ste sleds:
Peter was running the garage by the time i got on the road and not long after that started on his own.
If you mean the Volvo FH it was only a 340 but was a beter puller than the 350 merc and it had a very effective exhaust brake. Our FH was L307MHH and Richard Holmes had L308MHH which big Norman drove but that was the bigger 380.
Steve I thought Chris Liversedge was the fleet engineer as i met him in London once or twice when he was down with young BoB — had morning coffee with them on Harrods veranda after the ■■■■ up the night before !! Dennis.
Chris Blackledge came from T&T Thompson from wigan after Clarkie left to go on his own, Chris and the young un where big mates until they had a lovers tiff and Chris went to TDG with Mick Wilson I think Chris is still runing Northfleet for TDG
Hiya Steve you beat me to it Blackledge not Liversedge I realised after but I’d cliced off so thought sod it I got the last part right and Steve will correct it when he reads it !! Cheers Dennis.
georgeking:
Anyone remember W Keith & Son Ltd of Flookburgh always had second hand vehicles, but a smart fleet.
They used to have a neighbour called Shaws Transport.
Shaw’s were at Lindale, weren’t they?
Pass !
Happy birthday Dennis !
Didn’t Shaws park their trucks on the grange rd at the bottom of Lindale hill? Green Dafs if I remember.
Pass
I was told by Kruger that he would load two Guy steers in Millom with 10/11 ton each then bring them out to Flookburgh and back them up the ramp and tip them into an Invincible 8 wheeler !! Now thats what I call efficiency !!They sure broke the mold when Bill Keith passed on ! Bewick.
I’m sure that was common practice at the time because Syd Preston kept a Drott ready for re-loading and when we were in the workshop there was often the sound of pig iron being tipped off or reloaded but we never paid any attention to what was going where. My only picture of one of Keith’s motors is this twin steer warrrior that looks like it was being disposed of.
Well done Truckfing for digging up the photo of the WK steer ! I agree it dosen’t do the Keith fleet justice but it sure is a nostalgic shot of the past.I would think that Guy would have been built as a 4 wheeler and then probably had the second steer fitted by Primrose a sister company of TGB Motors who would have supplied the Guy new. It was probably fitted with the Leyland 375 engine and had an Eaton two speed axle.At 18ton GVW it would have a decent pay load but I think these hy-brid conversions struggled on the road out from Millom !As an ex Syd employee you will be very aware of the shortcomings of under powered 6 wheelers/steers with Two Stroke and Perkins engines.Don’t you wish you could turn the clock back to the good old days !!
They were better days in a lot of respects, and much more interesting but when we look back we don’t see the hardships. The irony to me is that now we have the wagons that can carry the weight, do the speed and actually stop there are more and more people out there to stop you carrying the weight and doing the speed. Back then you put as much on as the wagon could possibly move under and the chance of getting stopped was very remote. I took that picture outside Ernie Moore’s yard. He was another who could get much more out of a wagon than the manufacturer had intended.
truckfing:
They were better days in a lot of respects, and much more interesting but when we look back we don’t see the hardships. The irony to me is that now we have the wagons that can carry the weight, do the speed and actually stop there are more and more people out there to stop you carrying the weight and doing the speed. Back then you put as much on as the wagon could possibly move under and the chance of getting stopped was very remote. I took that picture outside Ernie Moore’s yard. He was another who could get much more out of a wagon than the manufacturer had intended.
Very perceptive Truckfing !!But all the “enjoyment and interest” has gone now !! Anyway don’t get morbid you’ll have Syd turning in his grave !!( or chucking another lump of coal on the fire down below !!) here’s one for you seeing we are on the pig-iron site ---- hand bowl that off then ! 20 ton of Workington iron probably going to the Ford foundry in Dagenham but it was unloaded with magnet!! Rumour had it that Kruger had some sort of magnet but I don’t know if it was true ? Cheers Bewick.
truckfing:
They were better days in a lot of respects, and much more interesting but when we look back we don’t see the hardships. The irony to me is that now we have the wagons that can carry the weight, do the speed and actually stop there are more and more people out there to stop you carrying the weight and doing the speed. Back then you put as much on as the wagon could possibly move under and the chance of getting stopped was very remote. I took that picture outside Ernie Moore’s yard. He was another who could get much more out of a wagon than the manufacturer had intended.
Very perceptive Truckfing !!But all the “enjoyment and interest” has gone now !! Anyway don’t get morbid you’ll have Syd turning in his grave !!( or chucking another lump of coal on the fire down below !!) here’s one for you seeing we are on the pig-iron site ---- hand bowl that off then ! 20 ton of Workington iron probably going to the Ford foundry in Dagenham but it was unloaded with magnet!! Rumour had it that Kruger had some sort of magnet but I don’t know if it was true ? Cheers Bewick.
That would have been a doddle to trans-ship compared to tipper to tipper with greedy boards on which were what we carried it in at Syds.
truckfing:
They were better days in a lot of respects, and much more interesting but when we look back we don’t see the hardships. The irony to me is that now we have the wagons that can carry the weight, do the speed and actually stop there are more and more people out there to stop you carrying the weight and doing the speed. Back then you put as much on as the wagon could possibly move under and the chance of getting stopped was very remote. I took that picture outside Ernie Moore’s yard. He was another who could get much more out of a wagon than the manufacturer had intended.
Very perceptive Truckfing !!But all the “enjoyment and interest” has gone now !! Anyway don’t get morbid you’ll have Syd turning in his grave !!( or chucking another lump of coal on the fire down below !!) here’s one for you seeing we are on the pig-iron site ---- hand bowl that off then ! 20 ton of Workington iron probably going to the Ford foundry in Dagenham but it was unloaded with magnet!! Rumour had it that Kruger had some sort of magnet but I don’t know if it was true ? Cheers Bewick.
That would have been a doddle to trans-ship compared to tipper to tipper with greedy boards on which were what we carried it in at Syds.
Now you’ve transhipped that W’ton Pig I thought I should keep the iron and steel thread going ! This is a shot of the one and only Overlander trailer we ran ! I picked it up at a time when we were desperate for new trailers !! it didn’t hang about long once the new ones started arriving !! It is stood loaded with steel in the depot at Milnthorpe.Cheers Dennis.
Chris Webb:
Hi Dennis,did Keiths carry cockles? Flookburgh was the HQ for Morecambe Bay cockles wasn’t it?
Unless you topped your trunkers with 'em?
Hiya Chris I don’t think they did ! But we have loaded our open topper Euro trailers with 1 ton bags of shell fish on Barrow Dock from a Dutch dredger on a friday pm and then they had to be on the fish market in the Hague first thing Sunday am.I didn’t fancy them myself ---- too close to Sellafield! At least you wouldn’t need to Micro wave them as they had already been done !!! But the Dutchmen will eat anything !! Cheers Dennis.
Chris Webb:
Hi Dennis,did Keiths carry cockles? Flookburgh was the HQ for Morecambe Bay cockles wasn’t it?
Unless you topped your trunkers with 'em?
Hiya Chris I don’t think they did ! But we have loaded our open topper Euro trailers with 1 ton bags of shell fish on Barrow Dock from a Dutch dredger on a friday pm and then they had to be on the fish market in the Hague first thing Sunday am.I didn’t fancy them myself ---- too close to Sellafield! At least you wouldn’t need to Micro wave them as they had already been done !!! But the Dutchmen will eat anything !! Cheers Dennis.
Got to keep the Iron & Steel thread going !! Here’s a shot of load after load of scrap Main line rail in the depot at Milnthorpe I think we must have had it coming out of our ears at the time !!Bewick.
I remember being in Forton services one morning early 70s and Im sure it was a Keiths Ford D1000 unit with a Gardner engine shoehorned into it that arrived in loaded with timber I cant remember what the cab interior looked like but can only imagine some serious tinwork had taken place, can any body remember it. Eddie.
I think alot of the chineese six Guys that Keiths had were cut down 8 wheelers I had a photo of one some where of a cut down 8 wheeler to a chineese six unit to competer with the higher weights. I think some of the D-series had 680 Leylands in them!
Ste Burrow:
I think alot of the chineese six Guys that Keiths had were cut down 8 wheelers I had a photo of one some where of a cut down 8 wheeler to a chineese six unit to competer with the higher weights. I think some of the D-series had 680 Leylands in them!
I’ll try and keep you right here young Burrows! You are right that Kruger did cut down the 8 wheeler Guy’s to make tractor units but their braking efficiencies were not up to 32 ton standard so they were un-plateable.They never cut down the 8’s to make chinese 6 tippers or flats ! they were all lightweight 4 wheelers that had steer axles put under them! and the Fords were fitted with Leyland 600s.I’ve often sat in the cab of one of the fords with Bill Keith at Beetham when he used to do the odd load of pulp for us and I was always intrigued at the explanations he would give me as to why and how they did the conversions. Bewick.
Ste Burrow:
I think alot of the chineese six Guys that Keiths had were cut down 8 wheelers I had a photo of one some where of a cut down 8 wheeler to a chineese six unit to competer with the higher weights. I think some of the D-series had 680 Leylands in them!
I’ll try and keep you right here young Burrows! You are right that Kruger did cut down the 8 wheeler Guy’s to make tractor units but their braking efficiencies were not up to 32 ton standard so they were un-plateable.They never cut down the 8’s to make chinese 6 tippers or flats ! they were all lightweight 4 wheelers that had steer axles put under them! and the Fords were fitted with Leyland 600s.I’ve often sat in the cab of one of the fords with Bill Keith at Beetham when he used to do the odd load of pulp for us and I was always intrigued at the explanations he would give me as to why and how they did the conversions. Bewick.
Got to keep Krugers thread up the “listings” so here’s a shot in the depot of one of the 8LXB ERF trunk motors loaded with scrap plate.Bewick.
Ste Burrow:
I think alot of the chineese six Guys that Keiths had were cut down 8 wheelers I had a photo of one some where of a cut down 8 wheeler to a chineese six unit to competer with the higher weights. I think some of the D-series had 680 Leylands in them!
I’ll try and keep you right here young Burrows! You are right that Kruger did cut down the 8 wheeler Guy’s to make tractor units but their braking efficiencies were not up to 32 ton standard so they were un-plateable.They never cut down the 8’s to make chinese 6 tippers or flats ! they were all lightweight 4 wheelers that had steer axles put under them! and the Fords were fitted with Leyland 600s.I’ve often sat in the cab of one of the fords with Bill Keith at Beetham when he used to do the odd load of pulp for us and I was always intrigued at the explanations he would give me as to why and how they did the conversions. Bewick.
Got to keep Krugers thread up the “listings” so here’s a shot in the depot of one of the 8LXB ERF trunk motors loaded with scrap plate.Bewick.
And here’s another load of steel sections same as the ERF is hauling in the depot at Milnthorpe. Bewick.
The picture of the B-Series with the scrap has got me asking this question of Dennis:
That livery looks so much like the last one Caunces of Rufford used on their motors - were you influenced in any way? They started painting their wagons with a big, broad white band and red at the top & bottom around 1970 and they were still running with that scheme when they wrapped-up in the late eighties.
I’ve never found any pictures of Caunces, despite searching for nearly twenty years. If anyone has any, perhaps we can compare them to Dennis’s well turned-out motors. Incidentally, if ever I come into money - I’ll be having an ERF just like that B-Series. If I only ever fire it up to listen to the engine while I build the air up - that’d make me happy. Nobody has ever made an engine that sounds as glorious as an 8LXB; stuff the pulling power, torque bands and speed when loaded - if nowt else it sounds just right.
I remember those AEC Marshall eight leggers that Caunce’s ran around 1970 Mark, they used to come through Nether Kellet where I lived on the way to the quarries. One wrote a mini off and killed 2 people one day, the whole village was out watching the recovery. I never got any pictures though. Can confirm the similarity of livery.
marky:
The picture of the B-Series with the scrap has got me asking this question of Dennis:
That livery looks so much like the last one Caunces of Rufford used on their motors - were you influenced in any way? They started painting their wagons with a big, broad white band and red at the top & bottom around 1970 and they were still running with that scheme when they wrapped-up in the late eighties.
I’ve never found any pictures of Caunces, despite searching for nearly twenty years. If anyone has any, perhaps we can compare them to Dennis’s well turned-out motors. Incidentally, if ever I come into money - I’ll be having an ERF just like that B-Series. If I only ever fire it up to listen to the engine while I build the air up - that’d make me happy. Nobody has ever made an engine that sounds as glorious as an 8LXB; stuff the pulling power, torque bands and speed when loaded - if nowt else it sounds just right.
Hiya Marky the origins of our colour scheme were adapted by me in the mid 70s from a designer (from London) who at great cost produced a new look livery for Henry Cooke Ltd the paper mill we hauled for so I thought this looks good so we adopted it !! the beauty of it was we could keep the lettering simple ie Black letters on White background .I will put on the thread the one and only tractor the mill used the livery on and also one of our Seddons that was liveried as Henry Cooke .So I can assure you it had nothing to do with Caunces. Cheers Dennis.
marky:
The picture of the B-Series with the scrap has got me asking this question of Dennis:
That livery looks so much like the last one Caunces of Rufford used on their motors - were you influenced in any way? They started painting their wagons with a big, broad white band and red at the top & bottom around 1970 and they were still running with that scheme when they wrapped-up in the late eighties.
I’ve never found any pictures of Caunces, despite searching for nearly twenty years. If anyone has any, perhaps we can compare them to Dennis’s well turned-out motors. Incidentally, if ever I come into money - I’ll be having an ERF just like that B-Series. If I only ever fire it up to listen to the engine while I build the air up - that’d make me happy. Nobody has ever made an engine that sounds as glorious as an 8LXB; stuff the pulling power, torque bands and speed when loaded - if nowt else it sounds just right.
Hiya Marky the origins of our colour scheme were adapted by me in the mid 70s from a designer (from London) who at great cost produced a new look livery for Henry Cooke Ltd the paper mill we hauled for so I thought this looks good so we adopted it !! the beauty of it was we could keep the lettering simple ie Black letters on White background .I will put on the thread the one and only tractor the mill used the livery on and also one of our Seddons that was liveried as Henry Cooke .So I can assure you it had nothing to do with Caunces. Cheers Dennis.
Here’s a shot of our Seddon TEC904N 220 ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
marky:
The picture of the B-Series with the scrap has got me asking this question of Dennis:
That livery looks so much like the last one Caunces of Rufford used on their motors - were you influenced in any way? They started painting their wagons with a big, broad white band and red at the top & bottom around 1970 and they were still running with that scheme when they wrapped-up in the late eighties.
I’ve never found any pictures of Caunces, despite searching for nearly twenty years. If anyone has any, perhaps we can compare them to Dennis’s well turned-out motors. Incidentally, if ever I come into money - I’ll be having an ERF just like that B-Series. If I only ever fire it up to listen to the engine while I build the air up - that’d make me happy. Nobody has ever made an engine that sounds as glorious as an 8LXB; stuff the pulling power, torque bands and speed when loaded - if nowt else it sounds just right.
Hiya Marky the origins of our colour scheme were adapted by me in the mid 70s from a designer (from London) who at great cost produced a new look livery for Henry Cooke Ltd the paper mill we hauled for so I thought this looks good so we adopted it !! the beauty of it was we could keep the lettering simple ie Black letters on White background .I will put on the thread the one and only tractor the mill used the livery on and also one of our Seddons that was liveried as Henry Cooke .So I can assure you it had nothing to do with Caunces. Cheers Dennis.
Here’s a shot of our Seddon TEC904N 220 ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
And here is a shot of Henry Cookes last tractor which we supplied new to them in ‘74 and bought it back from them with their other two tractors and 7 trailers in Jan 77’
