I am fairly certain that the lad driving over the Trafford Park Swing Bridge was called Brian Cobb.
I remember him telling me once that when he worked for Chet Trucks out of Oostende, he used to drive a Spanish Pagasso over H4 on his way to Saudi.
These two photos that were in the reception area of the office were probably an early version of Photoshopping. Although I remember one driver telling me that one Saturday morning, he had to drive up to the M67 motorway near Hyde just before it opened, for a photo shoot.
Great photo heavy old load on there I reckon looking at the bogie and the way shes lurching up at the front smoke billowing from the stacks as he’s nailing her just great
robthedog:
Great photo heavy old load on there I reckon looking at the bogie and the way shes lurching up at the front smoke billowing from the stacks as he’s nailing her just great
Are you sure? Looks to me as if the 2nd axle is a ‘lift’, and the cab suspension is knackered aft; and yes, he’s gunning her, hence the smoke.
essexpete:
The big Ford still looks quite modern to my eyes. Were they liked by drivers?
I loved them. Bit basic but combination of ■■■■■■■ and Fuller rendered them great to drive. The ones I drove had 290 ■■■■■■■■ 350 ■■■■■■■ and 9-speed Fullers. The elevated height gave a commanding view of the road: height-wise they were up there with Crusaders and ERF Europeans.
Certainly, my old Gaffer liked the Transcon as well as those that drove them, they did a lot of graft both in the UK and abroad, although the T reg one I had wasn’t new to me the previous driver kept it immaculate, the fleet moved on to Scania 112’s when the production of the big Fords ended but some ran for many a year afterwards. A tribute too to Tony Van Hee RiP who sadly passed away last week. Franky.
whisperingsmith:
Yes, quite nice to drive but the flimsy steering wheel out of a Cortina took a bit of getting used to.
They were typical Ford quality of the time.
Seriously!?- biggest steering wheel in a lorry I can ever remember.and it was a Berliet wheel.nothing flimsy about it at all lol
They were certainly oversized. God help anyone driving them with a big belly
They were made for armstrong steering.
On the other hand the wheel in the Atki Viewline that I drove for a couple of weeks appeared to have been transferred from a Morris Minor. Power steering = leverage not needed.
They were certainly oversized. God help anyone driving them with a big belly
Germany used to have a law (now relaxed or ditched) that the diameter had to be big to drive home out of trouble if the power-steering packed up. The same applied to drivers’ side windows: only the passenger one could be electric. Simple safety common sense. Personally, I liked the big Merc wheel.
Power steering? Power steering? Bloody hell man you want it too easy, if you have trouble getting round corners give the throttle a couple of blips, that’l sort it.
At Headly Shaw’s, the whole time I was there there was an old Leyland Comet parked in the yard with the front smashed in. It used to be said that Headly kept it there to deter complainers about brakes and that he would say ‘I don’t pay you to stop, I pay you to go’.
All a good laugh but I laughed at myself privately afterwards when, as a transport manager faced with an agency driver who was shocked to be told to have a night out in a lorry which didn’t have a night heater, he got both barrels of my stock ‘when I was driving we were happy to have a skinny sleeping bag over a warm bonnet’. He went, without a murmur, but my regular drivers had started creasing themselves when the objection was first raised, they knew what was coming.
hi, just wondered does anyone have any pics of Transcons belonging to Ryder Truck Rental.They had a fleet of them .Probably wrong but I think they were "A’ reg 1983?
Cheers
finbarot:
hi, just wondered does anyone have any pics of Transcons belonging to Ryder Truck Rental.They had a fleet of them .Probably wrong but I think they were "A’ reg 1983?
Cheers
The Ford Transcontinental was my favourite lorry in its day although the only time I drove one was a demo on the airfield at Cranfield a week after passing my car test, the grin on my face eventually went after about a week…
^^^
