Dave the Renegade:
Great pics Muckaway,the Fodens are gradually disappearing around this way.When Tilcon had the Gore quarry,they had 12 Foden eight wheelers,also several hauliers had them as well,now there’s just 3 in the quarries around here.
Cheers Dave.
My Alpha comes off the road for 2 weeks tomorrow for MOT- that’s right 2 working weeks. It’ll be practically restored; Smiths valet the cab top to bottom, paint just about every nut and bolt, any niggle they cant deal with it goes to Cherrys at Radley,Abingdon (ABS warning light in other words!) I think its washed at least twice. You can smell paint and polish for days after you get it back!
Driving a more traditional Foden during that time,I’m having the W reg 4000 series with ■■■■■■■ engine (in the RAF Brize Norton pic above) complete with crash box and draughty cab doors!
I,ve been looking for a pic of a Smith’s Foden that I pass most days in Stratford. It’s an artic with the earlier alpha daycab cab like the one above by the shovel, if anyone can help? Would like to make it as model, & guess it may not be around for much longer, on a Y plate I think.
jawwa:
I,ve been looking for a pic of a Smith’s Foden that I pass most days in Stratford. It’s an artic with the earlier alpha daycab cab like the one above by the shovel, if anyone can help? Would like to make it as model, & guess it may not be around for much longer, on a Y plate I think.
Thanks, Dan.
You mean Y569 LDP. I’ll see if I can get a few pics of her though it’s not round Oxon very often as it’s based at Smiths Concretes’ plant on the industrial estate at Atherstone on Stour (next to where those firefighters were killed at that fruit packing plant fire a couple of years ago. You’re from Warks? You might get just as good a chance of seeing it as it runs out of Smiths’ Concrete’s Bubbenhall Quarry to Atherstone premix. It was down Oxford way last week though as it runs stock into Gill Mill Quarry from Wickwar when there’s no work at Stratford plant. On it not being around much longer, you could be right as Smiths have had a demo Scania for a couple of days and Y569 is the oldest artic still on the road though there are 2x 4000 units in our yard- 1 scrapping (see graveyard thread) and 1 withdrawn and used as a shunter by the workshop though they’re deciding whether to sell or preserve it. My uncle had Y569 new for a while until it went to Atherstone to replace it’s sister Y570 that was stolen from there. Try e-mailing our head office and tell them your plans, they’d probably let you pay it a visit when in the workshop or at Atherstone?
To sell, or not to sell? That is the question regarding these two!
jawwa:
I,ve been looking for a pic of a Smith’s Foden that I pass most days in Stratford. It’s an artic with the earlier alpha daycab cab like the one above by the shovel, if anyone can help? Would like to make it as model, & guess it may not be around for much longer, on a Y plate I think.
Thanks, Dan.
You mean Y569 LDP. I’ll see if I can get a few pics of her though it’s not round Oxon very often as it’s based at Smiths Concretes’ plant on the industrial estate at Atherstone on Stour (next to where those firefighters were killed at that fruit packing plant fire a couple of years ago. You’re from Warks? You might get just as good a chance of seeing it as it runs out of Smiths’ Concrete’s Bubbenhall Quarry to Atherstone premix. It was down Oxford way last week though as it runs stock into Gill Mill Quarry from Wickwar when there’s no work at Stratford plant. On it not being around much longer, you could be right as Smiths have had a demo Scania for a couple of days and Y569 is the oldest artic still on the road though there are 2x 4000 units in our yard- 1 scrapping (see graveyard thread) and 1 withdrawn and used as a shunter by the workshop though they’re deciding whether to sell or preserve it. My uncle had Y569 new for a while until it went to Atherstone to replace it’s sister Y570 that was stolen from there. Try e-mailing our head office and tell them your plans, they’d probably let you pay it a visit when in the workshop or at Atherstone?
To sell, or not to sell? That is the question regarding these two!
Why, you interested? Got a family link with both of these, my uncle had the artic new for low loader work but when he developed the diabetes that allows you to drive he “retired” from low loader and Smiths bought him the Y reg mentioned in prev reply for doing various jobs like premix and ballast to Tuckwells. My Dad used to drive the 8 wheeler V771 GBY and had it when it was just a month old as someone got it new and then left. He came off it when Smiths put him through Class 1 and had the Alpha new pictured at Gill Mill. The artics only been withdrawn for about 6 months, been replaced with a Daf 85 and the 8 was another credit crunch casualty.
Muckaway:
Why, you interested? Got a family link with both of these, my uncle had the artic new for low loader work but when he developed the diabetes that allows you to drive he “retired” from low loader and Smiths bought him the Y reg mentioned in prev reply for doing various jobs like premix and ballast to Tuckwells. My Dad used to drive the 8 wheeler V771 GBY and had it when it was just a month old as someone got it new and then left. He came off it when Smiths put him through Class 1 and had the Alpha new pictured at Gill Mill. The artics only been withdrawn for about 6 months, been replaced with a Daf 85 and the 8 was another credit crunch casualty.
Yeah could be, Didn’t they have 3 or 4 of them 8 wheelers the same with following reg no’s ? I thought I hadn’t seen a low loader on one for ages used to see one with a machine on sometimes. Who moves there plant about now ?
Muckaway:
Why, you interested? Got a family link with both of these, my uncle had the artic new for low loader work but when he developed the diabetes that allows you to drive he “retired” from low loader and Smiths bought him the Y reg mentioned in prev reply for doing various jobs like premix and ballast to Tuckwells. My Dad used to drive the 8 wheeler V771 GBY and had it when it was just a month old as someone got it new and then left. He came off it when Smiths put him through Class 1 and had the Alpha new pictured at Gill Mill. The artics only been withdrawn for about 6 months, been replaced with a Daf 85 and the 8 was another credit crunch casualty.
Yeah could be, Didn’t they have 3 or 4 of them 8 wheelers the same with following reg no’s ? I thought I hadn’t seen a low loader on one for ages used to see one with a machine on sometimes. Who moves there plant about now ?
They had 3x 8wheelers, V769/770/771, 769 and 770 have gone for export, and there’s a 6 wheeler V772GBY that’s still driven by the original driver,Jim Tarry (ex Blue Circle at Shipton) although Jim’s getting one of the new Dafs that are on order with auto gearbox. When the V regs were new, Smiths had problems with the cabs (draughty!) so they went to ERF and bought one of the last EC11 8 leggers-gone aswell now!
OLD FODEN UPDATE; Done 2 loads this morning and had to return it to workshop as one of the rear wings was rotten and falling off! Had to drive a Volvo FE7 today and meant to be getting the old Foden back tomorrow!
Smiths low loader works now done by Wallingtons, though getting another low loaders not been ruled out.
Anyone got any pics of Moreton Cullimores lorries, and has anyone got pics/memories of the old Coln Gravels Pit at Lechlade?
The one that was sited near the trout farm? There are the remains of it opposite side of the road as the fishery, weighbridge and what I presume was the plant room etc.
Muckaway:
Anyone got any pics of Moreton Cullimores lorries, and has anyone got pics/memories of the old Coln Gravels Pit at Lechlade?
The one that was sited near the trout farm? There are the remains of it opposite side of the road as the fishery, weighbridge and what I presume was the plant room etc.
Sorry got no pic’s mate wish I had, but memories yes of Coln Gravel. My first lorry driving job at the tender age of 21 was for Amey’s at Coln Gravel, Clayton Pike Pit, Leachlade.Amey’s in those days were a bit of a job to get on for unless you had been driving for years. There was no HGV Licence in those days, you just had to be 21 to drive anything over 3 ton unladen, a mate of mine got a job there and was taking the truck home as was the thing in those days, I got a lift in with him to Claydon Pike the next morning, I was sent over to there workshops to take a driving test with there forman fitter who took me to Swindon and back, in an Albion that had just come out of the box never been on the road except for delivery, he passed me told me to go back to the transport office, they said when can you start I said um… um… they said how about now…I gave it some thought for about 1 second and said yes, they said ok gave me a clapped out old BMC and told me I had to do 7 loads a day to Swindon and it had to take 11 hours, even with that old thing it was done by about 3 in the afternoon, I spent a lot of time in Highworth Cafe.
Muckaway:
Anyone got any pics of Moreton Cullimores lorries, and has anyone got pics/memories of the old Coln Gravels Pit at Lechlade?
The one that was sited near the trout farm? There are the remains of it opposite side of the road as the fishery, weighbridge and what I presume was the plant room etc.
Sorry got no pic’s mate wish I had, but memories yes of Coln Gravel. My first lorry driving job at the tender age of 21 was for Amey’s at Coln Gravel, Clayton Pike Pit, Leachlade.Amey’s in those days were a bit of a job to get on for unless you had been driving for years. There was no HGV Licence in those days, you just had to be 21 to drive anything over 3 ton unladen, a mate of mine got a job there and was taking the truck home as was the thing in those days, I got a lift in with him to Claydon Pike the next morning, I was sent over to there workshops to take a driving test with there forman fitter who took me to Swindon and back, in an Albion that had just come out of the box never been on the road except for delivery, he passed me told me to go back to the transport office, they said when can you start I said um… um… they said how about now…I gave it some thought for about 1 second and said yes, they said ok gave me a clapped out old BMC and told me I had to do 7 loads a day to Swindon and it had to take 11 hours, even with that old thing it was done by about 3 in the afternoon, I spent a lot of time in Highworth Cafe.
Didn’t Sam Spreadbury (spelling) work in the weighbridge there? I remember Highworth Cafe used to go in there on a Sat morning with me dad after tipping Scrap in Swindon parking along the street. I guess the length limit at Leachlade killed that one of.
The guy on the bridge then was called Gildert Underhill, he came from Highworth. the pit manager who lived in a static caravan next to the bridge was ■■? Vicers just can’t remember his first name, always had a cigar in is gob.
Quarries in Stanton Harcourt area were John H.Brown at Linch Hill (then Ameys), Dixs (Ameys), Smith and Sons, Partridges (Hoveringhams). Down the road at Hardwick were Kingston Minerals, Smiths Concrete and Ameys.
One of our drivers is ex Kingston Minerals he said to ask does anyone remember Kingston Minerals between Fairford and Lechlade? Kingstons’ workshops were where Fairford Concrete (sign now says “Charcon”) now stands behind Shell Garage and he said pit entrance was somewhere near the waterski school on the Whelford Road. Apparently Hanson pit at Horcots’ on the verge of closing. I think it shut originally about 6 years ago but they must’ve found more ground to dig as I’ve seen Cleavers artics coming from the Horcot direction.
Muckaway:
One of our drivers is ex Kingston Minerals he said to ask does anyone remember Kingston Minerals between Fairford and Lechlade? Kingstons’ workshops were where Fairford Concrete (sign now says “Charcon”) now stands behind Shell Garage and he said pit entrance was somewhere near the waterski school on the Whelford Road. Apparently Hanson pit at Horcots’ on the verge of closing. I think it shut originally about 6 years ago but they must’ve found more ground to dig as I’ve seen Cleavers artics coming from the Horcot direction.
Hi Muckaway
I remember going on Welford road pit with me dad.This lorry was I belive based there ( I’ve borrowed it from Bubblemans scrapbook thread hope he doesn’t mind ) maybe your driver will remember it.
I remember that lorry now! Did you do clay from Bishops Cleeve to Ewelme? Dad did it with a B-reg 8 wheeler that had an almost identical body but shallower. Is that anything to do with Tommy, Jack and Bert Davies?
Muckaway:
I remember that lorry now! Did you do clay from Bishops Cleeve to Ewelme? Dad did it with a B-reg 8 wheeler that had an almost identical body but shallower. Is that anything to do with Tommy, Jack and Bert Davies?
Yeah we did do some Clay from Bishops Cleeve to Ewelme. I worked for Tom,Bert and Colin. Jack was on his own by the time I worked there.You may not know Colin as he was in the yard all the time on stanby for breakdowns and sutch. I ran Blackthorne and Banbury with this sometimes from Hardwick.
