My first wagon after passing my test (march 83) was an Atkinson Borderer, then got promoted to a “A” series ERF. 180 Gardner, Davi Brown 6 speed box & Mondraulic steering, great old motors !!! lol.
Smiths Of Eccles was the company i worked for (Great Bridge depot). Any of you lads on here used to work for them ?
pancho:
My first wagon after passing my test (march 83) was an Atkinson Borderer, then got promoted to a “A” series ERF. 180 Gardner, Davi Brown 6 speed box & Mondraulic steering, great old motors !!! lol.
Smiths Of Eccles was the company i worked for (Great Bridge depot). Any of you lads on here used to work for them ?
i didnt actually work for smiths of eccles,but got return loads from them in the late 60s,only trouble with that was i always seemed to end up with about 10 drops,thats not much fun when ropeing +sheeting! 
was driving aec’s atkinsons and erf’s when i was a kid around the yard of edwards transport. then a f86 and f88 part time when i was a fitter with mike prosser transport.first lorry i drove full time (1983) was a merc 1617 day cab going to ireland every week for a contract with brs.i was told i was going to have it for a year.first day i had it i took it home and built a bunk,storage and curtains in it .fitted a dropper and tv.got it ready to go to ireland and then they said i could have a new sleeper cab if i wanted!!! 
.only had it a week then had a new 1617 sleeper,then in 1988 a 1625 drawbar double bunk sleeper…wow 
wideboybob:
was driving aec’s atkinsons and erf’s when i was a kid around the yard of edwards transport. then a f86 and f88 part time when i was a fitter with mike prosser transport.first lorry i drove full time (1983) was a merc 1617 day cab going to ireland every week for a contract with brs.i was told i was going to have it for a year.first day i had it i took it home and built a bunk,storage and curtains in it .fitted a dropper and tv.got it ready to go to ireland and then they said i could have a new sleeper cab if i wanted!!!
1625 Merc you must have been stuned with the power of that.
going from a F86 at 32 tons on the steel to that merc was a backward step but i had to get a full time well paid job and that brs job was well paid,we sorted the routes as we wanted ,4 nights out and as much overtime as we wanted (all legal) and that v8 growl was music. 
i didnt actually work for smiths of eccles,but got return loads from them in the late 60s,only trouble with that was i always seemed to end up with about 10 drops,thats not much fun when ropeing +sheeting!
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Late 60s was a bit before my time trunkera1, but multi drop was the norm towards the end & always roping & sheeting unless you were 1 of the continental lads. Who was you working for ?
My first wagon at John Dee was F132 GGT, a 7.5T Leyland Roadrunner day cab. 5 nights out every week sleeping across the seats, delivering Magnet kitchens.Was only 20 at the time. Passed class 1 first time, first artic was D56 NJA, an F10 4x2, then got F504 NTY, an FL10 6x2, then got F322 RVH, a 14L 320 ■■■■■■■ Strato 4x2. Got brand new M544 RPY, an IVECO cabbed Strato, 10L 325 ■■■■■■■ 6x2. Only had that thing 2 days when I asked for old Strato back. Broke down 3 times in first week.
Better try and revive this thread. After starting with a BMC FG with the threepenny bit cab,moved onto a Bedford TK at 14 ton gross,then after about eight months onto a Commer Maxiload with the TS3 two stroke engine running at 16 ton gross.
Thats it for now.
Bring yours on Fella’s.
Cheers Dave.
tk bedford petrol engine under 3.5 ton as i 
yet 21 rotherhan biulders supply local wk. but it got me started -alan but my dad used to let me have a go in his 8 legger-alan
The other one to this one was the regular TK I drove for C W Griffiths in 1969,did drive Tk’s before I was 21 unofficially,also a J type Bedford on farm lanes from the age of 12.
First lorry I drove regular at the age of 17 was a petrolled engine Bedford TK 3 tonner (VVH 13 IIRC). With no heater, which was still an optional extra.
Wouldn’t pull the first skin back, never mind the fourth one. But on the level it was a flyer. Unfortunately, round Oldham, Rochdale, and Bacup etc. There’s not that much on the level. Came back over Standedge one day in 1st gear for most of the way. It took about 2½ Hrs from Huddersfield to Oldham.
Think we had 4 of these TKs, 2 petrol and 2 diesels. The 2 petrol ones had unladen weights of 2tons 19cwt. The 2 diesels were 3tons 1cwt. Even though they were all the same height width and length and gross was the same, two I could drive legally and two I couldn’t.
Well that’s the legal one done with. Worked as a drivers mate at another firm before that delivering wines and spirits etc. Used to be mate to a driver who didn’t let you sit in the drivers seat, never mind drive it. Wouldn’t even let you shunt it in the yard. But he liked a drink or two. One day he had a drink or 10ish at dinner time in a Pub near Whaley Bridge and he said to me you can drive can’t you, so I said yes and he said wake me up when we get to Glossop. He let me drive a number of times after that, but only when he had had a long liquid lunch. Sometimes wonder how we got away with it, when I was 21 I only looked about 16. 
First HGV I drove after passing the test on a Class1 was a 4 cylinder Albion (LAD) rigid. This would fly, but stopping it was another matter.
Ray
What about the rest of you trucknet drivers,don’t be shy,lets hear what your first moters were.
I lost my job and went for my HGV. got on agency for royal mail and drove vans. then i pestered a company who i thought had artics but they were hired in and they had wagon and drags and rigids. so i drove, reversed, well tried to, swore a lot, nearly put one in fraserbourough harbour, didnt know if a 13 foot reefer would go under a 16 foot bridge, and just went down hill from there. first artic job i think was sutherlands out of aberdeen on as trunk to glasgow. M.AN. and it went like the wind. no limeters mind. W reg if i recall. remember coming up to lights and locking the trailer up. next was scania 142 then 143 i think.
My first big un’ was an Albion rigid with a Luton van body, it had the LAD cab which i think is a great looking cab. It’s only drawback was the little mirrors sticking out on them little sticks, used to shake like hell 
I’ve often thought an LAD cab fitted with them ‘west coast mirrors’ like the Ford D series had and a sun visor atop the windscreen would look pretty sharp.
Charles
S Type Bedford bulk tipper with a Perkins in it, boy would that old girl go, stopping her was a different story. 
hiya,
Age 18 Bedford QL in the forces, first motor in civvy street was a 1939 then a 19 years old Maudslay Mikado 8 legger pulling a Dyson single tyred 4 wheel trailer this was capable of 29 mph on the level but would do any speed out of stick downhill but stopping the thing was the problem this had the trailer braking in the passenger side to keep the trailer boy busy when going downhill and i think the motor only had brakes on three axles but this was 1957 and the memory is getting dim.
thanks harry long retired
harry_gill:
hiya,
Age 18 Bedford QL in the forces, first motor in civvy street was a 1939 then a 19 years old Maudslay Mikado 8 legger pulling a Dyson single tyred 4 wheel trailer this was capable of 29 mph on the level but would do any speed out of stick downhill but stopping the thing was the problem this had the trailer braking in the passenger side to keep the trailer boy busy when going downhill and i think the motor only had brakes on three axles but this was 1957 and the memory is getting dim.
thanks harry long retired
Hiya “H” here’s me believing by what I read about you that your fist motor was a Trafford Park assembled Ford model T 1 tonner (handball ) Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
harry_gill:
hiya,
Age 18 Bedford QL in the forces, first motor in civvy street was a 1939 then a 19 years old Maudslay Mikado 8 legger pulling a Dyson single tyred 4 wheel trailer this was capable of 29 mph on the level but would do any speed out of stick downhill but stopping the thing was the problem this had the trailer braking in the passenger side to keep the trailer boy busy when going downhill and i think the motor only had brakes on three axles but this was 1957 and the memory is getting dim.
thanks harry long retiredHiya “H” here’s me believing by what I read about you that your fist motor was a Trafford Park assembled Ford model T 1 tonner (handball ) Cheers Bewick.
C’mon Dennis,what was your first moter,and your last,lets inject a bit more into this thread.
Cheers Dave.
Dave the Renegade:
Bewick:
harry_gill:
hiya,
Age 18 Bedford QL in the forces, first motor in civvy street was a 1939 then a 19 years old Maudslay Mikado 8 legger pulling a Dyson single tyred 4 wheel trailer this was capable of 29 mph on the level but would do any speed out of stick downhill but stopping the thing was the problem this had the trailer braking in the passenger side to keep the trailer boy busy when going downhill and i think the motor only had brakes on three axles but this was 1957 and the memory is getting dim.
thanks harry long retiredHiya “H” here’s me believing by what I read about you that your fist motor was a Trafford Park assembled Ford model T 1 tonner (handball ) Cheers Bewick.
C’mon Dennis,what was your first moter,and your last,lets inject a bit more into this thread.
Cheers Dave.
Hiya Dave well now then there’s a thing !! My very,very,first motor was a 1964 Thames Trader tipper which kept me occupied for a few months while I got into gear with the first of my “A” licences .The very last motor to join the fleet was a new steer axle R cab 360 Scania N reg supplied by Keltrucks of West Brom ( photo will appear on the thread some time in the not too distant future )( I Hope ) The scania went into service with one of our customers at Garstang in their livery and was driven by one of our top drivers Lenny Richards ! Will that do for now Bach !! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Dave the Renegade:
Bewick:
harry_gill:
hiya,
Age 18 Bedford QL in the forces, first motor in civvy street was a 1939 then a 19 years old Maudslay Mikado 8 legger pulling a Dyson single tyred 4 wheel trailer this was capable of 29 mph on the level but would do any speed out of stick downhill but stopping the thing was the problem this had the trailer braking in the passenger side to keep the trailer boy busy when going downhill and i think the motor only had brakes on three axles but this was 1957 and the memory is getting dim.
thanks harry long retiredHiya “H” here’s me believing by what I read about you that your fist motor was a Trafford Park assembled Ford model T 1 tonner (handball ) Cheers Bewick.
C’mon Dennis,what was your first moter,and your last,lets inject a bit more into this thread.
Cheers Dave.Hiya Dave well now then there’s a thing !! My very,very,first motor was a 1964 Thames Trader tipper which kept me occupied for a few months while I got into gear with the first of my “A” licences .The very last motor to join the fleet was a new steer axle R cab 360 Scania N reg supplied by Keltrucks of West Brom ( photo will appear on the thread some time in the not too distant future )( I Hope ) The scania went into service with one of our customers at Garstang in their livery and was driven by one of our top drivers Lenny Richards ! Will that do for now Bach !! Cheers Dennis.
Good on you Dennis,I have took about 200 pics off my thread by adding them to an album ( stupid boy ) its taking me forever to get them back on,got about fifty back on,it will keep me busy for a while.
Cheers Dave.