" Gold Run" Transcontis.

by **Limey** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:26 pm

I recall two big Ford artics, light blue with single axle trailers that used to roar up the M1 (I always used to see them heading northbound, never southbound) with a police escort front and rear. Assumed they were carrying bullion but I could well be wrong.

Also, what about those super heroes who used to hurtle past on a bus chassis with no protection other than a pair of goggles and a michelinmanesque coat. It seems unimaginable in this H& S dominated world. Anyone know when that practice stopped, I'm sure they were still about in the mid eighties.

by **brit pete** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:51 pm

I rember those chassis +drivers as well , and your right those

chassis go by transporter nowdays.

by **Warrior** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 8:26 pm

Was discussing the chassis drivers at work last week,everybody accused me talking bull.They just couldnt believe anyone would do it .needless to say they are lot younger than me.

by **Twincam16** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 11:47 pm

Wow.....I remember those Transcontis up and down the M1,they used to take up 2 lanes of motorway and I always wondered what they carried !
I asked my father once and he said it was Top Secret Glider Fuel :roll:

LOL

by **powershot** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 6:06 am

I rember picking those chasssis drivers up in felixstowe and droping them off
in stratford in east London where they would get a tube to heathrow and fly back
to scotland all the best powershot

facebook · by **jessicas dad** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:54 pm

i remember them bloody hell imagine your reply if nowadays your gaffer gave you a crash helmet and told you to get on with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by **bigandy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 9:19 pm

i used to see them quite often on the A64 delivering the coach chassis to plaxtons at scarborough

by **Wheel Nut** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 9:56 pm

Scary things them bus chassis, but at least you got to take the bit of plywood home with you

I remember the Transcons, I always thought it was Bullion or cash.

by **boden** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:55 am

I well remember these lads int he mid and late 60's delivering truck chassis when riding out with my dad through out Yorkshire. Bear in mind there were still coach built cabs being fitted then. They were always well wrapped up but I never saw one with a crash helmet though that did happen in ther 80's when I last saw one. I can recall one parked on Blubberhouses(A59) having his break. Some had temporary wood fairings around the front of the chassis.

Back in 81 I gave a bloke a lift from Plaxtons Blackpool(now a a retail park) to Charnock Richard and he told me about driving with no nearside mirror and only a a car licence was needed as the chassis didnt carry anything.

by **Deaks** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:35 pm

I belive the practice of driving bus chassis from manufacturers to bodybuilders went on until a few years ago. I read a bus magazine from around 2000 or so where the editor had a go at driving a Javelin coach chassis from Dennis's factory at Guildford to a body builders at Waterlooville. At the time of the article it was still the done thing at Dennis, it even being acceptable to drive one from Guildford to Plaxtons at Scarborough - during the winter, too!

by **Pat Hasler** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:51 pm

That was in the times when 'Plate drivers' got paid a fortune and would hand you a fiver (a lot of money then) just for a reasonable lift.

by **Rattlesnake Dave** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:32 pm

In the days when AEC's were built in Southall it was a common sight to see coach chassis being driven around on test. I had a couple of mates (ken & Tom) who spent all day every day just driving them around locally or running up to Beaconsfield and back.
WHAT A JOB!!!!!!
Another common sight was the AEC Gas Turbine Truck being tested. What happened to that?

by **phantom** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:58 pm

I belive the Transconti's carried cash that was to be incinerated at the Nottingham plant, remember them very well ooh the days before speed limiters.

by **3300John** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:03 pm

The transcons run to Warrington sometimes. theres a volt on a industral estate the doors open ,they drive in and go underground in a lift .A chap i know
was on the building site when it was constructed(you've all seen it just did'nt know what it was). I'd put a pound bet theres no techo or limiter involved.
I think they run back empty and just blend in with traffic. I see they use Seddon Atkinson now.
John

by **newmercman** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:07 pm

The light blue Transcons were owned by the Bank of England, I'm sure they run Sed Ak rigids on the job now, they carried money, usually banknotes, sometimes old ones to be incinerated at Nottingham or Loughton, sometimes nice crisp new ones. They could well have carted Bullion around too, as until Gordon Brown came along the Bank of England actually had some Gold Reserves.

The dark blue Transcons were owned by Brinks & they used to do similar work, I worked alongside a couple of blokes who used to work for Brinks, they started out on the little D series Fords & worked up to the Transcons, they told me about the Bank of England motors, the drivers on these were all ex Army, I'm sure they said they were armed, but maybe not. One of them told me that he once picked up a filing cabinet full of cut diamonds, he reckoned it was the most expensive thing he ever carried on the job.

As for those nutters driving chassis cabs, used to see them about, did feel sorry for them, especially in the rain, but when you think about it there's not much difference to riding a motorbike, except if you get your knee down in a corner then it's all going horribly wrong!

by **whooshwhoosh** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:41 pm

saw one of the atkis last week m6 preston area,301 8 legger with a large police presence around it.the money place is still on woolston grange in warrington,next to dodds old yard,got a funny shaped curved roof,apparently helicopters cant land on it?downdraughts or some strange science? :roll:

.those chassis drivers made topgears stig look a right pussy too!

by **man-tga** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:54 pm

used to be loads of the chassis on the road.. loads of them coming out of the Leyland Plant at Bathgate..(long gone :cry:

) old guy stayed in my street would sometimes park one up at the big car park along the road.. all the kids would clamber all over it and play on it pretending to be the driver .. lol..

used to be just a bit of wood for a seat and that was it ...then the old boy would be wrapped up like the michillen man..

wots the name of that company that pull them nowadays ..?? is it swains or soemthing like that .. think i got a pic somewhere need to digg it out ..

by **marky** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:29 pm

A D Boyes do a lot of chassis deliveries. They also design & construct their trailers themselves.

by **Stupot** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:02 pm

They still drive the bus chassis in some parts of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRwkKK7nSCY

by **fly sheet** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:59 pm

I remember them Brinks transcons on the M6 in any lane that pleased them, I vaguely remember John Debruin from East London running 1 to Italy & Greece too, they had wierd glass in them & condensation used to get inbetween the panes so you could'nt see out!!!! They where well heavy too.

Fly sheet

by **aidey** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:54 pm

Yeah your right them transcons were brinks mat and yes they went like [zb] off a shovel Built like a tank.

by **BigG-Unit** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:39 am

Was talking about chassis on another thread and I mentioned my dad used to do 'em in the '50s when he first started on 'plates'. His biggest gripe wasn't driving them, it was having to cart a big bag of clobber about when hitching back. Their money wasn't that great back then, as they were expected to 'hitch' to make it up, (a bit like waiters tips.)

knew a lad back in the '80s bought a Transcon to have a go on his own, didn't work out so he went back driving for someone and put it up for sale. I remember thinking he'll have a job moving that, but he got a call from a chap, speaking very broken english, said he wanted it to work in Russia. He thought it was a wind up but the bloke turn up in his village, bought it, and away he went! Said they liked them cos they had heaters on the fuel filters or something like that, which didn't ring true to me as I would have thought you could have got that on anything at that time. Anyone know? or am I remembering it wrong! :oops:

by **Wheel Nut** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:24 pm

BigG-Unit wrote:I remember thinking he'll have a job moving that, but he got a call from a chap, speaking very broken english, said he wanted it to work in Russia. He thought it was a wind up but the bloke turn up in his village, bought it, and away he went! Said they liked them cos they had heaters on the fuel filters or something like that, which didn't ring true to me as I would have thought you could have got that on anything at that time. Anyone know? or am I remembering it wrong!

He probably meant that the Cummins engine returns used fuel to the tank therefore it is kept warm and wont freeze as easily.

To test this explanation, stand near a truck with a 14 litre Cummins and use the fuel tank to warm your hands in winter, it warms up quicker than the cab heater :wink:

Cummins use a low pressure pump feeding the injectors, the fuel lubricates and cools the injectors then returns a percentage to the fuel tank. A sort of common rail system using an electronic solenoid. It was a Ford with a Cummins engine that first impressed me when I discovered you could turn off the engine with the key

I have been easily pleased ever since

by **rondavies** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:16 am

Wheel Nut wrote:
BigG-Unit wrote:I remember thinking he'll have a job moving that, but he got a call from a chap, speaking very broken english, said he wanted it to work in Russia. He thought it was a wind up but the bloke turn up in his village, bought it, and away he went! Said they liked them cos they had heaters on the fuel filters or something like that, which didn't ring true to me as I would have thought you could have got that on anything at that time. Anyone know? or am I remembering it wrong!

He probably meant that the Cummins engine returns used fuel to the tank therefore it is kept warm and wont freeze as easily.

To test this explanation, stand near a truck with a 14 litre Cummins and use the fuel tank to warm your hands in winter, it warms up quicker than the cab heater

Cummins use a low pressure pump feeding the injectors, the fuel lubricates and cools the injectors then returns a percentage to the fuel tank. A sort of common rail system using an electronic solenoid. It was a Ford with a Cummins engine that first impressed me when I discovered you could turn off the engine with the key I have been easily pleased ever since

And if I remember rightly used to eventually take the red dye out of the diesel....ahem!!

by **fly sheet** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:44 pm

BigG-Unit wrote:Was talking about chassis on another thread and I mentioned my dad used to do 'em in the '50s when he first started on 'plates'. His biggest gripe wasn't driving them, it was having to cart a big bag of clobber about when hitching back. Their money wasn't that great back then, as they were expected to 'hitch' to make it up, (a bit like waiters tips.)
knew a lad back in the '80s bought a Transcon to have a go on his own, didn't work out so he went back driving for someone and put it up for sale. I remember thinking he'll have a job moving that, but he got a call from a chap, speaking very broken english, said he wanted it to work in Russia. He thought it was a wind up but the bloke turn up in his village, bought it, and away he went! Said they liked them cos they had heaters on the fuel filters or something like that, which didn't ring true to me as I would have thought you could have got that on anything at that time. Anyone know? or am I remembering it wrong!

Hi BigG a guy called Sergi was buying up all the LHD Transcons he could in the mid 90's, as his name suggests he was a Russian & exported them back home. Thats where my T reg one ended up. As stated a Big Cam Cummins used to pump plenty hot diesel back to the tank & keep running in sub-zero temperatures. The RHD ones where [zb] though as the throttle cable used to freeze up for fun at around plus 5!!!

Fly sheet

by **Fergie47** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:37 pm

About 20 years ago I worked in a garage that serviced the Bank of England trucks. They were brought down from London by the drivers, who then caught the train back to London. They were equiped with a military type of navagation monitering system, ( before sat / nav ) so when we went on road test, we had to phone them up to tell them it was us, and that they had'nt been stolen. Only myself and the workshop foreman were allowed to drive them. They were all fitted with a small explosive device that in an emercency would shatter the diff's if they were ever ambushed / hi-jacked, to render them immobile. The chances of that were pretty remote, especially with the amount of police escort they had. They also, at the time, ran a tanker trailer, known as a Q vehicle, painted in a well known livery, we never got to service the trailer, but we did the unit, a Seddon Atkinson at the time. With the amount of gold we've got left they probably use a transit now !!

by **rondavies** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:22 am

fly sheet wrote:
BigG-Unit wrote:Was talking about chassis on another thread and I mentioned my dad used to do 'em in the '50s when he first started on 'plates'. His biggest gripe wasn't driving them, it was having to cart a big bag of clobber about when hitching back. Their money wasn't that great back then, as they were expected to 'hitch' to make it up, (a bit like waiters tips.)
knew a lad back in the '80s bought a Transcon to have a go on his own, didn't work out so he went back driving for someone and put it up for sale. I remember thinking he'll have a job moving that, but he got a call from a chap, speaking very broken english, said he wanted it to work in Russia. He thought it was a wind up but the bloke turn up in his village, bought it, and away he went! Said they liked them cos they had heaters on the fuel filters or something like that, which didn't ring true to me as I would have thought you could have got that on anything at that time. Anyone know? or am I remembering it wrong!

Hi BigG a guy called Sergi was buying up all the LHD Transcons he could in the mid 90's, as his name suggests he was a Russian & exported them back home. Thats where my T reg one ended up. As stated a Big Cam Cummins used to pump plenty hot diesel back to the tank & keep running in sub-zero temperatures. The RHD ones where [zb] though as the throttle cable used to freeze up for fun at around plus 5!!!

Fly sheet

You're absolutely right about that. I had a right hand drive one when I was on Simon Int. On my last trip for them (Dec. 76) this happened to me in Bulgaria plus a lump of end plate of the oil cooler shot out resulting in oil and water pissing out. Bulgys didn't seem too keen in helping me what with having an American engine and I was stranded there for two weeks whilst waiting for the parts to be sent out to me!!

by **sinbin31** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:14 pm

Hi guys I was under the impression that all diesel truck engins returned fuel to the tank not just cummins if they didnt the injector pump would blow holes in the casing ,most pumps were fitted with a pressure diaphram and return system.

Roger Haywood

by **newmercman** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:55 am

sinbin31 wrote:Hi guys I was under the impression that all diesel truck engins returned fuel to the tank not just cummins if they didnt the injector pump would blow holes in the casing ,most pumps were fitted with a pressure diaphram and return system.

Roger Haywood

You're correct, but if you can remember back to the days when you could find a Cummins, the 14 ltr model espicially had big fuel lines compared to other engines, something like 2/3rds of the fuel sucked out of the tank was returned, that kept it nice & warm. I don't know if the same principles apply to the modern engines, all that common rail stuff & electronics probably eliminates the need for return lines

by **sinbin31** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:04 pm

Hi Newmercman
Yes your quite right the cummins engine did have huge return pipes ,I think that unless someone corrects me all Diesel and petrol Engins under fuel pump injector pressure have to have a return system as the pump will only use what is needed at throttle opening and speed required unused fuel has to go somewhere so back it goes from where it came.I do believe some modern engins have a cutoff system ,that puts the fuel in limbo untill it is required ,this all happens in splits of seconds ,controled by the vehicle computor. Raise your hands for any question :lol:

Roger Haywood