I wondered if there were any Ex-Pat drivers who, like me, have worked out of Vienna in Austria, or any other part of Austria for that matter. For me working out of Vienna was a complete joy and I would be intertested to hear about anyone else who had enjoyable experiences driving from a base in Central Europe. I drove through and indeed to various locations in the Alps every week in all kinds of weather, and of course had to pass my Austrian HGV 1 (c+e), before being permitted to drive. To be fair there were extra bits of information and training I needed, which certainly made coping with some treacherous driving conditions a lot easier.
The one thing that will remain indellibly etched in my mind is that mainland Europe is a lot bigger than it looks on a map!!!
I never done any driving in europe, its sounds great driving throu the alps and will remain a regret of mine
that i never got the chance before i moved out to Canada.
I can relate to what your saying thou about the size compaired to the map, this place out here is huge
only this week i ran from our yard down to brazil indiana unit only to collect a new trailer just under 1100
miles to get down there good for my mpg thou
I did a fair bit of Austria in the 80s/90s, a regular run for me was Vienna/Linz/Graz, which was a total PITA in those days, I used to cross at Suben then run down to the Nordwestbahnhofstrasse in Vienna, clear the Vienna and Linz stuff, then tip the Vienna and uncleared Graz cargo, run back up to Linz tip that, back to Vienna to pick up the Graz stuff again, run down there, clear and tip that, then get my arse down to Pordenonne in Italy to pick up a load of washing machines, it made for a busy week
They used that expensive ton/mile tax too in those days, but I used to have them over every trip, I used to fill out the forms as if I was only going to Linz, they would, in theory, charge me for any extra when they checked my tachos as I left the country, but as I was going out empty I used to use the car border at Arnoldstein and keep my Schilings all to myself
I can’t say I’m a fan of the place, but they have the best looking hitch-hikers I’ve ever seen, so it ain’t all bad
I was based in Swiss & did International for 'em for a few years & same with Italy. Went over Gotthard in summer a few times -Max load 2t. That was well before the tunnel. With Italy did Mont Cennisio,Bianco,Frejus ,Brennero ,San Bernadino, San Bernardo & that.
I am still trying to work out why the Alpine Turks used to sew all your cartons up with waxed string, when you were already in the zb country. I used to tip in Gebruider Weiss, load back from Helmut occasionally and we also loaded tankers out of Linz for Allied Colloids.
It was so much less grief at Scharding rather than Suben although they did arrest me at Suben and fed me, the food was worth more than the fine
Wheel Nut:
I am still trying to work out why the Alpine Turks used to sew all your cartons up with waxed string, when you were already in the zb country. I used to tip in Gebruider Weiss, load back from Helmut occasionally and we also loaded tankers out of Linz for Allied Colloids.
It was so much less grief at Scharding rather than Suben although they did arrest me at Suben and fed me, the food was worth more than the fine
the string and the piombo squashed on the end,was done to seal that piece of the load normally because duty was still due on that bit or it was in transit going forward to another country,doing this was a formality going back hundreds of years when these countries were places of transit.thats one reason there are tolls on the roads across the alps,the traders came up from the south and down from the north and they did business on the road exchanging goods then returned back in their homeward bound directions,they were charged for the use of the country for doing this,if you look at the history of the gottard it is explained there.
harry:
I was based in Swiss & did International for 'em for a few years & same with Italy. Went over Gotthard in summer a few times -Max load 2t. That was well before the tunnel. With Italy did Mont Cennisio,Bianco,Frejus ,Brennero ,San Bernadino, San Bernardo & that.
Wow you must go back a few years then coz the Gothard opened way back in 1980 aber esch choont si du verzelsch e chli mumpilz gal.
I am talking the new tunnel. On the old road you are way above the clouds. They had a alternate one way system operating coming back from Tessin. There was a parking place & big old restaurant at the top & you would have to wait there 3 hours if you got it wrong. I did it in a wagon&drag & also in an artic.
harry:
I was based in Swiss & did International for 'em for a few years & same with Italy. Went over Gotthard in summer a few times -Max load 2t. That was well before the tunnel. With Italy did Mont Cennisio,Bianco,Frejus ,Brennero ,San Bernadino, San Bernardo & that.
Wow you must go back a few years then coz the Gothard opened way back in 1980 aber esch choont si du verzelsch e chli mumpilz gal.
Harry hung up his spurs a few years ago. In those days you had a choice to get back to Basel from Tessin when you were empty ; San Bernadino or over the top of Gottard but only in Summer.The view from the top of Gottard looking towards the Tessin valley was dramatic. You were looking down on the clouds & wondered how the hell you were ever going to get down there. It was all old road ,cobbles , unmade ,hairpin bends & blind corners. Not so bad with a wagon & drag but hairy with an artic. Anyway anyone who’s done it will know what I’m talking about. I did it for the craic but it did save time you got the one way system right -big if!!
How long did it take to get over,and how much fuel would be used if went over in a modern truck,i know it is a weight limit now,no trucks allowed to go over,was the scenery good?And were there many accidents?
No accidents because the payload limit was 2t & not many truckers knew the route. From the Italian side when you got to the top trucks & buses could transit North for 3hrs at a time & then park up 3hs to let the South bound heavy stuff thru because there was no room for HGV’s to pass on the the road. The hairpin drops were so steep that the bumper bar on the trailer would ground. But it didn’t matter much because the road was mainly loose rock.The view looking toward Tessin was really scary for the first time. You are way above the cloud line & looking at all the peaks & valleys you wonder how the hell you are ever going to get down. The time delay thing; if you got it right you could save a lot of time compared to San Bernardino to get to Basel .If you got it wrong & got blocked at the top it would take you the same time after the 3 hr delay. Fuel was never an issue in those days but you must have saved a lot compared to hi-speed Mway travel. And last but not least - it was fun. If you have a car you can still probably go over the top because there is a big gasthaus on the peak where the scenery is not up to much because you are surrounded by peaks so you don’t get any idea how high you are.
Where was the scene shot for the film with Michael Caine,where the mafia bulldozer hit the fast car,and the end part of the film with the bus overhanging the cliffedge with the gold balancing,god knows why they casted Benny Hill,he was not suitable for that part,not even funny.
toby1234abc:
Where was the scene shot for the film with Michael Caine,where the mafia bulldozer hit the fast car,and the end part of the film with the bus overhanging the cliffedge with the gold balancing,god knows why they casted Benny Hill,he was not suitable for that part,not even funny.
I’m sure that was the San Bernadino, it’s basically the road route over Mont Blanc, but it runs into Swiss not France, you pick the road up from Aosta, I’ve been over it once empty and went skiing up there once when I was weekended
It was San Bernado.[ where the St Bernard dogs come from] The other one you stay in Swiss from start to finish.
I know what I’m talking about- discussion closed.
harry:
It was San Bernado.[ where the St Bernard dogs come from] The other one you stay in Swiss from start to finish.
I know what I’m talking about- discussion closed.
Thats one I never went over simply because that one goes from France to Italy. I was Swiss/Basel based. The other one was the St.Julie pass which had a truck weight limit . And also Col de Montgenèvre which runs alongside Mont Cenis -ish.
Thats enough Cols- Ed.
I’ve run the Simplon, done Genevre too and a few Col de can’t remember now I used to love venturing into the unknown, all of those mountain passes are pretty awesome, but the best road I’ve ever driven has to be the Route Napoleon.
I had a load that had to clear at Ventimiglia and I was taking one of the young lads out of the office on a trip down to meet his oppo’s in Italy, so the transport manager told me to run down the old roads all the way, we didn’t want those office wallahs thinking we had it easy, so I ended up on the Route Napoleon and OMG, it took my breath away, not a road I’d take on a regular basis, but I’m glad that I did it that time, the lad I had with me was ■■■■■■■■ his pants on some sections, I had a left ■■■■■■ and was going a bit closer to the edge than I needed to One of the best trips I’ve ever done
toby1234abc:
Where was the scene shot for the film with Michael Caine,where the mafia bulldozer hit the fast car,and the end part of the film with the bus overhanging the cliffedge with the gold balancing,god knows why they casted Benny Hill,he was not suitable for that part,not even funny.
toby1234abc:
Where was the scene shot for the film with Michael Caine,where the mafia bulldozer hit the fast car,and the end part of the film with the bus overhanging the cliffedge with the gold balancing,god knows why they casted Benny Hill,he was not suitable for that part,not even funny.
The opening sequence with the Lamborghini was shot in the Italian Alps, the scene where it exploded in a tunnel was in a place called Aosta. Peter Collinson’s wife, Hazel had to take their baby to a lower town as it had caught a fever in the thin air.
The opening sequence with the Lamborghini was shot in the Italian Alps, the scene where it exploded in a tunnel was in a place called Aosta. Peter Collinson’s wife, Hazel had to take their baby to a lower town as it had caught a fever in the thin air.
High in the Italian Alps, Col du Petit St Bernard, was the scene of the Jaguar/Aston Martin devastation that Croker and his cockney suffered by the Mafia.
Opening sequence in the Italian Alps
Eventually the Herrington coach was left dangling over a cliff near Ceresole Reale theitalianjob.com/the_film_l … _italy.htm
I gotta get a life!!
newmercman:
I’ve run the Simplon, done Genevre too and a few Col de can’t remember now I used to love venturing into the unknown, all of those mountain passes are pretty awesome, but the best road I’ve ever driven has to be the Route Napoleon.
I had a load that had to clear at Ventimiglia and I was taking one of the young lads out of the office on a trip down to meet his oppo’s in Italy, so the transport manager told me to run down the old roads all the way, we didn’t want those office wallahs thinking we had it easy, so I ended up on the Route Napoleon and OMG, it took my breath away, not a road I’d take on a regular basis, but I’m glad that I did it that time, the lad I had with me was ■■■■■■■■ his pants on some sections, I had a left ■■■■■■ and was going a bit closer to the edge than I needed to One of the best trips I’ve ever done
I did the Route Napoleon many a time, first time was way back when I was just 25 driving for John Eddom out of Hull in a 420 Scania thats was fun. The last time i did i stopped at a little Routier and had the set menu, the first course was la Trip ■■ frickin Tripe how can any one eat that stuff I did most of the Swiss passes on my Virago
good for my mpg thou 
I did most of the Swiss passes on my Virago