Watched this the other day some good old shots of Liverpool and the famous Leyland Octopus with Diana Dors 
Apparently there was a clause by the distributors of the original film that it could never be shown on British TV.
I personally cant ever remember it being shown over here, but always stand to be corrected.
Hi Folks , Ibought one a couple of years ago from one of the mags ,think it was Heritage and Vintage or some thing like that ,ÂŁ5 pounds a good D V D watched that and Hell Drivers ,many times just a bit of usless info , Cheers Barry
moomooland:
Watched this the other day some good old shots of Liverpool and the famous Leyland Octopus with Diana Dors
Theres a copy for sale on Ebay at the moment HERE
Apparently there was a clause by the distributors of the original film that it could never be shown on British TV.
I personally cant ever remember it being shown over here, but always stand to be corrected.
I had Diana Dors in the cab of a Volvo F10 at Cranfield, there was another two drivers and myself and I asked her if she would like to join me on the bunk but got knocked back she was presenting the prizeâs for a Volvo/Motor Transport competition which a lad from Shropshire area won a Volvo car and I got ÂŁ100 of Thomas Cook vouchers. I used to have a photo of it but it as been lost this was 1978 
cheers Johnnie 
There was a couple of articles in past Classic Comm mags about the film and the vehicles, they said there was more than one Octopus used but if I recall only one survived, the other being damaged beyond repair in the mentioned fire. The film may have its unbelievable moments but its still a good insight into the way haulage was seen in the early Fifties and along with Hell Drivers, High-jacked, Payroll, then episodes of the Sweeney involving lorries of the period and the Picard series, you could say it is a social comment on the way transport has changed over the decades up to the present programmes we have today.
Anything that shows HGVâs as we knew them is worth a watch for those interested. Iâd love to see a series of programmes about the haulage industry in Britain from the beginning of the 20th Century up to today and how manufacturers came and went and how the many changes in law and technology made the many adjustments to the industry, afterall there must be loads of period film and pictures to choose from and it would do the industry no harm. The Channel 4 series Classic Trucks was good but didnât dig deep enough into the British scene. Franky.
At least with The Long Haul and Hell Drivers,they used some proper working lorries.In the Sweeney,all I ever saw was Regan driving a Ford D series 7.5 ton furniture wagon or a luton bodied transit.
I have a couple of DVDs from Round Oak about Pickfords and one was a present and it as my dad at work in 1950 which was shortly after we moved to Sheffield and I was extremely pleased and surprised as he passed away in 1988.They are both Heavy Haulage so they will not be to everyoneâs liking but are my favourites.
cheers Johnnie
The Long Haul was released in the USA on video back in the early 1990s, it was subsequently deleted from the catalogue even before CDs came into use. I seem to remember that some scenes were not included in that release. To my knowledge it has never been issued here in the UK.
My uncle Jack Harrison drove the Leyland Octopus in the film Long Haul when it was used by Harrisons Transport of Holmes it was a two pedal Leyland with a semi auto box , he used to have a picture of it on the wall of his pub ( Black Bull , Hoole) along with other pictures of moters hed driven. It originaly belonged to Leyland moters own test fleet which along with several others Harrisons T/port bought and ran on general haulage carrying Lancashire flats off Preston docks until as has been said it caught fire on the m62.
norfolk:
My uncle Jack Harrison drove the Leyland Octopus in the film Long Haul when it was used by Harrisons Transport of Holmes it was a two pedal Leyland with a semi auto box , he used to have a picture of it on the wall of his pub ( Black Bull , Hoole) along with other pictures of moters hed driven. It originaly belonged to Leyland moters own test fleet which along with several others Harrisons T/port bought and ran on general haulage carrying Lancashire flats off Preston docks until as has been said it caught fire on the m62.
Not wanting to start another riot on the thread,but a âTwo Pedalâ old type Octopus?,I never heard of an LAD cabbed âTwo Pedalâ Beaver so I have my doubts about an earlier model than the âTwo pedalâ Ergo Beaver.However ,I will stand corrected if there was a âtwo pedalâ old mouthorgan Octopus. Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
norfolk:
My uncle Jack Harrison drove the Leyland Octopus in the film Long Haul when it was used by Harrisons Transport of Holmes it was a two pedal Leyland with a semi auto box , he used to have a picture of it on the wall of his pub ( Black Bull , Hoole) along with other pictures of moters hed driven. It originaly belonged to Leyland moters own test fleet which along with several others Harrisons T/port bought and ran on general haulage carrying Lancashire flats off Preston docks until as has been said it caught fire on the m62.Not wanting to start another riot on the thread,but a âTwo Pedalâ old type Octopus?,I never heard of an LAD cabbed âTwo Pedalâ Beaver so I have my doubts about an earlier model than the âTwo pedalâ Ergo Beaver.However ,I will stand corrected if there was a âtwo pedalâ old mouthorgan Octopus. Cheers Bewick.
I totaly agree with you there Dennis, I dont the the 2 peds would have been about in those days, The magoritey of that Model would have been the normal 5 speed box IMO That is. Regards Larry.
So far so good then Larry,at least Iâm not stood on my own,on Shap Fell,trying to â â â â into the wind eh!,Someone else is sure to join us for the debate now ! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
So far so good then Larry,at least Iâm not stood on my own,on Shap Fell,trying to â â â â into the wind eh!,Someone else is sure to join us for the debate now ! Cheers Dennis.
Im sure your right Dennis, We will just have to wait, But I dont think we will need our tin hats do you, Regards Larry.
Bewick:
So far so good then Larry,at least Iâm not stood on my own,on Shap Fell,trying to â â â â into the wind eh!,Someone else is sure to join us for the debate now ! Cheers Dennis.
Same here,i never knew of any before the ergo cab,and we had a good number of them on the Forth 
v7victor:
Bewick:
So far so good then Larry,at least Iâm not stood on my own,on Shap Fell,trying to â â â â into the wind eh!,Someone else is sure to join us for the debate now ! Cheers Dennis.Same here,i never knew of any before the ergo cab,and we had a good number of them on the Forth
It could be just âNorfolkâ having a wind up,or he may-be has eaten a âbadâ welk and had a nightmare and is convinced there was 2 pedal square type cabbed Octopusâs,Anyhow I donât believe Leyland ever fitted the 2 pedal box into an Ergo Octopus either! Cheers Dennis.
Yes Vic, the first two peddle I ever saw was at Milburns where I began my apprenticeship, it was an Ergo, but then again Iâm only a youngster. Regards, Mizzo.
mizzo:
Yes Vic, the first two peddle I ever saw was at Milburns where I began my apprenticeship, it was an Ergo, but then again Iâm only a youngster. Regards, Mizzo.
IMHO you are dead right âmizzoâ,it was only in the mid 60âs when technology had improved but not in the mid 50âs,far too early!! Cheers Bewick.
there was an octopus came to liverpol docks in about 1965 with leyland parts for export , it was leylandâs own lorry , and i think a test bed . that had a preselector gearbox , but not two pedal . preselectors had been around for years in coaches and buses , maybe leyland were thinking of trying them in lorries . could have been the first attempt at dumbing the job down . cheers , dave
mizzo:
Yes Vic, the first two peddle I ever saw was at Milburns where I began my apprenticeship, it was an Ergo, but then again Iâm only a youngster. Regards, Mizzo.
Now Les how you doing,i remember 1 two pedaler we had at Forth when you used the splitter you got an electric shock ,our engineer at that time said let it develop,used to use a rubber glove on this one
v7victor:
mizzo:
Yes Vic, the first two peddle I ever saw was at Milburns where I began my apprenticeship, it was an Ergo, but then again Iâm only a youngster. Regards, Mizzo.Now Les how you doing,i remember 1 two pedaler we had at Forth when you used the splitter you got an electric shock
Hiya Vic, Iâm fine hope you are, Iâm just happy I donât have to scrape ice and snow off my car to go and do the same to a truck at 05.00!! We had a 2 pedal ergo at Milburns which was âEâ reg driven by a chap called Fred Mecrow, he could play tunes with it as he could with a Foden 12 speed, I donât remember it being much bother though, but as Mr Bewick says I donât think there was owt like this before the ergos. Regards, Mizzo.
HI, Folks , We had a 1949 ATKI with two peddles ,the ACCelerator was in the middle ,? Perhaps he was thinking of one of them ,just a bit of useless info ,Barry
