Why are there more classic motors still working up North than around here? Even the one man bands around here have motors in single age figures…
Armstrong:
Hey I like the young bit PeteNot many of the old school left now and I’m fast becoming one of the old uns!
Hope things are well.
Nigel
Things aren’t too bad Nigel, the missus isn’t any better but we keep plodding along. Ten years ago next week that I last drove a truck, I was talking to Mark Redfern a couple of months ago when they resurfaced our road and he said that things are a little ‘steady’ so I guess that I aint missing a lot! Still see Eric occasionally (I guess you heard that Joan, his wife, had passed away?) and saw a few of my old workmates at Jim Fearns funeral but that’s about it really. I had seen one of ex Smiths in your yard a while ago, I had one of Smithys old ones when I started with Eric and it was a decent truck for its age so I reckon this one will see you through to retirement. 
Pete.
That Foden Armstrong’s bought Pete; I told them when I took it back after it’s last run that it should’ve been restored. It’d had 2 drivers prior to being a spare and neither ragged it. It was only slated by the gear grinders and those who liked to drive the shiniest, if you get my drift.
Ten years ago? ,time flies by a bit too quickly doesn’t it…it was a big surprise when I heard about Jims illness and in no time he was gone…he was a top man,
We are managing to hang in there but have had a few hard times during the last 3-4 years and I’m quite sure you haven’t missed much,
I made a few mods to the smiths one, ally body which I took off one of the dene lads wagon before it went for export with the smiths steel body on it, I have replaced the 9speed fuller with an American specced 13speed…this has a top overdrive which is half a gear faster that a standard rto13 speed, I have done this so when running empty on the motorway it will only be doing 1340rpm and will make it slightly better on fuel…if you drop it 1/2 a gear to direct top it will be running at standard top overdrive ratio.
If your license is still current Pete it will be ready for you in feb
it’s nice to see there are still some proper drivers round our neck of the woods . 13 speed fuller , a real gearbox , i think that and the twin splitters were the dogs dangles along with the foden 12 speed , cheers , dave
Just sticking to what i know Dave, learnt to drive around the quarry when i was 16 on a S39 12 speed Foden, we never had any twin splitters…i once drove a demo unit and i found a few extra neutrals!
cheers Nigel
Muckaway:
That Foden Armstrong’s bought Pete; I told them when I took it back after it’s last run that it should’ve been restored. It’d had 2 drivers prior to being a spare and neither ragged it. It was only slated by the gear grinders and those who liked to drive the shiniest, if you get my drift.
Yes Nathan the things will last forever if looked after but if you get a driver who just doesn’t like the truck then he isn’t going to treat it well I’m afraid, I get that impression from some of the posts in the FODEN THOUGHT’S thread on the ‘modern’ drivers section who seem very picky about what they want to drive! 
For someone like Nigel who will treat it well as it is his bread and butter they are ideal and I would go back to driving one tomorrow (yes Nigel, I still have a license but a poorly wife alas 
) if things were different personally.
Anyway we seem to have drifted away from Camas/Bardon, I did do a bit of work for them when things were slack at ‘our’ quarry, mostly carting stone from a couple of local quarries (both now closed) and ratewise they were not too bad but coated stone paid better for less mileage so I tried to stop on that if possible. The gaffer always said that one load of black was better than two loads of stone, less fuel used and no tear ar*sing about! 
Pete.
A sad day, as one of the last loads comes out of “Fraggle Rock” aka Holmescales.
Thanks to my cousin Jimmy for the pic
dew:
A sad day, as one of the last loads comes out of “Fraggle Rock” aka Holmescales.Thanks to my cousin Jimmy for the pic
Is Totties motor painted in Bardon livery Dew ? Cheers Dennis.
One of his two is, that one. Also has an older one with a demountable body that’s plain white
I would love to see any old photographs of bardon tippers like the ERF in the photo when they were all green…I grew up in coalville and I remember they always had a well turned out fleet They didn’t seem to keep their lorries as long as other operators in the area did.I drove the sister to the ERF in the photo after it was sold NNR212F I think…it has a trailing rear axle an odd choice .
This lorry may have been a bardon hill tipper originally…not sure could have been an emerson wagon from belton
Greetings,All. Looks like the ERF tipper has a Gardner engine fitted,judging by the “heater control” 
yes it had a gardner 150 a six speed Chinese gearbox…did about 50 mph flat out I only drove it for a week while the owner was on holidays