Now there you go - perhaps someone should start a thread on right-hand drive ERF 5MWs but check there isn’t already one because I seem to remember one about MWs a long time ago with lots of NZ pics on it. Robert
Hiya Robert .
3300John:
Hiya Robert …it always happens, you can just slip of the original topic sometimes we’ll be back in no time.
John
Yes. If the thread of the discussion meanders into digression, so be it. The digression itself may contain valuable information.
[zb]
anorak:3300John:
Hiya Robert …it always happens, you can just slip of the original topic sometimes we’ll be back in no time.
JohnYes. If the thread of the discussion meanders into digression, so be it. The digression itself may contain valuable information.
What a laugh! You’re both right, of course. Happy blogging. Robert 
Meanwhile I am angling in several continental ponds…but are there stories, experiences or even pictures
of Messrs W.P. Ryan Ltd of 52, Thorncastle Street in Ringsend, Dublin 4?
Feel free to assist and add on other UK-distributors/dealers.
Wow Tip-top - what a find! Well done! Now we have to be good detectives and see who had a White and an ERF NGC in the same fleet, apart from Van Steenbergen!!! Or is that a scrapyard? Mmmm… Belgian number-plates. I think I can make out ‘DEA’ - one of Steenbergens had DEA as part of its number. Robert 
robert1952:
Wow Tip-top - what a find! Well done! Now we have to be good detectives and see who had a White and an ERF NGC in the same fleet, apart from Van Steenbergen!!! Or is that a scrapyard? Mmmm… Belgian number-plates. I think I can make out ‘DEA’ - one of Steenbergens had DEA as part of its number. Robert0
That’s Harry’s dream fleet there.
[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
Wow Tip-top - what a find! Well done! Now we have to be good detectives and see who had a White and an ERF NGC in the same fleet, apart from Van Steenbergen!!! Or is that a scrapyard? Mmmm… Belgian number-plates. I think I can make out ‘DEA’ - one of Steenbergens had DEA as part of its number. Robert0
That’s Harry’s dream fleet there.
Yes! Harry’s dream fleet: ‘Sheds R Us’.
No.21 in the Steenbergen fleet was registered DEA.044. However, I thought Belgian number plates belonged to the owner, not the vehicle, so when it acquired a new livery and a new plastic visor it would also have acquired a new number plate, so we’d better not jump too readily to conclusions here. It might be an additional find to the ones we already have. Robert
Wow, really (tip)top!!!
To my opinion it is in the yard of Transports Gruwez of Brugges! They had several White’s (Road Commander
and Road Xpeditor) as well as I ever saw an ERF-B-series 6x4 tractor for heavy haulage.
Let’s add the ERF NGC to the register…and I guess I might swap the shiny wheel-cap soon?
Good work Eric!
ERF-Continental:
Wow, really (tip)top!!!To my opinion it is in the yard of Transports Gruwez of Brugges! They had several White’s (Road Commander
and Road Xpeditor) as well as I ever saw an ERF-B-series 6x4 tractor for heavy haulage.Let’s add the ERF NGC to the register…and I guess I might swap the shiny wheel-cap soon?
Good work Eric!
Excellent, we’ll (provisionally) log it as a Transports Gruwez of Brugge (Bruges) then, and see if we can find a reg no for it. Robert
hey to all, It’s Gruwez it’s the old yard on the way Bruges - Sluis( NL),but new or old it looked Always like a scrapyard at Gruwez. They had some Krupps with ■■■■■■■ too.
In Belgium the numberplates belong to the owner,but if he gives his company an other name then it changes. And today lost or stolen and you never get your number back. Other sended in number are given out again.
In the '70’s we got the 6 numbers/letters,so if it was still the first owner of the numberplate,you could consider the building year of it. Like the ERF if you could see the first letter e.g. a B it must be a '74.
Bye Eric,
tiptop495:
hey to all, It’s Gruwez it’s the old yard on the way Bruges - Sluis( NL),but new or old it looked Always like a scrapyard at Gruwez. They had some Krupps with ■■■■■■■ too.
In Belgium the numberplates belong to the owner,but if he gives his company an other name then it changes. And today lost or stolen and you never get your number back. Other sended in number are given out again.
In the '70’s we got the 6 numbers/letters,so if it was still the first owner of the numberplate,you could consider the building year of it. Like the ERF if you could see the first letter e.g. a B it must be a '74.Bye Eric,
Well done Eric and thank you for the insight.
While I was celebrating the discovery of yet another ERF NGC, with a glass of Egyptian plonk here in Cairo this evening; I was reflecting upon the alternatives to the ERF NGC. If I were a haulier in 1976 and I wanted to order a left-hand drive 4x2 tractive unit powered by a ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 coupled to a Fuller 9-speed gearbox for TIR work, which manufacturers could meet my needs? I have come up with the following list:
ERF NGC 420 (7MW cab, lots made)
ERF MGC 380 (5MW cab, lots made)
Leyland Marathon (very few made with ■■■■■■■ 335 - one preserved)
Ford Transcontinental (■■■■■■■ 335 offered but I know of none actually supplied)
Seddon-Atkinson 400 (several LHD 335-powered units supplied to OHS and others exported to Greece, but otherwise rare)
Kenworth K100 (I know of USA units with 335s but not of any supplied to Europe)
As the 5MW cab didn’t tilt, the obvious ‘winner’ here is the the ERF NGC with the 7MW cab. Maybe the spec I outlined above wasn’t as popular as I thought! The Sedi looks really attractive on paper until you remember that the gearbox installation was poor, cable-shift, U-shaped and back-to-front (I know, I used to drive one), but it may have been easier to operate on a LHD lorry - some of the OHS bloggers speak highly of them! Robert
Just a thought: more than one person has suggested to me that in Belgium ERFs tended to be run by Flemmish rather than Walloon companies. However, ‘Transports Gruwez’ is the French way of naming a haulier, even though Brugge (Bruges) is a Flemish city, and Tip-top suggests that the yard was situated on the road to the Netherlands (ie outside the city). Might Gruwez have been a Walloon outfit? If so, maybe we can be less inclined to generalise about which Belgian culture preferred ERFs! Just a thought. Robert
robert1952:
While I was celebrating the discovery of yet another ERF NGC, with a glass of Egyptian plonk here in Cairo this evening; I was reflecting upon the alternatives to the ERF NGC. If I were a haulier in 1976 and I wanted to order a left-hand drive 4x2 tractive unit powered by a ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 coupled to a Fuller 9-speed gearbox for TIR work, which manufacturers could meet my needs? I have come up with the following list:
ERF NGC 420 (7MW cab, lots made)
ERF MGC 380 (5MW cab, lots made)
Leyland Marathon (very few made with ■■■■■■■ 335 - one preserved)
Ford Transcontinental (■■■■■■■ 335 offered but I know of none actually supplied)
Seddon-Atkinson 400 (several LHD 335-powered units supplied to OHS and others exported to Greece, but otherwise rare)
Kenworth K100 (I know of USA units with 335s but not of any supplied to Europe)
Having consulted my far-from-complete database of old lorries, I can say that the Transcon was not fitted with an NTC335 at all. It had a Ford-only special, the NTC355, which made 340bhp net at 2100rpm. There was also an NTC355E available, which was derated to 1950rpm, at which speed it made 308bhp net. This latter engine must have been an early taste of what the Big Cam E320 was to offer, when that engine came out in 1978/9. Both engines, on paper at least, were more attractive than the old NTC335, I would suggest. Ford must have built some- here is one, with double drive:
robert1952:
Just a thought: more than one person has suggested to me that in Belgium ERFs tended to be run by Flemmish rather than Walloon companies. However, ‘Transports Gruwez’ is the French way of naming a haulier, even though Brugge (Bruges) is a Flemish city, and Tip-top suggests that the yard was situated on the road to the Netherlands (ie outside the city). Might Gruwez have been a Walloon outfit? If so, maybe we can be less inclined to generalise about which Belgian culture preferred ERFs! Just a thought. Robert
hey Robert, a bit off the road, It can be a French name but than it was made Flemish,in French it would be Gruwée.
Lots made their names Flemish after WWII (e.g. Vandecasteele / Duchateau and the like).
so today two brothers can have their name as du Bois / vandenbos or
Lano (of the carpet factory,his brother is called Laneau.
cheers Eric,
tiptop495:
robert1952:
Just a thought: more than one person has suggested to me that in Belgium ERFs tended to be run by Flemmish rather than Walloon companies. However, ‘Transports Gruwez’ is the French way of naming a haulier, even though Brugge (Bruges) is a Flemish city, and Tip-top suggests that the yard was situated on the road to the Netherlands (ie outside the city). Might Gruwez have been a Walloon outfit? If so, maybe we can be less inclined to generalise about which Belgian culture preferred ERFs! Just a thought. Roberthey Robert, a bit off the road, It can be a French name but than it was made Flemish,in French it would be Gruwée.
Lots made their names Flemish after WWII (e.g. Vandecasteele / Duchateau and the like).
so today two brothers can have their name as du Bois / vandenbos or
Lano (of the carpet factory,his brother is called Laneau.cheers Eric,
Brilliant! That answers my question perfectly. Thanks. Robert
[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
While I was celebrating the discovery of yet another ERF NGC, with a glass of Egyptian plonk here in Cairo this evening; I was reflecting upon the alternatives to the ERF NGC. If I were a haulier in 1976 and I wanted to order a left-hand drive 4x2 tractive unit powered by a ■■■■■■■ NTC 335 coupled to a Fuller 9-speed gearbox for TIR work, which manufacturers could meet my needs? I have come up with the following list:
ERF NGC 420 (7MW cab, lots made)
ERF MGC 380 (5MW cab, lots made)
Leyland Marathon (very few made with ■■■■■■■ 335 - one preserved)
Ford Transcontinental (■■■■■■■ 335 offered but I know of none actually supplied)
Seddon-Atkinson 400 (several LHD 335-powered units supplied to OHS and others exported to Greece, but otherwise rare)
Kenworth K100 (I know of USA units with 335s but not of any supplied to Europe)Having consulted my far-from-complete database of old lorries, I can say that the Transcon was not fitted with an NTC335 at all. It had a Ford-only special, the NTC355, which made 340bhp net at 2100rpm. There was also an NTC355E available, which was derated to 1950rpm, at which speed it made 308bhp net. This latter engine must have been an early taste of what the Big Cam E320 was to offer, when that engine came out in 1978/9. Both engines, on paper at least, were more attractive than the old NTC335, I would suggest. Ford must have built some- here is one, with double drive:
0
Excellent research sir, thank you. Now I can eliminate the Transcon from my enquiries! Robert
robert1952:
Excellent research sir, thank you. Now I can eliminate the Transcon from my enquiries! Robert
Surely that 6x4 Transcon, with its 355bhp (gross) and best-in-the-world Berliet cab must beat any of its NTC335-engined competitors, if ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ was the brief?
[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
Excellent research sir, thank you. Now I can eliminate the Transcon from my enquiries! RobertSurely that 6x4 Transcon, with its 355bhp (gross) and best-in-the-world Berliet cab must beat any of its NTC335-engined competitors, if ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ was the brief?
Ah! If we’re going to up the ante to 350-power, I’d agree: the 350 Transcon I drove in the '80s was the fastest lorry I think I’ve ever driven! Robert