Just been having a think about what is the strangest load you ever carried?
Yonks ago when I worked for ‘Kensal Haulage’ near Hanger Lane, Acton. I was given my loading instructions for the next day which was a zoo transfer. I thought that the transport manager was pulling my leg at first. Anyway I had to transfer a white rhino from Chessington Zoo to Whipsnade Zoo and to do the same in reverse (in other words a swap). The first leg of the journey went without a hitch but whilst I was waiting at Whipsnade for the other rhino, the crane driver had to lift the crate from the rhino’s pen over it’s ‘house’ to my waiting vehicle. They hadn’t used any spreader bars and when the crate was directly over the roof of it’s house the ropes crushed the crate and the rhino slid out the end, hitting the roof and then falling to the concrete floor!It was laying there thrashing about in pain and bleeding. My first thought was that it was going to be an early day for me assuming that they wouldn’t be taking the animal anywhere that day. I was wrong, they sedated it, got it into a new crate and placed on my wagon. I was most surprised but I gave the poor beast the smoothest ride I could give it to it’s new home at Chessington.
Jeez I bet that made a thud when it hit the floor 
Fly sheet
bullitt:
Check out this thread…Already been covered, may help you though!
Cheers Bullitt i perhaps should have had a look through the old stuff !
Once as a favour to his pal my boss [no names] promised to move a bakers oven from Leeds to Pudsey. A crane had been hired from Wright Bros in Bradford. Just one lift said the Baker, Yes but what a lift. The wagon was a Bedford KM and when the oven sat on the back it sounded like a noise of someone on the rack being tortured, The rear tyres were kissing, a couple of sylvesters on and pronto to Pudsey no Minisry Men around hopefully.One lift off and two overnights in my back pocket. When the fitters installed the oven it transpires the weight of the oven was 26 tons. No wonder the poor old KM struggled through Bramley.
A complete church organ from Peckham to France, all handball and dust 
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.
It is much further than that Chris 
There are 22 yards in a chain, and 80 chains in a mile 
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.
Don’t tell Wheelnut about the size of the low loaders that carried the cistern and the toilet seat Chris, let him try and imagine it for himself 
.
Wheel Nut:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.It is much further than that Chris
There are 22 yards in a chain, and 80 chains in a mile
I like that,very witty Malc.Not many on here would know how many yards in a chain etc. Thas showing your age pal.
Aye,alright then.A ship’s chain - you know that thing at one end of the anchor,and no, not the bloody seabed - for British United Trawlers at Grimsby.
mushroomman:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.Don’t tell Wheelnut about the size of the low loaders that carried the cistern and the toilet seat Chris, let him try and imagine it for himself
I’m waiting for the reply Steve…
How’s things down under?
Chris Webb:
Wheel Nut:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.It is much further than that Chris
There are 22 yards in a chain, and 80 chains in a mile
I like that,very witty Malc.Not many on here would know how many yards in a chain etc. Thas showing your age pal.
Aye,alright then.A ship’s chain - you know that thing at one end of the anchor,and no, not the bloody seabed - for British United Trawlers at Grimsby.
hiya,
A rod, pole, or peck even !!!, us oldies know a thing or two.
thanks harry long retired.
Chris Webb:
mushroomman:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.Don’t tell Wheelnut about the size of the low loaders that carried the cistern and the toilet seat Chris, let him try and imagine it for himself
I’m waiting for the reply Steve…
How’s things down under?
Hmm, something Fishy here
12 church bells from Burnley to near Lichfield, on a 40’ tri-axle flat behind an Atkinson Viewline - delivered to a private house down a track marked ‘Unsuitable for Motors’, and was unloaded by a fork attachment on the back of a grey Ferguson tractor and driven by a chap who couldn’t turn round in his seat because of his neck brace…
Oh, and the Atki blew a diaphragm in the auxiliary circuit on the way home, so I drove back to Preston in torrential rain with no wipers!
Sadly, forgot my camera that day
Also, the Shap memorial stone, collected out of Shap Granite Quarry and delivered to the stonemason at Troutbeck Bridge.
Wheel Nut:
Chris Webb:
mushroomman:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.Don’t tell Wheelnut about the size of the low loaders that carried the cistern and the toilet seat Chris, let him try and imagine it for himself
I’m waiting for the reply Steve…
How’s things down under?Hmm, something Fishy here
Hi Chris, all’s well down under, still not made me fortune yet but there is always next week 
. Did Wheelnut make it over to your place for the T.T ?.
Nothing fishy going on Malc unless it’s something to do with Harry mentioning about his rod .
Does twelve ton of Yorky Bars from Trafford Park Cold Storage to Leicester in a box van in the middle of summer count as a strange load .
Regards Steve.
rondavies:
Yonks ago when I worked for ‘Kensal Haulage’ near Hanger Lane, Acton. I was given my loading instructions for the next day which was a zoo transfer. I thought that the transport manager was pulling my leg at first. Anyway I had to transfer a white rhino from Chessington Zoo to Whipsnade Zoo and to do the same in reverse (in other words a swap). The first leg of the journey went without a hitch but whilst I was waiting at Whipsnade for the other rhino, the crane driver had to lift the crate from the rhino’s pen over it’s ‘house’ to my waiting vehicle. They hadn’t used any spreader bars and when the crate was directly over the roof of it’s house the ropes crushed the crate and the rhino slid out the end, hitting the roof and then falling to the concrete floor!It was laying there thrashing about in pain and bleeding. My first thought was that it was going to be an early day for me assuming that they wouldn’t be taking the animal anywhere that day. I was wrong, they sedated it, got it into a new crate and placed on my wagon. I was most surprised but I gave the poor beast the smoothest ride I could give it to it’s new home at Chessington.
Nice one Ron and we were all sat here wondering if after you had taken him to the zoo then you had to take him to the cinema .
I hope that the crane driver didn’t charge for poor service and that the poor rhino didn’t charge the crane driver .
[/quote
Does twelve ton of Yorky Bars from Trafford Park Cold Storage to Leicester in a box van in the middle of summer count as a strange load .
Regards Steve.[/quote]
[/quote]
Steve, that reminds me of the time when I was driving for Caddies and was told to collect a load of frozen turtle meat at the cargo shed at Heathrow. It had come from the Caymen Islands and I was to take it to Frankfurt. They had flown it over in the normal cargo area of the plane and when I saw it sat there in the cargo shed, it was definitely NOT frozen!! After a phone call to Caddies’ office I was told to load it anyway and wind the temperature down to maximum cold. I was also told that I couldn’t go to Germany via any other country so had to take a freighter from some port like Immingham or Kings Lynn (can’t remember) to Cuxhaven, Germany. 
When I finally got to Frankfurt they wouldn’t unload me at first because I was told that turtles were on the ‘endangered list’. It was then that the penny dropped and I realised why I couldn’t go via any other country to get to Germany. It was well frozen (again) by the time I got unloaded but I always wondered if there had been any complaints of food poisoning in the restaurants in the Frankfurt area that served turtle meat over the next few months.
A right “dodgy” load. Perhaps they chose me for the job as they knew I had driven for Simons in the past. Ha! ha!
mushroomman:
Wheel Nut:
Chris Webb:
mushroomman:
Chris Webb:
A chain from Cradley Heath to Grimsby Docks.Don’t tell Wheelnut about the size of the low loaders that carried the cistern and the toilet seat Chris, let him try and imagine it for himself
I’m waiting for the reply Steve…
How’s things down under?Hmm, something Fishy here
Hi Chris, all’s well down under, still not made me fortune yet but there is always next week
Nothing fishy going on Malc unless it’s something to do with Harry mentioning about his rodDoes twelve ton of Yorky Bars from Trafford Park Cold Storage to Leicester in a box van in the middle of summer count as a strange load
Regards Steve.
Wheelnut is coming next year Steve,he’s saving up to buy my beer in the Queens
The load of Yorkie Bars would only count as a strange load if it was liquid when it got to Leicester.You could have had half a load of nitrobenzene for Teesside and top up with Yorkie Bars for Leicester. 
We did loads of choc ices put of a firm in Skem to Georgia, perfect temp when they arrived but in pushing 40oC they put them in ordinary sheds as they had no cold storage, the customs bods put their “freebies” into the boots of their cars until they went home at the end of the day - bet they would’ve been lovely by then