hello pete.
on the subject of scow leylands i am sure when i was a kid a couple of years ago the tops of the cabs were painted white and they definately carried a board above the windscreen displaying the steel company of wales.
graham.
gah1950:
hello pete.
on the subject of scow leylands i am sure when i was a kid a couple of years ago the tops of the cabs were painted white and they definately carried a board above the windscreen displaying the steel company of wales.
graham.
morning graham,
you are right,those were the scow colours.i have a colour photo of an octopus.
regards andrew
pete 359:
gah1950:
hello pete.
on the subject of scow leylands i am sure when i was a kid a couple of years ago the tops of the cabs were painted white and they definately carried a board above the windscreen displaying the steel company of wales.
graham.morning graham,
you are right,those were the scow colours.i have a colour photo of an octopus.
regards andrew
hiya,
Howay, let’s see it.
thanks harry long retired.
pete 359:
Chris Webb:
Hi Pete,sorry to ■■■■ in.
In about 1968 I loaded plate on a Reiver for Bradford out of what you call the Abbey (SCOW).I’m sure that if I wanted the plate banding on it was done for me but I had to fetch the banding from somewhere out of a shed,otherwise no banding. Can you or anybody on this thread recall that?Chris
hi chris,
you’r not butting in mate.sorry, but 1968 is a bit before my time
,i was only three then
regards andrew
Hiya Andrew,the banding you and Chris refer to was what we delivered into the Abbey every week in 22ton loads on the Octopus and trailer,from Barrow Steel works which was a United Steel Co before becoming BSC.We used to know which bays in the Abbey used the banding and make two or three drops from each load.Some of the loads of scrap sheets they loaded on those old 8 wheelers were defo dodgy and needed well strapping on,they looked lethal!!!Cheers Dennis.
[/quote]
i remember a j&m driver called ronnie wright cutting his head open with steel banding around a coil.lethal stuff!
regards andrew
[/quote]
The steel banding was always a bit of a handful especially when it had to be threaded between the chassis and running gear!!
If its the same Ronnie Wright, he was always hurting himself 
I worked with Ronnie when he joined Nationwide in the mid-seventies. If my memory is right, Nationwide bought out a small firm based on Stormy Down (can’t remember the name) and the drivers including Ronnie joined Nationwide. The deal also bought a few bubble F86’s with it■■?
Ronnie was one of lifes good ones and I hope he is still fit and well - he used to live in Porthcawl if I remember correctly - which is where I live now.
C’mon the blues:
i remember a j&m driver called ronnie wright cutting his head open with steel banding around a coil.lethal stuff!
regards andrew
[/quote]
The steel banding was always a bit of a handful especially when it had to be threaded between the chassis and running gear!!
If its the same Ronnie Wright, he was always hurting himself I worked with Ronnie when he joined Nationwide in the mid-seventies. If my memory is right, Nationwide bought out a small firm based on Stormy Down (can’t remember the name) and the drivers including Ronnie joined Nationwide. The deal also bought a few bubble F86’s with it■■?
Ronnie was one of lifes good ones and I hope he is still fit and well - he used to live in Porthcawl if I remember correctly - which is where I live now.
[/quote]
hi,
ronnie did drive for nationwide transport.i think? the firm they bought out was glyn morgan transport, nationwide did some middle east work,ronnie did a few trips with them.beaver680 could tell you more info.nationwide ran column change man’s when i was a kid and were owned by a large ship chandlers,they did alot of timber to the north west and tilbury.ronnie is still with us,i see him going around porthcawl in his mobility scooter occasionaly .he lives near my in-laws.
regards andrew
I think this is a Peter Davies photo of a fine old Albion Caledonian in SCOW colours. I’ve seen one of a Leyland Octopus 22/04 somewhere.
hi chris
i worked for 2 local firms Protheroes and Holloways from porthcawl in the early 60’s and loaded out of the abbey works most days of the week and secured our loads with steel banding,it was cut in lengths from a strip coil by 2 men called banders,you put the bands on the loads yourself,the banders would then tension and clamp them we did this on sheet ,plate and coil,i remember Brady’s octopuss and drag unloading in the bays, a very smart looking outfit alongside my mk3 mammoth major, i think it had the 680 power plus engine some motor at that time.
.regards tony
beaver 680:
hi chris
i worked for 2 local firms Protheroes and Holloways from porthcawl in the early 60’s and loaded out of the abbey works most days of the week and secured our loads with steel banding,it was cut in lengths from a strip coil by 2 men called banders,you put the bands on the loads yourself,the banders would then tension and clamp them we did this on sheet ,plate and coil,i remember Brady’s octopuss and drag unloading in the bays, a very smart looking outfit alongside my mk3 mammoth major, i think it had the 680 power plus engine some motor at that time..regards tony
Hi Tony,yes that’s how I remember it.I had two lifts for Bradford on an Albion Reiver and I put them round the load and the banders tightened it up.Nowt wrong with a Mammoth Major MK3,I wonder if it was Dennis and his mate posing with the Octopus 680 Power Plus? I drove one when the regular driver “Big Wilf” was on holiday and talk about being King of the Road.
I remember S.Protheroe well by the way.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the info - I’ll have to look out for Ronnie - theres a few mobility scooters in use in Porthcawl though.
I was a Nationwide driver back in the 70’s - it was the best job (workwise and pay) I ever had. The drivers were all a good crew - too many to mention - but Graham Collier from Barry, Reg Hawkley, Alan Hoare, Johnny Shaw, Dai Prince and of course Zebedee are just a few. Paddy the foreman (gone now) and who could ever forget Billy Brunt (the boss).
I was there before we had the WT contract which saw the arrival of all the MAN’s. I had STX 291M.
I also did a total of eight runs to the middle east but as an owner driver. Nationwide (Leighton Davies was the MD) bought the trucks and trailers brand new and rented them to us. Us being myself, Dai Lloyd and Johnny Howard.
They were days that I still have good memories of and even though I stayed in transport just about all my working life - my experiences with Nationwide were probably the best of the lot.
C’mon the blues:
Hi Andrew,Thanks for the info - I’ll have to look out for Ronnie - theres a few mobility scooters in use in Porthcawl though.
I was a Nationwide driver back in the 70’s - it was the best job (workwise and pay) I ever had. The drivers were all a good crew - too many to mention - but Graham Collier from Barry, Reg Hawkley, Alan Hoare, Johnny Shaw, Dai Prince and of course Zebedee are just a few. Paddy the foreman (gone now) and who could ever forget Billy Brunt (the boss).
I was there before we had the WT contract which saw the arrival of all the MAN’s. I had STX 291M.
I also did a total of eight runs to the middle east but as an owner driver. Nationwide (Leighton Davies was the MD) bought the trucks and trailers brand new and rented them to us. Us being myself, Dai Lloyd and Johnny Howard.
They were days that I still have good memories of and even though I stayed in transport just about all my working life - my experiences with Nationwide were probably the best of the lot.
hi,
there are lots of scooters in porthcawl .that’s interesting hearing about nationwide again,i have seen a photo on here somewhere? of stx 290m an man loaded with timber.a driver i knew from the shropshire area,jeff hewson (rip) once told me that he drove for nationwide also.have you any old photos that we can share please?dai lloyd,now that name rings a bell,j&m had a driver by that name from cardiff area?maybe the same guy?i remember the 290 he had blew up on the bazhargan border.they had to deck it all the way back to stormy down.
regards andrew
C’mon the blues:
Hi Andrew,
Hi All
Very nice to see photos of the 50s,60s,70s, and a lot of local drivers of that era passing comments,sharing
memories of thier working lives, and friends and characters they shared thier working lives with, keep
the memories coming, well done to you all.
Richard
Thanks for the info - I’ll have to look out for Ronnie - theres a few mobility scooters in use in Porthcawl though.I was a Nationwide driver back in the 70’s - it was the best job (workwise and pay) I ever had. The drivers were all a good crew - too many to mention - but Graham Collier from Barry, Reg Hawkley, Alan Hoare, Johnny Shaw, Dai Prince and of course Zebedee are just a few. Paddy the foreman (gone now) and who could ever forget Billy Brunt (the boss).
I was there before we had the WT contract which saw the arrival of all the MAN’s. I had STX 291M.
I also did a total of eight runs to the middle east but as an owner driver. Nationwide (Leighton Davies was the MD) bought the trucks and trailers brand new and rented them to us. Us being myself, Dai Lloyd and Johnny Howard.
They were days that I still have good memories of and even though I stayed in transport just about all my working life - my experiences with Nationwide were probably the best of the lot.
Hi All
Very nice to see photos of the 50s,60s,70s, and a lot of local drivers of that era passing comments,sharing
memories of thier working lives, and friends and characters they shared thier working lives with, keep
the memories coming, well done to you all.
Richard
hello chris webb.
thanks for posting the photo of the scow albion,that truck looks like it had seen a bit of action.it would probably look like new if it was assaulted by a good steam jenny,but not many of those around in that day and age.
graham.
Hi Andrew nice too see some more pictures of Joint Motorways lorries . I was wondering if you every thought of doing a posting of Joint Motorways lorries may be from the start too the end . You have got a good memory of most of the Joints fleet and loads of pictures . I think it would go down really well on the web . Any way take care . Tony
hiya,
Did the Albion Caledonian have the same running gear as the Leyland Octopus of the same era ■■, once heard it mentioned that Albion used a different double drive axle and they always used duoble drive whereas Leyland produced some with the trailing axle set-up these was a bit of a no-no in snowy conditions and a nightmare when hooked up to a drawbar i’ve had some.
thanks harry long retired.
harry_gill:
hiya,
Did the Albion Caledonian have the same running gear as the Leyland Octopus of the same era ■■, once heard it mentioned that Albion used a different double drive axle and they always used duoble drive whereas Leyland produced some with the trailing axle set-up these was a bit of a no-no in snowy conditions and a nightmare when hooked up to a drawbar i’ve had some.
thanks harry long retired.
Hiya “H” I read somewhere that apart from the Leyland cab the Caledonian was different in all respects!!! But i fancied it must have used the Leyland 600 engine because i don’t think Albion made a big engine.I also read that the big Albion was superior to the Octopus which was why the Powers that be at Leyland killed it off! Dennis.
Bewick:
harry_gill:
hiya,
Did the Albion Caledonian have the same running gear as the Leyland Octopus of the same era ■■, once heard it mentioned that Albion used a different double drive axle and they always used duoble drive whereas Leyland produced some with the trailing axle set-up these was a bit of a no-no in snowy conditions and a nightmare when hooked up to a drawbar i’ve had some.
thanks harry long retired.Hiya “H” I read somewhere that apart from the Leyland cab the Caledonian was different in all respects!!! But i fancied it must have used the Leyland 600 engine because i don’t think Albion made a big engine.I also read that the big Albion was superior to the Octopus which was why the Powers that be at Leyland killed it off! Dennis.
hiya,
Thanks for that Dennis, never drove the Albion version but used to see them on the 6/74
and they did seem to go well maybe it was the snazzy Scottish paint jobs that did it.
thanks harry long retired