how many drivers,drivers mates,drivers sons,daughters,freinds now look back to the 1970s especially and say to themselves,‘jeez’ back then lorry drivers worked their balls off in all weather,worked their fingers to the bone roping n sheeting,cotton wool balls bunged in both ears due to the terrible noise from the metal clipped engine mount casing in the cab,constantly banging their heads off the roof on every bump in the road,rocking back n forth in the seat willing their old powerhouse up those steep hills or to pass another wagon,double n triple clutching to get a gear,terrible cab heaters that made your balls dissapear,endless queing to get loaded/unloaded,handballing your back off cause the guy your delivering to aint got a forktruck,6 til 6 monday to friday for 70.00 quid,‘jeez’ how times have changed,the drivers today should look up to the sky n say thank you lord for saving me lol,[laugh out loud],cd players,tvs,fridges,sat nav,a heater system that would fry you,comfy seats,safer made cabs etc,power pulling engines with hardly any effort needed,mobiles n cab phones,onboard computers,knuckle nudging gear sticks,half decent wages,if my old man was here today he would be in his element in any of todays wagons,[R.I.P DAD] SADLY KILLED IN HIS A SERIES ERF CDJ383H CONLONS OF WALKDEN 1979,GOD BLESS ALL LORRY DRIVERS.
If I had been beamed forward to the present day with some of the stuff I drove back in the 60’s 70’s the would throw the library ,not just the book at me.I once drove a Guy warrior from London back to manchester sitting on a wooden box because the seat fastenings had broken, I had my army greatcoat over the bonnet of one of my truckscant remember which one to keep the engine noise down And I had a leyland that I once parked in a layby and plugged my electric fire into a telephone box.and I advanced one time from a seddon to a D range ford and thought it was the dogs ■■■■■■■■ 'cos I could KIp across the seats.And I went all over Europe and asia in stuff you wouldn’t go round the corner in now.Yes!! they certainly where the days. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for young drivers now, they missed an era that will never be repeated . 
rocky 7:
If I had been beamed forward to the present day with some of the stuff I drove back in the 60’s 70’s the would throw the library ,not just the book at me.I once drove a Guy warrior from London back to manchester sitting on a wooden box because the seat fastenings had broken, I had my army greatcoat over the bonnet of one of my truckscant remember which one to keep the engine noise down And I had a leyland that I once parked in a layby and plugged my electric fire into a telephone box.and I advanced one time from a seddon to a D range ford and thought it was the dogs ■■■■■■■■ 'cos I could KIp across the seats.And I went all over Europe and asia in stuff you wouldn’t go round the corner in now.Yes!! they certainly where the days. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for young drivers now, they missed an era that will never be repeated .
such a privilege to hear from you mate,i was only my dads drivers mate,4 years of age right through til he died when i was 11,i travelled every corner of britain with him in atkis,fodens,scammell and his dream chariot[A SERIES ERF],no sleep for the wicked in these cabs,i remember every journey,every place visited n every freezing trip n night sleeping in those cabs,especially the erf,my little head on the seat with my legs up in the air over the engine mount casing,my dad sat in his seat with his legs on the dash n his head against the window,freezing coffee n iced cold cheese n onion sandwiches,every bump on the road n i would laugh as his head hit the roof due to his over active seat suspension haha,excellent wagon though as a workhorse,i remember in 1975 for jc finney,my dads erf power pulled 17 tons of sacks of potatos to shrewsbury from tyldesley[manchester] and the farmer at shrewsbury said he didnt have a forklift,my dad went beserk on him because he had to handball every sack off the trailor,my dad was 5’10,built like a gorilla n was as hard n rough as they come,he was as strong as an ox,he grafted his brains out,he used to pull those sheeting ropes so hard that you could see the trailer move and thats no joke,blistered n heavy caloused hands,yes i look back at how my dad looked at 31 years old [the age he was killed in 79] and i look at drivers the same age today and no disrespect,they look like young kids,back then drivers looked like rugged hard nuts n rough as they come,one of the most saddest memories in my life seeing all those wagons n firms vanish forever,a large important piece of haulage history gone along with my childhood memories.
Well written mate,good on ya and much respect to your dad for getting a tough job done.
We were lorry drivers, we were responsible, after we left the yard, for getting the job done correctly and then ringing in and saying, “job done, next?” If something went wrong, we had to sort it, no trackers, mobile phones, sat navs, traffic offices urging us to go faster, were were skilled men at our trade.
And if I was a lot younger I would go back tomorrow. I had 30 years driving fuel tankers and I enjoyed it, sure there were good days and there were bad days.
Ask a young “superstar” to rope and sheet a load and he, or she 
wouldn’t know where to start. A lorry driver could, and did, do any job in the yard.
Happy days. 
NZ JAMIE:
Well written mate,good on ya and much respect to your dad for getting a tough job done.
many thanks mate,i think over the past 5 years i have seen a couple of scania 110,111,1 atki,1 foden,[from the 70s actually running on the roads and in excellent condition,apart from the other old wagons you still see on the fairgrounds,it makes me very happy to see some of these old wagons are still with us and have been well looked after,restored,maintained n cared for.
grumpy old man:
We were lorry drivers, we were responsible, after we left the yard, for getting the job done correctly and then ringing in and saying, “job done, next?” If something went wrong, we had to sort it, no trackers, mobile phones, sat navs, traffic offices urging us to go faster, were were skilled men at our trade.
And if I was a lot younger I would go back tomorrow. I had 30 years driving fuel tankers and I enjoyed it, sure there were good days and there were bad days.
Ask a young “superstar” to rope and sheet a load and he, or she
Happy days.
your exactly right mate and within the past couple of years i have actually spotted a few 70s wagons[long vehicles] plugging down the motorways n yes ‘ROPED N SHEETED’,i couldnt believe some of these old timers where still on the go,brilliant for the memory of our transport history,would love to see many more of these old wagons back on our roads,yes there were hundreds of your fuel tankers on the roads back then especially esso,seemed to be more tankers back then than i see today.
rickykirk:
NZ JAMIE:
Well written mate,good on ya and much respect to your dad for getting a tough job done.
many thanks mate,i think over the past 5 years i have seen a couple of scania 110,111,1 atki,1 foden,[from the 70s actually running on the roads and in excellent condition,apart from the other old wagons you still see on the fairgrounds,it makes me very happy to see some of these old wagons are still with us and have been well looked after,restored,maintained n cared for.
[/quote]
It’s a pity some of us older drivers are beyond being well looked after,restored,maintained and cared for!
bestbooties:
rickykirk:
NZ JAMIE:
Well written mate,good on ya and much respect to your dad for getting a tough job done.many thanks mate,i think over the past 5 years i have seen a couple of scania 110,111,1 atki,1 foden,[from the 70s actually running on the roads and in excellent condition,apart from the other old wagons you still see on the fairgrounds,it makes me very happy to see some of these old wagons are still with us and have been well looked after,restored,maintained n cared for.
It’s a pity some of us older drivers are beyond being well looked after,restored,maintained and cared for!
[/quote]
i cant agree more mate and is that a fine old 140/142 behind you,nice old motor.
rickykirk:
rocky 7:
If I had been beamed forward to the present day with some of the stuff I drove back in the 60’s 70’s the would throw the library ,not just the book at me.I once drove a Guy warrior from London back to manchester sitting on a wooden box because the seat fastenings had broken, I had my army greatcoat over the bonnet of one of my truckscant remember which one to keep the engine noise down And I had a leyland that I once parked in a layby and plugged my electric fire into a telephone box.and I advanced one time from a seddon to a D range ford and thought it was the dogs ■■■■■■■■ 'cos I could KIp across the seats.And I went all over Europe and asia in stuff you wouldn’t go round the corner in now.Yes!! they certainly where the days. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for young drivers now, they missed an era that will never be repeated .such a privilege to hear from you mate,i was only my dads drivers mate,4 years of age right through til he died when i was 11,i travelled every corner of britain with him in atkis,fodens,scammell and his dream chariot[A SERIES ERF],no sleep for the wicked in these cabs,i remember every journey,every place visited n every freezing trip n night sleeping in those cabs,especially the erf,my little head on the seat with my legs up in the air over the engine mount casing,my dad sat in his seat with his legs on the dash n his head against the window,freezing coffee n iced cold cheese n onion sandwiches,every bump on the road n i would laugh as his head hit the roof due to his over active seat suspension haha,excellent wagon though as a workhorse,i remember in 1975 for jc finney,my dads erf power pulled 17 tons of sacks of potatos to shrewsbury from tyldesley[manchester] and the farmer at shrewsbury said he didnt have a forklift,my dad went beserk on him because he had to handball every sack off the trailor,my dad was 5’10,built like a gorilla n was as hard n rough as they come,he was as strong as an ox,he grafted his brains out,he used to pull those sheeting ropes so hard that you could see the trailer move and thats no joke,blistered n heavy caloused hands,yes i look back at how my dad looked at 31 years old [the age he was killed in 79] and i look at drivers the same age today and no disrespect,they look like young kids,back then drivers looked like rugged hard nuts n rough as they come,one of the most saddest memories in my life seeing all those wagons n firms vanish forever,a large important piece of haulage history gone along with my childhood memories.
rickykirk:
rickykirk:
rocky 7:
If I had been beamed forward to the present day with some of the stuff I drove back in the 60’s 70’s the would throw the library ,not just the book at me.I once drove a Guy warrior from London back to manchester sitting on a wooden box because the seat fastenings had broken, I had my army greatcoat over the bonnet of one of my truckscant remember which one to keep the engine noise down And I had a leyland that I once parked in a layby and plugged my electric fire into a telephone box.and I advanced one time from a seddon to a D range ford and thought it was the dogs ■■■■■■■■ 'cos I could KIp across the seats.And I went all over Europe and asia in stuff you wouldn’t go round the corner in now.Yes!! they certainly where the days. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for young drivers now, they missed an era that will never be repeated .such a privilege to hear from you mate,i was only my dads drivers mate,4 years of age right through til he died when i was 11,i travelled every corner of britain with him in atkis,fodens,scammell and his dream chariot[A SERIES ERF],no sleep for the wicked in these cabs,i remember every journey,every place visited n every freezing trip n night sleeping in those cabs,especially the erf,my little head on the seat with my legs up in the air over the engine mount casing,my dad sat in his seat with his legs on the dash n his head against the window,freezing coffee n iced cold cheese n onion sandwiches,every bump on the road n i would laugh as his head hit the roof due to his over active seat suspension haha,excellent wagon though as a workhorse,i remember in 1975 for jc finney,my dads erf power pulled 17 tons of sacks of potatos to shrewsbury from tyldesley[manchester] and the farmer at shrewsbury said he didnt have a forklift,my dad went beserk on him because he had to handball every sack off the trailor,my dad was 5’10,built like a gorilla n was as hard n rough as they come,he was as strong as an ox,he grafted his brains out,he used to pull those sheeting ropes so hard that you could see the trailer move and thats no joke,blistered n heavy caloused hands,yes i look back at how my dad looked at 31 years old [the age he was killed in 79] and i look at drivers the same age today and no disrespect,they look like young kids,back then drivers looked like rugged hard nuts n rough as they come,one of the most saddest memories in my life seeing all those wagons n firms vanish forever,a large important piece of haulage history gone along with my childhood memories.
pic of my dad on holiday in 1975.
rickykirk:
rocky 7:
If I had been beamed forward to the present day with some of the stuff I drove back in the 60’s 70’s the would throw the library ,not just the book at me.I once drove a Guy warrior from London back to manchester sitting on a wooden box because the seat fastenings had broken, I had my army greatcoat over the bonnet of one of my truckscant remember which one to keep the engine noise down And I had a leyland that I once parked in a layby and plugged my electric fire into a telephone box.and I advanced one time from a seddon to a D range ford and thought it was the dogs ■■■■■■■■ 'cos I could KIp across the seats.And I went all over Europe and asia in stuff you wouldn’t go round the corner in now.Yes!! they certainly where the days. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for young drivers now, they missed an era that will never be repeated .such a privilege to hear from you mate,i was only my dads drivers mate,4 years of age right through til he died when i was 11,i travelled every corner of britain with him in atkis,fodens,scammell and his dream chariot[A SERIES ERF],no sleep for the wicked in these cabs,i remember every journey,every place visited n every freezing trip n night sleeping in those cabs,especially the erf,my little head on the seat with my legs up in the air over the engine mount casing,my dad sat in his seat with his legs on the dash n his head against the window,freezing coffee n iced cold cheese n onion sandwiches,every bump on the road n i would laugh as his head hit the roof due to his over active seat suspension haha,excellent wagon though as a workhorse,i remember in 1975 for jc finney,my dads erf power pulled 17 tons of sacks of potatos to shrewsbury from tyldesley[manchester] and the farmer at shrewsbury said he didnt have a forklift,my dad went beserk on him because he had to handball every sack off the trailor,my dad was 5’10,built like a gorilla n was as hard n rough as they come,he was as strong as an ox,he grafted his brains out,he used to pull those sheeting ropes so hard that you could see the trailer move and thats no joke,blistered n heavy caloused hands,yes i look back at how my dad looked at 31 years old [the age he was killed in 79] and i look at drivers the same age today and no disrespect,they look like young kids,back then drivers looked like rugged hard nuts n rough as they come,one of the most saddest memories in my life seeing all those wagons n firms vanish forever,a large important piece of haulage history gone along with my childhood memories.
hiya,
When I first started in the haulage game way back in 1957 I chopped and changed jobs a few weeks here a few weeks there to sort of gain experience and in the early days mostly drove wagon and trailer outfits but as for looking like a big butch gorilla I was more a baby face, on one occasion arriving at a hauliers premises to do a couple of weeks night trunking, was told by the boss that they was only wanting a driver for a couple of weeks the regular lad was off ill and in hospital and they would be using their own trailer boy (a chap of around 60) as it turned out and was told they was sorry but I’d had a wasted journey, and when I said I was the driver they was expecting, nearly fell through the floor it took a phone call to the firm I’d just done a few weeks for to prove I was fit and able to do the job,did nearly a month for them and got a promise of a permanency should one occur, they did offer me a job at the time a few months later was working for BRS on a permanent basis, and in those very early days have been told on more than one occasion “that a kid like me should be at home playing with my Dinky Toys” and these comments usually came from “elderly” drivers who had never progressed beyond a bakers van, maybe out of jealousy or maybe they thought that I wasn’t yet 21 and driving illegally, who cares.now at nearly 76 I don’t tend to get those comments and can certainly go to my local boozer without needing proof of my age, happiest days of my life.
thanks harry long retired.
rickykirk:
It’s a pity some of us older drivers are beyond being well looked after,restored,maintained and cared for!
i cant agree more mate and is that a fine old 140/142 behind you,nice old motor.
[/quote]
That was my trusty early model 142 taken in Turkey en route to Teheran in 1983.
Hiya… i liked the booking in system in the 70’s… he who got there first by what needs had to be used got tipped first.
I was quite lucky at harrisons (s o t )gordon always put high diffs in our ERF’s so 70mph and a bit was possible.
harrisons had a lorry ex R&O fradden wcv 126j, i think it was a 54mph model she had a refirb and diff.
one day i was in the cafe and this chap asked if i was harrisons driver? i said yes, he told me he had 126j for many
years and it was a 54mph machine and that i’d just flown past his B series 240 like he was stood still, i said its all
in the diff…
i suppose a few of you lads was in the F1 between sammy williams daganham to the daily mail at ancoates
somone would stop at commercial st and have a early start so would go to toddy and have a small lie in but you could garantee
we all got to ancotes around the same time.no hard feelings we would all un tie and fold up together plenty of help in those days…
we.re back talking on TN not realising we most likley to have spent hours together in the 70’s
John
bestbooties:
rickykirk:
It’s a pity some of us older drivers are beyond being well looked after,restored,maintained and cared for!i cant agree more mate and is that a fine old 140/142 behind you,nice old motor.
That was my trusty early model 142 taken in Turkey en route to Teheran in 1983.
[/quote]
even as a child i would say to my dad ‘dad when we getting a scania or a daf,he would just shake his head n laugh ‘WE DONT WANT ONE OF THOSE KID’ WEVE GOT AN ERF’ i suppose keeping the erf meant longer journey times than it took the scania which meant more hours more money so the erf A series was a better earning prospect haha,always liked the scanias especially the supers,excellent trucks in there time,i spotted a nice old 111 passing through howden east yorks 6 months ago,blue n white one roped n sheeted,im sure ive seen the same one on the bypass from hull to beverley.yes i agree very trusty motors along with the A series,my dad drove the erfs from 60s to 1979,the only main mechanical problem he ever had was forgetting to put his tacho in to get more hours,he would say to me’remember kid if that man asks 'youve removed it haha.wunt get away with that today,yeah those old scannies seemed to run forever mate,never saw hardly any broke down,i do remember seeing many a guy on the shoulder though.
3300John:
Hiya… i liked the booking in system in the 70’s… he who got there first by what needs had to be used got tipped first.I was quite lucky at harrisons (s o t )gordon always put high diffs in our ERF’s so 70mph and a bit was possible.
harrisons had a lorry ex R&O fradden wcv 126j, i think it was a 54mph model she had a refirb and diff.
one day i was in the cafe and this chap asked if i was harrisons driver? i said yes, he told me he had 126j for many
years and it was a 54mph machine and that i’d just flown past his B series 240 like he was stood still, i said its all
in the diff…
i suppose a few of you lads was in the F1 between sammy williams daganham to the daily mail at ancoates
somone would stop at commercial st and have a early start so would go to toddy and have a small lie in but you could garantee
we all got to ancotes around the same time.no hard feelings we would all un tie and fold up together plenty of help in those days…
we.re back talking on TN not realising we most likley to have spent hours together in the 70’s
John
yes your right mate,back then if a driver was behind time or had loads of roping left the other drivers would walk up and rope the rest of the load up with you then offer you a flask n a sandwich,followed by a good laugh n chat,most drivers then always found time for each other and run things how they wanted,as long as you didnt take the michael your boss would expect you back when you got back,i believe the rules today are very strict n if you take the michael another driver awaits your place,all i ever hear from todays drivers is ‘listen ive got to shoot’ ‘ive got an hour to get back’ ‘im late as it is mate’ 'ill catch you later’very sad really that todays drivers seem to be under lots of pressure,where back then everything was easy going n laid back.yeah i remember my dads erf only hitting 65 mph flat to the boards,although when free wheeling down the pennines he often hit 75 towards saddleworth,there was a good diesel cut off floor pump on these cabs.
Brings back good memories of when I worked for Tommy Harris out of Enfield, he had half dozen Albions with scammell coupling and single axle trailers all rope and sheet work. I was staying around my mums place when at about 4am one morning mum came and gave me a shout that Tommy was at the front door, I shot down stairs to be confronted by this thing drenched in ■■■■, with soggy ■■■ ends in his hair and stinking to high heavens, he explained he had been to one of the drivers houses to give him a early call as he wasn’t any good at getting up for a 3am start, after a lot of banging on his door the upstairs window opened and the contents of the ■■■■ pot came out and covering him, followed by the drivers wife screaming at him to sod off and stop hammering on the door as he isn’t coming in, my house being the nearest he came round to see if he could scrounge a bath, which we gave him I found some clean clothes and a pair of overalls for him to put on and he ended taking the load up the road himself,( No the driver wasn’t sacked, these things happened all the time then, even Tommy laughed about it after) a lot of our work was for the Birmingham area, anything up, but quite often tyres back, sky high loads of mini tyres all handball on to a flat not many box trailers around then, then sheeted and roped, you had to do that right or they wouldn’t stay on for a mile, rope over the sheet between the rows of tyres first then take up the slack in the sheet with the sheet ties, if that makes sense, it was the sheet that held the load on not the ropes, terrible loads but paid the bills. Like all the old bosses then hard men but true gentlemen to work for, appreciated that it was the drivers who earned all our wages.
Ossie
Hiya …hows this for a good job…i would load cast iorn scrap from sheffield for bangor… no queue and operate
the weighbridge myself. the supplier would phone through the weight. i would tip bangor the next day… no queue
no weighbridge or security infact no fence just tip up leave the note under a lump of cast have some brekkie at
the teavan. nip into penmenar (spel) quick load for knutsford and pop into stoke for a load of off cut girder for
sheffield. stop of at leek (home) next day tip holmes stockyard nip into hesselwoods (scrapyard) do a couple of locals no queue.
then load bangor and back to Leek third day Bangor…if there was’nt much stock do a extra load (please youself)sat if you wanted
still load penmenar…if You was loaded friday home friday night. go sunday if you fancied a run out what a job… it lasted
3 years from 79 to 81 brilliant.£250 take home and a small perk not to be mentioned.14 litre big cam erf works sleeper and
15 speed fuller. Whoosh.Free as a bird…what went wrong?? the enviorament closed the foundry… it then went to Wakefield…
John
OssieD:
Brings back good memories of when I worked for Tommy Harris out of Enfield, he had half dozen Albions with scammell coupling and single axle trailers all rope and sheet work. I was staying around my mums place when at about 4am one morning mum came and gave me a shout that Tommy was at the front door, I shot down stairs to be confronted by this thing drenched in ■■■■, with soggy ■■■ ends in his hair and stinking to high heavens, he explained he had been to one of the drivers houses to give him a early call as he wasn’t any good at getting up for a 3am start, after a lot of banging on his door the upstairs window opened and the contents of the ■■■■ pot came out and covering him, followed by the drivers wife screaming at him to sod off and stop hammering on the door as he isn’t coming in, my house being the nearest he came round to see if he could scrounge a bath, which we gave him I found some clean clothes and a pair of overalls for him to put on and he ended taking the load up the road himself,( No the driver wasn’t sacked, these things happened all the time then, even Tommy laughed about it after) a lot of our work was for the Birmingham area, anything up, but quite often tyres back, sky high loads of mini tyres all handball on to a flat not many box trailers around then, then sheeted and roped, you had to do that right or they wouldn’t stay on for a mile, rope over the sheet between the rows of tyres first then take up the slack in the sheet with the sheet ties, if that makes sense, it was the sheet that held the load on not the ropes, terrible loads but paid the bills. Like all the old bosses then hard men but true gentlemen to work for, appreciated that it was the drivers who earned all our wages.Ossie
its so good to hear all these good old genuine stories because thats exactly how things were and happened back then,most days were different n something always happened,there was always a laugh n a story or joke to be told,that carry on above is very typical of the 70s,i remember i had to be up with my dad at 6 on a morning which meant us goin to bed at 9.30,we had a woman bus driver/conductor next door who didnt have a car but caught the bus to work each day,every day at 5.00 she would bang on our front door n ask my dad if he would drop her at work because she missed her bus, my dad being a good helpful man agreed but every day she kept banging our front door for my dad,my mother got sick of it and had an argument about it with the woman where my mother picked a mop brush up n began whacking her with it,this woman had 5 kids who were never clean n always had snot dripping from their noses,her n her husband where always banging about n shouting all hours keeping us all awake then this woman expected my dad to take her to work all the time,nothing like taking the michael,i think if your mate tommy had banged on my mothers door you wunt of seen him again haha.my dad was a totaly different story n would do anything to help anyone.yeah mate any method whatsoever was accepted back then so long as it kept the load on the trailor,i would of hated roping all those tyres mate but drivers never complained back then,not very often anyway they just got on with it,ive got quite a few driver mates today n they always moan about doin this load n that run,always looking for n changing jobs.moaning about trunk runs etc to kilsyth scotland.my dad did 2 trunks to scotland from manchester every week followed by 3 runs to birmingham then on to london n back over 5 days whilst at j.c finneys n all roping n sheeting, he did this same job for 8 years without complaint,come on todays driver n think how easy youve got it.
