Hi cliff ,
I never met you up the road however, I knew and run with some of BUNNS,FORDSY, Central meat, and other lads who loaded at north Devon meats,Probus etc but never started untill1981 on meat, our loads were never regular from the same abattoir, and yes I appreciate all your photos and comments you certainly did not needed any lessons at all.
As for the Chereue trailer yes unbeatable esp when the large boxes under -neath were fitted also the euro meat hooks and fitments and you just clipped on to the abattoir rails [mostly FRENCH and GERMAN, and exchanged hooks, our abattoirs were so behind in their thinking, “hooks wise”
did you ever do HAMBURG market where they just chucked all the hooks in a big heap on the floor, [old style hooks] they had undone the bar at the back of the rails, trouble was I/we had gone off for look -about.?
Dennis as for the LAMBRET floors with chequered plate ,they were screwed down on the chassis ribs, with like self tappers and worked loose, after time and the screw hole would hold water esp if you have had fish on board ,and after washing out , so you had a problem keeping the floor dry as they kept weeping ,then you had to load like Biscuits or dry goods you had the smell ,the only way to get rid of it was BLAMANUGE powder or custard powder, thrown around the door rubber door seals and the floor and then brush it up not needed with a chereue , -wrong spelling…dbp.
Cliff luxton:
In my opinion these were the best fridge trailers ever made, but they were bloody heavy. At the time at 32ton you could just about get 16ton payload with the F89 . But don’t it look a good outfit over 30 years ago.
Chereau advert. Looks like exactly the same trailer Cliff.
Buzzer .We had the 1 Chereau trailer 1 crane freauhauf the rest were Freight Bonnalac all with meat rails,it was mostly hanging meat we did.loading from abattoirs such as Chard Meat, Hatherleigh meat, Duggins, Jarretts .Truro meat, North Devon Meat.Cobdens.
Dean the trailers do look very much alike. Funny story about Chereau trailers ,I went to work for Solstor in 1988 my first job was ship out of portsmouth with tractor unit only to pick up a new trailer at Avranches, picked up trailer loaded it in Brittany back to uk delivered took the trailer back to the yard picked up another one and off again, about a month later Mark Viner honed me and said did you check that trailer before you left the factory at Avranches, yes I said . Well it took everyone a month to notice the name on the side read south London storage compagny, only one extra letter just spelt the French way.
Here we are ready to leave Axminster.
Cliff I started with Chingford fruit packers which later turned into Solstor, actually we started pulling hanging meat meat trailers for Mark Viner out of Tad---- in Surrey and he used to load for Chingford on the return legs. After a bit he got the job at Woolwich as transport manager for Leon but he was a nightmare, you never knew if he was lying or not but most of the time he was, we still do work for Solstor on a reciprocal basis so that has been a pretty long business association of over thirty years when you look at it, Buzzer.
Mark was great to work for as a driver John but not so sure as an owner driver. Mark and Danny McGee did come and stay one weekend when we had the pub a few years back.
Tribsa I think this is a classic photo of the 86s amongst the big boy’s on our way to Rungis about 1975.
Cliff this is an early 70’s shot of discharging at Poole docks of a PBC European Mandator coming off the ship but to the left in the shot there looks to me like an F86 with similar striping’s to Axminster with a frigo and just wondered if it may have been one of there’s or am I going senile, Buzzer.
That looks the right sort of machine to be spending nights in doing long journey’s Steve.
Seaman’s mission Cassablanca Robert many good day’s and memories.
Not sure about that one John don’t remember a fridge like that one on a 40ft trailer ,had one on a 20ft. I think it could be French Dairy Farmers from Salisbury way they were doing a lot of butter from brittany in those day’s.
Looking at all those men in Ties that might have been the first arrival ?.not sure John.
The F86 could also be Forsey from Weston or Harding brothers.
Cliff I think it was an inaugural arrival and back then as I sailed out of there for PBC it was a bleak port back then with just a few porta cabins on the dock for agents etc just takes me back along way that what with no sleeper cabs and 35 quid a week all in, Buzzer.
John it became my favourite port to ship in and out of the first time being 74 or 75 not sure ,but you soon got to know everyone concerned , Truckline staff, all the agents , all the customs officers, all the dockers , and all the drivers from the same companies using it all the time. Then the start of Atkins , Axminster, Cadwalader, Swains, all having offices and trucks in Cherbourg. 2 pubs at the end of the road in Poole. Great times and great memories. It would have been the same for you and your drivers in Southampton with Townsen Thoresen and the Viking ferries.
Cliff luxton:
John it became my favourite port to ship in and out of the first time being 74 or 75 not sure ,but you soon got to know everyone concerned , Truckline staff, all the agents , all the customs officers, all the dockers , and all the drivers from the same companies using it all the time. Then the start of Atkins , Axminster, Cadwalader, Swains, all having offices and trucks in Cherbourg. 2 pubs at the end of the road in Poole. Great times and great memories. It would have been the same for you and your drivers in Southampton with Townsen Thoresen and the Viking ferries.
Morning Cliff. Did you ever come across a driver by the name of Bill Hook. He used Truckline frequently. Drove for Brit European, Ralph Davies and an Irish company for ten years. Could well have been other companies he worked for during the 70’s and 80’s.
Cliff luxton:
John it became my favourite port to ship in and out of the first time being 74 or 75 not sure ,but you soon got to know everyone concerned , Truckline staff, all the agents , all the customs officers, all the dockers , and all the drivers from the same companies using it all the time. Then the start of Atkins , Axminster, Cadwalader, Swains, all having offices and trucks in Cherbourg. 2 pubs at the end of the road in Poole. Great times and great memories. It would have been the same for you and your drivers in Southampton with Townsen Thoresen and the Viking ferries.
Cliff luxton:
John it became my favourite port to ship in and out of the first time being 74 or 75 not sure ,but you soon got to know everyone concerned , Truckline staff, all the agents , all the customs officers, all the dockers , and all the drivers from the same companies using it all the time. Then the start of Atkins , Axminster, Cadwalader, Swains, all having offices and trucks in Cherbourg. 2 pubs at the end of the road in Poole. Great times and great memories. It would have been the same for you and your drivers in Southampton with Townsen Thoresen and the Viking ferries.
No like button Cliff , but like !!
A real family feel to it years ago. That changed when the borders came down,then every time you shipped out there would be a new company and drivers doing Spain and Portugal for the first time. I am just pleased that we had great mates and great times back in the day.
