robert1952:
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
Good point Robert there must be loads of drivers about that drove them,plus loads of old
photos stuffed away and forgotten about in desks etc. Shame but hopefully more information
will keep being found. Problem is i suppose people die and there stuff get thrown away and lost
for ever.
robert1952:
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
Good point Robert there must be loads of drivers about that drove them,plus loads of old
photos stuffed away and forgotten about in desks etc. Shame but hopefully more information
will keep being found. Problem is i suppose people die and there stuff get thrown away and lost
for ever.
Yes Dean: I’m sure you could make a sentence that includes the words ‘skip’ and ‘wife’; and the expression ‘time to move on’! Robert
We never did show conclusively that this lorry was operated by Comart (or even one of its subbies). The trailer is believed to be an MJL one - can anyone remember what MJL stood for? Perhaps the ERF was operated by MJL…
It seems MJL was an international French company based in Tourcoing with an office in London, that was eventually absorbed by Giraud in the '90s. But I can’t find any real history that might lead us to this NGC. It is possible that this unit was French, not English. Robert
10
MJL was originaly from Barking, then moved to Motherwell way in Grays. Micheal John Luff owned it. He used to do quite a lot of Italian work. He helped set up a company in France as to get the co-operation permits. I think Micky Luff shut down the English side in around 1984
We never did show conclusively that this lorry was operated by Comart (or even one of its subbies). The trailer is believed to be an MJL one - can anyone remember what MJL stood for? Perhaps the ERF was operated by MJL…
It seems MJL was an international French company based in Tourcoing with an office in London, that was eventually absorbed by Giraud in the '90s. But I can’t find any real history that might lead us to this NGC. It is possible that this unit was French, not English. Robert
10
MJL was originaly from Barking, then moved to Motherwell way in Grays. Micheal John Luff owned it. He used to do quite a lot of Italian work. He helped set up a company in France as to get the co-operation permits. I think Micky Luff shut down the English side in around 1984
I can confirm the Tourcoing connection, and the use of Clive Smith`s, COMART livery. Also the acquisition by Michael Giraud of the rump of MJLs business. I f you need any more details please PM me, as the history is really not for this open forum.
I can confirm the Tourcoing connection, and the use of Clive Smith`s, COMART livery. Also the acquisition by Michael Giraud of the rump of MJLs business. I f you need any more details please PM me, as the history is really not for this open forum.
A sizeable chunk of the new Lorries of Arabia book features the pictures and stories of Eric Vick and Richard Read drivers, especially Chris Till who drove KFH 249P to the M/E for five years and reports an astonishingly high level of reliability. Robert
I was informed by a former publicity officer for ERF that in those days Demo units usually had the biggest available power, so we can probably afford to pencil faintly against any demo and ex-demo units ‘NTC 335 / 9-speed Fuller’ ; though I will not actually publish any such info as fact. There are still lots of mysteries to solve yet. Robert
If we exit Europe, the ERF ‘European’ will gain a little more historical significance for the pragmatic; and a little more poignance for the sentimental! Robert
Good. I’m glad it’s in safe hands - eindelijk. It would be natural to preserve it in its own livery, but it would be wonderful to see it the splendid livery of Van Steenbergen!
And here’s a nice picture showing the secondary cab-release handle (to the far right of the picture). The primary one is inside the cab. The final one is part of the cab lifting mechanism and handle. Robert
To whet the appetite a little: this morning I counted all the ‘new’ pictures in the new book to see how many have never appeared on this thread and the total is 40. A further 10 ‘new’ pics appear in my series of articles for REVS International magazine.
A few of those that have a broader permission attached to them will eventually appear on here as and when relevant. Enjoy. Robert
A message to all who read old accounts of the M/E run, LDDs etc: keep your eyes skinned!! For the last four years I’ve combed every article and book I can find about journeys made during the '70s / early '80s for any references to the ERF NGCs at work on the Middle-East run.
However, there must be many I’ve missed. DEANB often posts LDDs (long-distance diaries) on these threads, which helps of course - and I have many old cuttings at home. But because there was only a handful of ERF NGCs on the M/E run compared with other makes the likelihood of any LDD narrator/driver/writer encountering one - let alone bothering to comment on the meeting - is very slim indeed. If you should spot any reference in old articles etc, please let us know!
the ERF was operated by MJL…
I received notification of this from them this morning.
