60 mph was easily attainable if you knew how to fit a bungee cord to the govener bar . a little careful filing on the pump trigger had the same effect .
I had a Bedford KM in 1970 with a two speed axle that would do 75 mph.Tilcon at Gore quarry had a Foden new in 1985 with a 290 ■■■■■■■ which would do 90 mph.All down to gearing and Diffs.
Cheers Dave.
BIBS:
Hi Marky yes your right we went into Sheperds from 1960 to 1980 they made all kinds of ash and hickory handles for most uses always made a quality product n we took the firewood and sawdust away in sacks who was your father n what job did he do in the mill we started goin in for sawdust my father used to take a load of milk each day to hansons at aintree in kits and on return he would double the emptys up and load sawdust back to local farms this was for his self so it caused a big fall out with his father whos wagon it was, so he started on his own in 1962 up to where we are today
My dad & uncle are twins (Joe & John Rimmer) & both worked at Shepherds - I believe both worked on the bandsaw in the yard at various times with ■■■■ Baldwin. Dad left to drive for Tommy Guy but my uncle stayed on for a while longer - I seem to recall it was around 1970-1 when he left.
40 years ago I was a van salesman for The Walls meat company selling sausages & pies around Romford, Ilford & Brentwood. I then went to work for Eden Vale/Express Catering Foods around Essex, Cambridge & Suffolk. It was hard work but in those dayus I was as fit as a butcher’s dog. Now i get out of breath opening my eyelids!
In 78 both my brother and I had Big J’s for different companies, both with 180 smokers, mine would do 55 flat out his was good for 75, the only difference was his had a 2 speed axel.
Starting out on my first trips with dad in one of his red BRS seddons , guys & mandators with memories of feet perched on a footwell full of ropes & winding handle , engine cover shod in thick blankets ,that dieselly oily smell that all lorries had & of course all lorries then sounded like lorries 
…happy days
Hi Dennis
40yrs ago I was carting into Libbys with SJ Barghs ERF.In fact I have brought pallets from RO Hodgsons for you.I might be a year or two out,the memory isn`t as good these days.
40 years ago i was working for orxy frieght lines out of gravesend. running to the middlel east we had a fleet of volvo F89s
top of the range all the kit on.we ran to kuwait .qatar.saudi. iran .there were some good men working for that firm some real characters. 
if there are any of you out there who see this post get in touch take care all.
Bewick:
ND888 BIGJ:
I was 9 years old and riding shotgun with my dad in his smith of maddiston GUY BIG J4 240 gardner just like the one in my avatar.yes they did exist remember me dads smug face as we sailed passed every other lorry on the A74, M6,M1 on the way to st Albans depot
my aunt lived in luton so he would drop me off there on a monday morning and spend the week with my cousins then he would pick me up on a friday for the trip back home.My job was to look out for the traffic police as we cruised at a steady 74mph… YES 74mph lol in that BIG J 240 GARDNER
I thought i was the mutts nutts remember those trips with my dad as if it was yesterday
There is just no-way that the hard wall,cross ply tyres that SOM ran on their trailers would have stood up to a 74 mph trip of 400 miles!! How often did you have a blow out ■■ Cheers Bewick.
hi bewick i think SOM ran on bandags at one time but acording to the old man drivers had so many compaints about blow outs that they were changed to goodyears (i think)
remember the old man coming home moaning about getting done for speeding they did him at 68mph but the cops reconed he was doing 76mph he told them there wasnt a waggon capible of that speed so both parties settled for 68mph
i think the gearbox was a fullers road ranger with a 2 speed axil im going over to the old mans on sunday so will ask the precise details
my dads better than your dad na na na na na lol
rigsby:
60 mph was easily attainable if you knew how to fit a bungee cord to the govener bar . a little careful filing on the pump trigger had the same effect .
Cretin !!! Anon1.
Well,I’m not taking sides but when I was on night trunk Sheffield-Morpeth or Sheffield-Penrith/Carlisle/Lockerbie,SOM used to whizz past us because our gaffer wanted a 50mph max as we we were never in a rush (made a change for me 
).However,Charlie Alexander and Partners were running Marathons at that time and they blew every bugger off the A1 whether it were SOM,GGD,Atlas Express,Eldiss,Towmaster - you name 'em,they all got disappearing tail lights plus some wet fish watter.
I had an S/A 400 series with the 240 Patricroft and tha could just squeeze owt between 67-70 mph out of it,and the clock would be miles out-they always were.
Could you get a motor with a 9-speed Fuller and a two speed axle,only asking… 
I was in my element learning my trade at GE Moores where we had lots of Atkis and ERFs. Never had much to do with Big Js but the Leyland Bison that I had was on 9.00 tyres when I bought it. I changed it onto 11.00s and my wife following me down the M6 one day reckoned I was doing 85.
ND888 BIGJ:
Bewick:
ND888 BIGJ:
I was 9 years old and riding shotgun with my dad in his smith of maddiston GUY BIG J4 240 gardner just like the one in my avatar.yes they did exist remember me dads smug face as we sailed passed every other lorry on the A74, M6,M1 on the way to st Albans depot
my aunt lived in luton so he would drop me off there on a monday morning and spend the week with my cousins then he would pick me up on a friday for the trip back home.My job was to look out for the traffic police as we cruised at a steady 74mph… YES 74mph lol in that BIG J 240 GARDNER
I thought i was the mutts nutts remember those trips with my dad as if it was yesterday
There is just no-way that the hard wall,cross ply tyres that SOM ran on their trailers would have stood up to a 74 mph trip of 400 miles!! How often did you have a blow out ■■ Cheers Bewick.
hi bewick i think SOM ran on bandags at one time but acording to the old man drivers had so many compaints about blow outs that they were changed to goodyears (i think)
remember the old man coming home moaning about getting done for speeding they did him at 68mph but the cops reconed he was doing 76mph he told them there wasnt a waggon capible of that speed so both parties settled for 68mph
i think the gearbox was a fullers road ranger with a 2 speed axil im going over to the old mans on sunday so will ask the precise detailsmy dads better than your dad na na na na na lol
Your right there,my dad was a farmer and he could only drive sheep with a good dog!! Hod on there Son,you could have created another thread to run alongside the 8LXB thread,"Did Guy’s use the Eaton 2 speed with the 240LXB ? I doubt it as I don’t think they were rated high enough.Eaton Corperation did produce heavier single speed axles as I ordered a number of ERF B & C series with Eaton axles,however I’m not to sure wether they were suitable for conversion to 2 speed operation !! As regards tyres,I do recall that SOM were big Goodyear user’s,I wonder if they hauled for Goodyear ? Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
ND888 BIGJ:
Bewick:
ND888 BIGJ:
I was 9 years old and riding shotgun with my dad in his smith of maddiston GUY BIG J4 240 gardner just like the one in my avatar.yes they did exist remember me dads smug face as we sailed passed every other lorry on the A74, M6,M1 on the way to st Albans depot
my aunt lived in luton so he would drop me off there on a monday morning and spend the week with my cousins then he would pick me up on a friday for the trip back home.My job was to look out for the traffic police as we cruised at a steady 74mph… YES 74mph lol in that BIG J 240 GARDNER
I thought i was the mutts nutts remember those trips with my dad as if it was yesterday
There is just no-way that the hard wall,cross ply tyres that SOM ran on their trailers would have stood up to a 74 mph trip of 400 miles!! How often did you have a blow out ■■ Cheers Bewick.
hi bewick i think SOM ran on bandags at one time but acording to the old man drivers had so many compaints about blow outs that they were changed to goodyears (i think)
remember the old man coming home moaning about getting done for speeding they did him at 68mph but the cops reconed he was doing 76mph he told them there wasnt a waggon capible of that speed so both parties settled for 68mph
i think the gearbox was a fullers road ranger with a 2 speed axil im going over to the old mans on sunday so will ask the precise detailsmy dads better than your dad na na na na na lol
Your right there,my dad was a farmer and he could only drive sheep with a good dog!! Hod on there Son,you could have created another thread to run alongside the 8LXB thread,"Did Guy’s use the Eaton 2 speed with the 240LXB ? I doubt it as I don’t think they were rated high enough.Eaton Corperation did produce heavier single speed axles as I ordered a number of ERF B & C series with Eaton axles,however I’m not to sure wether they were suitable for conversion to 2 speed operation !! As regards tyres,I do recall that SOM were big Goodyear user’s,I wonder if they hauled for Goodyear ? Cheers Bewick.
yes they had a goodyear contract from the factory in drumchapel (now a retail park ) my dad got my older brother a job there driving the hyster forklifts
40 years ago I was working for national carriers leicester running walk through commer diesel vans on local parcel delivery…horrible job was hoping to go to the training centre in Peterborough to obtain my HGV class one this never happened.
hi marky yes i remember the rimmer twins n ■■■■ baldwin with whom i kept in touch with right up to his death just a few years ago top man was ■■■■ do you remember george who drove the crane unloading the pole wagons from hereford n shropshire mainly. cheers.
BIBS:
hi marky yes i remember the rimmer twins n ■■■■ baldwin with whom i kept in touch with right up to his death just a few years ago top man was ■■■■ do you remember george who drove the crane unloading the pole wagons from hereford n shropshire mainly. cheers.
I’ll pass on your recollections to dad & my uncle. I told my dad about you being on here earlier today - and that you have a presence in the BCVM at Leyland. It seems they may well be paying a visit soon to have a little look…
hiya,
Was doing a spell for Bayfords of Leeds driving a brand new Scammell with a tanker trailer two piece of cake loads a night great money and a really good job but believe it or not I missed the variety of journey work and roping and sheeting when I was working my notice I wondered what I was doing and on wet and windy days I often wished I could turn the clock back a bit.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi all,
In 1972 i was 32 yrs old and driving a Guy Big J 32ton Artic with a Gardener 180, for B.H. King of Bedford on night trunk to Manchester and back.We mainly carried farm produce up, mostly sprouts i remember, for delivery to Manchester Fruit and Veg market in Swan St. and general goods back. That was the year the company went banckrupt and when we left, Harry King signed everyones application form for the new EEC required HGV licence, as a class 1 driver, so we all got the licence under "Grandfather Rights. I then worked for David Payne (H.E. Payne) of Wyboston, who had taken over most of Kings customers. It was hard work as most loads were handball and had to be roped and sheeted down. The hours were long but the camaraderie among the the drivers was second to none. Ahhh, happy days!!!
marky:
BIBS:
hi marky yes i remember the rimmer twins n ■■■■ baldwin with whom i kept in touch with right up to his death just a few years ago top man was ■■■■ do you remember george who drove the crane unloading the pole wagons from hereford n shropshire mainly. cheers.I’ll pass on your recollections to dad & my uncle. I told my dad about you being on here earlier today - and that you have a presence in the BCVM at Leyland. It seems they may well be paying a visit soon to have a little look…
The George you referred to earlier would’ve been George Lawson, who took over crane driving duties from Tommy Fairclough (or Tom Plum, as he was apparently known). Dad is currently on the phone with my uncle - rapidly returning to the mid-sixties, the yard at Shepherds and tales of half-filling the scraps bags to keep up with the bonus…