Does anyone remember being taught to drive by the Transport Training Dept, Edinburgh? Years in question would be 1970’s/80’s and early 90’s).
My Dad taught Class 1, 2 & 3 as well as carrying out kinetic handling courses. He had a bit of an unusual surname, interested to know if anyone will remember him!
I dont remember your father, but I do remember S&N Breweries, as I was out and in there regulary in the early seventies, when I worked for Dobsons of Edinburgh.
At one stage they had I think Three Scania 111s on contract hire from Dobsons and they were specified with the five speed gearbox because the drivers could not work a range change gearbox.
On one occasion I was sent from Dobsons yard at Straiton to Fountain brewery with an Atkinson Unit which was fitted with a 220 rolls and a 13 speed fuller gearbox, to replace one of the scanias which was coming back to straiton for service. I had no sooner arrived back at straiton when I was told to go back to S&Ns with another atki this time one with a straight six David brown gearbox as they did not want the one with the fuller, as it would only do about twenty miles an hour. when they were told that the driver had to move the range change switch on the gearlever, they said ,take it away as it is too complicated for our drivers.
Their drivers were also infamous for balking other lorry drivers on the hills between Edinburgh and Newcastle where they often ran one way empty and would crawl along the road until they came to a hill and then accelerate away leaving the loaded lorry behind to struggle up the hill. Their drivers were not held in very high esteem.
M&C Jamie:
I dont remember your father, but I do remember S&N Breweries, as I was out and in there regulary in the early seventies, when I worked for Dobsons of Edinburgh.
At one stage they had I think Three Scania 111s on contract hire from Dobsons and they were specified with the five speed gearbox because the drivers could not work a range change gearbox.
On one occasion I was sent from Dobsons yard at Straiton to Fountain brewery with an Atkinson Unit which was fitted with a 220 rolls and a 13 speed fuller gearbox, to replace one of the scanias which was coming back to straiton for service. I had no sooner arrived back at straiton when I was told to go back to S&Ns with another atki this time one with a straight six David brown gearbox as they did not want the one with the fuller, as it would only do about twenty miles an hour. when they were told that the driver had to move the range change switch on the gearlever, they said ,take it away as it is too complicated for our drivers.
Their drivers were also infamous for balking other lorry drivers on the hills between Edinburgh and Newcastle where they often ran one way empty and would crawl along the road until they came to a hill and then accelerate away leaving the loaded lorry behind to struggle up the hill. Their drivers were not held in very high esteem.
Thats right,there was two every 30 mins,when i was on a night trunk in the early 70s for the Forth from Darlington to Edinburgh,it made hard work in a old payed out Albion 
v7victor:
M&C Jamie:
I dont remember your father, but I do remember S&N Breweries, as I was out and in there regulary in the early seventies, when I worked for Dobsons of Edinburgh.
At one stage they had I think Three Scania 111s on contract hire from Dobsons and they were specified with the five speed gearbox because the drivers could not work a range change gearbox.
On one occasion I was sent from Dobsons yard at Straiton to Fountain brewery with an Atkinson Unit which was fitted with a 220 rolls and a 13 speed fuller gearbox, to replace one of the scanias which was coming back to straiton for service. I had no sooner arrived back at straiton when I was told to go back to S&Ns with another atki this time one with a straight six David brown gearbox as they did not want the one with the fuller, as it would only do about twenty miles an hour. when they were told that the driver had to move the range change switch on the gearlever, they said ,take it away as it is too complicated for our drivers.
Their drivers were also infamous for balking other lorry drivers on the hills between Edinburgh and Newcastle where they often ran one way empty and would crawl along the road until they came to a hill and then accelerate away leaving the loaded lorry behind to struggle up the hill. Their drivers were not held in very high esteem.
Thats right,there was two every 30 mins,when i was on a night trunk in the early 70s for the Forth from Darlington to Edinburgh,it made hard work in a old played out Albion i drove
HI ,V7 Victor , When you were with Dobsons did you ever come accross a ATKI ,unit GWS 909 D Gardener 150 D/Brown 10 speed splitter box ,when we owned her she had the pump doctored ,what a flyer ,a bit hard to keep on the road ,Cheers Barry
b.waddy:
HI ,V7 Victor , When you were with Dobsons did you ever come accross a ATKI ,unit GWS 909 D Gardener 150 D/Brown 10 speed splitter box ,when we owned her she had the pump doctored ,what a flyer ,a bit hard to keep on the road ,Cheers Barry
No Barry,i worked at Road Services Forth,not Dobson’s but IIRC they were part of the Forth group.Vic.
v7victor:
b.waddy:
HI ,V7 Victor , When you were with Dobsons did you ever come accross a ATKI ,unit GWS 909 D Gardener 150 D/Brown 10 speed splitter box ,when we owned her she had the pump doctored ,what a flyer ,a bit hard to keep on the road ,Cheers BarryNo Barry,i worked at Road Services Forth,not Dobson’s but IIRC they were part of the Forth group.Vic.
Saviem will correct me Vic but I think Dobsons were part of the Ryland Group from Birmingham.Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
v7victor:
b.waddy:
HI ,V7 Victor , When you were with Dobsons did you ever come accross a ATKI ,unit GWS 909 D Gardener 150 D/Brown 10 speed splitter box ,when we owned her she had the pump doctored ,what a flyer ,a bit hard to keep on the road ,Cheers BarryNo Barry,i worked at Road Services Forth,not Dobson’s but IIRC they were part of the Forth group.Vic.
Saviem will correct me Vic but I think Dobsons were part of the Ryland Group from Birmingham.Cheers Dennis.
You could be right Dennis it a long way back, but i seem to remember a name like that in Edinburgh in our group,maybe a name sounding somthing the same.Vic.
v7victor:
Bewick:
v7victor:
b.waddy:
HI ,V7 Victor , When you were with Dobsons did you ever come accross a ATKI ,unit GWS 909 D Gardener 150 D/Brown 10 speed splitter box ,when we owned her she had the pump doctored ,what a flyer ,a bit hard to keep on the road ,Cheers BarryNo Barry,i worked at Road Services Forth,not Dobson’s but IIRC they were part of the Forth group.Vic.
Saviem will correct me Vic but I think Dobsons were part of the Ryland Group from Birmingham.Cheers Dennis.
You could be right Dennis it a long way back, but i seem to remember a name like that in Edinburgh in our group,maybe a name sounding somthing the same.Vic.
No worries Vic! I think I’ve mentioned this before but when I lived at home on Shap road in Kendal we were about 100yds from the S&N garage and although it wasn’t of much interest at the time,in the early/ mid 60’s S&N ran some cracking little 4LK 4 wheeler Dray motors,they were dinky little things probably the smallest ERF’s at the time,I think they had 4 speed g/boxes and Eaton 2 speed axles,they would have been 14ton GVW at that time.Oh! the nostalgia,Cheers Dennis.
I think Dennis is correct about Dobsons/Rylands, Im sure there was a write up about at that time in one of the Haulage magazines, Regards Larry.
Dobsons of Edinburgh, Dorset place, Edinburgh. There were two companies William dobson which was the haulage side and Charles Dobson the Civil engineering side, which I think made most of its money excavating and building sewers in New York in the 1800s. They bought some land at Straiton in the sixty’s and built a modern haulage depot which comprised of large warehouses, open storage and parking for well over a hundred vehicles. The workshop had several bay’s with pits and at the entrance to the site about three lanes with fuel pumps.there was also a wash bay which had two lanes under cover and a steam boiler for washing and at the side a ramp for steam cleaning, there were two men employed in the wash bay to keep the fleet clean.
As well as Various flat trailers they had bulk tippers, tankers, box vans and low loaders.
William Dobson who was then the managing director sold out to Rylands in the early eighties and after a short time was told to clear his desk and leave the premises.
Part of the site is now a large retail park and the workshops became a Daf garage.
How the mighty have fallen.