jd426:
Haven’t seen any of Chett’s Scammell’s or many of their other vast fleet on here. They must have run just about everything back in the day. Also, does anyone have any pics. of John Humphrey’s trucks?. Humph always had the biggest and the best in the '70’s-'80’s. I worked at both places and quite a few others back in those good old days…
Hi volvorunner did Chetts haul abbatoir waste ? I think i saw them occasionally at Leiners Trefforest .
Also at an rendering plant near Market Harborough , think it was Pears regards kk
jd426:
Haven’t seen any of Chett’s Scammell’s or many of their other vast fleet on here. They must have run just about everything back in the day. Also, does anyone have any pics. of John Humphrey’s trucks?. Humph always had the biggest and the best in the '70’s-'80’s. I worked at both places and quite a few others back in those good old days…
Hi volvorunner did Chetts haul abbatoir waste ? I think i saw them occasionally at Leiners Trefforest .
Also at an rendering plant near Market Harborough , think it was Pears regards kk
Chettles Ditchford Mill… now a depot for Hornigolds…at least they don’t smell like Chettles did!
Great photo of GNM 967F volvo runner! Can’t quite see who was driving it.
Must have been taken around 1968-69. This particular vehicle isn’t one I remember but I see it has a front mounted muffler, so it’s probably petrol regs and, like a lot of Chett’s trucks, ex-Shell-Mex.
It also looks like its been stretched a bit and had a heavier front axle installed to run at higher weight. Chetts used to do all sort’s of mod’s. to their Scammell’s. Anyone remember KTM 391G with the experimental Perkins V8-510/Allison?. Chetts. built that in 1968-9 and it was still being used in the '90’s.
Back to the photo, the trailer looks like one of the first big (tandem!) alloy bulkers and (the rig) would have been running at 32 ton. Check out that Lister on the side!. I’ll bet they were still running that trailer when Ditchford closed… They still ran one or two Scammell 4-in line allloy bulkers (manf’d in 1967!) in the the mid-90’s.
The bloke who could really tell us all about Chetts. in the 60’s and '70’s is Tony Sales, who was the fleet engineer at the time. Tone still lives in Rushden, so if somebody could nip round and get the full sp off him it would be most interesting! (I would love to as Tone’s an old mate, but its a bit of a job from NZ…)
Hi kk yes they sure did if you could not see them you could smell them great days
kingswinford kit:
volvo runner:
hi i found this pic
jd426:
Haven’t seen any of Chett’s Scammell’s or many of their other vast fleet on here. They must have run just about everything back in the day. Also, does anyone have any pics. of John Humphrey’s trucks?. Humph always had the biggest and the best in the '70’s-'80’s. I worked at both places and quite a few others back in those good old days…
Hi volvorunner did Chetts haul abbatoir waste ? I think i saw them occasionally at Leiners Trefforest .
Also at an rendering plant near Market Harborough , think it was Pears regards kk
hi just see my mate next door david marshal who worked for humphrey.s and he is going to dig some pic out for me to put onl
jd426:
Haven’t seen any of Chett’s Scammell’s or many of their other vast fleet on here. They must have run just about everything back in the day. Also, does anyone have any pics. of John Humphrey’s trucks?. Humph always had the biggest and the best in the '70’s-'80’s. I worked at both places and quite a few others back in those good old days…
hi found some old pics of clarks .my mates dad roy heley he said he would find some more of his t45 for me to put on
Juddian:
classicman:
Hi Juddian in your thread about Clarks on Scrapbook memories you mention Alan Dyke. He was later the fitter for David Bletsoe Brown, he then had his own garage on Finedon Rd Ind Est Wellingborough. Later he was fitter for KLM Taxis in Kettering. Last I heard he gone to live on a boat. His son Larry was/is also a well known fitter around Northants, with Scania I think.
Thanks for that.
Good to know Alan still leering about, his swearing was legendary, called everybody and i mean everybody sh*t head, damned fine old school mechanic and well respected…Pete, our boss who never swore would just smile when Alan let loose and go back to the office till Alan calmed down, such an ill suited pair but mutual respect again and the job got done well.
Alan used to hand paint those Crusaders by the way, the chassis were regularly shot blasted and repainted in chassis black, annually if needed.
I’ll have to keep me mincers peeled for Larry cos i drive Scanias often enough so visit Welingborough Scania regularly, but i haven’t laid eyes on either of 'em since about '86 so doubt i would recognise Larry now, my hair is now old ■■■■ grey so doubtful Larry would recognise me either…if a red faced bloke with grey hair who looks like a negative comes in thats me.
Clarks had some good lads, both behind the wheel and in the workshops, i learned a lot there.
That first class servicing and vehicle care paid off though, when the tractors were sold on there was no shortage of OD’s and small hauliers waiting to buy them, didn’t get too much interest from the wheeltappers either cos everything looked properly specced and well cared for.
edit…just remembered, i visited Alan at his Finedon Road workshops a few years after leaving Clarks, would be around 88/89, he was hand building those old tyme wedding cars of his there, hand built chassis and body and Marina/Sherpa mechanicals if i remember right, he sprayed my Diesel Golf for me there and made a good job of it too, don’t think i’ve seen him since then.
volvo runner:
hi found some old pics of clarks .my mates dad roy heley he said he would find some more of his t45 for me to put on
Juddian:
classicman:
Hi Juddian in your thread about Clarks on Scrapbook memories you mention Alan Dyke. He was later the fitter for David Bletsoe Brown, he then had his own garage on Finedon Rd Ind Est Wellingborough. Later he was fitter for KLM Taxis in Kettering. Last I heard he gone to live on a boat. His son Larry was/is also a well known fitter around Northants, with Scania I think.
Thanks for that.
Good to know Alan still leering about, his swearing was legendary, called everybody and i mean everybody sh*t head, damned fine old school mechanic and well respected…Pete, our boss who never swore would just smile when Alan let loose and go back to the office till Alan calmed down, such an ill suited pair but mutual respect again and the job got done well.
Alan used to hand paint those Crusaders by the way, the chassis were regularly shot blasted and repainted in chassis black, annually if needed.
I’ll have to keep me mincers peeled for Larry cos i drive Scanias often enough so visit Welingborough Scania regularly, but i haven’t laid eyes on either of 'em since about '86 so doubt i would recognise Larry now, my hair is now old ■■■■ grey so doubtful Larry would recognise me either…if a red faced bloke with grey hair who looks like a negative comes in thats me.
Clarks had some good lads, both behind the wheel and in the workshops, i learned a lot there.
That first class servicing and vehicle care paid off though, when the tractors were sold on there was no shortage of OD’s and small hauliers waiting to buy them, didn’t get too much interest from the wheeltappers either cos everything looked properly specced and well cared for.
edit…just remembered, i visited Alan at his Finedon Road workshops a few years after leaving Clarks, would be around 88/89, he was hand building those old tyme wedding cars of his there, hand built chassis and body and Marina/Sherpa mechanicals if i remember right, he sprayed my Diesel Golf for me there and made a good job of it too, don’t think i’ve seen him since then.
hi
my names Tony Jackson from wellingborough. My first job after leaving school was as at Clarks transport. I started there when the fleet was Guy Big j 4 with either gardner 180 or roller 220 (mk1 or 2) all with 6 sped boxes plus a badger and the ts3 commer, shortly followed by a new seddon 32/4 RR220 mk3 10 spd roadranger.
I remember the demise of the commer ts3 being at the hands of Hans the yard forman. Harold told him to take it out with one of the short trailers . Hans didn’t like it and said that he wouldn’t be bring it back. Well it did come back , but Hans had tipped the trailer on a slope and it had flipped over and crushed the passenger side of the cab. so it became Tonys yard shunter.
I was supposed to be training in the office , but after 6 months or so of tyre cutting,spring and oil changing , loader shovel driving steam cleaning, my dad came down one day and found me pecking at some concrete, not impressed , he pulled me out of there and i went to work in his bodyshop. I have a colour photo of the Guy big j, 6 wheel hook loader in an album at home, dad and phil tomzak sprayed it green and black for Harold , must have been one of the few at the time not hand painted.
Some of you on here must remember my dad, Don Jackson ,( Roydon motors,NSM carriers,CTS , etc.) started with coaches , went onto rosebud dolls with 3 thames traders , moved onto parcels at finedon , ended up in barkers yard wellingborough doing traction and mobile homes.
Somebody on here mentioned the variety of trucks he ran at finedon,he was right , if it was a good deal, he bought it.That did carry on after finedon, 2 pedal scammell, scania 110, volvo f86, lhd maggie deutz,fiat 170, umpteen Ford and TK’s.
I think his favourite motor though was his beloved NUK385E , TK bedford 300cu in engine, 4 speed box, go anywhere you like rigid caravan transporter.Try punting one of those to the south of france , i have.
Good to hear from some old Clarks blokes, and thanks for the pics…looking forward to any more you can add.
@ Volvorunner, i worked with Roy for some years, probably the most professional and capable truck driver i’ve ever known, and as you know a thoroughly nice chap too.
Haven’t laid eyes on him for 20 years now, pass on Whizzwheels regards… and ask him about fuel consumptions and speed…
I remember Roy’s lad well (though his name escapes me, bloody memory’s getting worse) like his dad a decent stick, is he still driving or has he found a proper job yet…
EDIT…Carl…memory fired up for a brief moment.
@ Tony, Hans was a lovely bloke, a harder worker you couldn’t ever meet…‘‘ooh them flippin Tommies’’…we all reckoned when Hans retired that Pete (Harold taken a back seat by then but still kept his hand in, shan’t see their likes again more’s the pity) would have had to employ about 3 blokes to replace him, as it tuned out the poor sod only lasted months after he retired then dropped dead, bloody shame, i didn’t know he’d died till some time later so missed his funeral, if ever a bloke deserved to put his feet up for a decent spell it was him.
I regularly drove that old Guy Big J Rolonoff you mentioned, first time i ever saw it (or maybe a previous model) was at banger racing meetings in the early 70’s when one of the racers used to bring his car on the flat body…bloody handy that flat body was, i recovered a couple of pranged and broken down Clarks tractor units with it.
Actually, thinking about it more, i’m sure the cab was hand painted, but they rusted like buggery so might have been years later, this would have been around 1976/7 onwards.
You mentioned Phil Tomzak, if its the bloke i’m thinking of didn’t he end up working for Davella, came up with the smart colour scheme first used on the Dave’s Daf 25/2800’s?
hi
i was there when the 6 wheeler came , I’m pretty sure it was brand new, it had a 505 AEC engine and 6 speed box, but it was only a 6x2 and that dead back axle could realy get it in trouble. Did you ever drive it with the bulk bodies on and fully loaded? (you know about 8 layers of leather scrap bags above the body) rollover more than Rollonoff, i did learn how to use it though. I used to go out with its first driver doing the collections, once full he used to run the load up to croda at Newark.The flat body was used on Bridle and Cross when they were in midland rd (car park now).
I liked Hans (hans-knees- and- bumps- a- daisy me dad used to call him) great character , but he hated the 2 stroke with a passion.
It was my dad that persuaded Harold that ■■■■■■■ was a way better engine than a Gardner or whichever mark of Roller he cared to choose. So he went out and bought a Guy big j with a 220 ■■■■■■■ and a roadranger, what a tool.
oh sorry , yes Phil was a great spray painter, and he worked for my dad both at NSM and when he left there to set up in barkers yard.
very arty was phil , that would have been him. I’ve got 2 of the on th move books and there are quite a few photos in them from him.
I’ve got shed loads of photos of motors he painted for me dad, including an 88 low loader they had to paint in 2 parts
tonyj105:
hi
i was there when the 6 wheeler came , I’m pretty sure it was brand new, it had a 505 AEC engine and 6 speed box, but it was only a 6x2 and that dead back axle could realy get it in trouble. Did you ever drive it with the bulk bodies on and fully loaded? (you know about 8 layers of leather scrap bags above the body) rollover more than Rollonoff, i did learn how to use it though. I used to go out with its first driver doing the collections, once full he used to run the load up to croda at Newark.The flat body was used on Bridle and Cross when they were in midland rd (car park now).
I liked Hans (hans-knees- and- bumps- a- daisy me dad used to call him) great character , but he hated the 2 stroke with a passion.
It was my dad that persuaded Harold that ■■■■■■■ was a way better engine than a Gardner or whichever mark of Roller he cared to choose. So he went out and bought a Guy big j with a 220 ■■■■■■■ and a roadranger, what a tool.
The BigJ Rolonoff i drove had double drive but was it basically on its last couple of years and semi retired, used it often in enough in Buckinghamshire on tip work, better on tips than the Seddon Atki’s helped by the fact the chassis was a bit too short so the rear overhang meant all the weight was over the driven axles (probably too much, who cares), it did have the Leyland engine, not exactly a powerhouse, coming up the hill loaded with concrete waste from Finedon Road ind estate saw a maxium speed of 12 mph, but it kept going and that NA engine would lug right dwon to stall speed without losing power just when you needed it.
I used to do the Bridle and Cross Chertsey trunk quite often, though that was flat semi trailer swap by the time i worked there…fell off the bloody trailer in B & C W’boro warehouse, bloody tensioner slipped and i went straight off the top, luckily the place was kept spotkessly and i landed on the clear concrete floor…couldn’t do me normal work with sprained wrist and ankle so Pete put me on light duties for a couple of weeks…with the Rolonoff , i reckon we were made of different stuff compared to the new breed.
■■■■■■■■ yep agree with your father there, i’d give me eye teeth for a proper ■■■■■■■ engined truck now with a real gearbox, and no limiter.
Never seen an ‘on the move’ book you mention, are they about Northants transport? if so are they available anywhere please?
the books were only a short run by northamptonshire round table . there were only 3 in the series. they were full of photos of northamptonshire transport from 1900 onwards.
■■■■■■■ are the best , we had 220 in a couple of guys at finedon and nothing could touch them, we had a 250 in an ex david abbott B series , that had done the anglesey and back job, and still had loads of life in it , another 220 in an MW steel cab ERF, i had a Borderer with a 205 in it, and when i worked at Davis in corby i had a c series with an L10 250 running at 38 tonne, and an e series with an L10 290 at Simprim. apart from the Atki which had a ZF 6 speed and the Guys were AEC 6 speed i think , all the rest were roadranger/twinsplitter, best driving combination ever.
Thanks for putting up your pics, be great to see some more when you get the chance.
I remember seeing the Roydon CTS D series coming through Kimbolton on the A45.
You will remember the bends in Kimbolton which I would imagine tested your skills!!
The On the Move books are excellent but hard to come by, probably try Ebay.
The newsagent in Raunds ( near the Co op furniture shop) had copies of the last book a little while back they may still have some.
hi tony the david abbott you said about was it the day cab one
tonyj105:
the books were only a short run by northamptonshire round table . there were only 3 in the series. they were full of photos of northamptonshire transport from 1900 onwards.
■■■■■■■ are the best , we had 220 in a couple of guys at finedon and nothing could touch them, we had a 250 in an ex david abbott B series , that had done the anglesey and back job, and still had loads of life in it , another 220 in an MW steel cab ERF, i had a Borderer with a 205 in it, and when i worked at Davis in corby i had a c series with an L10 250 running at 38 tonne, and an e series with an L10 290 at Simprim. apart from the Atki which had a ZF 6 speed and the Guys were AEC 6 speed i think , all the rest were roadranger/twinsplitter, best driving combination ever.
hi
thats the one , OOB815R ,the numbers might be iffy, we just called her OOB, great motor, well till my uncle had a whooppsy with a load of glass on a roundabout on the A12 , i have a photo of her sad end. I planned to put the 250 into my steel cab ERF but i jacked it all in before i got around to doing it.
this is a photo of Clark transports original Rollonoff GUY , i was there in 1973 so it would have been a couple of years old when they bought it
no problem , i’ve got shed loads of photos , just need the time to scan them.
I’ve got a few Calor Gas (F86/bonneted Scammell/ERF MW etc)some RTITB motors . My dad liked to photograph them after they came out of the paint shop. I’ve got 2 volumes of photos, both of paint jobs and his own trucks from early 60’s through to 1981
roadcommander2:
Thanks for putting up your pics, be great to see some more when you get the chance.
I remember seeing the Roydon CTS D series coming through Kimbolton on the A45.
You will remember the bends in Kimbolton which I would imagine tested your skills!!
The On the Move books are excellent but hard to come by, probably try Ebay.
The newsagent in Raunds ( near the Co op furniture shop) had copies of the last book a little while back they may still have some.
Cheers
Mark
yes, my first day on the road with my uncle . through Kimbolton with a D600 ,45’ trailer with a 44’ mobile home on. the drawbars used to go that way regularly , me , done it once , didn’t repeat it with the artic , only coming home empty.
jd426:
Great photo of GNM 967F volvo runner! Can’t quite see who was driving it.
Must have been taken around 1968-69. This particular vehicle isn’t one I remember but I see it has a front mounted muffler, so it’s probably petrol regs and, like a lot of Chett’s trucks, ex-Shell-Mex.
It also looks like its been stretched a bit and had a heavier front axle installed to run at higher weight. Chetts used to do all sort’s of mod’s. to their Scammell’s. Anyone remember KTM 391G with the experimental Perkins V8-510/Allison?. Chetts. built that in 1968-9 and it was still being used in the '90’s.
Back to the photo, the trailer looks like one of the first big (tandem!) alloy bulkers and (the rig) would have been running at 32 ton. Check out that Lister on the side!. I’ll bet they were still running that trailer when Ditchford closed… They still ran one or two Scammell 4-in line allloy bulkers (manf’d in 1967!) in the the mid-90’s.
The bloke who could really tell us all about Chetts. in the 60’s and '70’s is Tony Sales, who was the fleet engineer at the time. Tone still lives in Rushden, so if somebody could nip round and get the full sp off him it would be most interesting! (I would love to as Tone’s an old mate, but its a bit of a job from NZ…)
and ask him about fuel consumptions and speed… 
, i reckon we were made of different stuff compared to the new breed.
