Ray Smyth:
Looking north on the A74, when it was still the A74. The ERF looks like it could
be Albright & Wilson from Whitehaven, and the train is heading south to London.
Ray Smyth.
The E.R.F. heading north on the A74 is Charles Alexander from Aberdeen.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
GBW.
Hi GBW, Thanks for your comments, I think I must have been reading the map book upside down,
or perhaps my error was because of some festive alcohol.
I have corrected my geography script. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Ray.
Suedehead:
It is the sweep onto Jubilee way but the service station in the pic is long gone.
Oh right, I thought you said Western dock to the M20.
I got in a bit of a mucking fuddle in my original reply.
What I was trying to say, was that the service station in the pic, at the entrance/exit out of the Eastern dock, onto Jubilee way (A2) is long gone .
Chris Webb:
Some photos of Talbot Transport Sheffield,sent to me by my old 86 year owd pal Gordon Howarth.I donāt think Iāve posted them on here beforeā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
Talbot Transport,along with Rivelin Valley Transport were taken over by Robert Earl Transport Ltd,Greenland Rd., Sheffield 9.
That Austin/BMC six wheeler fair made me shudder! We had one with a York 3rd axle conversion when I was on the spanners.Problem was that the axle was located only by the spring centre bolt on the original axle, and if the driver screwed the lorry on a tight corner without using the air lift, it broke the centre bolt, which allowed the drive axle to move out of line, causing the lorry to ācrabā. This only ever happened when loaded, and usually when on its way back to the yard ready for the night trunk. We got quite expert at changing springs, or just removing the spring, change the centre bolt, then refit and get him on his way to the change-over at Trowel.
It was an evil lorry, and was scrapped when only five years old, as the boss had started buying Ergo Marshalls, which I loved working on.
Ray Smyth:
A bit further up on the A74 was The Crawford Arms Hotel, and in the late 1990s,
a 3 course evening meal and lorry park was Ā£8.00, I wonder what it costs now.
The 2nd picture is Paul Roberts setting off Southbound at 5 a.m. in a Leyland DAF
45 Series which was 10tons G.V.W., it weighed 6 tons, so could only carry a maximum
of 4 tons, but it suited our regular work for the Military and Police work that we did
for Remploy Frontline for 17 years. It had a 165hp ā ā ā ā ā ā ā engine and regularly
returned 18 MPG. The 3rd picture sees the Leyland Daf on the A62 en route from
Oldham to Huddersfield, and the 4th picture is a Mercedes Benz 1821 that I had for
10 years, during which time it covered just over 500,000 miles. Ray Smyth.
Ray Smyth Transport.
Was that Leylan DAF 45 converted into a sleeper cab?
The first lorry I was given to drive was such a DAF 45, fitted with the more powerful 180 ā ā ā ā ā ā ā engine, man was she a flyer (did helped that the speed limiter was fiddled about withā¦), didnāt matter how much weight youād put on her, she always carried it without a problem.
After the DAF I was given a Volvo FL6, cab wise the one to have, but it did lacked the āpowerā of the DAF. That little Volvo never missed a beat though!
Spardo:
I had one of those Mickey Mouse Fodens as an 8-wheel powder tanker for K&M Hauliers of Hucknall. it was only a stopgap between other motors but I was happy to move on. In the middle of winter I was driving shirtless with the windows open, no, not an exceptional heater for the day but half the engine cover was missing.
Apart from that I reckoned it a good cab in its day.
oiltreader:
Thanks to DEANB, ERF-NGC-European, Ray Smyth, Froggy55, SHUNT1986 and VALKYRIE for the pics
Oily
One of my favourite lorry snaps, with that load itās earning itās keep on the Isle of Arran.
Reminds me of my time with āElgin Transportā loading props out and about Speyside for the NCB not nice in the winter and if it was picking up a tipper loaded with wood chips for the chipboard factory then trying desperately to tip the frozen chips without fallin over ā ā ? them were the days !!! hardy loons
Plenty of traffic heading down William Brown Street in Liverpool, looks like late 1940s or early 1950s.
The round building on the left is the Picton Library, and just peeping in from the right is St Georges Hall.
The car near the centre of the picture is a Morris 8, the van behind it also looks like a Morris, and the
lorry behind is a Morris Commercial. The bus on route A57 is a Ribble Leyland, approaching its terminus
at Old Haymarket, opposite the Mersey Tunnel. Ray Smyth.
Although it is too long ago for me to remember that location, I did have a night out in digs there, probably almost 10 years after that picture was taken, and parked my artic in the cattle market. One drop of breezeblocks left, right on the nose.
In the morning I climbed in and pulled away. There was a horrible bang and I was flipped off the seat, banging my head on the roof, followed by the machine gun rattle as the suzies parted and hit the back of the cab. Some ā ā ā ā ā ā ā had pulled my pin. Took ages before I got back on the road after a breakdown crane lifted it up for me to drop the legs, and mended all the suzies.
Learned a lesson though. Never pull away after leaving the motor before adding crawling underneath to check the jaws to all the other walk round checks.
Although it is too long ago for me to remember that location, I did have a night out in digs there, probably almost 10 years after that picture was taken, and parked my artic in the cattle market. One drop of breezeblocks left, right on the nose.
In the morning I climbed in and pulled away. There was a horrible bang and I was flipped off the seat, banging my head on the roof, followed by the machine gun rattle as the suzies parted and hit the back of the cab. Some [zb] had pulled my pin. Took ages before I got back on the road after a breakdown crane lifted it up for me to drop the legs, and mended all the suzies.
Learned a lesson though. Never pull away after leaving the motor before adding crawling underneath to check the jaws to all the other walk round checks.
Someone pulling the pin is my biggest fear, when Iām stopped for the night I set the trailer brakes and just pull up enough to put pressure on the jaws then set the tractor brakes, even when I stop to fuel and have to walk away for a minute when I get back thatās the first thing I check, Iāve only seen it happen a couple of times but itās a sickening feeling, personally I think itās a cowardly thing to do, Iād say something worse but Iām sure the admins would have something to say
Although it is too long ago for me to remember that location, I did have a night out in digs there, probably almost 10 years after that picture was taken, and parked my artic in the cattle market. One drop of breezeblocks left, right on the nose.
In the morning I climbed in and pulled away. There was a horrible bang and I was flipped off the seat, banging my head on the roof, followed by the machine gun rattle as the suzies parted and hit the back of the cab. Some [zb] had pulled my pin. Took ages before I got back on the road after a breakdown crane lifted it up for me to drop the legs, and mended all the suzies.
Learned a lesson though. Never pull away after leaving the motor before adding crawling underneath to check the jaws to all the other walk round checks.
Someone pulling the pin is my biggest fear, when Iām stopped for the night I set the trailer brakes and just pull up enough to put pressure on the jaws then set the tractor brakes, even when I stop to fuel and have to walk away for a minute when I get back thatās the first thing I check, Iāve only seen it happen a couple of times but itās a sickening feeling, personally I think itās a cowardly thing to do, Iād say something worse but Iām sure the admins would have something to say
A simple remedy, substitute the dog clip with a small padlock, hang it on the chain that secures the clip and use that instead. Another remedy is a nut and bolt and a couple of spanners, I donāt what these toe rags get out of this dirty trick, but itās always been a problem, particularly with night men stopping for their break. Regards Kev.
Although it is too long ago for me to remember that location, I did have a night out in digs there, probably almost 10 years after that picture was taken, and parked my artic in the cattle market. One drop of breezeblocks left, right on the nose.
In the morning I climbed in and pulled away. There was a horrible bang and I was flipped off the seat, banging my head on the roof, followed by the machine gun rattle as the suzies parted and hit the back of the cab. Some [zb] had pulled my pin. Took ages before I got back on the road after a breakdown crane lifted it up for me to drop the legs, and mended all the suzies.
Learned a lesson though. Never pull away after leaving the motor before adding crawling underneath to check the jaws to all the other walk round checks.
Someone pulling the pin is my biggest fear, when Iām stopped for the night I set the trailer brakes and just pull up enough to put pressure on the jaws then set the tractor brakes, even when I stop to fuel and have to walk away for a minute when I get back thatās the first thing I check, Iāve only seen it happen a couple of times but itās a sickening feeling, personally I think itās a cowardly thing to do, Iād say something worse but Iām sure the admins would have something to say
A simple remedy, substitute the dog clip with a small padlock, hang it on the chain that secures the clip and use that instead. Another remedy is a nut and bolt and a couple of spanners, I donāt what these toe rags get out of this dirty trick, but itās always been a problem, particularly with night men stopping for their break. Regards Kev.
We donāt have that luxury here in the US, thereās no where for a clip or any other safety device to go
Funny thing is, although I have always followed that procedure, in the ensueing almost 60 years I have never found the pin pulled since.
Mind you did have a bit of a moment when swapping trailers with a French mate here. Because there was so little room between the back of the cab and the fridge motor my mate pulled the pin before disconnecting the suzies.
It was a regular thing for them, but I always squeezed into the gap whatever the discomfort. On this occasion the trailer started to roll backwards, fortunately slow enough for him to hear my shout and dive in and stamp on the foot brake.
Morning all,
Mc Burneys Transport take the trailer handles of every trailer and you keep yours in the side locker.
Must be well over 800 trailers now, so if you have any concerns just wind the legs down and that allways makes you do your checks but I like the idea of a long shackled padlock. Harvey
Spardo:
Funny thing is, although I have always followed that procedure, in the ensueing almost 60 years I have never found the pin pulled since.
Mind you did have a bit of a moment when swapping trailers with a French mate here. Because there was so little room between the back of the cab and the fridge motor my mate pulled the pin before disconnecting the suzies.
It was a regular thing for them, but I always squeezed into the gap whatever the discomfort. On this occasion the trailer started to roll backwards, fortunately slow enough for him to hear my shout and dive in and stamp on the foot brake.
Why not put the trailer brake on first (there should be ādead manās handleā on every trailer?), pull the pin, drive forward and disconnect the suzies?
Spardo:
Funny thing is, although I have always followed that procedure, in the ensueing almost 60 years I have never found the pin pulled since.
Mind you did have a bit of a moment when swapping trailers with a French mate here. Because there was so little room between the back of the cab and the fridge motor my mate pulled the pin before disconnecting the suzies.
It was a regular thing for them, but I always squeezed into the gap whatever the discomfort. On this occasion the trailer started to roll backwards, fortunately slow enough for him to hear my shout and dive in and stamp on the foot brake.
Why not put the trailer brake on first (there should be ādead manās handleā on every trailer?), pull the pin, drive forward and disconnect the suzies?
Well, I suppose as I was brought up on cable trailer handbrakes which werenāt always reliable, I had a failsafe method when dropping a trailer. Set handbrake, jump out of the cab, climb on the chassis, disconnect suzies, jump off the other side, walk down along the trailer, wind down the legs, round the back collecting the plate (if UK trailer), back up the other side, pull the pin, back into the cab and away. I could do it without thinking, never failed, and the last thing of all was, pull the pin.
BTW Patrick, I have never heard the trailer brake called a ādead manās handleā. In my early days that was an emergency trailer brake on the steering column, later banned I think. But even that wasnāt a true dead man, they werenāt in lorries at all but in trains I think, where the driver had to hold a brake handle off, so that if he collapsed the train would stop.
