The tile/ceramic collections were good fun,the freight forwarder,would always give the office address,you arrive on their siesta for 3 hour lunch,they open up at 3 pm,oh no,you were sat at the wrong address,our other place is up in the hills,and you have 5 collections to do.
Onda area,was very scenic,ideal mountain bike country.
It was goods times though, you could at least be reassured of a nice break at the end of a run down. I did a regular run to Valencia with waste paper from Bradford with usally reload Valencia or Barcelona. Customs in Valencia was usually about 5 hours, so after putting in papers first crack, you could then have a nice siesta until the runner came back, and you was clear to tip.
I did spend a week in Milan on one occasion, a prolonged break in Linate until the paperwork was sorted. I wasn’t bothered but I expect my boss Ralph Turner was not to impressed.
It was a good time to be be doing international, unless of course you got held up at the import end, and many hours sat in Dover wheelhouse.
toby1234abc:
Did you meet the French bird at the freight check-in office for the Stena line,Marie-Noel,big blue eyes,a real stunner,she carried on working for various ferry firms,now she owns a childrens clothing shop in Cherbourg.
There were two old Canadian chaps that did the marshalling for the ferry,they both came over for the war,and met local ladies and never went back.
And Gina,the waitress in the drivers lounge on the ferrry,one new years eve,they had Frankie Carson for the night entertainment.
Yes knew them all,as you say Marie Noele went to P&O when Stena pulled out of Cherbourg. I can remember Frank the Yank (as we christened him) but can’t remember the other one’s name. Fank always pulled us round the queue (fridges for plug ins you see) no matter what time we got round to the linkspan, sometimes we’d be running down the approach road outside the fence and they’d start loading but Frank never let them sail without us, all John Davies, EEC & McCanns & we always got on.
Gina & Hazel were in the drivers restaurant,Hazel always wore a wig & we always joked that her hair moved fractionally after her head whenever she turned round!
At the Soton end they always tipped eveyone off if the ministry were about before you left the linkspan so you could park in the compound if things were a bit iffy or if you were a bit on the humpy side. as I said previously,happy days!
On a Scania 112 it was the pink wire whats stopped the speedo part of the tacho with everything else working normal. I had a switch on the dash for the amber warning beacons on the roof, the give away was there weren’t any beacons there.
Does this sort of thing happen nowadays,what with magnets and such??
Thetaff:
Does this sort of thing happen nowadays,what with magnets and such??
I’d say if you could speak Macedonian to ask a Nolan driver 
Ross.
Thetaff:
Does this sort of thing happen nowadays,what with magnets and such??
I haven’t needed to do it since the mid 90’s & even then it was usually for my own convenience (to reach good restaurant/bar/showers etc) 
but I know a few lads in the long haul game,no names no pack drill, & am informed that there’s loads still at it & some of them aren’t difficult to suss out if you watch what’s going on, some of the interviews in some of the trade press give it away at times! 
Apparently the last analogue tacho’s before the Digi were the easiest ever to adapt your time & mileage to & the Digi isn’t a problem if you speak to the right people,don’t know how but am reliably informed “no magnet neccesary” 
langp29:
On a Scania 112 it was the pink wire whats stopped the speedo part of the tacho with everything else working normal. I had a switch on the dash for the amber warning beacons on the roof, the give away was there weren’t any beacons there.
I have seen and heard of many “solutions” from a “specially wired” bulb in the interior light, to a rheostat to turn down the speed registered. Someone once suggested the channel 9 switch on a CB could be modified 
I still say the only reason that Scania became so popular was the plastic tacho screen that you could press in the centre 
I still say the only reason that Scania became so popular was the plastic tacho screen that you could press in the centre
[/quote]
Wheel Nut,you’ve just got me back in Derek Jameson mode again 
Although my last 2 143’s had a little plastic bit between the tacho’ face & screen.
Didn’t need any switches though just a wire fed down the side of the multi plug (the black wire iirc) & personally had a croc’ clip on the end of mine,tucked away out of sight & connected to earth (on the dash’ frame) when meals on wheels were required & should you get a quick pull by “The Ministry or Commisioners” as it was then or your friendly Gendarme,Red Cap, Guardia Civil, Carabinierie etc etc then a swift ■■■■■■ on the wire saw the whole thing removed & probably tucked under the bunk for retrieval when appropriate
I found out (purely by chance when i plugged a fridge in and it blew the fuse) that the ■■■ lighter fuse in my 113 scania also ran the Tacho. How daft is that?
(Not that I’d ever think about carying a blown fuse around with me just in case it was needed or anything…)
Could this also be a cause for the popularity of scanias - as well as fuse 3 (trailer ABS fuse) and it’s effect on the speed limiter!
I dont think Derf
I dont think the cig lighter is a factory fit
more likly done in the garage and used cig fuse as its allready wire into dash and take a lot of amp
Is there a proper fuse in the fues box for the taco meter?
Vascoingles:
as you say it depends on how you were being paid obviously, quite often we were on trip money and even not there was always a good bonus for being helpful
That was the reason, choosing your favourite waterhole or any other holes you wanted to frequent. Oh for the days before sat tracking.
YARDDOG:
Vascoingles:
as you say it depends on how you were being paid obviously, quite often we were on trip money and even not there was always a good bonus for being helpfulThat was the reason, choosing your favourite waterhole or any other holes you wanted to frequent. Oh for the days before sat tracking.
Sat tracking, Digicards, DCPC, London Emission Zones, Congestion Charging, Highways Agency noddy cars, crap wages, working time directive…someone remind me, why am I going back up The Road again?
I can remember when cab phones came in - and I thought that was a liberty!
The Sarge:
I can remember when cab phones came in - and I thought that was a liberty!
On the way home you turned your cab phone on after the St. Omer peage and the service cut in and out going up and down the hills on the motorway…don’t know why I remembered that
Trubrit:
The Sarge:
I can remember when cab phones came in - and I thought that was a liberty!On the way home you turned your cab phone on after the St. Omer peage and the service cut in and out going up and down the hills on the motorway…don’t know why I remembered that
Also, on a really calm night the service light would come on waiting for the ferry in ‘Zebe’, but never during the day however good the weather?? (on my BT ‘Jet’ cabphone )
Ross.
I had a length of wire, about 4 inches long, with a little crocodile clip on each end. I used to short out the tacho by earthing the black feed wire as it ran up the steering column, a small piece of insulation having been stripped away by the fitter.
I never wanted to do it but it was a case of “If you won’t do it Mister…”
Harry Monk:
I had a length of wire, about 4 inches long, with a little crocodile clip on each end. I used to short out the tacho by earthing the black feed wire as it ran up the steering column, a small piece of insulation having been stripped away by the fitter.I never wanted to do it but it was a case of “If you won’t do it Mister…”
Thats going to do it a bloody lot of good running pos to neg the wrong way round with DC
Get stoped and asked why you have no driving hours show at present and give no answer they will strip it all down until they find out what you have done
Still think my ideas better
Next question I have is how do you make the odometer stop turning
If its an older instument cluster then it will be cable oporated but if newer one it would go with all all the electrical wire behind
wonder if that has a fues
Batista230:
Harry Monk:
I had a length of wire, about 4 inches long, with a little crocodile clip on each end. I used to short out the tacho by earthing the black feed wire as it ran up the steering column, a small piece of insulation having been stripped away by the fitter.I never wanted to do it but it was a case of “If you won’t do it Mister…”
Thats going to do it a bloody lot of good running pos to neg the wrong way round with DC
Get stoped and asked why you have no driving hours show at present and give no answer they will strip it all down until they find out what you have done
Yes, that was always the problem, getting a tug at the peage when you had the wire in and apparently had been parked up for the last three hours. But in those days you could make some kind of deal involving a couple of 100 franc notes discretely tucked into a CMR.
It didn’t harm the electrics, I did thousands of miles with the wire in in the late 1980s and I don’t mind admitting it because it’s too late for anybody to nick me for it now
Batista230:
Harry Monk:
I had a length of wire, about 4 inches long, with a little crocodile clip on each end. I used to short out the tacho by earthing the black feed wire as it ran up the steering column, a small piece of insulation having been stripped away by the fitter.I never wanted to do it but it was a case of “If you won’t do it Mister…”
Thats going to do it a bloody lot of good running pos to neg the wrong way round with DC
Get stoped and asked why you have no driving hours show at present and give no answer they will strip it all down until they find out what you have done
Still think my ideas betterNext question I have is how do you make the odometer stop turning
If its an older instument cluster then it will be cable oporated but if newer one it would go with all all the electrical wire behind
wonder if that has a fues
Are you looking for training before applying to N. Irish companies? Don’t worry, if they want you to run bent they will teach you every trick in the book.