PAUL GEE's PHOTO COLLECTION (Part 1)

[deanb]

oiltreader:
"What make is the van ■■? "
Hi Dean, I would say Commer and with rad grill most likely badged Dodge, I’ll try and find a pic.
Oily.
Found one or two and a nice example here of a 1979 Dodge Spacevan.
Oily

Thanks for confirming Oily.I must be loosing it as i actually thought Commer and then Dodge,but for some reason changed my mind.

Heres a clipping.

Commer / Dodge.

Ray Smyth:
Hi Dean, Yes, I think Oily is right, It is a Commer 1 ton van, or later on when they were badged as Dodge.
I posted a poor image of a Commer on page 10 of the Liverpool thread, and 2 Trucknet chaps very kindly
improved it and posted it on page 11. I have re-posted it on here, It was owned by the transport division
of W.H.Smith, and was on contract hire to The Liverpool Daily Post & Echo. The Commer van is parked
near The Alexandra pub in Penmaenmawr on the A55 in North Wales. I am on the left in the picture, aged 18
in 1962, having acquired a “Saturday Only” part time job, starting at 4pm and working through to midnight.,
leaving Liverpool at 5pm with about 35 drops of the " Football Pink " edition of the Liverpool Echo.
The first drop was Holywell, then every town on the A55 as far as Bangor. On the right is George Smart,
who was teaching me the run, George was also a “Saturday Only” part timer, his full time job was as a
rent collector for Liverpool Corporation Housing Dept. We had just had a “Swift Half” of Draught Bass in
the Alexandra, no breathalyser in those days. The Commer van, 3408 KB, had a diesel engine, a Perkins 4/99.
Click on picture for full image.

Ray Smyth.

Thanks for the pic and story Ray.

Mark R:
I’ve never worked for Lenham Storage but have loaded out of their warehouse several times. I believe one of our ex drivers is now the yard shunter there. Nice photo of one of their old Mercs.

Could have sworn it was you Mark ,never mind.

Mark R:
Did anyone else notice the coils just about hanging on in this photo?.. My dad used to carry these out of Sheerness Steel when he was a subbie for JWQ. I don’t think he ever had one off but I remember him saying they could be a bit unstable.
I wonder if this bloke got to his destination without it falling off?

I think i would have been looking for a company with a forklift Mark to adjust the load.

m.a.n rules:
hi dean, birds don’t run anything any more they went bump in 2017…

Cheers chap.

dave docwra:
“m.a.n rules”]hi dean, birds don’t run anything any more they went bump in 2017… :

Hi Dean, Great pictures as always,

Did Montgomery not buy Birds.

Thanks for the comments Dave.

m.a.n rules:
“dave docwra”
Did Montgomery not buy Birds.

bit of info here mate…
Montgomery Transport founder Harold Montgomery has confirmed the demise of Birds Transport & Logistics, bringing the curtain down on a tough period for the well known Midlands firm. In a statement sent to MT, Montgomery, who via his family’s Ballyvesey Holdings owns Birds along with a number of interests including trailer manufacturer Montracon, said: “There have been various rumours and speculation about what has been happening with our Birds Transport & Logistics business based at Oldbury, Birmingham. “We now wish […]

Thanks again “m.a.n. rules” good stuff chap. Heres a Birds unit pulling a Montgomery trailer.

I knew they operated Scanias. I am sure i have an article on Birds but cant find it.

tastrucker:
Hello DEAN ,my word you and Paul are certainly on the ball ,i havent seen this unit yet ! i believe they have a couple of them ,thank you Trevor

kevmorrow:
This is interesting information as the Wrestler Kendo Nagasaki could have built some ERF Cabs and bodies while working for ERF John Henry Jennings Sandbach cab and Coachbuilders in the late 1950s early 1960s. The book was issued to raise charity funds for in memory of Lee Rigsby.

ERF
At the beginning of the 1930s, Britain’s industry was struggling to survive the worst recession in living memory and unemployment had broken through the two million barrier. At this time insurers were becoming increasingly reluctant to underwrite steam boilers. As a result, Edwin believed the future of the lorry building industry lay in Diesel engine power. Unfortunately for him though, the Foden boardroom didn’t agree and he resigned along with his son Dennis…
With the help of Dennis and two former colleagues, including Ernest Sherratt who became Chief Engineer, Edwin worked to build the very first ERF diesel lorry in 1933 and gave the very first chassis the number 63 which was Edwin’s age at the time. Rather than manufacturing everything in house ERA bought in the best available, engines from Gardner (with later engines from ■■■■■■■■ Perkins, Detroit Diesel and Caterpillar Inc…) , gearboxes from David Brown and axles from Kirkstall Forge, The company made their own chassis and cabs and were easily recognisable by a new and striking cab was styled by Sandbach coachbuilder John Henry Jennings, who also provided initial factory.
Following link is ERF trucks

flickr.com/photos/45676495@ … 3665035629
Regards KEV

Thanks for the post about the book and the link. Some nice pics . Heres a few Jennings adverts from the 1960’s.

smallcoal:
Hi lads,Clarke transport has moved over to birds premises in oldbury they in the process of getting things shifted

Thanks for the info John and nice pic of the Barrier Services MAN.

pv83:
"DEANB"We have had a few Army Scammells and leylands on here.

It’s nice to see you posting the stuff that really matters again Dean

Bewick:
The Eaton Concrete Products ERF Steer bears an old Westmorland C.C. Reg No. “JM 7740” and the only firm that might have been the original owner that I can think of would have been The Shap Granite Co Ltd. with Westmorland being a fairly small and sparsely populated County . So it would be interesting to find out this motor’s history. One possibility is Eaton and Shap Granite were in the same industry so I wonder if there was some sort of “tie up” maybe ? Cheers Bewick.
PS nearest I can get is the prefix “JM” was used between Dec 1931 and Nov 1950.

Thanks for the input Dennis,someone may know more about that ERF ?

Carryfast:
Hi Dean, Yes, I think Oily is right, It is a Commer 1 ton van, or later on when they were badged as Dodge.

We had some of these heaps on the council they were horrible things to drive.The Austin J4 was a bit better until they went backwards with the JU that was as bad as the Commer.The Ford Transit was a massive leap forward in that regard.

Thanks for your comments “Carryfast” .Maybe they were crap chap but i can remember seeing alot of them about,maybe they
were cheap to buy.

[erf-ngc-european]

I used to like driving those Commers. I used to drive a mini-bus one with the 1500 Rootes group petrol engine. Although it looked unstable with its narrow-looking tracking, you could throw it around quite happily! I liked the BMC J4s too. The diesel JUs were dead sluggish. The Thames 15cwt van had column change with crap linkage. The one I drove caught fire. CF is right about one thing: the Transit wiped the floor with the lot of them, although the Bedford CF was good too - well, a lot better than the old CA! Robert

[carryfast]

ERF-NGC-European:
I used to like driving those Commers. I used to drive a mini-bus one with the 1500 Rootes group petrol engine. Although it looked unstable with its narrow-looking tracking, you could throw it around quite happily! I liked the BMC J4s too. The diesel JUs were dead sluggish. The Thames 15cwt van had column change with crap linkage. The one I drove caught fire. CF is right about one thing: the Transit wiped the floor with the lot of them, although the Bedford CF was good too - well, a lot better than the old CA! Robert

All ours on the council were petrol too Robert.From memory the Commer’s driving position and pedal layout was all wrong for me at least and the JU was a case of what was right with it.While the Transit I drove as a factory driver was a long wheelbase twin wheel diesel which had weird low gearing on motorways etc.But was really nice to drive including its brilliant big wide mirrors.Which were superb for navigating the flared rear arches through the width restriction posts at the junction of Lionel Road and the A4 when rat running off the North Circular at Gunnersbury Drive and Popes Lane to miss the Chiswick Roundabout.

As for the CF from memory on the council we had some 2.3 petrol versions which needed the terrible shifting ZF gearbox to handle the torque.Arguably as quick as a 3 litre V6 emergency ( or bank robber ) spec Transit especially the acceleration in 3rd.One of the most powerful 4 cylinder engines available in the day.

[erf-ngc-european]

Carryfast:

ERF-NGC-European:
I used to like driving those Commers. I used to drive a mini-bus one with the 1500 Rootes group petrol engine. Although it looked unstable with its narrow-looking tracking, you could throw it around quite happily! I liked the BMC J4s too. The diesel JUs were dead sluggish. The Thames 15cwt van had column change with crap linkage. The one I drove caught fire. CF is right about one thing: the Transit wiped the floor with the lot of them, although the Bedford CF was good too - well, a lot better than the old CA! Robert

All ours on the council were petrol too Robert.From memory the Commer’s driving position and pedal layout was all wrong for me at least and the JU was a case of what was right with it.While the Transit I drove as a factory driver was a long wheelbase twin wheel diesel which had weird low gearing on motorways etc.But was really nice to drive including its brilliant big wide mirrors.Which were superb for navigating the flared rear arches through the width restriction posts at the junction of Lionel Road and the A4 when rat running off the North Circular at Gunnersbury Drive and Popes Lane to miss the Chiswick Roundabout.

As for the CF from memory on the council we had some 2.3 petrol versions which needed the terrible shifting ZF gearbox to handle the torque.Arguably as quick as a 3 litre V6 emergency ( or bank robber ) spec Transit especially the acceleration in 3rd.One of the most powerful 4 cylinder engines available in the day.

e

Oh yes! The LWB Transit with the flared arches was the bollox, and did they handle well! I drove those in the very early '70s and they were mean machines to drive, of their ilk. Robert

[carryfast]

ERF-NGC-European:
Oh yes! The LWB Transit with the flared arches was the bollox, and did they handle well! I drove those in the very early '70s and they were mean machines to drive, of their ilk. Robert

From memory the one I drove was one of the last of the Mk1’s reg no XLB 443S and actually my first introduction to driving commercial vehicles when I was transferred from factory work to transport at almost 18 years of age.Strange how important milestones and certain vehicles seem to stay in the memory more than others.

Bearing in mind it went downhill from there when I joined the council driving all sorts of old junk like I’ve described which even many museums would have scrapped.

[deanb]

Thanks for the comments about the vans “Carryfast” and Robert.

[chris_webb]

Bewick:
The Eaton Concrete Products ERF Steer bears an old Westmorland C.C. Reg No. “JM 7740” and the only firm that might have been the original owner that I can think of would have been The Shap Granite Co Ltd. with Westmorland being a fairly small and sparsely populated County . So it would be interesting to find out this motor’s history. One possibility is Eaton and Shap Granite were in the same industry so I wonder if there was some sort of “tie up” maybe ? Cheers Bewick.
PS nearest I can get is the prefix “JM” was used between Dec 1931 and Nov 1950.

Morning Dennis.

JM 7740 was Westmoreland C C 1948-49. JM was used from 1931 to 1964 according to my book.

[deanb]

Some odds and sods.

Click on pages twice to read.

Anyone recognise the make of the truck in this advert from 1962 ■■?

Atkinson trucks 1957.

Albion 1964.

One of those dodgy looking tipping trailers in this advert from 1966.

ERF advert 1972.

Multilith Shewsbury 1972.

Gordon & Turnbull Foden 1978.

AEC Mandator 1967.

Leyland Journal magazine 1969.

[deanb]

Some foreign motors. All these were either leaving or heading for Poole docks.

[deanb]

You may remember this Foden from a while back. From memory Chris Webb pointed out it was a British Nuclear Fuels Ltd motor
which was probably on route to the power station at Poole or Winfrith.

Click on pages twice.

[deanb]

Daler Rowney ERF. Dont think we have had one of these on before.

Think this is Stretch Transport which i believe were based somewhere in the Poole area.

Elliotts Foden.

N.D.Young Transport from Okeford Fitzpaine.

British Salt Foden. We have had a fair few of these on here and i posted an article about them on page 85.

[deanb]

A couple of Bassett Groups finest leaving Poole. Looks like they are loaded with steel from the docks. Back in the 70’s,80’s lots of
steel coils came into Poole. I am surprised the Borderer is not leading the way ,surely the ERF would have been quicker ? What was
the largest engine in a Borderer, was it a 290 rolls ■■?

Chas Draper Roadtrain. Dont think we have had one of them on before. The dodgy Rover infront was not the most reliable car
used to see them always on the back of the AA recovery trucks. My grandad had the P6 which was the model before, and that
was reliable.

Spire Transport Freighter. Dont think we have had one of these on before anyone know anything about them ■■

Anyone recognise the Seddon Atkinson,says JSP on the front. Obviously normally pulls a bulker.

[erf-ngc-european]

Dean, I think the biggest engine in the Borderer was the ■■■■■■■ 250 with 9-sp Fuller - unless anyone is aware of a larger option! Robert

[ray_smyth]

DEANB:
A couple of Bassett Groups finest leaving Poole. Looks like they are loaded with steel from the docks. Back in the 70’s,80’s lots of
steel coils came into Poole. I am surprised the Borderer is not leading the way ,surely the ERF would have been quicker ? What was
the largest engine in a Borderer, was it a 290 rolls ■■?

7

6

Chas Draper Roadtrain. Dont think we have had one of them on before. The dodgy Rover infront was not the most reliable car
used to see them always on the back of the AA recovery trucks. My grandad had the P6 which was the model before, and that
was reliable.

5

4

Spire Transport Freighter. Dont think we have had one of these on before anyone know anything about them ■■

2

3

Anyone recognise the Seddon Atkinson,says JSP on the front. Obviously normally pulls a bulker.

1

0

Hi Dean, The Spire Transport lorry has an image of the crooked church spire in Chesterfield, Derbyshire,
and it has what looks like a Sheffield number plate. Regards, Ray.

[gingerfold]

DEANB:
Spire Transport Freighter. Dont think we have had one of these on before anyone know anything about them ■■

2

3

Spire Transport was from Chesterfield, hence the logo with the crooked church spire. Much of their work was for a company called Robinsons who made packaging, and also disposables for the NHS.

[sm240]

Nice pics Dean !!!
Thank you very much !!!

[chris_webb]

gingerfold:

DEANB:
Spire Transport Freighter. Dont think we have had one of these on before anyone know anything about them ■■

2

3

Spire Transport was from Chesterfield, hence the logo with the crooked church spire. Much of their work was for a company called Robinsons who made packaging, and also disposables for the NHS.

Aye Graham,the old joke about Spire Transport was that drivers were bent,like Chesterfield spire.

[colinwallace1]

Chas Draper, grain merchants and animal feed producers, from Wigston, Leicester.
Bought Leylands up until the early nineties, then ran a ERF dealership from their Wigston premises for a few years.
Ran some ERF’s (ec14’s) I think, before packing up.

[coomsey]

colinwallace1:
Chas Draper, grain merchants and animal feed producers, from Wigston, Leicester.
Bought Leylands up until the early nineties, then ran a ERF dealership from their Wigston premises for a few years.
Ran some ERF’s (ec14’s) I think, before packing up.

One of their Bisons came in to Cliffe hill for a load dry stone from under the hoppers. The guy who loaded you could get you to the cwt on gross wt, the Draper’s driver knew better n asked for more n got it, they say he grossed 38ton. He pulled up to Chuck off area n cocked her up, the rams came through the body n stuck up through the load !! They brought a JCB to off load her.

[jshepguis]

ERF-NGC-European:
Dean, I think the biggest engine in the Borderer was the ■■■■■■■ 250 with 9-sp Fuller - unless anyone is aware of a larger option! Robert

Dean.
I don’t know if it was a special order but right at the end of the Borderer builds there was a 290 Rolls Royce build for the NCB mines rescue, this motor is still in preservation today , think there is a couple of you tube video’s.
John