ERF NGC 420s on Middle-East work fell into two distinct categories: those that did the UK to Middle-East run on tilt work and those that did Saudi ‘internals’ on container work or general haulage bearing local registration plates. At least twenty-five NGC 420s fell into either of these categories on Middle-East service, representing well over a third of the total number built: 6 in the Vijore group, 5 Falcon Freight, 12 Trans Arabia, 1 SteefSlappendel, 1 French unit (813AMH75) and 2 in the Cunard CAMEL fleet. Some vehicles, such as the Eric Vick pair and the Slappendelvehicle, fell into both categories as they were sold on to Trans Arabia in Saudi.
As I mentioned earlier, the NGC 420 is my favourite piece in the jigsaw puzzle of ‘How Britain Made a Success of the TIR-trail to the Middle East,’ where it proved itself and blazed the trail for later long-haul versions of the LHD B-series model (itself marketed as a ‘trail-blazer’). Although originally marketed as an export tractor the NGC 420 gained some support from UK operators for trans-continental work. Among these were Gloucestershire hauliers Eric Vick, Richard Read and Jones Transport who formed a consortium in 1974 under the name of Vijore (the name is taken from each of their surnames) to operate on the Middle-East run with tilt trailers, alongside their domestic haulage businesses. ERF supplied them with about six NGC 420 tractive units, at least four of which were Middle-East ‘specials’ spec’d for the job. These had roof-mounted Kysor air-conditioning units, twin breather pipes up the back of the cab, Jake-brakes, visors, double bunks, Dynair fans, ‘fridges and cookers. They had the ■■■■■■■ 335 / 9-speed Fuller combination. Initially, eighty-four loads to Baghdad were planned, comprising animal-feed mills to be transported in sections. Each seven-thousand mile round trip was to take a month. At that particular time the Syria-Iraq border was closed owing to a dispute so they planned to run together for safety along the un-metalled mountain roads of their Turkish detour. The Baghdad contract carried on until 1980. They also undertook regular round trips to Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Vijore also ran to Syria, Jordan, Qatar, Iran and Pakistan.
The Eric Vick and Richard Read liveries were very tasteful indeed. Vick’s rather majestic NGC 420s were dark maroon, which was beautifully ‘lined out’ in white; with white roof, grille and bumper. Read’s vehicles were two-tone blue, again with careful ‘lining-out’. One of Vick’s units, KFH 248P, bore the legend: ‘UK — Middle East’ stencilled onto the white bumper. The other one, KFH 249P, had ‘Middle East — UK’ on its bumper. Two of the Read vehicles, KFH 250P and KFH 251P had a red and white diagonally- striped bumpers. One blogger on the Vijore thread said, ‘they looked bloody imposing in the rear-view mirror!’ Another mentioned that one of these caught fire in the desert but still made it home — this was KFH 251P which eventually morphed into a RHD B-series unit with a day cab and ended up on heavy haulage. ‘Zzzardbean’ said on the Vijore thread: ‘I took one of these ‘Europeans’ down to Avonmouth for a tacho check. Talk about stepping into another world.
From a day-cab Seddon into that monster, sat on the wrong side, it looked a mile across to the other window, an impression made worse by the fact there was no passenger seat (removed to allow more storage space). They certainly kept going: with an average of three or four weeks per trip and a week’s turn-around, they were doing ten trips a year.’ This vehicle turned out to be a 335-powered unit in Vijore livery, registered PDF 444R. The reason for the missing passenger seat was that its regular driver, the late Pete Robson, had removed it for a trip to Pakistan with spare parts for a boat laid up in Karachi. Pete Robson also drove it to Saudi, Afghanistan and Iraq.
A final comment came from ‘Hummin ■■■■■■■■■ who was commenting on a close-up picture of a Richard Read NGC 420 in the Saudi desert: ‘The driver leaning out of the cab is Keith Burson. The vehicle is an ERF ‘European’NFH 251P powered by a ■■■■■■■ 335. Keith did 18 Middle East runs. He also drove the A-series ODG 666M powered by a ■■■■■■■ 220 on his first trip to Baghdad in 1974. I remember him returning to the yard after that trip dressed in full Arab head gear, robes, sandals and sunglasses getting out of the cab going down on his hands and knees kissing the concrete! We thought he was an Arab at first as he was tanned and really looked the part. He also fooled them in his local pub dressed in the same kit and speaking a few Arabian words he`d learnt: always game for a laugh Keith!’
When I interviewed Richard Read senior and Richard Read junior at their premises in Longhope, they were able to furnish me with the names of some of the other drivers who worked on the Vijore project: the late Richard Emery, Ron Lewis, the late ■■■■ Williams, Kenny Sommerhill, Bill Watkins, Bert Tovey and Graham Averis. Laurence Taylor organised the loads and loading. Richard Read senior, 87 at the time of writing, told me of a drop-arm that had failed on an NGC 420 in the middle of nowhere and which had been welded up in a tiny Arab workshop by the roadside nearly forty years ago. ‘We still have it in the workshop now!’ he said. Like so many others, he reported that in general the NGC 420s were excellent for reliability.
I had a brief word with Eric Vick at the yard in Hardwicke. He remembered the NGC 420s as being reliable and powerful but thirsty. Their drivers, he said, had since passed away. There is a most heart-warming tale of how these two hauliers, both now in their eighties, first began to cooperate. In Richard Read’s 50th anniversary commemorative publication, Eric Vick recounts an incident in which he urgently needed a part for a broken down truck back in the mid-sixties. To get his stranded vehicle going, Richard Read removed the required part from one of his own trucks. This spawned a long-lasting business relationship which spanned many decades.
Another NGC 420 ran in Richard Read colours but was later repainted in the red, white and blue livery of the joint venture, Vijore. This was joined by PDF 444R, the above-mentioned unit that made it to Karachi and back. It later passed to Shamara of Southampton. Incidentally, the Vijore outfit sent other ERFs down to the Middle East — there were eighteen altogether - including a 5MW in Vijore livery, an A-series in Read livery and another A-series in Vick livery. Richard Read cabs had wire-mesh protecting all the windows from intruders. Robert
Trans Arabia
