rastone:
You may remember mentioning Charlie Hart but just to give some info.Charlie bought an Albion Chieftain from me that I took in Part ex from George Richardson for a D.Series but back to the Trader’s.Fred Harrison used to run B.M.C’s and they were sold to him by Basil Ainsworth who sold quite a few motors round there.He did sell Fred Kent a B.M.C. six wheeler which was quite a surprise to many folk int th’lls.However I sold a couple of Trader’s to Fred,one was a tipper and it had a Turner overdrive 5 speed box.That motor went to Cotton Transport at Burton.The other was a dropside and we agreed a deal sitting on a window sill outside The Bowling Green at Ashbourne on Market Day…
The tipper was needed to be under three tons unladen.Funny how these motors used to run on singles and no passenger seat.
I don’t think anybody will arrest me for that now
Charlie Hart, the man who got pulled up by the police as he drove into Hull, apparently they told him “if your lorry wont go any faster than that you’d better pull over and let some of this traffic past”. The farmer who lives across the road from me used to do a bit of driving for Charlie and has lots of stories about him.
Ahhh the Thames Trader - First big commercial I drove.
I worked on summer job while at college IN 1965 for ‘Forbes’ Bakery in Middlesbrough, who ran Trader ‘Mothers Pride’ vans.
Because I had a drivers licence (car), I was asked at the end of my night shifts to pull the vans in each morning to load up with bread and cakes.
I only needed to know where first and reverse was !
rastone:
You may remember mentioning Charlie Hart but just to give some info.Charlie bought an Albion Chieftain from me that I took in Part ex from George Richardson for a D.Series but back to the Trader’s.Fred Harrison used to run B.M.C’s and they were sold to him by Basil Ainsworth who sold quite a few motors round there.He did sell Fred Kent a B.M.C. six wheeler which was quite a surprise to many folk int th’lls.However I sold a couple of Trader’s to Fred,one was a tipper and it had a Turner overdrive 5 speed box.That motor went to Cotton Transport at Burton.The other was a dropside and we agreed a deal sitting on a window sill outside The Bowling Green at Ashbourne on Market Day…
The tipper was needed to be under three tons unladen.Funny how these motors used to run on singles and no passenger seat.
I don’t think anybody will arrest me for that now
Charlie Hart, the man who got pulled up by the police as he drove into Hull, apparently they told him “if your lorry wont go any faster than that you’d better pull over and let some of this traffic past”. The farmer who lives across the road from me used to do a bit of driving for Charlie and has lots of stories about him.[/
Yes Charlie told me that he thought it was quite amusing. Nice bloke.
I think Albert Abotts from Ashbourne used the old dairy.They had a 7.5 t Trader from me.Grey I think
We never ran a Thames Trader, having been thoroughly sickened by 1956 Ford 4D we had run from new, and had after that been frightened to try a Trader. However we did run a Thames 12cwt van reg in 1961, see photo below.
when I reached 17 years old I drove this van on my school holidays and at that age thoroughly enjoyed, but like has been described on this thread, the 3 speed gearbox changed on steering colomn left a lot to be desired. The one thing that was most annoying was the vaccuum windscreen wipers, which if I remember correctly were alright when the engine was reving,but going down hill as you eased off the wipers went off.
17-18 years old I travelled all over with this van and although by the time we came to dispose of it, I had to stop quite regular to top up the engine oil. but by then it had a considerable mileage on the clock & original engine.
Operating along with the Thames we had a 1957 Bedford 12 cwt but this had a luton body on it. I personally never drove this as it had gone before I could drive in 1964, but the Bedford engine had been softer as I can remember it having a reconditioned engine fitted.
We replaced the Ford with our first Transit 1967 again a Petrol 15 cwt standard van and by my experience it was like getting out of a horse & cart into a modern car. The Transit was so much better and seemed a century more modern. We ran 2 Transit petrols that I can remember (PerhapS more) AND 2 Transit 35 cwt diesels with Perkins engines.These were grossly underpowered, but to be fair had large luton bodies which created wind resistance. We also operated a Bedford CF 35 cwt diesel with similar size luton body, and to be fair to Ford the Transit was in a different closs
Hi Carl that is a good looking AEC Regent Mk V bus of OK Motor Services a company sadly missed for its variety of second hand and new buses and coaches. This one is ex Hebble Motor Services or Halifax Corporation I am not quite sure. I do know that the OK livery has been reinstated on some local Bishop Auckland services. With regard to the Ford 15cwt van my mate who was a builder and I went on a touring holiday to the South Coast circa 1960 in his van camping in the back, young and daft in those days. My mate and his brother went on to form a very successful sludge disposal and skip hire company starting with an ex MOD Bedford QL.
Cheers Leyland 600.
leylandlover:
Shocked at what Ford considered extra,s heater,flashing indicators and shock absorbers!!! And they wonder how the foreign lorries made it into u/k.
Yes but how many motors did have heaters.You could have one on the passenger side too but they weren’t all that good anyway.The old buses used have them just on the bulkhead but they didn’t seem to be any good either although they hadn’t got doors on the motors
leylandlover:
Shocked at what Ford considered extra,s heater,flashing indicators and shock absorbers!!! And they wonder how the foreign lorries made it into u/k.
Yes but how many motors did have heaters.You could have one on the passenger side too but they weren’t all that good anyway.The old buses used have them just on the bulkhead but they didn’t seem to be any good either although they hadn’t got doors on the motors
I remember our salesman at the BMC dealer I worked at in the sixties being told by a customer that the fitted heater on the new Morris FFK he was selling him should be removed as it cost extra and there was already an engine inside the cab to provide the driver with heat, so we had to remove it! Like Tony says the heater’s were rubbish anyway, and all the fan did was distribute even cooler air. Look at pics from the Fifties of drivers standing by their lorries, they all had coats down to their ankles!
leylandlover:
Shocked at what Ford considered extra,s heater,flashing indicators and shock absorbers!!! And they wonder how the foreign lorries made it into u/k.
Yes but how many motors did have heaters.You could have one on the passenger side too but they weren’t all that good anyway.The old buses used have them just on the bulkhead but they didn’t seem to be any good either although they hadn’t got doors on the motors
I remember our salesman at the BMC dealer I worked at in the sixties being told by a customer that the fitted heater on the new Morris FFK he was selling him should be removed as it cost extra and there was already an engine inside the cab to provide the driver with heat, so we had to remove it! Like Tony says the heater’s were rubbish anyway, and all the fan did was distribute even cooler air. Look at pics from the Fifties of drivers standing by their lorries, they all had coats down to their ankles!
Pete.
We had a 1956 Ford 4D no heater & normal control so no engine even to generate heat, and I remember dad, if he was going on a long journey wearing thick coats and covering his legs in blankets to try to keep warm, and still being frozen.
I don’t think anyone had ever thought of heaters in the fifties
leylandlover:
Shocked at what Ford considered extra,s heater,flashing indicators and shock absorbers!!! And they wonder how the foreign lorries made it into u/k.
Yes but how many motors did have heaters.You could have one on the passenger side too but they weren’t all that good anyway.The old buses used have them just on the bulkhead but they didn’t seem to be any good either although they hadn’t got doors on the motors
I remember our salesman at the BMC dealer I worked at in the sixties being told by a customer that the fitted heater on the new Morris FFK he was selling him should be removed as it cost extra and there was already an engine inside the cab to provide the driver with heat, so we had to remove it! Like Tony says the heater’s were rubbish anyway, and all the fan did was distribute even cooler air. Look at pics from the Fifties of drivers standing by their lorries, they all had coats down to their ankles!
Pete.
I don’t think they were wanting to get the wear out of their coats.I wonder why they sold so many Traders and D- Series perhaps the price and you could throw away like Wimpy’s did ( I’m told there are many Traders used for ■■■■■■■■ under the M 1) or was it because the Trader was sprayed silver when new.I remember Percy from Phillip’s seeing him changing the timing gears on Whetmore Road in Burton.Mind you then it was a regular job.
windrush:
I remember our salesman at the BMC dealer I worked at in the sixties being told by a customer that the fitted heater on the new Morris FFK he was selling him should be removed as it cost extra and there was already an engine inside the cab to provide the driver with heat, so we had to remove it! Like Tony says the heater’s were rubbish anyway, and all the fan did was distribute even cooler air. Look at pics from the Fifties of drivers standing by their lorries, they all had coats down to their ankles!
Pete.
For the first three years of my driving career I used my father’s Civil Defence greatcoat as personal insulation in winter and engine cover in summer. It wasn’t until I got the Big J that I discovered that some lorries had working heaters.
rastone:
Here is a Trader coach with a Duple Marriner body
Somebody looks very pleased with himself for selling that coach, I bet you couldn’t tempt Ernie Carter or David Glover into buying one like that at the time.
shirtbox2003:
Old Billy Bowker of Blackburn used to supply his drivers with ex-army great coats if they asked for a cab heater.
Hiya,
I worked for Billy Bowker’s in the 1960s and early 70s and in those days nearly everything
was Gardner engined but I had to go to the army and navy stores and buy my own ex wd
greatcoat I never drove anything of Billy’s that wasn’t fitted with a heater but them being
Gardner’s the heaters were as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
thanks harry, long retired.
shirtbox2003:
Old Billy Bowker of Blackburn used to supply his drivers with ex-army great coats if they asked for a cab heater.
Hiya,
I worked for Billy Bowker’s in the 1960s and early 70s and in those days nearly everything
was Gardner engined but I had to go to the army and navy stores and buy my own ex wd
greatcoat I never drove anything of Billy’s that wasn’t fitted with a heater but them being
Gardner’s the heaters were as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
thanks harry, long retired.
Hiya Harry also remember going in the workshop to get the window fixed It was fixed
with a lump of wood jammed under the lip to stop it sliding down ( Good old days )
GUESTY44.
rastone:
Here is a Trader coach with a Duple Marriner body
Somebody looks very pleased with himself for selling that coach, I bet you couldn’t tempt Ernie Carter or David Glover into buying one like that at the time.
