Ray Smyth:
Early “Robert Baillie” picture from 1965. Atkinson Silver Knight FPO 14C loaded
with 1836 Trays of Guernsey Tomatoes, at Shoreham, West Sussex.
7ft corner boards would be fitted the full length of the load,and also upright
at the rear, followed by the sheets,ropes, and then the flysheet, then off into
the night, to reach Gateshead or Glasgow by 5a.m. in the morning.
Marcus, I am enjoying the “Scrapbook” thread very much,and so far I am up
to Page 127. Hope to find some more “Robert Baillie” pictures.
Hi Marcus, I know you like F86 Volvos,so this one is for you.
Mr Baillie loved his Volvo cars, and in 1970 when it was not
easy to obtain Atkinsons with Gardner engines,Mr Baillie
decided to buy a brand new F86 Volvo, saying at the time,
If this Volvo was up to his requirements, all future vehicle
replacements would be Volvo. Now we all know how good
Volvo lorries are,but this F86 was a continual source of problems.
No further Volvo lorries were bought by Robert Baillie.
Two new Atkinson Units,and Crane Fruehauf 30 ft trailers of Robert Baillie.
On the left, Fleet No.11, FPO 13C, and on the right,Fleet No. 10, FPO 12C.
The location is somewhere near Robert Baillie Head Office,Croydon.
Regards, Ray Smyth.
bubbleman:
Hiya,Ray…Great pics mate,the Bubble looks a nice lorry,incidendly my Bubble made the cover of Commercial Motor this week…fame at last!!,Cheers Bubbs,
Hiya,
Bubbs my friend, not fame at last, but the fame continues, with the
stuff you’ve put on here that’s been to my taste you’re already a star
and long may it go on, well done mate.
thanks harry, long retired
Hi Marcus, Further to my previous Volvo F86 post, This picture illustrates the F86s
lack of popularity at Baillies. All on its own at the end of the line. The Volvos that I drove
after I had left Robert Baillie were excellent. I worked for Connal Transport of
Maryhill, Glasgow for a short time,their local operation was in the same yard as
Robert Baillie at Wigan. I drove a Volvo G89,an extremely powerful machine.
There is a picture of one of them on the Connal thread, and also on the
Robert Baillie thread. I am hoping to find some more G89s, I am up to page 151
on the “Scrapbook” thread. Regards, Ray Smyth.
This is spooky, My nephew Paul ROBERTS, and Susan HEWITT were married in early 1983.
In July that year, I got some new work that needed a 7 and half ton van. I offered Paul a
job, and he started working for me early August 1983,and stayed until 2004.
Have a look at the signwriting on the Bedford TK, It says “ROBERTS & HEWETT”, Spooky.
It got painted with blue cab and white body before it was put to work.
Hi Marcus, I am now up to page 177 on the “Scrapbook” thread.
On page 169,I saw the picture of the Bedford VAL Coach, and
your comments on the length and steering. Despite the coach
being 36ft long,the wheelbase was quite short,and the steering
lock was extremely good, I drove a few of them in the
70s,for a bit of part time extra cash,and they were a treat to drive,
and they had Leyland engines.
Ray Smyth:
This is spooky, My nephew Paul ROBERTS, and Susan HEWITT were married in early 1983.
In July that year, I got some new work that needed a 7 and half ton van. I offered Paul a
job, and he started working for me early August 1983,and stayed until 2004.
Have a look at the signwriting on the Bedford TK, It says “ROBERTS & HEWETT”, Spooky.
It got painted with blue cab and white body before it was put to work.
Regards, Ray Smyth.
I remember doing some work for this firm (R&H) in the 80’s. They were based near Pops at Lymm and I seem to recall they had their own helicopter for crop dusting. Happy days!
Merry Xmas to all who sail in this thread! Bubbs, if you look carefully at this artistic Chrismas card (I’d love to know who drew it! ), you’ll see it was almost certainly based on a photo you took in Richard Read’s yard about 40 years ago - love it!
I know this Mercedes Benz van is not a big lorry,but it was the
only one of mine that was low enough to fit into this delivery
location in Tavistock Place in London in 2005. At that time,
the building was occupied by British Transport Police as their
training unit for “Counter Terrorism”. A few months before this
picture was taken, Neville Lazonby,the Police Officer in the
photo, was on duty for 36 hours,following the dreadful bombings
of Underground trains,and the double deck bus, which was blown
up, just 100 yards to the left of this picture. Neville received a
commendation for his gallant efforts following the incident.
robert
