Hi Wills, I’ve got plenty more photos of Thompson’s wagons, (as well as other local hauliers) taken in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s, and you’re welcome to use them if you want to get in touch - I hoped they’d be of interest to someone eventually. Cheers VRLH
Hi vrlh . That would be fantastic. it seems to me that trying to track down photos of thompsons and other well know hauliers of the 80s is like trying to find gold dust. Did you use to drive for thompsons at some point.■■?
not thompsons motors but afew pics of us loading out of the thomspsons/seafield scunthorpe site 2011/12 before it closed this year. i remember the old guy dave he was a nice bloke, noel on the forktruck could be grumpy but he was very good loader.
loading 3 blooms for doncaster
loading billets for thrybergh bar mill.
always a quick load by old noel on the big forktruck 
Hi Wills,
Sorry for the late reply, I haven’t been on for a week or so. I didn’t drive for Thompsons, but took photos of wagons that looked good, and those Thompson Mercs certainly did that! A relative of mine who used to work there, very kindly took me round one Sunday morning, and after that, the lads in the yard were quite happy for me to take more photos, on later occasions. It was a great shame they couldn’t carry on. I lost interest for a while, when Seafields took them over.
It was nice to see that I’d managed to get your dad’s Merc (with both regs!). More photos soon.
Cheers
VRLH
wills0411:
Some more of thompsons wagons and there yard courtesy of VRLH
Hi Wills. I used to work for Thompsons. It was a good job.
If you google F699SBE it will bring up a photo of the last motor I had there.
1st one was an F7 VJV691V then A184GFU. Then F699SBE
Chris Webb
You mentioned a firm from Scunthorpe called Reeds, to the best of my knowledge they called it a day many years ago ,I can’t remember which year I don’t think they were taken over by any body, they just stopped trading.
As regards Bitmac, they were taken over by a firm called, I believe, Koppers. This part I’m not so sure about, but the transport was taken over by Imperial Tankers, later taken over by Hargreaves. I think that Koppers at that time kept the manufacturing. In the last 5 to 10 years (you forget how time passes ) the site closed down completely.
Incidentally, there is a MkV Mammoth Major in Federated colours doing the show circuit that was originally a Bitmac tanker, just a bit of useless info…
Cheers Bassman
Bassman:
Chris Webb
You mentioned a firm from Scunthorpe called Reeds, to the best of my knowledge they called it a day many years ago ,I can’t remember which year I don’t think they were taken over by any body, they just stopped trading.
As regards Bitmac, they were taken over by a firm called, I believe, Koppers. This part I’m not so sure about, but the transport was taken over by Imperial Tankers, later taken over by Hargreaves. I think that Koppers at that time kept the manufacturing. In the last 5 to 10 years (you forget how time passes ) the site closed down completely.
Incidentally, there is a MkV Mammoth Major in Federated colours doing the show circuit that was originally a Bitmac tanker, just a bit of useless info…Cheers Bassman
Thanks Bassman for the info.Bitmac’s own tankers used to run as Barworth Haulage in the 60s and 70s,then in Bitmac’s name in later years. They carried a lot of crude benzole out of different coking plants and it all went to either Scunthorpe or their site at Llanwern,in fact they had local vehicles down in Sth Wales.A E Evans, when I worked for them, did a lot of work for Bitmac and knew most of their drivers.
I’ve seen the AEC MK5,in fact I’ve had a lift in it from Ardwick Green to Sheffield when on a dodgy. 
Chris
I’d forgotten the Barworth link, another firm that used to do a lot out of Bitmac was Meek’s from Kirkby -in-Ashfield,used to run a lot of DAF’s at the latter end,I think they did mostly South Wales. I don’t think they stayed in business long after the miner’s strike, they were heavily involved in the coal convoys and whether that went against them I 'm not sure.
One thing I do remember was the smell of the Benzene,once smelt never forgotten.
Bassman
Meeks were important customer of Volvo but tryed some of the others then taken over by a Swedish firm and continued wid another name and livery , Barworth also a Volvo customer as part of haulier Wiggelsworth in Brigg road ? ( near British road services depot ) many red F86s from 1968 on , green F86s on Barworth , any pics of these please ?
Who knows that a shiny brand new W.Thomsons Volvo F86 left the yard one day on its first ever mission and made it all the way to the brick arch a short distance when a truck coming from direction of Gunniss took all space and the new F86 smashed into the wall and was wrecked , i was that day following the driver who thought his truck was twenty feet high when it was only twelve and he took centre of road , only after opened the new motorway was the arch demolished , after so much death and wrecks on the A18 then main road
Lillidan
Your mention of Wrigglesworth reminded of one of their drivers who worked on the Frodingham Cement job , Reg was his name IIRC. For weeks Reg was sent to drops in Leicester, every day ,another Leicester. One day Reg comes back and goes into Jigger’s (the shipping supervisor ) office and gives Jigger a form . “What’s this " asks Jigger, “It,s an application form for a council house in Leicester” say’s Reg, " I’m spending that much time I thought I might as well live there”. Reg had another Leicester next day.
Bassman
Hi Bassman, nice story and nice days when a Leicester could be a days work ! back empty and load and wash, pump tyres ,change bulbs and P around , now itsyou only done 500 KM`s half a day 
Lilladan
Leicester 's a local now, especially since they sorted the A46 from Newark,it’s a lovely road now ,no Bingham ,no Sixhills, I might even miss them,do you remember,a 150 Gardner,and 2nd gear to get over Sixhills and that was before the traffic lights at Cotgrave Xroads when you could get a run at it.
As Larry Dunbar says Happy Days!!
Bassman
Bassman , I have driven English then Swedish trucks , but never had a Gardner boat motor ,these were very bad to be stuck behind , so i feel for the drivers of these sloggers , i remember coming from Grimsby docks with my F86 wid 31 tons of tubes from Danmark ( 42 ton gross) (32 ton max in England then 
) for Coventry , so off the royal dock and choice of three or more ways out of town to the Lincoln road throu willages ,Swallow , Cabourne , mid Rasen , Lincoln center (parking brake not hold on Lindum hill 
), and Newark centers then the old road as you say about it , broughtan lodge good cafe , and through Leicester center (mostly better an ring road) ,then thru more willages and turn right on A5 then left for Coventry , through city arrive at Laughton tube torrington ave ? other side of city ,and have to drive in to corner to reverse inside to strip trailer alone , the Asian gents in this place seem to think they can keep me there for a day , so a walk to a fhone box to inform kontrol and they ring to tell them to get those tubes the hell out of our trailer crane off and after build up trailer drive back into corner and reverse out wid out help ,so i go up to Chester for sightseeing from pub to pub , after Cabot carbon refused to load me at Ellesmere Port , come back 8 in morgan damm it i had till midnight to catch the ship at Grimsby 
Kontrol send me to Harwich now ,takes next day to load and get down there
Liladan
That was the days when roads had some interest, not mile after boring mile of motorway.
Broughton Lodge was a good cafe ,along with Sixhills and one long gone but not forgotten The Black Cat.
The Ring road round Leicester now certainly speeds things up, but like you I remember plodding your way through Leicester and out on the A47 to the A5,when the A5 was one of THE main roads in the country. But we did it ----and without Sat-Navs.
Cheers Bassman
Lilladan:
Who knows that a shiny brand new W.Thomsons Volvo F86 left the yard one day on its first ever mission and made it all the way to the brick arch a short distance when a truck coming from direction of Gunniss took all space and the new F86 smashed into the wall and was wrecked , i was that day following the driver who thought his truck was twenty feet high when it was only twelve and he took centre of road , only after opened the new motorway was the arch demolished , after so much death and wrecks on the A18 then main road
About 65 years ago there used to be an old tramp live under those arches, my Dad Jim Sleight who was a special
Used to go up to the Arches in really cold weather and pick him up and take him to the local brickyard kilns to
thaw him out. I remember going up on Christmas Day to take him a dinner, Mum used to put it on an old plate and
tell Dad not to bring it back Happy days, Thompson’s depot was still in Crowle then and the garage on the A18
just past the Arches was run by Godfreys , I think Judge had it after that, the son Richard Judge had a haulage company.
Interesting big Al , home under the arches , Crowle , Glasgow even Stockholm minus grader 20 lived the tramps , no motorways or night heaters , no outreach workers