It certainly isn’t Blackwall and I’m quite certain that the sign is not an Underground sign, it seems to have been taken out side a factory, it does look familiar, but nothing comes to mind.
kenny,
did those 3 ERF’S ever get sign written or were they just left as they came.
have you any history on them
alan
YPT59 Dents first motor with the fibreglass cab, it had hydrovac brakes, as opposed to all the earlier Atkis that had servo assisted brakes.The next 8 wheeler to come 32AUP had air over hydralic brakes. All the 8wheelers only had brakes on 3 axles. It sill had the older style lettering on doors.The photo was taken jusr round the corner from the London depot in Eastminster Sreet. Ken
kenny,
who are the two drivers with the trucks loaded with tanks in your photo in the album
before my time 
alan
bill,
been busy at home all day, i am as dry as a beetroot, lol 
alan
iamupforit:
bill,been busy at home all day, i am as dry as a beetroot, lol
alan
Hi Alan, i’m as full as a gun, just come in. Must be with all the practice i had at Dents when i was a lad. Ken
kennyjohnson:
iamupforit:
bill,been busy at home all day, i am as dry as a beetroot, lol
alan
Hi Alan, i’m as full as a gun, just come in. Must be with all the practice i had at Dents when i was a lad.
Hi Kenny, I can remember you taking me to the Black Horse for our liquid lunches. You were not long out of your apprenticeship, I was just starting mine in 65. Ginger Billy Westgarth, Alan Whitley were other apprentices. You used to have three pints but I was restricted to three halves of pale ale. I still remember the fitters at the time, Dickie Porter, Fred Trueman (Michigan tyres) George Vincent, Harry Tennick who went on to have his own company. Keep well, Ronnie.
Hi Alan, I’ve been decorating Friday, Saturday,and Today. Talking about being full as a gun, I was just thinking about Giant Yorkshire Pudding, Chips, and Gravy at Normans. I swear my mouth started to water at the thought of it.Happy Days.
Bill
The AEC Matador is in Jimmy Monte’s yard. The body and crane was taken off at Dents.They used it a bit for towing and it went to the Town Moor a few times to pull boged down showmotors off the site. Northern had one i think it was at the Chester le Street depot,the United might have had one.
Well done Ken, pity there aren’t any photos of her when she was in good nick, what a sad end. Beano
Dosent have to be the end beano looks restorable its good to see the Dents name still on it.How long has it been in Montes. Good project for kenny.
Hi Alan, Dry as a Beetroot you said. Just remembered, Aaron Smith used to say that.We had a lot of real characters back then. Just had a thought, Instead of putting bits on here, why don’t we all meet up and have a bloody good natter and an old fashioned ■■■■-up. Not just Dents but anyone who contributes to this blog. All welcome, just bring Photos and memories, or yourselves.
Old Bill
kennyjohnson:
The AEC Matador is in Jimmy Monte’s yard. The body and crane was taken off at Dents.They used it a bit for towing and it went to the Town Moor a few times to pull boged down showmotors off the site. Northern had one i think it was at the Chester le Street depot,the United might have had one.
glad you found it kenny it was a few years since i was up there when i seen it ,i was hoping it had nt been taken away
now then!!!
which motor did they convert into the next wrecker and which one into the one after that
summit tae think about, although easy for kenny and bill 
alan
The last Wrecker was my old Volvo, LUP935J.
Bill
iamupforit:
now then!!!which motor did they convert into the next wrecker and which one into the one after that
summit tae think about, although easy for kenny and bill
alan
Hi Alan i left in 1973 and the AEC was still in use then but i think the gear was put on the eagle at one time,Bill will know.
It was freezing driving the AEC even though we fitted two heaters, one in each side, you can see one in the photo. When i could i used to drive it with my left foot on the throttle and my right foot on the wheel arch under the heater.
Ken
old bill:
The last Wrecker was my old Volvo, LUP935J.
Bill
I remember OK Motor Services from Bishop Auckland having the recovery gear from the Volvo on a DAF 2300 or 2500 after Dents folded. If it wasn’t then it was a similar unit. It was Harvey Frost gear if I remember rightly (see the photo of Ronnies burnt out motor on page 4). After OK were bought out by Northern they took it over.
Ronnie can remember Geordie Gittins bringing the AEC home now and again when he lived opposite us in Craddock Street. It came to the rescue when his motor got stuck in the snow in the street.
Can anyone remember the baby Ford D-series flatbed? I think it was a D-reg ('66)■■?
Darren.
kenny,
you are correct, the gear was put onto the eagle and then in later years bill was spot on, his old
f88 became the wrecker, i can remember going up ferryhill cut on a regular basis and seeing a wrecker
of some sort in martindales bus depot that once belonged to dents, maybe the old eagle
someone will know.
darren
yes, the “D” series flatbeds, there was 2, kevin dale drove one and our mystery mr patterson
from chester le street had the other, i drove one for a short time
alan
I think it was Kevin and myself, we delivered asbestos to a company somewhere, after we had unloaded, Kevin had trouble with his Ford so Roger Maughan told us to top it onto my MAN and bring it back to Spennymoor, we loaded it using the grass bank of a factory, we parked up over night and Kevin told me not to wake him in the morning till we got to a cafe, I had to brake quite sharply for some reason and Kevin had fallen off the seats and landed on the floor, still in his sleeping bag, as I was driving down the road, a pedestrian was waving at me and pointing to Kevin’s motor, he was leaning out of the cab screaming for me to stop. Kevin wasn’t a happy bunny, but I still have a chuckle when I think of it.
iamupforit:
kenny,who are the two drivers with the trucks loaded with tanks in your photo in the album
before my time
alan
Hi Alan,Billy Toas (RIP) is in the Atki twin steer. The motor and driver in front are not Dents.Billy then got 9846UP,the first Atki with the 6 speed David Brown box in. In the photo Billy is in the middle, on his right is Harry Lightfoot, who left to manage one or two hotels, later he started Durham City Coaches, now run by his son. Tom Johnson is on his left he used to drive 240 BUP, ( a Atki van) before taking Rogers job as warehouse manager, when Roger left and went to the ICI for a while. Roger got 240 BUP new, Dicky Porter drove it for a bit then Tom Johnson, then Harry Lightfoot got it after him
