JAKEY:
Yes Oily , not good parked there but at least they got there ramps across, nothing worst than a long upwards slog before you get to the house to find , more steps to upstairs
Yes JAKEY, just how awkward it can be for the operatives at times.
My apprenticeship was with a House Furnisher and removals company, man could I tell you some tales of the struggles we had, like delivering a 3 pce suite on a handcart,( and anything else that could be fitted on it), the only bloody problem was you couldn’t see where the hell you were going I passed my driving test 1952 in a 1930 something Bedford luton van, hey I was the King then, (I thought so anyway ). Furniture in them days was solid stuff, fortunately I was strong enough to cope, also had a good mentor to teach me the tricks of the trade, like loading “we don’t cart space” a wardrobe was put on and filled, likewise chests etc, our packing cases were old tea chests, another tip was when carrying with someone else, make sure they’re the one going backwards
The old Bedford had a drop down half tailboard on chains with a strap fastening tarpaulin curtain for the upper half, this was frequently used, can’t remember ever not being able to accommodate everything, initiative and ingenuity, the name of the game.
Oily
, yes using the drop down tail board was way before my days but dad did it all the time back in his days with us , also yes so many times when helping pickfords or Robinsons out I have seen wardrobes left empty , you can get a lot in wardrobes if you try .
Darvall’s were coal merchants as well, there were several removal firms in Reading but I bet they have all gone now. Pickfords, C & G Ayres who were railway carriers as well, Lyn Godwin, Mr Absolom (with his Albion Claymore), Taylors Transport and more that I can’t remember right now!
Does anyone know if Pickfords are now opening franchises or something similar?
In Birtley Co. Durham a small removal contractor is operating. He seemed to have a couple of transit sized lutons and a boxvan about 1000 cu. ft and I notices the boxvan has been painted in Pickfords livery and sign written accordingly. On Saturday I saw the transit sized lutons were in Pickfords dark blue but not yet lettered. seems strange, especially since years ago Pickfords had a depot just along the road. (Heavy haulage & warehouse & vehicle service & repair.
I was asked about 7 years ago to supply a plain white truck with two /three men to be owned and ran on my O licence with all full goods in transit insurance , in return they will guarantee work , yer right ok sir three bags full errrrrrb no thank you .
Years ago "dad " supplied men and trucks to them ,in the quite times it was handy but what we saw was bad , start at 7 finish at 10 with just the driver and porter and with a wagon far to big for the location , I went in one day to ask for more ties for the truck ,to be told by the manager a good removal man does not need a ties , yes well go and find a good removal man which can stop a piano from moving then .
Any how Oxford no longer have a depot here , they come from Reading or Swindon now .
I was asked about 7 years ago to supply a plain white truck with two /three men to be owned and ran on my O licence with all full goods in transit insurance , in return they will guarantee work , yer right ok sir three bags full errrrrrb no thank you .
Years ago "dad " supplied men and trucks to them ,in the quite times it was handy but what we saw was bad , start at 7 finish at 10 with just the driver and porter and with a wagon far to big for the location , I went in one day to ask for more ties for the truck ,to be told by the manager a good removal man does not need a ties , yes well go and find a good removal man which can stop a piano from moving then .
Any how Oxford no longer have a depot here , they come from Reading or Swindon now .
Hi Jakey,
Do you know what happened to Hoults & the other companies, when the refinancing of Pickfords occurred? Were they made into other company(ies) & continue as a sister company to Pickfords or cut loose?
alright lads heres a couple of photos of some of the Wagons i had when i was a removals man. Plenty of laughs had. I did a stint for a small family firm and then moved onto Robinsons to do international work. was good craic at the time and the trailer photos were my first time ever with the trailer on taking it to a small place in Ireland. Was rather interesting. Hope you enjoy also please don’t steal these and put them on any photo stream site. just found some of my other ones on someones website
Hi acceptme , thank you for the photos of Robinsons truck photos , I know Dean Beaton and most of the Abingdon staff , bet your glad your trailer was a caravan type drawbar rather than the old a frames they had ? , how about old NORMAN and Sid at Abingdon , good old removal plodders .
Ye abingdon were good lads. I was based in southampton. but the trucks left a lot to be desired. I didnt tell them i had a class one when i went there and they didnt check my license till i was there about 4months and a euro job came in. Then they sussed it but took the A-frame trailer once just locally and never again. That small caravan type was also a fool to reverse. Another branch had a proper trailer for the road train which pulled lovely.
acceptme:
Iv deleted my photos due to the fact they have been taken with out my permission and added to a certain flickr site.
That would peeve me too - if someone wanted copies of anything of mine I’d be happy to give permission, but to do it without asking first is just rude.
PS if you happened to mention the offender’s flickr page in passing… (well, you know, accidents happen) I might just happen to wander over and, by the by, just happen to ask where they got certain interesting photos. Pure coincidence of course.
Somebody mentioned tailboards a while back, which jogged my memory (or what remains of it these days). I have to admit that if I was on a big job I’d much prefer a wagon with a tailboard and a well to anything with a ramp. Perhaps it was just the mob I was with, but all the wagons they had that did double-duty on removals (when they weren’t on general) had ramps that were just wide enough, and I was never all that keen on them - if you’ve ever tried hauling an upright piano up one you’ll know the sense of unease I’m on about.
I understand that the operator wants maximum versatility out of the wagons they run and in that context big boxy wagons that can take bulk loads and do removals make sense. There comes a point, however, when a removal is big (or ugly) enough to render a dual-purpose wagon unfit.
But I’ve been out of the game for eons, so what would I know. Anyone still operating nowadays want to comment on the tailboard-vs-ramp question? And here’s another thing (that wasn’t around in big numbers when I was doing removals): tail-lifts - pros and cons.
acceptme:
Iv deleted my photos due to the fact they have been taken with out my permission and added to a certain flickr site.
That would peeve me too - if someone wanted copies of anything of mine I’d be happy to give permission, but to do it without asking first is just rude.
PS if you happened to mention the offender’s flickr page in passing… (well, you know, accidents happen) I might just happen to wander over and, by the by, just happen to ask where they got certain interesting photos. Pure coincidence of course.
Indeed it is pure rude. I have sent you a pm explaining all. as you say if they ask its no problem but its annoying not to be asked.
, you can get a lot in wardrobes if you try . 
ICKFORDS
, yes well go and find a good removal man which can stop a piano from moving then 
