colinwallace1:
0adr:
New to Albert Dale from Stoke-on-Trent, then sold on to John Simmons.
Oh-ho! Nice one Colin. 
Many of the pictures that you have posted show GEH actually working. Were these mostly taken by your father, by John or by you? Robert
robert1952:
colinwallace1:
adr:
New to Albert Dale from Stoke-on-Trent, then sold on to John Simmons.Oh-ho! Nice one Colin.
Many of the pictures that you have posted show GEH actually working. Were these mostly taken by your father, by John or by you? Robert
colinwallace1:
robert1952:
colinwallace1:
1adr:
New to Albert Dale from Stoke-on-Trent, then sold on to John Simmons.Oh-ho! Nice one Colin.
Many of the pictures that you have posted show GEH actually working. Were these mostly taken by your father, by John or by you? Robert
0
Mostly taken by father, he was on GEH full time.
This shows the same boat on the old Scammell trailer,the others were Dyson and Tasker.
Yes, that’s the first time I’ve seen GEH with the Scammell trailer! Robert
The two MWs in NZ further up the page are both my photos,which I think were in CVC magazine a few years ago. Glad to report they have both been restored and are still around.
Recently over Christmas I found an eight legger MW still working for a demolition contractor.
NZ JAMIE:
The two MWs in NZ further up the page are both my photos,which I think were in CVC magazine a few years ago. Glad to report they have both been restored and are still around.Recently over Christmas I found an eight legger MW still working for a demolition contractor.
Blimey, that’s a miracle as those MW cabs were much given to rust away. Robert
Lorries of Arabia: ERF NGC Part 2 is making rapid progress now and I received my author’s advanced copy this morning! Robert
Re: ^^^^^^^^^^^; after making enquiries it transpires that the publisher wishes to stick to its original schedule, releasing the book on 1st April as planned. So despite its early completion, we must be patient with regard to its arrival on the shelves! 
Robert
I was looking today at some beautiful Peter Davies pictures of the ERF NGC at the 1974 Earls Court Commercial Vehicle Motor Show , and wondering why I hadn’t attended that one 
! I had attended earlier ones in the '60s as a schoolboy and another in the early '70s. The atmosphere of those shows will remain with me forever, as I am sure it will for all who attended them with the enthusiasm of the young . I also find it amusing that the very vehicles we would now revisit with reverence, would not necessarily be the vehicles were interested in back in those days ! Robert
My only regret in championing this great British-built/assembled icon of early trans-European trucking, is that none remains in the original 4x2 standard ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 / Fuller 9-speed form. C’est la vie! Robert
robert1952:
My only regret in championing this great British-built/assembled icon of early trans-European trucking, is that none remains in the original 4x2 standard ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 / Fuller 9-speed form. C’est la vie! Robert
Any idea what happened to the R Collin ERF?
colinwallace1:
robert1952:
My only regret in championing this great British-built/assembled icon of early trans-European trucking, is that none remains in the original 4x2 standard ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 / Fuller 9-speed form. C’est la vie! RobertAny idea what happened to the R Collin ERF?
Alas, we were fed conflicting information from abroad about this vehicle and now it has gone off the radar. We wait with baited breath, Colin!
Meanwhile, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you personally, for the fantastic contribution you have made to this thread over a period of time. Your photographs and information have enhanced our explorations of this wonderful marque considerably.
Cheers old mate, Robert.
colinwallace1:
robert1952:
My only regret in championing this great British-built/assembled icon of early trans-European trucking, is that none remains in the original 4x2 standard ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 / Fuller 9-speed form. C’est la vie! RobertAny idea what happened to the R Collin ERF?
You could try to get in touch with Jan Lewiszong located in Bergharen, middle-east of Holland.
He is very known in the crowd of people collecting rare lorries and in transport. Good luck.
robert1952:
colinwallace1:
robert1952:
My only regret in championing this great British-built/assembled icon of early trans-European trucking, is that none remains in the original 4x2 standard ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 / Fuller 9-speed form. C’est la vie! RobertAny idea what happened to the R Collin ERF?
Alas, we were fed conflicting information from abroad about this vehicle and now it has gone off the radar. We wait with baited breath, Colin!
Meanwhile, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you personally, for the fantastic contribution you have made to this thread over a period of time. Your photographs and information have enhanced our explorations of this wonderful marque considerably.
Cheers old mate, Robert.
All good Robert, until GEH I’d only ridden in LV and A series so the cab seemed huge in comparison. Plus double bunks so 1st night out in a cab was in GEH.
And when you felt the weight it was pulling (some of those draglines and crushers were heavy) you wondered why so many put ERF down. ERF should have released a UK version.
I suppose it was too heavy. Did a load of Gypsum one time with dad and remember how he was avoiding weighbridges some where on the A1.
Only other motor I enjoyed driving as much was the LHD Crusader of Tony Jordans,(same cab of course.) Still to this day I kick myself for not buying that, it was as good as new.
Knowing Tony he would have let me have it cheap because I was enthusiastic about it.
colinwallace1:
robert1952:
colinwallace1:
Alas, we were fed conflicting information from abroad about this vehicle and now it has gone off the radar. We wait with baited breath, Colin!Meanwhile, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you personally, for the fantastic contribution you have made to this thread over a period of time. Your photographs and information have enhanced our explorations of this wonderful marque considerably.
Cheers old mate, Robert.
All good Robert, until GEH I’d only ridden in LV and A series so the cab seemed huge in comparison. Plus double bunks so 1st night out in a cab was in GEH.
And when you felt the weight it was pulling (some of those draglines and crushers were heavy) you wondered why so many put ERF down. ERF should have released a UK version.
I suppose it was too heavy. Did a load of Gypsum one time with dad and remember how he was avoiding weighbridges some where on the A1.
Only other motor I enjoyed driving as much was the LHD Crusader of Tony Jordans,(same cab of course.) Still to this day I kick myself for not buying that, it was as good as new.
Knowing Tony he would have let me have it cheap because I was enthusiastic about it.0
I live in Australia now. One day I was driving through an industrial estate in a bulled up Kenworth and spotted a Leyland Reiver, pulled up jumped out and had to take a picture. Wouldn’t have thought of taking a picture of the Leyland 15 years before but would have lept out of the Leyland to take a picture of a Kenworth given the chance! Funny how things work out. Can’t imagine how many drivers on here kick themselves for never thinking to take a camera to work eh? Grubs up ,gotta go. cheers. Col
Fantastic picture,Colin! I recognised that interior straight away: the steering wheel, those fresh-air nozzles above the driver, the sloping dash and the cold-start knob to the right there. A great picture, and all the more precious for there being so few interior shots around. I would remind the casual observer on this thread that the picture shows GEH 513N.
You are spot on regarding the absence of a home market version of the NGC. Several people have commented to me about this and it is probable that a full-on Euro-spec RHD drive version may have attracted enough attention to improve sales. I’ve talked about this subject in my new book, out shortly.
Funny what you say about the things we took pics of. I remember waiting to take pics of lorries I drove until I was pulling a triaxle trailer because I thought they looked the part; yet the pics that are more precious to me now are the ones I took of them with tandem spread-axles! Our perceptions change with time.
Take care Colin! Robert
Just a small detail, and I can’t remember whether or not I’ve already flagged this one up on here (so forgive me if I have): but earlier in the thread there was a complaint from a driver of a Swiss NGC that ‘the stupid things had great big contact breakers instead of fuses.’ It was a long time ago of course, so perhaps he was thinking of another old wagon. But NGCs were fitted with fuses, not contact-breakers. The driver’s handbook states this quite clearly and even shows pictures of them. I was discussing this with a small group of former ERF NGC drivers at Gaydon last year and all were at a loss as to why one NGC should have contact-breakers! Of course it is possible that it had been retro-fitted with them and it was reported that this particular vehicle was unreliable, so it could have been down to maintenance. All history now! And the rest appear to have been supremely reliable! Robert
Another detail I notice in Colin’s picture (above) of the interior of GEH 513N, is the CB radio with its microphone. It’s the first picture I’ve seen of an NGC that reminds us of this aspect of the era in which the operated. Robert
From Old Pond newsletter this morning:
Lorries of Arabia Part 2
Robert Hackford
This book is a companion to the hugely popular Lorries of Arabia: ERF NGC, published in 2015. Including 100 new photos, it will further delight fans of Lorries of Arabia 1, whetting their appetite for more.
Out In March 2016
I was just thinking and calculating over a pint at lunchtime today. I wondered how many regular drivers an average tractive unit hosted during its life. Then I got to wondering how many drivers an average ERF NGC might have had during its life. I estimated, very roughly, that a normal unit might have an average of six drivers. There must be some statistics about this out there. That would mean that the 91 NGCs built, would have attracted an average of 546 drivers. But I reckoned that a LHD ERF in the 1970s would have been attended by roughly a third of that figure @ 182 drivers. That is still a lot of drivers! Many of course will have died, but there must still be a significant number around. I have been in contact with a dozen or so, but I’d dearly like to hear from the rest. The average life of an ERF NGC at that time was seven years, but many lasted much longer. Robert
Here are some Dutch ERF NGCs sent to me today, very thoughtfully, by one of our TNUK colleagues, showing some familiar units taken from a slightly different angle. Nice! And thank you to the contributor. I wish also to acknowledge the Dutch chronicler, Leo Mes who took the pictures.
A happy conclusion to a cold February evening! Robert
Not many post on this thread these days, but plenty of people contact me behind the scenes and my posts here reflect this. Robert
