Yes F89 why not here are two that have passed through my hand’s, Buzzer.
Buzzer:
Yes F89 why not here are two that have passed through my hand’s, Buzzer.
“The one Fergie once owned”…indeed I did John, nice pic of her, and a good lorry, but the Transcontinental that followed may not have had the power, but it sure had the space… 
however, if I had the choice of having either one of them today as a show vehicle, it’d be a hard choice, but I think the '89 would just win it…but then again… 
The Australians came up with a nice blend of F88 and Transcon by sticking a 9-speed Fuller in the Volvo. Here’s one of many pictured below. Robert 
![f88%2020006[1].jpg](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/trucknetuk/original/3X/c/d/cda3633be33b7f77b759a85de422d2ec2105df65.jpeg)
While I’m on here; our French brethren among you might like to take a look at the last two pages of the ERF European 1975 thread and see if you can answer any of the queries that have arisen concerning French ERFs. Cheers! Robert
robert1952:
0
Evening all,
Robert, that is an interesting picture. Soc. Vins Margnat were a very reputable “négociants” and blenders of wine. Much of which came from Algeria, or smaller vinyards in France. That picture must have been taken in the 1960s, judging by the vehicles, and looking at the background behind the ship I would guess that the port was Sete, (a few years prior to its redevelopment as a Container Port), and what a Port it became.
Margnat were very concious that their fleet of lorries projected a strong image of quality, but they really had to work each day as well. The shark noze 4x2 Willeme LD610T is coupled to a Marseille built Coder tank that was still in use in the 1970s. The same life span was endured with the tanks coupled to the Relax cab 10 litre TRK10 Berliet, (so beloved of Tanker operators because of its light tare weight), and the bonneted version TLM10M2 parked nearest to the camera. Furthest away are a couple of camion - remorques, drawbars so beloved of the “Pinardiers”, because of their versatility in operation. The one nearest the little Peugeot van looks to be another 10 litre GLM10R, but I remember that Margnat also ran some little light GLR8s still at 35 tonnes, but a lower unladen weight. The profile of the one next to the railway trucks would suggest that this lorry is one of those little “payload kings”. Lovely picture thanks.
jazzandy, what can one say…young man, lovely lorry, exotic places…bet that was more comfortable to drive than your GMC…but how about living space?..Which gave you more?..I recall the GMC Astro belonging to the Leferbve family, (Trans Artois Frigo, Neux les Mines), although being a real drivers delight fire breathing hooligan lorry…had the biggest engine hump over its modest, (and only modest in physical size…certainly not real horse power), Detroit power unit, that made the cavernous cab seem rather claustrophobic indeed…(but perhaps that was down to the fish odour)!
If we go back to Fergies pictures of Friday 29.07.16, I wrote a little about the second picture of one of Andre Martin`s big Berliet flower bloom lorries of the 1950s, and said that perhaps I should write a little about Groupe Martin SA, Route de Grenoble in Nice. Their specialisation in the transport and distribution of all sorts of exotic, but temperature sensitive products throughout France from their Nice headquarters, and their bases in Nimes,Perpignan, Narbonne, Toulon, Marseille, Niort,Cavaillon, Lapalisse,Paris, (via their acquisition, Transports Otto, run by the equitable Jean Marcel Otto),with their tri party operation, Transports Martin, (145 strong fleet in the early 80s) Martin Distribution, (103 vehicles), and Transports Otto.
Under the stewardship of José Martin, Andre Martins son this business grew from distributing its own cut flowers, to handling all types of perishable cargo into, and from the Cote DAzur region.......an area not known for its heavy industry. The major expansion of Groupe Martin came in the early 70s.José Martin recognised the potential of a highly organized multi traffic operation, but to achieve this , with a measure of control, he was one of the first French operators to invest in computer technology. When I was dealing with them they made no secret that their client base stood at that time at around 12/1500 customers. The fleet was unusual, (for French operations), in that it ran a true 24 hour operation over 6 days per week…no ordered ranks of parked lorries every weekend here!
Trunk vehicles averaged 250000 kms per annum, on a 2 year life cycle. Distribution rigids 125000kms per annum over four years. Tractors were Volvo F10s,with Eurotrotter cabs, or Globetrotter versions. Rigids were Volvo F6s, and some Saviem J serie. All maintenance was in house and the workshop staff numbered eight. Volvo was the chosen marque because of on the road dealer support, (French operators never enjoyed the levels of dealer after sales support enjoyed by UK operators, but Volvo France did have some very strong dealers within its network who understood the vitall need to keep wheels turning.
Staff motivation was a priority, and this involved a high degree of driver involvement, both in terms of vehicle specification, and in working practices. José refered to his drivers as his “étoilés”, (stars), and he meant it. There were incentive schemes based on safety, accident free driving, and customer handling and satisfaction, with meaningful rewards.
His management team were relatively young, but multi disciplined and totally enthusiastic. Under Josés Director General, Gerard Corvisier, appointed in the mid 80s the Groupe expanded,but within controlled fiscal limits. Not bad for an operation created by a flower grower to ensure that his product reached his customers in the north of France in top condition......and then brought back to the Cote DAzur food for the southern populus.
But how he did that leads me onto another of Fergies pictures, his final picture from Friday night, that handsome Bernard 150MB21 TA4.36, with its Claverie de Bégles bodied Trailor fridge,of Roger Renaud from Pons, "FRIGORIFIQUE…Transports Rapides de Produits Latiers…Charentes Mediteranee… Who Andre Martin was to become a willing customer of Roger`s unique Refrigeration plant!
Cheerio for now.
Saviem:
robert1952:
0Evening all,
Robert, that is an interesting picture. Soc. Vins Margnat were a very reputable “négociants” and blenders of wine. Much of which came from Algeria, or smaller vinyards in France.
Cheerio for now.
That’s very interesting because a lot of Algerian wine is a tad acid for the French palette owing to the amount of sun in the arid wastelands of North Africa. That’s perhaps a little unfair, as I have travelled in Algeria and some of the northern areas are quite fertile and temperate. I remember picking up Algerian wine from Marseille with a tilt trailer and unravelling a story that I daren’t put on here yet but there’ll come a time when the telling of that tale will amuse rather than upset! Salut! Robert
Couple I found that may be of interest. I’d like to know the story behind the 6x4 especially.
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Robert1952, the truck is an ERF from SITCA-COCHEZ from Aire sur la Lys (62) .
Their Pacific in an abnormal transport :
Martin fleet in the 60th.
Drawbar Berliet GRK10, artics Saviem JM 240T.
michel:
Robert1952, the truck is an ERF from SITCA-COCHEZ from Aire sur la Lys (62) .
Their Pacific in an abnormal transport :
Brillliant! Thanks Michel! Robert
Saviem:
Evening Gentlemen,What superb posts you have made! Thank you all, it makes great reading.
jshepugius, thank you and welcome. Patrick, superb “today” job images. Your trailer is interesting, does that middle axle lift, or steer, or both? It looks awkward, bet its a bugger to reverse on a high camber road? Does it extend as well, and what payload, 40/50 tonne, with a nett of 25/26 tonne?
The Tractomas and dog…there is a great story to that shot…
Cheerio for now
Hiya Saviem,
I’ve been asked the same questions lately about that trailer, and honestly it does look a bit odd… now, you’re not too far off their mate, that first axle does steer (well just a bit) and it does lift, but as you’ve guessed it’s a bugger to reverse on high camber road sometimes, I do leave some rubber “marks” on the tarmac from time to time…
It’s extendable either, not that long though, 3m is max. Payload is 45t, but just in France though, the whole axle set-up is a French “invention”…?
Me and a couple of lads are busy with a windmill project, we load the parts in Tournai in bring those to the site just north of Roye, will post some pic’s later.
I’m curious about that Tractomas and dog story, it does shed a whole different light on the term dog leash
Cheers, Patrick
Eastern Turkey in winter.
Fergie47:
Old ERF working well…
Nice find, Fergie! Yes, this 6x4 unit belonged to Cauvas but is thought to have been an ERF MCC originally supplied to Hye in Belgium and subsequently refitted with an 8MW cab. Cheers, Robert
newmercman:
Couple I found that may be of interest. I’d like to know the story behind the 6x4 especially.
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Model TA 2P 160.35 built in April 1960 for AEM (Auto-Express Moderne).
AEM also had this unique truck built specially by Bernard c. 1962, fitted with air suspension on its 4 axles, and a 180 bhp engine. They hoped it would be accepted for a 32 tonnes Gross Weight but that was without the stubbornness of the French Ministry of Transport wich agreed only for 26 tonnes. With a high kerbweight, what was the first French 4-axle truck designed for standard use unfortunately ended scrapped. 32-tonner 8-wheelers were admitted in France only in 1993.
Excellent Michel. Thanks
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Evening all,
Apologies, I just became so cream crackered that I simply could not finish last nights post on Roger Renaud…how many transport companys do you know that inspired the wrath of no less than Walt Disney in person!..or who could have been as significant a player in transport refrigeration as Thermo King, and in all probability drove himself, and his staff so hard that the accident rate for the fleet was rather high!..(and I can say that having known the man, and pulled his leg constantly about the very same subject)!..Roger was a “grafter” in the true Anglo Saxon meaning of the word…as was his son Géraud…
But a bit of housekeeping…Patrick, (pv83), I will come to the story about the Tractomas and dog in due course…but our friend Robert 1952 may stumble over the particular driver in his quest to discover the provenance of the Transports Lost Pacific/Mack/ERF…good story there…and a really eccentric operation…but really good!
I presume your trailer is one of the Lohr/Nicolas creations? Thanks for your detailed explanation. Strange old set up with the axles…probably worked better on a drawing board than on the road…wonder why engineers seem never to have driven a loaded lorry?..Mind you some of those Nicolas Tractomas units seem to have had a fair share of design “blind spots”…
Jazzandy, who was the Dutch outfit that I presume you were working for? That looks a very clean lorry, so must have been preped for a lot of work!
Froggy, thank you for answering NMMs question on AEM, (Auto Express Moderne). That 6x4 was a special build for René Bastier by Bernard, (both families having a very close personal and working relationship). It was one of a number specially built for R ené Bastier havind Dunlop air suspension. That particular lorry has the early Phillipe Charbonneaux design of cab, built by Royan based Soc Pelpel, who were later to build the famous Television cab, (as on the 8x4 Bernard, with its 4 axle air suspension, Telma Retarder, 185 hp Gardner licence Bernard 636 engine). AEM also had air sprung 6x4, and 4x2 Television tractors. The total aim was stability, and good braking performance with the unpredictable loads presented by refrigerated trailers with hanging meat. Many of which were specified with step frames to lower the centre of gravity. Somewhere I wrote a profile of AEM, a company in their later grouping that I had a fair bit to do with. Quite an incredible trendsetting outfit, who started their innovation with the single wheeled 6x2 Somua “Pacqboat”…complete with air operated sand dischargers in front of the drive axle wheels!..ended up with Macks, and of course Saviem`s as well.
So Roger Renaud from Pons…Having endured the strictures of WW2, and emerged with a very small transport operation operating a German Henschel, lugging sand from the Girond estuary for the reconstruction of blitzed Royan. By the early 50s the vehicle of choice was Suisse built Saurer3CT1D 4x2s with a variety of drawbar trailers. 130hp to lug that weight around, but utter reliability.
But Roger could see the possibilites in hauling perishable goods, Cheese, and dairy products from the dairy producers in Charente. He was capable of designing suitable temperature controlled bodywork to ensure that their products reached the market place in great condition. Underneat the bed in the sleeper compartment Roger fitted his own compressor and evaporator powered , (initially), by the Indénor engine from the 1000kg Renault van. This basic refrigeration unit had one key attribute, it was simple, and totally reliable. So much so that he began to sell units to other refrigerated operators in the 1950s, André Martin of Nice, and of course Transports Rieubland at Agen.
Bodywork was created by Carrosserie Claverie in Bordeaux, and when Roger entered the world of articulation their bodies were mounted on Trailor frames with single wheels, with of course the Frigo Renaud units mounted on the front. But although manufacturing of frigo units was profitable, the bulk of Rogers effort went into his transport operations.
He had established a firm business relationship with Laiterie Fromagerie de Chadenac, the producers of, (that most excellent Camembert, “Blanche Neige”. Rogers first dedicated vehicle for them, back in the early 1950s was a 4x2 Saurer3 CT3D, in a total white livery, including “flancs blanks”, (whitewall tyres), and having the name, and the image of a milk maid on each side of the Bordeaux built Claverie body, with Renaud refrigeration…
This lorry was much photographed, and eventually it came to the attention of Walt Disney executives…who somewhat disliked the image…Blanche Neige…(Snow White)…and out came the lawyers!!!
The net result was as Fergies photograph…every vehicle carried the inscription “Frigorifique”… and Rogers business, “Transports Rapides de Produits Laitiers”…simple and bold…and so handsome in pure snow white, with that message in giant dark blue letters…and non more so than on the handsome Saurer CT3D /Trailor 32 tonne 3 axle artics of the 1950s! His own name hardly figured, simply written on the cab doors…As he said to me one day…“your customer is King…let him know it”…and his trailers and rigids, (if so dedicated), all carried the clients name…Gervais Danone, Lescure Beurre, Fromages Tartare…or if on general traffic, simply Frigorifique.
Rogers refrigeration plants commanded the market from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, but then of course came the might of Thermo King…and Rogers business was building up in size. There were Berliets, (of course), but he received poor service on breakdowns, (and his business was time sensitive). In a total emergency, the local Berliet dealerlet him down…and he received help from the local Unic outfit…and that became his fleet strength…Unic…right through to Iveco…from the iconic Izoard, to the mighty 340 V8 , via the odd looking Geneve cab T270V8s, to the badge engineered Unic, (Fiat), 190.26, plus a supporting cast of those odd looking, but reliable little Unic 6 cylinder 130 hp 11 tonne P8RA Vosges for local distribution.
Roger died back in 1993, the victim of a tragic car accident, when his Citroen ran under the rear of an unlit Portugese lorry. The business carried on run by his sons Claude and Gérard. By now the business also held an Iveco franchise, in Pau. Eurostar 440 tractors formed the backbone of the fleet, although Scania were also present among the 50 plus tractors,and 30 odd rigids. Trailer bodies, as well as rigids were from Lamberet, Chereau, and a small number of Aubineau.
1993 saw the business expanded by the acquisition of Transports Clergue, (Toulon), by UK operator Transport Development Group, via its French Refrigeration subsidiary Transports Pivoin. Renaud expanded, and by the mid 2000s was employing over 500 staff. Gerard was nearing retirement age, and a new home was sought for the Renaud Refrigeration business…this was found with Frances largest Volvo operator , STG, (Societie Transports Gauthier), still under the admirable control of Antoine Gauthier…now that is a company that I should write about…and they are on Fergies home ground as well!!!
But the Bollinger calls…
And then there is the tale of the Tractomas, and the dog…(but maybe I will let Robert discover that story for you all!
Amazing, the memories that your pictures unlock.
Cheerio for now.
Brilliant John!
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The Renaud fleet in the 50th.
