Three of John Gornalls Fodens at his Spennymoor yard back in the 90’s.
Hi TTB your account of a Chinese Six for Robson of Hexham intrigues me, do you have a photo or any other details. I used to run over to the north east almost daily in the 1960s and 70s and knew most motors in the Tyne Valley but cannot recall this one. Eden Commercials did supply some chassis to Hexham operators in the past, I know the former stores manager who is a mind of information regarding their customers. If you can post a photo or registration details I may be able to identify the vehicle better. ?
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Hi TTB your account of a Chinese Six for Robson of Hexham intrigues me, do you have a photo or any other details. I used to run over to the north east almost daily in the 1960s and 70s and knew most motors in the Tyne Valley but cannot recall this one. Eden Commercials did supply some chassis to Hexham operators in the past, I know the former stores manager who is a mind of information regarding their customers. If you can post a photo or registration details I may be able to identify the vehicle better. ?
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Hi “Leyland600”, IIRC The Chinese 6 wheelers that John Robson had were Ex Brewery Motors, He did have a 6 wheeler ERF , It had the livery of The House Of Mayfair on the rear doors of the Curtain sided body, He hauled wallpaper & Fablon from their Cramlington works, He went on to run a Ford Cargo tractor unit plus the later ERF,s on the same work, Plus other work out of Preston Brook, With Soap Powder products from Port Sunlight works belonging to Lever Bros, Regards Larry.
Hi Lawrence, Thanks for the info re John Robson I still cannot bring his motors to mind, must be getting old.!!!
Cheers Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Hi Lawrence, Thanks for the info re John Robson I still cannot bring his motors to mind, must be getting old.!!!
Cheers Leyland 600.
Snap. 
Robson Bros. fleet line-up in the mid 60’s. Interesting view in the background- could this be Langley Castle? Eric.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Leyland600:
Hi TTB your account of a Chinese Six for Robson of Hexham intrigues me, do you have a photo or any other details. I used to run over to the north east almost daily in the 1960s and 70s and knew most motors in the Tyne Valley but cannot recall this one. Eden Commercials did supply some chassis to Hexham operators in the past, I know the former stores manager who is a mind of information regarding their customers. If you can post a photo or registration details I may be able to identify the vehicle better. ?
Cheers, Leyland 600.Hi “Leyland600”, IIRC The Chinese 6 wheelers that John Robson had were Ex Brewery Motors, He did have a 6 wheeler ERF , It had the livery of The House Of Mayfair on the rear doors of the Curtain sided body, He hauled wallpaper & Fablon from their Cramlington works, He went on to run a Ford Cargo tractor unit plus the later ERF,s on the same work, Plus other work out of Preston Brook, With Soap Powder products from Port Sunlight works belonging to Lever Bros, Regards Larry.
Sorry i must have not explained myself i meant to say i used to go to Hexham with my friends who used to run a ERF LV chinese Six along with a 6 wheeler A series and some four wheeler ERFs as well as Seddon Diesels then onto Mercs and Scanias out of Eastgate Cement works and cannot recall ever seeing any of the Robson ERF units stood in Primrose Coaches yard
forster:
Robson Bros. fleet line-up in the mid 60’s. Interesting view in the background- could this be Langley Castle? Eric.
What a beautiful sight! I’m still grieving over our Comma coming to a full stop Bet it was great hearing them 2 strokes in convoy 
forster:
Robson Bros. fleet line-up in the mid 60’s. Interesting view in the background- could this be Langley Castle? Eric.
IIRC, Davison & Adamson bought them out, Regards Larry.
forster:
Robson Bros. fleet line-up in the mid 60’s. Interesting view in the background- could this be Langley Castle? Eric.
I remember there garage across the road from the new inn. Jeh.
An old photo from the early 80’s of Ramage Transport squeezed into their yard opposite Steenberg’s on Stepney Bank, anyone remember this? Cheers Franky.
Frankydobo:
An old photo from the early 80’s of Ramage Transport squeezed into their yard opposite Steenberg’s on Stepney Bank, anyone remember this? Cheers Franky.
0
Hi Franky, That’s a blast from the past, IIRC, Their yard forman was called Frank he worked at Shorties for a short time, Regards Larry.
Super Comet BUP 593G. Those dark early mornings and that large “lighthouse” type,vertical indicator stick, lighting up the the whole cab and the loud “tick” of the audible warning Just one of the great memories i have(as a 13yr old) of this wagon.
This was the first new wagon i really appreciated. She looked (to me) really awesome and the high ride just added to the all round great experience of “riding shotgun” as Tyneside aptly put it previously. The single movement of the window winder to lower and raise the cab window’s was “star trek” stuff to me
However as in all wagon’s there were a few niggles (at best)
With this motor, the gear change proved difficult from the off. It became so bad that Ron would say at times he would have to quadruple declutch(pumping the clutch 4x or more) to achieve a smooth gearchange. Cawthorn’s investigated several times and replaced the clutch (a few weeks out of warranty) so bad was the problem. The fault was still there until the clutch slave cylinder actuating rod snapped off near the adjusting nut.Ron managed to re insert the rod as a running repair and the clutch still worked.Soon afterwards, the gear changes became as they should be and gave no further problem!
She snapped a couple of halfshafts (at the hub reduction end) These half shaft’s always looked very weak at the tapered shoulder before the end spline (to me) and gave out on very small inclines on both occasions. 
Elongated holes appeared on the rear wheels due to (we think) wear in the brass bushes/shims in the rear hubs(despite checking tightness of wheels regularly). Ron replaced the wheel studs in the hubs several times (cheaper than replacing the hubs/drums )
And finally, she sprung a water leak at the back of the engine block. This appeared to be coming from the small inspection plate at the rear of the block. The rear cross member ran very close to this and made it a difficult to access. Ron spent several hours of his Sunday off (all day really) removing the plate only to find it was’nt this at all. In the end Ron contacted a firm called “Metal Stitch” who came out to Warden Law quarry and did a repair on the block using lead infills and took about 3 hours to complete the job. No more leaks 
There was one other minor problem that made “testing time” a bit of a chore. She had a small oil leak on the crankcase front pulley seal. So Ron drove down to the Darlington testing centre 3 hours before the test was booked in, let her cool down,wiped the area clean of oil and drove her in cold. PASS
Hi Paulycats
We had had about 6/7 Albions from Cawthornes about the F/G/H registration years. Both 4 and 6 wheelers
All with the ergo cab, two of them were flats for general and livestock work. They were probably roughly the same spec as the super comet with the 401 engine and 6 speed box, although the 6 wheelers had a splitter box.
Snapped half shafts were a regular problem on the tippers,especially on muck shifting.
One peculiar fault occurred on the 6 wheel flat and that was the bell housing studs snapping. We talked to Cawthornes about this and they said the fault was probably being caused by the driver knocking the stick out. The driver was persuaded to stop doing this and the problem seemed to disappear. The alternator went on the same motor and that was a major job to replace as it was situated at the rear of the engine, driven by a shaft the length on the block. IIRC the handbrake assembly had to be removed to get access to it.
Cheers Tyneside.
tyneside:
Hi Paulycats
We had had about 6/7 Albions from Cawthornes about the F/G/H registration years. Both 4 and 6 wheelers
All with the ergo cab, two of them were flats for general and livestock work. They were probably roughly the same spec as the super comet with the 401 engine and 6 speed box, although the 6 wheelers had a splitter box.
Snapped half shafts were a regular problem on the tippers,especially on muck shifting.
One peculiar fault occurred on the 6 wheel flat and that was the bell housing studs snapping. We talked to Cawthornes about this and they said the fault was probably being caused by the driver knocking the stick out. The driver was persuaded to stop doing this and the problem seemed to disappear. The alternator went on the same motor and that was a major job to replace as it was situated at the rear of the engine, driven by a shaft the length on the block. IIRC the handbrake assembly had to be removed to get access to it.
Cheers Tyneside.
Hi Tyneside,
Just to pick up on a comment made by Ron regarding the Super Comet. Our’s was the 400 with 6 speed box and i mentioned Thomas’s bought a Super Comet maybe just after our’s. Their’s however had the 401 (normally aspirated), same box, but Ron say’s he could’nt keep pace with it! Much better puller than our’s!!
YUP 941L When this motor was purchased, i was away from home doing my mechanics apprenticeship and i can only ever remember seeing it maybe only once. We’ve just discovered 2 very small, faded photo’s of it and i’ll try and put them up later. I think this would be another new purchase from Cawthornes? It was painted in similar colours to Tilcon’s livery (why?) Maroon and light blue/grey with dad’s name above the cab and possibly on the door’s? All of our previous motors had given good service without any major problem’s or lengthy period’s off the road until now…what motor could possibly buck the trend of reliability? What motor could possibly have their owner’s shaking their heads in disbelief and frustration?..Introducing the Leyland (she certainly was’nt a lady) Reiver 401 turbo 
AGHHHH!
One story, which we believe to be true, relates to J&D Maw’s( Sunderland) who had quite a few of these motor’s and on this particular day when Ron’s mate had visited their yard,there was several (we think about 5 or 6?) Reivers parked up, in a line, (cabs tilted) waiting for spares to get them back on the road!
From what i have been told, these motor’s had the(reliable) 401 engine with an added turbo, for extra ummphh!? and became very unreliable because of overheating issues, blown head gasket’s and related engine part(s) failing?
YUP 941L had several head gasket’s/ overheating issues during her short stay with us.This was compounded by a driver who had anger management issues with the gearbox! After 2 strip down’s and repair of the gearbox we were advised to “move this driver on” asap! The work was done in Burnett’s garage (Sunderland) They were running 2 Foden 8 wheeler’s out of Hawthorn at the time. However, this driver was a very good time keeper, never off on the sick, so he was kept on for those reason’s. Better the devil you know etc…
Tyneside…Just a quick recollection from Ron regarding Peacock’s of Eighton Bank’s. Ron was working out of Urpeth for a few weeks on the trot, driving our Hargreaves liveried TK (DPY 146C) He can recall a new KM, possibly on an “E” or “F” plate? coming into Urpeth and thinks this was Peacock’s first KM?(so this would be “66/67”) He can recall talking to a few Peacock’s driver’s but is struggling to remember their names? And makes the observation that Billy Meldrum’s Albion must’nt of had the splitter box fitted Paulycats.
Hi Paulycats
Possibly some of,the Albions mentioned had the 400 and the later ones the 401, too long ago to,remember now, and at the time I was probably too young to care.
The KM you mention was probably ECN 230E which was the first one we had. Harry Nichol had ECN 231E. They were amongst the first that A&G sold and we ended up with a mixture of tippers and flats all 4 wheelers.
Mention of L reg Leylands brings to mind the Leyland Bear we had, reg no VPT 993L which was a six wheel tipper with the 401 and a straight 6 box. It was involved in an accident when less than 6 months old and had to have a new cab fitted. Then of course we had the Reivers !!! What a disaster. We had 4 in total L & M reg. Leyland eventually produced a modification to the cooling system which involved fitting a bigger header tank but by then we had lost all faith in them and IIRC two got permanently repaired with the oxy acetylene spanner, two were sold to a dealer and we moved on to the Bison. Those 4 vehicles very nearly ruined what had been a decent working relationship with Cawthornes.
We also had a Super Comet reg no LUP 778J which was a LWB 4 wheeler and was on livestock permamently. It was a pigeon catcher.
In the later seventies we bought a couple of LAD Albions at Coopers which had come direct from the NCB, I think they were about K reg and we got them for time work on Gateshead Council. Not sure if they were 400 or 401 but they had rotary pumps and higher speed diffs and were real flyers.
Some of the drivers I remember from the mid sixties were Jackie Fletcher, Phil Harding, Jackie Newsteads, Bob Wheatley, Frank Wheatley ( uncle and nephew) Hughie Ilderton, Eddie Peacock ( no relation ) Jackie Richardson, Walter Gallon, Ronnie O’Neil and Ernie O’Neil, Eddie Herdman and Jackie Sanderson. There was also a couple of brothers and their cousin who all lived in the Chester le Street area but I cannot remember the family name.
Hope I have’nt bored you all Cheers Tyneside
Not an old haulage as such request but can anyone help with photos, colour if possible of the Land-Rover Series 2 Tyne Tunnel rescue/■■■■■■ vehicles used in the 60s/70s.
I have been told these were grey with yellow panels,planning a future scale model as I can only remeber the yellow overall scheme.
Any help from the forum would be greatly appreciated.