robert1952:
ERF-Continental:
@Robert: still a pitty that Wobbe did not (want to) proceed on our previous ERF NGC-group, but on what
base he did ‘estimate’ 100 NGC’s were produced/sold?He didn’t say. That’s why I thought no more about it! Robert
There are 91 recorded 7MW cabbed NGC’s found in the records - so far!
It must be stressed that some records from 30357 to 31892 (with the exception of 31406 to 31537) are sparce.
This is due the microfiche for these being virtually unreadable.
Wow, Friday 13th is not that bad…Robert ‘had’ his 73 chassis plus 5 extra from Falcon Freight, so 78 now!
From the total (thank your ERF-P) of 91 NGC’s we are now in charge for the ‘remaining’ 13 again 
A-J
Note for Robert…feel free to post ‘my’ excelfile over here as I have no access to my files and pictures now
ERF-Continental:
Wow, Friday 13th is not that bad…Robert ‘had’ his 73 chassis plus 5 extra from Falcon Freight, so 78 now!From the total (thank your ERF-P) of 91 NGC’s we are now in charge for the ‘remaining’ 13 again
A-J
Note for Robert…feel free to post ‘my’ excelfile over here as I have no access to my files and pictures now
A lucky day indeed! 
Robert
ERF:
robert1952:
ERF-Continental:
Well done Robert…just where all gained information (thanks again to ERF-P and his personal archivist) belongs!I have no access to the chassis-number of ex-Eyckmans 4x2 tractor and because of some changes (after the sale
and comparison of the chassis-plate…an extra axle added…gearbox-change) I think some are interested in its
birth-certificate?Hey, A-J / ‘ERF’: I have the chassis no. for the Eyckmans unit - it is 27371. Cheers, Robert
Chassis 27371
Model - NGC 420.260 (64CU335).
Cab - 7MW
■■■■■■■ NTC 335
Gearbox - Fuller RT 9508A 53470 (a strange one ending 8A - and another non overdrive direct top).
Despatch date - 24th May 1974
Dealer - CD Belgium
Customer - Eyckman
Reg number - 7DF44
MOST interesting! Although this vehicle was actually delivered by CDB with a 13-speed Fuller, as it actually states that on the invoice (a copy of which I posted on here); I have always suspected that it left the factory with a 9-speed Fuller because the original 9-speed pattern-plate is in the cab! Fortunately, I get that much right in the book then! 
Robert
.
91 7MW NGCs in total, and we can account for 76 of them. We can, however, account for 78 7MW cabs. Discounting the 2 known hybrids, that leaves us with 15 yet to find! Robert
A nice milestone Robert and I guess you now have even a more confident feeling with your book coming out!
Perhaps a suggestion…if ERF-P and his PA allow…to fill in the vacancies for students in the months of July
and August to jump into the archive and dig for the 91 NGC’s…we are so close to the treasure to enjoy her!
ERF-Continental:
A nice milestone Robert and I guess you now have even a more confident feeling with your book coming out!Perhaps a suggestion…if ERF-P and his PA allow…to fill in the vacancies for students in the months of July
and August to jump into the archive and dig for the 91 NGC’s…we are so close to the treasure to enjoy her!
Yes indeed! By the way, I have emailed your old excel docs to you. Have a nice weekend! Robert
ERF:
robert1952:
There’s more to UGE-852R than meets the eye. Thanks to ‘ERF’ we know today that its original cab (the one that was replaced by a 7MW) wasn’t a 4MW, it was a 6MW.I’ve been looking back at some old notes in my files. Jerry Cooke sent me this info about UGE-852R some time back:
Engine: ■■■■■■■ NTC 335; serial number 10409863.
Gearbox: Fuller RTO 915 - 1047TR.
Rear axle: 43950 KF16953 - 1106RA.
Registration number: UGE 852R.
Model No. NGC 852 080.
Chassis number: 33315.Look at the model number. NGC 852 is the same as the 6x4 tractor supplied by ERF to Cauvas in France. I knew that MW was just that shape cab, that ‘C’ meant ■■■■■■■■ that ‘85’ meant 85-tonner, and that ‘2’ meant double-drive. But I couldn’t understand why the unit wasn’t designated MGC as it had a 4MW (we now know 6MW) cab. Now if the rebuild had been undertaken by ERF, I could have understood them re-designating the vehicle; but as it was undertaken by Cossington Commercials this doesn’t make sense. Does anyone know if Cossington was a dedicated ERF dealership? Perhaps they were authorised by ERF to re-designate the vehicle…
This information is not correct to the vehicles build.
UGE 852R is chassis number 33315.
Model - MDC852.080 (66CU310)
■■■■■■■ NTC 335
Cab not recorded (in pen 6MW).
Despatch date - 24th February 1977
Customer - West of Scotland Excavations Ltd. Via dealer Bowen.
The archivist is sure this vehicle went through the hands of Pilikington, but may be mistaken.Cossington were an ERF dealership by the way, and were authorised by ERF to rebuild the vehicle, but I would of thought the chassis designation stayed as built - they usually did.
Did you know there was a picture of UGE852R on Brian Edgar website where you’ll find this picture.(sorry Brian)regrads Chris
chrisb01:
Did you know there was a picture of UGE852R on Brian Edgar website where you’ll find this picture.(sorry Brian)regrads Chris
Yes, thank you. I’ve already posted it on the ERF 4MW thread where it belongs! Cheers. Robert
Carryfast:
Blah blah… the TM 4400 was introduced to special order during the late 1970’s ( 1977 ) starting with the 8v92 not ■■■■■■■ being that …blah blah
Stop chasing me around, trying to tell me that I got a date wrong by one year, you maniac. There are other people trying to enjoy these threads.
Friday 13th isn’t yet over for the ERF NGC / 7MW. Amazingly, there is even more news. After reading this from ‘ERF’:
5.34 Metre Wheelbase.
Despatched 22nd December 1977.
■■■■■■■ NTC E290, Engine Not Recorded. Gearbox - Fuller RT 9509A 54705. Axle ratio not recorded.
Jerry Cooke rang me up with more interesting new about Falcon Freight. When he saw the 5.34 metre wheelbase it jogged his memory of seeing Falcon Freight NGCs in a grey livery hauling flat trailers for a cement plant in Jeddah. The thing he remembers especially is that they had enormous wheelbases and were driven by local drivers. He wonders if perhaps they were planning to add a second axle but didn’t bother in the end. Jerry was working in Jeddah for Trans Arabia on and off from '77 to '83 and he remembers them being there throughout this period.
This means that Falcon Freight did after all have a second depot (to their Dubai one) in Jeddah. I imagine that all five of the 2nd batch units went to Jeddah. It makes one wonder if there were not more cement plants around the Gulf being serviced by Falcon Freight with NGCs!
Jerry knew someone who serviced those lorries and he will try to get in touch with him for us. Thanks Jerry! Robert
robert1952:
@ ‘ERF’:Point taken re CP - I was only following on from Newmercman’s useage (he said lamely!). Thanks for reminding me.
An 8MW day cab actually makes some sense: it would simply have served as an up-to-date replacement for an MV cab on 6x4 units build for, say, the construction industry.
The 6MW as a ‘posh’ 4MW makes sense too; and it makes me wonder if a lot of the pictures we are referring to as 4MWs are not actually 6MWs (Leicester’s R-reg heavy hauler, for example).
I certainly look forward to the 7MW works pics.
I realise that your labours are exhausting but the treasures you are revealing certainly make them worthwhile for those of us perched on the edge of this ‘archeological ERF dig’ of yours!!! Thank you.
Robert
Don’t you blame me [emoji38]
I knew the CP range was ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ that’s why I mentioned it in relation to harmonising the spiraling out of control permutations of ERFs available prior to its introduction.
newmercman:
robert1952:
@ ‘ERF’:Point taken re CP - I was only following on from Newmercman’s useage (he said lamely!). Thanks for reminding me.
An 8MW day cab actually makes some sense: it would simply have served as an up-to-date replacement for an MV cab on 6x4 units build for, say, the construction industry.
The 6MW as a ‘posh’ 4MW makes sense too; and it makes me wonder if a lot of the pictures we are referring to as 4MWs are not actually 6MWs (Leicester’s R-reg heavy hauler, for example).
I certainly look forward to the 7MW works pics.
I realise that your labours are exhausting but the treasures you are revealing certainly make them worthwhile for those of us perched on the edge of this ‘archeological ERF dig’ of yours!!! Thank you.
Robert
Don’t you blame me [emoji38]
I knew the CP range was ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ that’s why I mentioned it in relation to harmonising the spiraling out of control permutations of ERFs available prior to its introduction.
Hi Newmercman! I didn’t actually blame you, rather I deliberately implicated you in the hopes that my little oversight might not show up so starkly! Robert
And how did that work out for you? [emoji38]
robert1952:
Friday 13th isn’t yet over for the ERF NGC / 7MW. Amazingly, there is even more news. After reading this from ‘ERF’:5.34 Metre Wheelbase.
Despatched 22nd December 1977.
■■■■■■■ NTC E290, Engine Not Recorded. Gearbox - Fuller RT 9509A 54705. Axle ratio not recorded.Jerry Cooke rang me up with more interesting new about Falcon Freight. When he saw the 5.34 metre wheelbase it jogged his memory of seeing Falcon Freight NGCs in a grey livery hauling flat trailers for a cement plant in Jeddah. The thing he remembers especially is that they had enormous wheelbases and were driven by local drivers. He wonders if perhaps they were planning to add a second axle but didn’t bother in the end. Jerry was working in Jeddah for Trans Arabia on and off from '77 to '83 and he remembers them being there throughout this period.
This means that Falcon Freight did after all have a second depot (to their Dubai one) in Jeddah. I imagine that all five of the 2nd batch units went to Jeddah. It makes one wonder if there were not more cement plants around the Gulf being serviced by Falcon Freight with NGCs!
Jerry knew someone who serviced those lorries and he will try to get in touch with him for us. Thanks Jerry! Robert
Know Mr Gerry
You have thrown a spanner in the works!!!
Jeddah never had a cement plant as such!!
In 1976 when I went all cement came in by ship and was helicoptered off the ships standing off port to a compound - the helicopters ran from dawn til dusk and were operated by ex Vietnam US pilots - there was a bagging plant in the port and the rebagged material was loaded onto local tonka wagons
Afterwards they brought in a bagging plant ship onto the key where the cement bulk carriers would berth alongside and the cement pumped off into the bagging plant and then onto local Tonka trucks again - quite a slick operation as in remember - but I cannot remember those ERF s !! Could be my ageing memory, pity Bill Smiths not around he would have known.
Keep the the threads coming - I must get my photo gallery’s out
Cheers
Ken Broster
Here is our Saturday teaser gents…
Chassis Nos. 30355 and 30256 were both 12’ wheelbase MCC402.060 units.
Both had ■■■■■■■ NHC 250 engines.
They were both despatched 6th June 1975 to the New Zealand dealer I, S & P.
Both were supplied with 9MW cabs!.
OK, one could be a typo - but not both. They check out as 9MW on the service spares list as well.
What on earth is a 9MW cab ■■.
I have no record of one at all.
I’ll lay down in a darkened room for today I think…
I’m not sure if this is the best thread to post this on, but I thought it might help somwhere down the line.
The model codes used on these steel MW cabbed vehicles were introduced to all ERF vehicles in circa 1972, and can be hard to fathom out.
They were introduced to try to simplify vehicle identification in a huge model range for accurate spares ordering (…!!).
No MV cabbed vehicles had these model codes.
First letter is the cab type.
L = 7LV or 8LV fibreglass cab.
M = MW steel cab.
N = MW ‘7MW European’ steel cab.
Second letter is the cab designation.
A = Standard LV cab with set back axle (eg 7LV).
B = Standard LV cab with forward axle (eg 8LV).
C = Sleeper cab with set back axle.
D = Sleeper cab with forward axle.
G = Export special specification cab.
Third letter is the engine type.
G = Gardner.
R = Rolls Royce.
C= ■■■■■■■■
P = Perkins.
Fourth and fifth digit indicates gross weight, and show the vehicles GTW or GVW.
Eg. a LAG320 would be 32 tons GTW. An LBG304 would be 30 tons GVW.
Sixth number is the axle configuration.
0 = 4x2 two axle rigid or articulated.
1 = 6x2 three axle rigid.
2 = 6x4 three axle rigid or articulated.
3 = 8x2 four axle single drive.
4 = 8x2 four axle double drive.
Seventh and eighth number is the vehicle type.
01 = Basic load carrier
02 = Tipper specification chassis.
03 = Truck mixer specification chassis.
04 = Not used.
05 = Load carrier / drawbar equipped.
06 = Tractor unit single steer.
07 = Tractor unit twin steer.
08 = Tractor unit special build.
09 = Ballasted tractor unit.
13 = Special recovery vehicle.
14 = Petrol regulations chassis.
25 = Load carrier / drawbar equipped - A Series.
26 = Tractor unit single steer - A Series.
Codes 25 and 26 identify only vehicles fitted with the ‘A Series’ chassis.
Ninth digit needs a large decode chart, but signifies the wheelbase when applied to a specific model type.
Eg an LAG320.260 would have a wheelbase of 114 inches.
An LBG303.020 would have a wheelbase of 228 inches.
An LBG283.013 would have a wheelbase of 201 inches.
An LBC284.011 would have a wheelbase of 249 inches.
There are some gaps in the ‘seventh and eighth vehicle type’ numbers, but these are the ones I had easily to hand, and will be relevant for most vehicles.
ERF:
I’m not sure if this is the best thread to post this on, but I thought it might help somwhere down the line.The model codes used on these steel MW cabbed vehicles were introduced to all ERF vehicles in circa 1972, and can be hard to fathom out.
They were introduced to try to simplify vehicle identification in a huge model range for accurate spares ordering (…!!).
No MV cabbed vehicles had these model codes.First letter is the cab type.
L = 7LV or 8LV fibreglass cab.
M = MW steel cab.
N = MW ‘7MW European’ steel cab.Second letter is the cab designation.
A = Standard LV cab with set back axle (eg 7LV).
B = Standard LV cab with forward axle (eg 8LV).
C = Sleeper cab with set back axle.
D = Sleeper cab with forward axle.
G = Export special specification cab.Third letter is the engine type.
G = Gardner.
R = Rolls Royce.
C= ■■■■■■■■
P = Perkins.Fourth and fifth digit indicates gross weight, and show the vehicles GTW or GVW.
Eg. a LAG320 would be 32 tons GTW. An LBG304 would be 30 tons GVW.Sixth number is the axle configuration.
0 = 4x2 two axle rigid or articulated.
1 = 6x2 three axle rigid.
2 = 6x4 three axle rigid or articulated.
3 = 8x2 four axle single drive.
4 = 8x2 four axle double drive.Seventh and eighth number is the vehicle type.
01 = Basic load carrier
02 = Tipper specification chassis.
03 = Truck mixer specification chassis.
04 = Not used.
05 = Load carrier / drawbar equipped.
06 = Tractor unit single steer.
07 = Tractor unit twin steer.
08 = Tractor unit special build.
09 = Ballasted tractor unit.13 = Special recovery vehicle.
14 = Petrol regulations chassis.25 = Load carrier / drawbar equipped - A Series.
26 = Tractor unit single steer - A Series.
Codes 25 and 26 identify only vehicles fitted with the ‘A Series’ chassis.Ninth digit needs a large decode chart, but signifies the wheelbase when applied to a specific model type.
Eg an LAG320.260 would have a wheelbase of 114 inches.
An LBG303.020 would have a wheelbase of 228 inches.
An LBG283.013 would have a wheelbase of 201 inches.
An LBC284.011 would have a wheelbase of 249 inches.There are some gaps in the ‘seventh and eighth vehicle type’ numbers, but these are the ones I had easily to hand, and will be relevant for most vehicles.
Blimey! This is a valuable chart. Some of it I knew, so it’s great to fill in the gaps. Looking at the initial digits explains where Wobbe Reitsma got his idea from to refer to all 7MWs as ‘N-series’ and all 5MWs as ‘M-series’ in his articles on ERFs. If he hadn’t used the word ‘series’ this classification could probably have been made to work. As it was of course, it clashed with ERF’s M-series light-weight rigid model.
The second digit ‘G’ is interesting (export status) as this might help us to identify ‘Eureopeans’…
Thanks for this, ‘ERF’ - most useful. Cheers. Robert
Kenb:
robert1952:
Friday 13th isn’t yet over for the ERF NGC / 7MW. Amazingly, there is even more news. After reading this from ‘ERF’:5.34 Metre Wheelbase.
Despatched 22nd December 1977.
■■■■■■■ NTC E290, Engine Not Recorded. Gearbox - Fuller RT 9509A 54705. Axle ratio not recorded.Jerry Cooke rang me up with more interesting new about Falcon Freight. When he saw the 5.34 metre wheelbase it jogged his memory of seeing Falcon Freight NGCs in a grey livery hauling flat trailers for a cement plant in Jeddah. The thing he remembers especially is that they had enormous wheelbases and were driven by local drivers. He wonders if perhaps they were planning to add a second axle but didn’t bother in the end. Jerry was working in Jeddah for Trans Arabia on and off from '77 to '83 and he remembers them being there throughout this period.
This means that Falcon Freight did after all have a second depot (to their Dubai one) in Jeddah. I imagine that all five of the 2nd batch units went to Jeddah. It makes one wonder if there were not more cement plants around the Gulf being serviced by Falcon Freight with NGCs!
Jerry knew someone who serviced those lorries and he will try to get in touch with him for us. Thanks Jerry! Robert
Know Mr Gerry
You have thrown a spanner in the works!!!Jeddah never had a cement plant as such!!
In 1976 when I went all cement came in by ship and was helicoptered off the ships standing off port to a compound - the helicopters ran from dawn til dusk and were operated by ex Vietnam US pilots - there was a bagging plant in the port and the rebagged material was loaded onto local tonka wagons
Afterwards they brought in a bagging plant ship onto the key where the cement bulk carriers would berth alongside and the cement pumped off into the bagging plant and then onto local Tonka trucks again - quite a slick operation as in remember - but I cannot remember those ERF s !! Could be my ageing memory, pity Bill Smiths not around he would have known.Keep the the threads coming - I must get my photo gallery’s out
Cheers
Ken Broster
Thanks Ken! In fairness to Jerry, he did say that he couldn’t remember a cement plant but that there must have been one somewhere because of all the cement lorries! Now you have filled in the gaps. Cheers! Robert