drive back in Ray? Or were they one of those forlorn figures on the side of the road with the plates? Did they have seat belts, I can’t see one in the picture, and defo I would have needed some goggles I reckon.
David, I imagine there was almost always a complete new bus or coach for delivery, particularly to some of the large bus fleets
like Crosville at Chester, or West Yorkshire at Leeds. They would then do a " Trade Plate Hitchhike " to Massey Bros or Northern Counties
at Wigan, hoping to get a new bus to deliver in the direction of home.
Cheers, Ray.
Spardo:
Ray Smyth:
coomsey:
Stainless steel doodahs for this job, when men were men
0Great picture Coomsey, It looks like late 1960s or early 1970s. The " Trade Plate " on the front is from Bristol,
so I am thinking this is probably a Bristol RE bus chassis. Up until the late 1960s, most Bristol bus and coach
chassis were bodied at Eastern Coachworks at Lowestoft in Suffolk, a 255 mile journey. It must have been a
dreadful trip, particularly in winter weather. At least their return trip would have been in a complete vehicle.Ray Smyth.
Would they always have something to drive back in Ray? Or were they one of those forlorn figures on the side of the road with the plates? Did they have seat belts, I can’t see one in the picture, and defo I would have needed some goggles I reckon.
Less of the forlorn( pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely) Spardo 
, late in '62 I left bus driving for car delivery and have been one of those stood by the wayside and on the main drag never a problem getting a lift and that was from some fairly remote places when delivering Forestry Commission vans. Cowley to Preston 2.30am start for a 7.00am sign off then bus out to Bamber Bridge walk to then Preston bypass and with a variety of lifts that could take all day to get home, lorry lifts were 2/6(packet of ■■■■) or a meal at a transport cafe, private cars etc were glad of the company. One journey back from Truro after a few miles in a small lorry with travelling people husband wife kids and dog in the cab, the kids were put in the back and I squeezed in with the wife and dog next a lift with an old boy in an Austin A35 heading up the A303 to London from Sidmouth, would I mind driving and giving him a break which was as far as Bullingdon Cross(A34) another lorry lift to Cowley. I had just short of a year doing that with Dealers Deliveries and what a learning curve it was, stood me in good stead for the geography of the country later on. I will add that where ever we delivered to there were calculated return travel expenses, could be quite a few bob extra in the wage packet without proof provided, the station ticket collector had it 
.
Oily
Thanks to Buzzer, coomsey and Dennis Javelin for the pics 
Shap pics jog the memory, over it a few times, got the best out of Leyland Super Comet(400s) wagon and drags we had with Eaton 2 speed easing the toil.
Oily
Couple off FB, first pic I’m told is a Carrimore demonstrator.
oiltreader:
Spardo:
Ray Smyth:
coomsey:
Stainless steel doodahs for this job, when men were men
0Great picture Coomsey, It looks like late 1960s or early 1970s. The " Trade Plate " on the front is from Bristol,
so I am thinking this is probably a Bristol RE bus chassis. Up until the late 1960s, most Bristol bus and coach
chassis were bodied at Eastern Coachworks at Lowestoft in Suffolk, a 255 mile journey. It must have been a
dreadful trip, particularly in winter weather. At least their return trip would have been in a complete vehicle.Ray Smyth.
Would they always have something to drive back in Ray? Or were they one of those forlorn figures on the side of the road with the plates? Did they have seat belts, I can’t see one in the picture, and defo I would have needed some goggles I reckon.
Less of the forlorn( pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely) Spardo
Oily
Interesting Oily like Spardo I often wondered how they went on. I always stopped for plate/log book hitchers but I was never going their way.
coomsey:
Interesting Oily like Spardo I often wondered how they went on. I always stopped for plate/log book hitchers but I was never going their way.
Yes, thanks to Oily and Ray for the info, I picked them up now and again, never went past someone with a log book or plates.
You might be interested to know that I had to park my wagon at Bordeaux for one weekend and I was instructed to wait for another of ours to bring me back to base. I was ready early and rang him in the cab and he was going to be several hours before getting to me so I decided to hitch. I wondered if it would work in France, never having tried it before, but of course knowing the solidarity of French drivers I shouldn’t have worried. Waving a disk I was picked up by the first one to come along and he took me half way. Only 5 minutes went by when I was back in a cab, and it was one of ours, heading home to base. Could hardly have done it quicker driving myself.
That was the first time I had hitched since the days before sleeper cabs, hitching home on a ‘dodgy’.
Ray Smyth:
coomsey:
Stainless steel doodahs for this job, when men were men
0Great picture Coomsey, It looks like late 1960s or early 1970s. The " Trade Plate " on the front is from Bristol,
so I am thinking this is probably a Bristol RE bus chassis. Up until the late 1960s, most Bristol bus and coach
chassis were bodied at Eastern Coachworks at Lowestoft in Suffolk, a 255 mile journey. It must have been a
dreadful trip, particularly in winter weather. At least their return trip would have been in a complete vehicle.Ray Smyth.
Definitely mid-70s Ray on account of the BL Princess parked in front of the Cortina. I agree with you suggesting an RE and I’m wondering if the photo isn’t in Bristol (Fishponds Rd maybe?).
Spardo:
coomsey:
Interesting Oily like Spardo I often wondered how they went on. I always stopped for plate/log book hitchers but I was never going their way.Yes, thanks to Oily and Ray for the info, I picked them up now and again, never went past someone with a log book or plates.
You might be interested to know that I had to park my wagon at Bordeaux for one weekend and I was instructed to wait for another of ours to bring me back to base. I was ready early and rang him in the cab and he was going to be several hours before getting to me so I decided to hitch. I wondered if it would work in France, never having tried it before, but of course knowing the solidarity of French drivers I shouldn’t have worried. Waving a disk I was picked up by the first one to come along and he took me half way. Only 5 minutes went by when I was back in a cab, and it was one of ours, heading home to base. Could hardly have done it quicker driving myself.That was the first time I had hitched since the days before sleeper cabs, hitching home on a ‘dodgy’.
I started my apprenticeship at BRS Corby this was good as I only lived a couple of miles away,then 9 months later I was transferred to the Irthlingbourgh Repair centre this meant catching the 5 30 am bus to Kettering and change to a bus heading for Rusden only trouble was if we had a holdup of 5 mins I had to wait an hour for the next Rushden bus and arrive late for work.
I went up to the Corby depot and spoke with the night shift in the garage and one of the old timers their gave me an old log book so that was it every morning end of the bypass waving my log book and usually it would be a Tarmac truck that picked me up mainly Thames Traders.If I was lucky the odd one would drop me at the repair centres front door .
Once the word got out they would be looking for me. A great bunch of blokes.
Dig
DIG:
Spardo:
coomsey:
Interesting Oily like Spardo I often wondered how they went on. I always stopped for plate/log book hitchers but I was never going their way.Yes, thanks to Oily and Ray for the info, I picked them up now and again, never went past someone with a log book or plates.
You might be interested to know that I had to park my wagon at Bordeaux for one weekend and I was instructed to wait for another of ours to bring me back to base. I was ready early and rang him in the cab and he was going to be several hours before getting to me so I decided to hitch. I wondered if it would work in France, never having tried it before, but of course knowing the solidarity of French drivers I shouldn’t have worried. Waving a disk I was picked up by the first one to come along and he took me half way. Only 5 minutes went by when I was back in a cab, and it was one of ours, heading home to base. Could hardly have done it quicker driving myself.That was the first time I had hitched since the days before sleeper cabs, hitching home on a ‘dodgy’.
I started my apprenticeship at BRS Corby this was good as I only lived a couple of miles away,then 9 months later I was transferred to the Irthlingbourgh Repair centre this meant catching the 5 30 am bus to Kettering and change to a bus heading for Rusden only trouble was if we had a holdup of 5 mins I had to wait an hour for the next Rushden bus and arrive late for work.
I went up to the Corby depot and spoke with the night shift in the garage and one of the old timers their gave me an old log book so that was it every morning end of the bypass waving my log book and usually it would be a Tarmac truck that picked me up mainly Thames Traders.If I was lucky the odd one would drop me at the repair centres front door .
Once the word got out they would be looking for me. A great bunch of blokes.Dig
where was the irthlingborough depot , next to the A6 ?
coomsey:
This ode gal would sort your bones out for you ! NMP off FB
0
Sort your head out too, if the bucket driver missed his mark.
oiltreader:
Pickfords selection.
oily
Love the greenery on the Pickford’s shot!
Spotted these two today in the middle of nowhere, Lancashire like Renault midliners on steroids.
Steve
2 May 1986
A3058
Brighton Cross
Truro
Cornwall
Eng
Brighton Cross Garage
Austin K9 4x4 recovery truck.
It reads St Austell on the cab door, if you look on Google Earth now
this is Cornwall Commercials, Brighton Cross, Truro.
I expect those that live and work there know where it is.!!
I started my apprenticeship at BRS Corby this was good as I only lived a couple of miles away,then 9 months later I was transferred to the Irthlingbourgh Repair centre this meant catching the 5 30 am bus to Kettering and change to a bus heading for Rusden only trouble was if we had a holdup of 5 mins I had to wait an hour for the next Rushden bus and arrive late for work.
I went up to the Corby depot and spoke with the night shift in the garage and one of the old timers their gave me an old log book so that was it every morning end of the bypass waving my log book and usually it would be a Tarmac truck that picked me up mainly Thames Traders.If I was lucky the odd one would drop me at the repair centres front door .
Once the word got out they would be looking for me. A great bunch of blokes.
Dig
[/quote]
where was the irthlingborough depot , next to the A6 ?
[/quote]
The Finedon end of Irthlingborough where the A6 by pass goes straight ahead just down from the junction. All town houses now I believe.
Dig
lurpak:
on maneuvres
5
4
3
2
1
0
Ade
Is that your new caravan transporter Ade? Bit of power always comes in handy
Regards Kev.