tonyb70:
That first one is my brother in law,
He’s got a nice moter Tony.
Cheers Dave.
Dave the Renegade:
Another coming onto the weighbridge at the Gore,possibly another of sammydogs mates…
I’m surprised at that card in his windscreen. Thought those MAN TGM’s were capable of carrying 17tonnes with a lightweight ally body? They’ve only got 6.5litre motors i believe.
Maybe all the auto sheet / tailboard etc. adds to the weight.
andrew brick:
Hi both,ive been on both sidesof the fence, having ran 7 artics at one time,then packing up and to work for other firms,I miss my own lorries like hell, looking back over these sites leaves me sort of hollow,and being still on the mend after a back op. and being told that I shouldnt drive a lorry for another 9+ months leaves me with a longing to get behind the steering wheel, if youd have asked me 14 months ago I would have told you that the next timei I saw another lorry it would be to soon !!.Im left wondering what else I should do, problem is WHAT, the thought of working in one place all day would drive me mad.
I have spent some time looking over some of our old ledgers and the rates that we used to get. Do you know that we were getting £13.50 per tonne for Liverpool to Knighton, and that was in 1970, towards the end of our bulk haulage we were having to do Liverpool to Allensmore,Hereford for £6.25 ■■. The rates started to drop in the early 1980s, 38 T. was a wrong move,firms expected us to haul 25t for the same price that we used to get for 20t, and the same things happening for 44t…I remember doing Gore chippings to Severn Springs,Gloucester for £7.95 in the early 1980s (and that was with 10% taken out working through Roberts Transport,when Roberts had all the outside work at the quarries.),towards the end we were being offered Kington to Cricklade for £4.25:twisted:
I love the idea of buying and working another outfit,but then the brain kicks in and I smell the flowers.(might go down to Britewells Classic auction in Leominster today & buy a 1928 Morris 1t.commercial,it would pay more.).
so whats the answer ■■
if we were French we would all stick together, bring the country to a standstill within a day, and within a week we would get proper rate of pay for the job,but this is the UK,and it would depend on all hauliers sticking together,and hell will freeze over before that happens.
regards Andrew.
hi andrew & dave after reading what you wrote never a truer word said and after a lot of thought today ive now decided that that is it and im selling the two trucks and trailers cheers martyn.
sammy dog:
andrew brick:
Hi both,ive been on both sidesof the fence, having ran 7 artics at one time,then packing up and to work for other firms,I miss my own lorries like hell, looking back over these sites leaves me sort of hollow,and being still on the mend after a back op. and being told that I shouldnt drive a lorry for another 9+ months leaves me with a longing to get behind the steering wheel, if youd have asked me 14 months ago I would have told you that the next timei I saw another lorry it would be to soon !!.Im left wondering what else I should do, problem is WHAT, the thought of working in one place all day would drive me mad.
I have spent some time looking over some of our old ledgers and the rates that we used to get. Do you know that we were getting £13.50 per tonne for Liverpool to Knighton, and that was in 1970, towards the end of our bulk haulage we were having to do Liverpool to Allensmore,Hereford for £6.25 ■■. The rates started to drop in the early 1980s, 38 T. was a wrong move,firms expected us to haul 25t for the same price that we used to get for 20t, and the same things happening for 44t…I remember doing Gore chippings to Severn Springs,Gloucester for £7.95 in the early 1980s (and that was with 10% taken out working through Roberts Transport,when Roberts had all the outside work at the quarries.),towards the end we were being offered Kington to Cricklade for £4.25:twisted:
I love the idea of buying and working another outfit,but then the brain kicks in and I smell the flowers.(might go down to Britewells Classic auction in Leominster today & buy a 1928 Morris 1t.commercial,it would pay more.).
so whats the answer ■■
if we were French we would all stick together, bring the country to a standstill within a day, and within a week we would get proper rate of pay for the job,but this is the UK,and it would depend on all hauliers sticking together,and hell will freeze over before that happens.
regards Andrew.hi andrew & dave after reading what you wrote never a truer word said and after a lot of thought today ive now decided that that is it and im selling the two trucks and trailers cheers martyn.
It will prove to be a wise decision Martyn,there are too many hauliers who have a lot of finance around their necks who have to take the work at the rates,even though they are poor,you know better than I do,what it’s like. Find yourself a little transit type tipper and do the small loads to the gardeners etc.
Cheers Dave.
sammy dog:
andrew brick:
Hi both,ive been on both sidesof the fence, having ran 7 artics at one time,then packing up and to work for other firms,I miss my own lorries like hell, looking back over these sites leaves me sort of hollow,and being still on the mend after a back op. and being told that I shouldnt drive a lorry for another 9+ months leaves me with a longing to get behind the steering wheel, if youd have asked me 14 months ago I would have told you that the next timei I saw another lorry it would be to soon !!.Im left wondering what else I should do, problem is WHAT, the thought of working in one place all day would drive me mad.
I have spent some time looking over some of our old ledgers and the rates that we used to get. Do you know that we were getting £13.50 per tonne for Liverpool to Knighton, and that was in 1970, towards the end of our bulk haulage we were having to do Liverpool to Allensmore,Hereford for £6.25 ■■. The rates started to drop in the early 1980s, 38 T. was a wrong move,firms expected us to haul 25t for the same price that we used to get for 20t, and the same things happening for 44t…I remember doing Gore chippings to Severn Springs,Gloucester for £7.95 in the early 1980s (and that was with 10% taken out working through Roberts Transport,when Roberts had all the outside work at the quarries.),towards the end we were being offered Kington to Cricklade for £4.25:twisted:
I love the idea of buying and working another outfit,but then the brain kicks in and I smell the flowers.(might go down to Britewells Classic auction in Leominster today & buy a 1928 Morris 1t.commercial,it would pay more.).
so whats the answer ■■
if we were French we would all stick together, bring the country to a standstill within a day, and within a week we would get proper rate of pay for the job,but this is the UK,and it would depend on all hauliers sticking together,and hell will freeze over before that happens.
regards Andrew.hi andrew & dave after reading what you wrote never a truer word said and after a lot of thought today ive now decided that that is it and im selling the two trucks and trailers cheers martyn.
Hi Martyn,sorry to hear that, I know only to well the heartache that you are going through,its been 9 years since I packed up,finally after being hit by a thief in the night, all I can tell you is that the rates have gone down further since then, and it aint going to get better,I would love to have my own lorries again, but whats the point ?
Good luck for the future,and I truly hope that whatever your decision is, that its the right one.
regards Andrew.
andrew brick:
sammy dog:
andrew brick:
Hi both,ive been on both sidesof the fence, having ran 7 artics at one time,then packing up and to work for other firms,I miss my own lorries like hell, looking back over these sites leaves me sort of hollow,and being still on the mend after a back op. and being told that I shouldnt drive a lorry for another 9+ months leaves me with a longing to get behind the steering wheel, if youd have asked me 14 months ago I would have told you that the next timei I saw another lorry it would be to soon !!.Im left wondering what else I should do, problem is WHAT, the thought of working in one place all day would drive me mad.
I have spent some time looking over some of our old ledgers and the rates that we used to get. Do you know that we were getting £13.50 per tonne for Liverpool to Knighton, and that was in 1970, towards the end of our bulk haulage we were having to do Liverpool to Allensmore,Hereford for £6.25 ■■. The rates started to drop in the early 1980s, 38 T. was a wrong move,firms expected us to haul 25t for the same price that we used to get for 20t, and the same things happening for 44t…I remember doing Gore chippings to Severn Springs,Gloucester for £7.95 in the early 1980s (and that was with 10% taken out working through Roberts Transport,when Roberts had all the outside work at the quarries.),towards the end we were being offered Kington to Cricklade for £4.25:twisted:
I love the idea of buying and working another outfit,but then the brain kicks in and I smell the flowers.(might go down to Britewells Classic auction in Leominster today & buy a 1928 Morris 1t.commercial,it would pay more.).
so whats the answer ■■
if we were French we would all stick together, bring the country to a standstill within a day, and within a week we would get proper rate of pay for the job,but this is the UK,and it would depend on all hauliers sticking together,and hell will freeze over before that happens.
regards Andrew.hi andrew & dave after reading what you wrote never a truer word said and after a lot of thought today ive now decided that that is it and im selling the two trucks and trailers cheers martyn.
Hi Martyn,sorry to hear that, I know only to well the heartache that you are going through,its been 9 years since I packed up,finally after being hit by a thief in the night, all I can tell you is that the rates have gone down further since then, and it aint going to get better,I would love to have my own lorries again, but whats the point ?
Good luck for the future,and I truly hope that whatever your decision is, that its the right one.
regards Andrew.
thanks andrew and dave im now sure im doing the right thing its just a hard decision .
Gore Quarry regular Mark Preece,in C W Griffiths Volvo.
Coming onto the Gore weighbridge.
Hi all,couldnt agree more with the recent comments posted on this thread,Andew l believe your decision must have been incredably difficult but you had the good sense to get out of a job that l know had been your life for a long time,you only had to see one of you trucks out on the road to see that you were doing the job right,the haulage job in this country is just such a joke,along with most operators i find myself refusing jobs because they either dont pay or you know the customer is a slow payer,how many operators out ther know what their trucks cost to run, because of the downturn in the economy ther are just too many trucks chasing too little work,the thing l cant understand is why dont more hauliers cutback and concetrate on more profitable work,if there was more cooperation between operators the excess work can then be sub-contracted to another operator,l realize this is a simplistic view on things,and i know it means jobs could be lost with some operators but looking long term at it surely the viability of a business is paramount and if its doing low profit work then that viability is at risk and everybody loses their job if the business fails,l think a lot of it (and l include myself in this) is down to some operators letting their hearts rule their heads,one way or another we`ve got to our business heads on and cooperate directly with other hauliers and above all cut out the middlemen,so many jobs these days go through several middlemen before it gets to the haulier each party taking out 5-10% and its just unacceptable ok -rant over (lie down now l think) 
One of Bayliss Brothers artics,taken at Stanner,right on the Border,top of the Gore Quarry can be seen.
One of Countrywide’s seen on the A4111,on the top of Bollingham near Kington,this one was nearly past before we got the pic.
Adey Griffiths from Builth Wells having a cuppa at the snack van at Letton on the A438.
Here’s one from the Craven Arms area,coming down to weigh at the Gore Quarry.
One of Richard Read’s coming into the Strinds Quarry this morning.
R500NUT:
Hi all,couldnt agree more with the recent comments posted on this thread,Andew l believe your decision must have been incredably difficult but you had the good sense to get out of a job that l know had been your life for a long time,you only had to see one of you trucks out on the road to see that you were doing the job right,the haulage job in this country is just such a joke,along with most operators i find myself refusing jobs because they either dont pay or you know the customer is a slow payer,how many operators out ther know what their trucks cost to run, because of the downturn in the economy ther are just too many trucks chasing too little work,the thing l cant understand is why dont more hauliers cutback and concetrate on more profitable work,if there was more cooperation between operators the excess work can then be sub-contracted to another operator,l realize this is a simplistic view on things,and i know it means jobs could be lost with some operators but looking long term at it surely the viability of a business is paramount and if its doing low profit work then that viability is at risk and everybody loses their job if the business fails,l think a lot of it (and l include myself in this) is down to some operators letting their hearts rule their heads,one way or another we`ve got to our business heads on and cooperate directly with other hauliers and above all cut out the middlemen,so many jobs these days go through several middlemen before it gets to the haulier each party taking out 5-10% and its just unacceptable ok -rant over (lie down now l think)
Hi, thanks for the comments,I always tried to run a tidy lory, despite a couple of drivers best efforts, although I was mostly very lucky and had some very good drivers. I am split in my thinking, like I said before, I would truly love to run a Brick Bros lorry again, and lately I have done a lot of soul searching,but I just cant make the numbers work, and one good kicking is enough for any man !!. I miss transport badly, and I would love to jump back into a truck again (theres no fool like an old fool !)but told not to do it at present,but would love to try on a local !.
Im not sure that this isnt just becouse ive been told that I shouldnt do it, and being told that you cant do something is a big insentive to do it ,must be a Radnorshire failing !!.
The problem is that there is far more profit in doing otherthings,I desperatley need to get back to work, I havnt worked since last Feb, when my bloody back collapsed,I have a few irons in the fire,but unfortunatly I very much doubt that any involves running a truck in this present climate.It used to be said that there was profit in being a sole trader, and profit in being a large operater,but bugger all profit in running only a few trucks, the problem is these days theres bugger all profit in running any truck, you are right, the only profit being made is by fowarders,taking their percentages, and not running a truck at all, and you are right again, prehaps small hauliers (and mine) biggest mistake is letting our harts rule our heads, but the saddest site of all is a standing truck !!
regards Andrew.
hiya,
Andrew never went down the road of being an O/D but i consider my years as a driver for many companies were during the best times, wages OK, so i guess rates were fine and i worked for some but not all, great bosses, but if i was starting out again in this day and age co-joined with things i read on here, no way would i consider being in the haulage game, nearly bought a motor and a couple of trailers in the late sixties with guaranteed work and a bit spare to sublet, it would have been OK too made a guy i know quite wealthy did’nt have the go at the time but have no regrets, just pleased none of my family fancied taking up driving so did’nt have the job of trying to talk them out of it, i suppose if your of working age times must be difficult, just glad i’m retired and apart from posting my rubbish on here well out of it.
thanks harry long retired.
harry_gill:
hiya,
Andrew never went down the road of being an O/D but i consider my years as a driver for many companies were during the best times, wages OK, so i guess rates were fine and i worked for some but not all, great bosses, but if i was starting out again in this day and age co-joined with things i read on here, no way would i consider being in the haulage game, nearly bought a motor and a couple of trailers in the late sixties with guaranteed work and a bit spare to sublet, it would have been OK too made a guy i know quite wealthy did’nt have the go at the time but have no regrets, just pleased none of my family fancied taking up driving so did’nt have the job of trying to talk them out of it, i suppose if your of working age times must be difficult, just glad i’m retired and apart from posting my rubbish on here well out of it.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi Harry,there used to be good profit in running lorries,and a lot of pride,but the fun and pride went out of it during the 1980s,as the gross weights went up, the rates went down, also doing away with the old A & B licence in the 70s didnt help. I used to be a R H A member, and the R H A were supposed to set trading standards, and maintain good rates, but the most annoying thing was once sitting in a meeting discussing haulage rates,and the two people doing the most complaining about the rate cutting were the biggest culprates out, so what hope was there. No wonder were at the state were in, its self imposed, we should have boycotted the firms doing the rate cutting, and doing work as backloads, the problem is every load is a backload for somebody.and the people making the money dont run trucks at all, they are the fowarders, they used to be despised once, now they rule the roost.Dont get me wrong, I had some very good times in haulage, there wasnt a prouder man than me when I used to look at my lorries,and I would truly love to run trucks again,its in my blood, I dont ever remember a life without lorries, I never remember not being able to drive them,I am quickly approaching 50, but have been driving trucks for at least 40 of them.but to run lorries again,like I said before “whats the point”
regards Andrew.
hi andrew you in the same boat as me as we said the other night ive trucks parked at home and ive made my mind up now as soon as its possible ill sell them and once im out of it completly that will be it and i wont be doing it again for all the reasons you posted ,ive worked for all the major quarry companies and thats all they are these days are finance houses for anybody who would like to be come an owner driver with these idiot companies dropping rates when it suits them and dare anybody who should complain .situations like going into the office being told that your costings are very impressive but if you dont like the situation chuck you keys on the table and basicly bugger off so they hold all the cards and as owner drivers working for the majors or being a big haulier no one shall ever stick together so as the dragons would say im out.
sammy dog:
hi andrew you in the same boat as me as we said the other night ive trucks parked at home and ive made my mind up now as soon as its possible ill sell them and once im out of it completly that will be it and i wont be doing it again for all the reasons you posted ,ive worked for all the major quarry companies and thats all they are these days are finance houses for anybody who would like to be come an owner driver with these idiot companies dropping rates when it suits them and dare anybody who should complain .situations like going into the office being told that your costings are very impressive but if you dont like the situation chuck you keys on the table and basicly bugger off so they hold all the cards and as owner drivers working for the majors or being a big haulier no one shall ever stick together so as the dragons would say im out.
Hi, the one question I keep asking myself (we both know the answer to this) is ,if there is any profit in it then why arnt the quarry operators running there own haulage fleets ?. The best days in the Kington quarries were when they ran their own transport, and any outside and artic work was done by a very small select band,mainly Gordon Roberts (aka Roberts Trans.) If you did haulage in the quarry then you had to go through Roberts Trans, and despite Gordon taking out 10% for handling charges,there was a good profit for any job, we used to get better rates 30 years ago to run a local load of sand or dust up to Builth Rd. in the afternoon than most will get for a 200 mile run these days.(in those days you would do a good longish run on chippings in the morning, and then run a local in the afternoon, so earning around £12-£13. per tonne for the day, and that was based on a 6am - 4.30-5.pm day ) It was a bad day when Gordon Roberts lost the quarry contract, but like they say,thats another story. I truly cant see a future in being a haulage contractor these days,unless you can get a vehicle on specialised work,where reliability means more than just the costs, and companies are willing to pay good rates to ensure that the load gets delivered in one piece.otherwise,like Dave said,theres a lot more profit running a van.
best regards Andrew.
Dave the Renegade:
One of Countrywide’s seen on the A4111,on the top of Bollingham near Kington,this one was nearly past before we got the pic.
HI, nice to see the bullnose,always was a impressive looking wagon,and whilst im not a fan of lorries being bedecked with pictures and spotlights, and I would far prefer to see lorries in the traditional livery,you have to give Charlie Fisher (our transport manager) his due, he does run an impressive fleet, and is a true lorry man at hart,gets a lot of work out of his drivers,but he not only gives the drivers good kit, but also pays a tidy wage,which is getting rarer these days,with some drivers willing to drive a top spec truck at bottom rate wages. I can understand that by giving the drivers custom spec wagons Charlie Fisher does instill a pride in working for the company, the many awards won at different truck shows proves this point, although I think some are a little overdone, prehaps I might just be getting a miserable old git !! 
regards Andrew.