astran

[dreva]

bought commercial motor middle special is astran gonna be another stobart everybody buying there t shirts and will shears and certain other people saying i would have loved to had done it but it had all but finished crap chris hooper and a number of other larger firms done it well into the nineties so yes astran is a legend but so was dow freight be it a bit dodgy but they still did the same but no one bangs on about them like they do astran

[bigr250]

dreva:
so yes astran is a legend but so was dow freight be it a bit dodgy but they still did the same but no one bangs on about them like they do astran

I very much doubt if Dow Freight would have gone further than Turkey had Astran not ‘blazed the trail’ for UK operators by opening doors in the Middle East.

Also, Dow went skint and Astran are still going, that has to be worth something!!

Ross.

[dreva]

run by the blokes who put other hauliers out of business but still chelping on about the glory days its done finished me dad done the m.e so ive heard all the stories have he his black and white pics whats the big deal what annoys me more is paople saying it had all but finished when they wanted to do it when there were still plenty of firms doing it so i look forward to the astran fan club

[jj72]

Well said Dreva, I love all these heroes who go on about how they WOULD have done it when they actually still can

No doubt that Astran under Bob Paul did ‘blaze the trail’ but the later/current incarnations are but a pale shadow. And as you say the Dows and Whittles were important too

[newmercman]

Don’t forget Oryx, PIE, Simon International, Chapman & Ball, Carmans, Van Hee, Pan Express, Trans UK and many others.

Astran were the first though, I voted them the Greatest British Haulier in the poll on here, I stand by that, they were something a bit special, the vision the founders had was remarkable, but they were not the be all and end all, many drivers went to the ME without a yellow and red lorry, everyone of them went there and got the t shirt, just as a Transit is a generic term for a van, Astran is the generic ME haulier, they always have been, they never got that reputation for nothing

[m_amp_c_steve]

May i remind you all of an earlier post of mine.

Yes, many companies did the ME in those early days, but the following goes someway to explain why Astran will always be synonymous with it.

"For achievements, trailblazing, trying things new and generally opening a new era in British transport, they is but one contender. ASIAN TPT / ASTRAN

Although i drove on many occasions, my main work was as a fitter, both for M + C transport and later for myself.

Working for Mervyn was a life changing experience in so many ways, people who know of the man will know exactly what i speak about, but during the many years in his employment i had numerous dealings with Astran inc. Bob Paul, Peter Cannon, Alison and Ewe. I also got on well with Tony, the fitter there, who was also a fine chap. Also i had the pleasure of meeting most all the drivers at some time or place.

Nobody, but nobody, in the British haulage industry has made such inroads into new fields of work, over time it opened up new opportunities and a whole new world of destinations to British hauliers, M + C being one of them.

Astran were special, the drivers were special, the subbies were special, the work and everything about it at the time had a special aura about it.

Many thought “i can do that”, many tried, some succeeded, alas many failed…

Of the ones that did get the job done, it was so often with the help and assistance from Bob Paul and the men that worked alongside of him.

Agents and various workshops / businesses along the route also had great respect for Astran, if you were one of theirs or a subbie working for them, they would assist you or even loan you money, such was the trust that Astrans earnt and lived up to. That kind of thing ONLY happens with the most special of companies. Can you imagine a small workshop or agent in far flung lands giving you free repairs or even cash advances ■■ No way, but so many did, the reason was because “Mr. Paul always pays” .

That simple reason alone is what makes Astrans the Greatest British Haulier ever…"

Regards Steve.

[andy66]

M&C steve:
May i remind you all of an earlier post of mine.

Yes, many companies did the ME in those early days, but the following goes someway to explain why Astran will always be synonymous with it.

"For achievements, trailblazing, trying things new and generally opening a new era in British transport, they is but one contender. ASIAN TPT / ASTRAN

Although i drove on many occasions, my main work was as a fitter, both for M + C transport and later for myself.

Working for Mervyn was a life changing experience in so many ways, people who know of the man will know exactly what i speak about, but during the many years in his employment i had numerous dealings with Astran inc. Bob Paul, Peter Cannon, Alison and Ewe. I also got on well with Tony, the fitter there, who was also a fine chap. Also i had the pleasure of meeting most all the drivers at some time or place.

Nobody, but nobody, in the British haulage industry has made such inroads into new fields of work, over time it opened up new opportunities and a whole new world of destinations to British hauliers, M + C being one of them.

Astran were special, the drivers were special, the subbies were special, the work and everything about it at the time had a special aura about it.

Many thought “i can do that”, many tried, some succeeded, alas many failed…

Of the ones that did get the job done, it was so often with the help and assistance from Bob Paul and the men that worked alongside of him.

Agents and various workshops / businesses along the route also had great respect for Astran, if you were one of theirs or a subbie working for them, they would assist you or even loan you money, such was the trust that Astrans earnt and lived up to. That kind of thing ONLY happens with the most special of companies. Can you imagine a small workshop or agent in far flung lands giving you free repairs or even cash advances ■■ No way, but so many did, the reason was because “Mr. Paul always pays” .

That simple reason alone is what makes Astrans the Greatest British Haulier ever…"

Regards Steve.

well said , “thats the main point to me the man always paid”"

[fly_sheet]

For achievements, trailblazing, trying things new and generally opening a new era in British transport, they is but one contender. ASIAN TPT / ASTRAN

I do agree with what your saying Jamie but what of Kepstowe, Russanglia, SSL, SLR, Euro East & all the other ones who took The CIS by storm, Kalliningrad or Poltava may not sound as glamorous as Muscat of Oman but in terms of creeping off to far flung places these names sum it up for Me also along with your Astrans & all the others Newmercman has mentioned, I realise Astran achieved incredible things & my hat goes off to them 100% but lets not let them overshadow loads of the others mentioned on here. As much as I like seeing yellow & red Scanias lets see some other dirty old motors too. Just my two penath

[mushroomman]

M&C steve:
Agents and various workshops / businesses along the route also had great respect for Astran, if you were one of theirs or a subbie working for them, they would assist you or even loan you money, such was the trust that Astrans earnt and lived up to. That kind of thing ONLY happens with the most special of companies. Can you imagine a small workshop or agent in far flung lands giving you free repairs or even cash advances ■■ No way, but so many did, the reason was because “Mr. Paul always pays” .

That simple reason alone is what makes Astrans the Greatest British Haulier ever…"

Regards Steve.

To be fair Steve, Taci Kocman and The Colonel helped out quite a few British drivers over the years who had big problem Mister, I know that they helped me out on a couple of occasions with money and their problem solving skills.
Aydin the mechanic also helped out some of the British lads to get them back home and some of them became good friends of his although sadly some drivers did rip him off. Allegedly Young Turk also helped other British drivers with a loan to get them back up to Austria where they were able to get another loan to get them home.

B.T.W. has anybody got an old WhiteTrux, Falcongate, Dayson, Taffy Davis, Grangewood, L.O.B.O. Hick’s or a C.V.H.
Tee shirt or a Cantralls 4 way Tee shirt so that I can auction it on E Bay .

[germangeezer]

john your dirty old F12 will never be forgoten in this house mate
regards paul

[m_amp_c_steve]

Mr. Mush’.

Yes, i agree, and you would know far more than i on the subject.

I expect they did get knocked a few times over the years, but all that does is bugger things for anybody in trouble in the future !!

I was really referring to trucks which were pulling for Astran at the time, in my experience that always swung things to your favour. In the latter years at M&C there were a number of occasions where Mervyn needed help for his trucks, but if they were pulling an Astran load at the time, then there was never any hesitation in doing whatever to assist the truck on it’s way.

One other thing to add, whenever the subject of ME transport comes to the discussion table, which company can you bet your house on to be the centre of attention ■■ Of course it is Mr. Paul’s enterprise…

One other thing, if you are in Auss’ , it’s not so far for you to visit here if you are in need of a holiday. We could call in and see Graham Ball and scrounge a few cold ones in his bar here, plus i could show you around a few hundred others…

Steve.

[dreva]

well said jj mushroom man and newmercman my piont there was a hell of alot who done it and dow will always be my fave childhood thing im surprised bestbooties aint been on many years on me none with astran to my knowledge

[klunk_cumbria]

well said jj mushroom man and newmercman

Well said all that know Astran, as they were the best to work for as a subbie and a driver, the paper work always correct, which if wrong can cost a lot of bacshesh (money) and time, which could be days at the wrong border crossing.
I don,t think i have ever met Bob Paul, but i have have problely talked with him on the phone when contacting Astran, and it was allways good to have a Astran load and met a lot of there drivers and subbies on route.

I have a F.A.Dayson shirt somewhere, never wore it though as it was to larl for me and the uk drivers wore them
Klunk

[carl]

just to add to this i think the thing is with astran is that they were the first and the biggest on that run from the uk.but lets not forget there were lots of european firms doing it you only have to look at toprun for that, italian swiss german dutch and proberly the most famous scandinavian outfit evensen bandar abbas express.to be honest id never heard of astran till the mid 80s when their subbies appeared in ldd,s in truck magazine, and then of course i joined this site in march 2004 i think it was and i asked about a documentry my mate saw as a kid about trucks going to doha and one of the drivers repairing a truck stuck down there.well that turned out to be destination doha and the rest they say is history.i think that film has done more than anything to catapult astran into cult status.

[wheel_nut]

They must have had hundreds of lorries we have never seen, every SAS man on the train drove for Astran

I don’t think Dow got skint, they just got caught

[fly_sheet]

germangeezer:
john your dirty old F12 will never be forgoten in this house mate
regards paul

I’ll not forget it either Paul as its the only other lorry I’ve owned that was worse on fuel than my current contraption!!!

[dreva]

Wheel Nut:
They must have had hundreds of lorries we have never seen, every SAS man on the train drove for Astran

I don’t think Dow got skint, they just got caught

no that was the shame malc i loved the look of there motors we will have to press gang mushroom man to write a book about dow

[dreva]

well must have hit a nerve not many jumping in on the comments

[fly_sheet]

germangeezer:
john your dirty old F12 will never be forgoten in this house mate
regards paul

As if by magic here it is, hope dreva does’nt mind.

[dreva]

fly sheet:

germangeezer:
john your dirty old F12 will never be forgoten in this house mate
regards paul

As if by magic here it is, hope dreva does’nt mind.

not at all mate its a classic