Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
Eddie
edworth:
Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
Eddie
Hi Eddie
I don’t remember that happenning. Presumably there musn’t have been much damage to our vehicle or I would have done. Was the car driver injured much? I must have been away somewhere at the time.
I remember Billy Dixon used to drive one of the old Guy otters with the four cylinder Gardners. It was the one painted in our colours (The other two were Courtaulds green) I remeber Billy used to say he didn’t mind the Guy, so I hate to think what he must have drive before he came to us. The Ford D800 tractor unit must have been wonderful after the Guy, even when coupled to that 40ft single axle trailer. It would probably have been Billy down at warrington collecting it when the photo was taken.
I remember Billy was given one of the ill fated Dodge tractor units YPT630L or YPT631L when they were new, and I think he was mistakenly blamed for flogging it wen the useless Perkins Engine was changed under warrantee at 3 months old. That was the first of a chronical of breakdowns and failures with these two vehicles. The tractors were supplied by North Eastern Motors the Dodge agents from Lemmington Newcastle and we never forgave them for selling us such a load of rubbish. Perhaps it was not Dodge’s fault, appart from specifying such a pathetic engine, which clearly was not up to the job
Carl
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
EddieHi Eddie
I don’t remember that happenning. Presumably there musn’t have been much damage to our vehicle or I would have done. Was the car driver injured much? I must have been away somewhere at the time.
I remember Billy Dixon used to drive one of the old Guy otters with the four cylinder Gardners. It was the one painted in our colours (The other two were Courtaulds green) I remeber Billy used to say he didn’t mind the Guy, so I hate to think what he must have drive before he came to us. The Ford D800 tractor unit must have been wonderful after the Guy, even when coupled to that 40ft single axle trailer. It would probably have been Billy down at warrington collecting it when the photo was taken.
I remember Billy was given one of the ill fated Dodge tractor units YPT630L or YPT631L when they were new, and I think he was mistakenly blamed for flogging it wen the useless Perkins Engine was changed under warrantee at 3 months old. That was the first of a chronical of breakdowns and failures with these two vehicles. The tractors were supplied by North Eastern Motors the Dodge agents from Lemmington Newcastle and we never forgave them for selling us such a load of rubbish. Perhaps it was not Dodge’s fault, appart from specifying such a pathetic engine, which clearly was not up to the job
Carl
Sure it was a Ford artic, the car came across the dual carriage and hit the trailer went underneath and was jammed into the trailer axle, they fought to get the driver out of the car which was badly mangled, but on retreiving it there was no driver in the car, they found his body down the embankment in the field,Billy and the police were astounded, it takes some working out.
Eddie
edworth:
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
EddieHi Eddie
I don’t remember that happenning. Presumably there musn’t have been much damage to our vehicle or I would have done. Was the car driver injured much? I must have been away somewhere at the time.
I remember Billy Dixon used to drive one of the old Guy otters with the four cylinder Gardners. It was the one painted in our colours (The other two were Courtaulds green) I remeber Billy used to say he didn’t mind the Guy, so I hate to think what he must have drive before he came to us. The Ford D800 tractor unit must have been wonderful after the Guy, even when coupled to that 40ft single axle trailer. It would probably have been Billy down at warrington collecting it when the photo was taken.
I remember Billy was given one of the ill fated Dodge tractor units YPT630L or YPT631L when they were new, and I think he was mistakenly blamed for flogging it wen the useless Perkins Engine was changed under warrantee at 3 months old. That was the first of a chronical of breakdowns and failures with these two vehicles. The tractors were supplied by North Eastern Motors the Dodge agents from Lemmington Newcastle and we never forgave them for selling us such a load of rubbish. Perhaps it was not Dodge’s fault, appart from specifying such a pathetic engine, which clearly was not up to the job
Carl
Sure it was a Ford artic, the car came across the dual carriage and hit the trailer went underneath and was jammed into the trailer axle, they fought to get the driver out of the car which was badly mangled, but on retreiving it there was no driver in the car, they found his body down the embankment in the field,Billy and the police were astounded, it takes some working out.
Eddie
Hi eddie,
Was the driver dead, or did he survive?
Carl
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
EddieHi Eddie
I don’t remember that happenning. Presumably there musn’t have been much damage to our vehicle or I would have done. Was the car driver injured much? I must have been away somewhere at the time.
I remember Billy Dixon used to drive one of the old Guy otters with the four cylinder Gardners. It was the one painted in our colours (The other two were Courtaulds green) I remeber Billy used to say he didn’t mind the Guy, so I hate to think what he must have drive before he came to us. The Ford D800 tractor unit must have been wonderful after the Guy, even when coupled to that 40ft single axle trailer. It would probably have been Billy down at warrington collecting it when the photo was taken.
I remember Billy was given one of the ill fated Dodge tractor units YPT630L or YPT631L when they were new, and I think he was mistakenly blamed for flogging it wen the useless Perkins Engine was changed under warrantee at 3 months old. That was the first of a chronical of breakdowns and failures with these two vehicles. The tractors were supplied by North Eastern Motors the Dodge agents from Lemmington Newcastle and we never forgave them for selling us such a load of rubbish. Perhaps it was not Dodge’s fault, appart from specifying such a pathetic engine, which clearly was not up to the job
Carl
Sure it was a Ford artic, the car came across the dual carriage and hit the trailer went underneath and was jammed into the trailer axle, they fought to get the driver out of the car which was badly mangled, but on retreiving it there was no driver in the car, they found his body down the embankment in the field,Billy and the police were astounded, it takes some working out.
EddieHi eddie,
Was the driver dead, or did he survive?
Carl
I’m sure he was dead,not sure if he was German ? so long ago.
Eddie
edworth:
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Carl Williams:
edworth:
Hi Carl…That Ford D800 Artic,is that the one Billy Dixon drove and a car crashed over the centre of the Catterick by-pass and went under the trailer, I had arranged to meet Billy that night in Oldham, of course he never made it.
EddieHi Eddie
I don’t remember that happenning. Presumably there musn’t have been much damage to our vehicle or I would have done. Was the car driver injured much? I must have been away somewhere at the time.
I remember Billy Dixon used to drive one of the old Guy otters with the four cylinder Gardners. It was the one painted in our colours (The other two were Courtaulds green) I remeber Billy used to say he didn’t mind the Guy, so I hate to think what he must have drive before he came to us. The Ford D800 tractor unit must have been wonderful after the Guy, even when coupled to that 40ft single axle trailer. It would probably have been Billy down at warrington collecting it when the photo was taken.
I remember Billy was given one of the ill fated Dodge tractor units YPT630L or YPT631L when they were new, and I think he was mistakenly blamed for flogging it wen the useless Perkins Engine was changed under warrantee at 3 months old. That was the first of a chronical of breakdowns and failures with these two vehicles. The tractors were supplied by North Eastern Motors the Dodge agents from Lemmington Newcastle and we never forgave them for selling us such a load of rubbish. Perhaps it was not Dodge’s fault, appart from specifying such a pathetic engine, which clearly was not up to the job
Carl
Sure it was a Ford artic, the car came across the dual carriage and hit the trailer went underneath and was jammed into the trailer axle, they fought to get the driver out of the car which was badly mangled, but on retreiving it there was no driver in the car, they found his body down the embankment in the field,Billy and the police were astounded, it takes some working out.
EddieHi eddie,
Was the driver dead, or did he survive?
Carl
I’m sure he was dead,not sure if he was German ? so long ago.Come on Colin surely you can remember something, or Brian (Shellar) Catterick By-Pass midweek afternoon.
Eddie
All the best for 2013 to everyone on Trucknet and hope we’re all still around for next year’s W.H. Williams reunion. Chris
825christineh:
All the best for 2013 to everyone on Trucknet and hope we’re all still around for next year’s W.H. Williams reunion. Chris
Hi Christine,
I would like to wish you a happy new year and join you in wishing the same to all others on trucknet
carl
Carl Williams:
825christineh:
All the best for 2013 to everyone on Trucknet and hope we’re all still around for next year’s W.H. Williams reunion. ChrisHi Christine,
I would like to wish you a happy new year and join you in wishing the same to all others on trucknet
carl
I would also like to wish you all a year of new opportunities, new joy, and gifts of good
health and happiness.
Peter
speaking of accidents, i remember when i was a kid , a williams marsden used to park next to neville parade shops in aycliffe on a saturday morning , this day a young chap drove full chat into the back of the wagon on his motorbike, they took him away in the ambulance , hope he was ok but he didnt look ower clever…about early 80s.
v7robbie:
speaking of accidents, i remember when i was a kid , a williams marsden used to park next to neville parade shops in aycliffe on a saturday morning , this day a young chap drove full chat into the back of the wagon on his motorbike, they took him away in the ambulance , hope he was ok but he didnt look ower clever…about early 80s.
Hi Robbie,
There musn’t have bee much damage to the van or I would have most probably known about it, and whch van it was, but being suspicious like I learnt how to be, I can’t help but wonder why the van was there on a Saturday morning, and could the driver have been having a dodgy night out. If that was the case and probably the van would have been fitted with a taillift, if there was little damage, perhaps the driver might not hae reported it. With a taillift on the rear they were pretty strong and apart from paint scuffing didn’t damage easily
Carl
Carl Williams:
v7robbie:
speaking of accidents, i remember when i was a kid , a williams marsden used to park next to neville parade shops in aycliffe on a saturday morning , this day a young chap drove full chat into the back of the wagon on his motorbike, they took him away in the ambulance , hope he was ok but he didnt look ower clever…about early 80s.Hi Robbie,
There musn’t have bee much damage to the van or I would have most probably known about it, and whch van it was, but being suspicious like I learnt how to be, I can’t help but wonder why the van was there on a Saturday morning, and could the driver have been having a dodgy night out. If that was the case and probably the van would have been fitted with a taillift, if there was little damage, perhaps the driver might not hae reported it. With a taillift on the rear they were pretty strong and apart from paint scuffing didn’t damage easily
Carl
yes it had a taillift fitted and no damage to the wagon , but the motorbike was knackered completely…what a thud it made , driver might of popped into the bookies…lmao.
v7robbie:
Carl Williams:
v7robbie:
speaking of accidents, i remember when i was a kid , a williams marsden used to park next to neville parade shops in aycliffe on a saturday morning , this day a young chap drove full chat into the back of the wagon on his motorbike, they took him away in the ambulance , hope he was ok but he didnt look ower clever…about early 80s.Hi Robbie,
There musn’t have bee much damage to the van or I would have most probably known about it, and whch van it was, but being suspicious like I learnt how to be, I can’t help but wonder why the van was there on a Saturday morning, and could the driver have been having a dodgy night out. If that was the case and probably the van would have been fitted with a taillift, if there was little damage, perhaps the driver might not hae reported it. With a taillift on the rear they were pretty strong and apart from paint scuffing didn’t damage easily
Carl
yes it had a taillift fitted and no damage to the wagon , but the motorbike was knackered completely…what a thud it made , driver might of popped into the bookies…lmao.
Yea,i remember that Rob,it was there quite often,probably in the betting shop,or he may of had a woman in the flats above the shops 
Christine
A very Happy New Year & good health to you also & everyone on the site.Did you have a wee drink to celebrate Chris? & where did you go?
It makes me laugh when Carl says the driver may have had a dodgy night out drivers never did that did they?
I think the driver was in the betting shop ha ha.
Carl
Good to see you still remembering lots of history how do you do it?
Gordon
goggietara:
Christine
A very Happy New Year & good health to you also & everyone on the site.Did you have a wee drink to celebrate Chris? & where did you go?
It makes me laugh when Carl says the driver may have had a dodgy night out drivers never did that did they?
I think the driver was in the betting shop ha ha.
Carl
Good to see you still remembering lots of history how do you do it?
Gordon
Hi Gordon,
Who ever the driver was he was very unlucky but lucky at the same time.
He was very unlucky that the motor bike went into the back of the van, but lucky he wasn’t caught out. Because he should not have been there on a Saturday morning, for any reason, and one thing we always did was give immediate dismissal to anyone caught claiming a night out whilst being at home, and even if he was at the betting shop, if he was caught he would certainly have suffered.
I bet he had a worrying hour or so. I can imagine him coming into the rest room and saying to dad. ‘I just called at home to drop my case off and called at the shop to buy a packet of cigarettes and bang this motor cycle ran straight into the back of the van.’ I bet the van was never parked at Neville parade again.
Hope you have a good 2013.
Carl
Christine
A very Happy New Year & good health to you also & everyone on the site.Did you have a wee drink to celebrate Chris? & where did you go?
It makes me laugh when Carl says the driver may have had a dodgy night out drivers never did that did they?
I think the driver was in the betting shop ha ha.
Carl
Good to see you still remembering lots of history how do you do it?
Gordon
Hi Gordon, Thanks for the good wishes and the same to you. Yes, I had a few wee drinks with my good friends Barbara and Carol. I had a bad back the next day though trying to pick this bloke we know off the ground. He was mortal. Every time we picked him up he went down again so we had to half carry him home. It took an hour to get from the Winning Post to Half Moon Lane. My back is a lot better now but he’s still suffering seeing as he’s got a broken collar bone and two cracked ribs. Chris
Carl Williams:
goggietara:
Christine
A very Happy New Year & good health to you also & everyone on the site.Did you have a wee drink to celebrate Chris? & where did you go?
It makes me laugh when Carl says the driver may have had a dodgy night out drivers never did that did they?
I think the driver was in the betting shop ha ha.
Carl
Good to see you still remembering lots of history how do you do it?
GordonHi Gordon,
Who ever the driver was he was very unlucky but lucky at the same time.
He was very unlucky that the motor bike went into the back of the van, but lucky he wasn’t caught out. Because he should not have been there on a Saturday morning, for any reason, and one thing we always did was give immediate dismissal to anyone caught claiming a night out whilst being at home, and even if he was at the betting shop, if he was caught he would certainly have suffered.
I bet he had a worrying hour or so. I can imagine him coming into the rest room and saying to dad. ‘I just called at home to drop my case off and called at the shop to buy a packet of cigarettes and bang this motor cycle ran straight into the back of the van.’ I bet the van was never parked at Neville parade again.
Hope you have a good 2013.
Carl
Talking of Dodgy nights out, dad’s policy was always to sack immediately anyone caught out, and we both spent many a long hour trailing round the north east and as far down as catterick trying to catch drivers out.
However on the reverse side, dad would usually give the money for a night out to anyone who came back early, when he considered they had worked hard to get back, because it was always better for us to get a van back. No doubt that Saturday morning when the van was parked at Neville’s Parade Ayciffe, we would be scrambling to find vans to load so they were loaded for the next week’s work, and no doubt will have been put to the trouble of unloading vans to send back to reload, so that we had loads ready for vans that genuinely couldn’t get back for the Saturday morning.
Carl
Only joking mate, we all new W H Williams was the best driving job in the north east that is why i myself stayed for 12 years until they closed in 1986, i bought a brand new home after getting married to my first wife while there & watched it being built a fantastic employer & would do it ALL again mate but its many years ago things still come back to me .
Dont forget our get together with Jeff Pye & Christine looking foward to it. Chris likes orange - Gordon.
Carl
Only joking mate, we all new W H Williams was the best driving job in the north east that is why i myself stayed for 12 years until they closed in 1986, i bought a brand new home after getting married to my first wife while there & watched it being built a fantastic employer & would do it ALL again mate but its many years ago things still come back to me .
Dont forget our get together with Jeff Pye & Christine looking foward to it. Chris likes orange - Gordon.
Less of the sarcasm Gordon.
Going back to Adams and Gibbon, one of the best things they offered us was our vans could go into any Vauxhall/Bedford agents for repair if we had any trouble down the road and the bill was charged to Adams and Gibbon and they would recharge us. This was very handy for minor repairs, such as injector pipes or the like, as we were never far away from an agent as the UK network was so good. The oldest most reliable drivers would sometimes do this en route and we never knew until they told us on return.
This was particularly handy for 6188HN, the 4 cylinder TK we were unfortunate to have bought, as it broken injector pipes broke most trips, as well as umpteen other problems, as no doubt both Eddie and Colin Watson will remember.
We eventually found that this problem was assisted by the precision work of George Hardy who was our fitter during the short time this vehicle was operated. As anyone knows, I am not particularly mechanical minded, so no doubt I stand to be corrected on this fact, but on the 4 cylinder Bedford engine the injector pipes had some clips and George for his mechanical experteeism had missed these when fitting the pipes, so this had exasperated the problem.
George was a lovely bloke and an exceptionally hard and willing worker but always found ways of saving parts, bolts and washers when he did repairs, with always quite a lot left over when he had completed a repair.
It always reminds me of something I was taught at one of the many training courses I attended over the years. There are basically four types of person lazy or hard working, clever or stupid. Now for a manager if you have a hard working stupid person he will work like mad and do everything wrong. So what you need was a lazy clever person, as he will be very clever so he knows how to do everything but too lazy to do it himself so he made sure everyone else did it. George certainly could never be described as lazy.