Punchy Dan:
0unloading yesterday inbetween the 132,000 volt transformers , being wet and cloudy there were quite some noises .
Now there gentlemen is a very brave fella. I sure as hell wouldnât want to use a Hiab anywhere near those wires.
oiltreader:
Thanks to rastone, Buzzer and DEANB for the pics
One for rastone
.
Oily
Thanks for that Oily.A lot different than the old E83.Went 0n my first sales course on these in 1957 at Harrogate just before they were announced.What I thought was good about it was they had a wooden floor and the bottom panels were detachable.The side loading door hinged which not too good for delivering by the pavement side etc. I would have thought.The heater no comment but there was a starting handle which was useful to unravel the gear levers.It wasnât long before they put a four speed box in them.What a difference.
Tony
One for the old wagon & drag Atki boys to mull over, Buzzer.
Buzzer:
One for the old wagon & drag Atki boys to mull over, Buzzer.
Great photo âBuzzerâ It looks like a load from Victor Blagdons Ltd Manchester Now Known as Victor Packaging, Regards Larry.
I think the drums came from a firm called Victor Blagden Ltd manufacturers /reconditioners but I cannot recall where they were located. There was a firm in Bristol which may have been them. Some one will know, Dennis was in the drum trade at one time he will know. A local operator to me had specialist Thames Traders carrying drums to Bristol from Marchon Products at Whitehaven for refurbishing. A good job loaded both ways.
Cheers Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
I think the drums came from a firm called Victor Blagden Ltd manufacturers /reconditioners but I cannot recall where they were located. There was a firm in Bristol which may have been them. Some one will know, Dennis was in the drum trade at one time he will know. A local operator to me had specialist Thames Traders carrying drums to Bristol from Marchon Products at Whitehaven for refurbishing. A good job loaded both ways.
Cheers Leyland 600.
Hi Leyland 600. V/Bs are on Westinghouse Road Trafford Park, Plus they have another factory IIRC at Ellesmere Port, There is a firm near me that I used to do a night run for after I retired from my own wagons ,Throckley to Trafford Park change trailers & back home, They are called John Arthur Ltd, They recondition drums & also run Tankers, Regards Larry.
Hi Larry the grey matter is starting to move around a bit now, Trafford Park sounds familiar and Ellesmere Port.
Thanks, Leyland 600.
Aye Larry and Gerald, the âdrum jobâ, IIRC Victor Blagdenâs name changed to Rheem Blagden and in around 1970 John McGuffie started running a change over at Penkridge with a firm from Kingswood, Bristol ( canât just recall the name) John loaded 20 ton of paper ex Henry Cooke at Milnthorpe for usually Midsomer Norton and swapped this trailer at P/ridge for a load of new 45 gal drums from Rheemco Bristol for Albright & Wilson Whitehaven. The tractor unit he first used on this traffic was an âHâ reg Atkinson 180LXB, then a Scania 80 both of which he bought from J W Graham of Bass Lake. Iâm not just sure when the Bristol job stopped but a drum manufacturer in Aintree called Brabys started supplying A & W and John managed to obtain this job to A & W which by this time had increased to two or three loads per day. In mid '74 john was struggling a bit and I was interested in developing my business with the addition of more localised traffic and his main work slotted in nicely to our operation. So I bought his 7 40ft flats complete with a set of âdrum sticksâ and sheets and ropes on each trailer. Brabys were great to work for and Harry Thompson the Despatch manager ( howâs that name for coincidence Gerald!) really appreciated being able to pick the phone up and get immediate contact with a Hauliers traffic desk ! Apparently trying to contact John was a nightmare as he never had a proper traffic office, and no Mobiles in those far off days ! We ran the drums out of Brabyâs for approx. 8 years when the job dried up as A & W went over to more bulk tanker movements and away from packaged product. But it was an excellent job while it lasted and got us into traffic ex W.â â â â â â â mainly ex Workington Steel and to a lesser extent out of A & W. But our rates for our traffic from Libbys and Henry Cookes in Milnthorpe to South Lancs, Cheshire, N. Wales and the W. Midlands were higher than the W. â â â â â â â â traffic so often we just shot home from Whitehaven back to Milnthorpe where we had plenty of excellent rated traffic to go at ! The shot is one of a Buffalo demo we ran for a while in '76 and it has just pulled into the depot with a load of green D/Aâs which were the main colour of drums we delivered to A&W. And no the Buffalo didnât figure in our fleet purchases our drivers hated it ! Cheers Dennis.
Hi Dennis, As far as I know Blagdens are still going, My Pal Nigel Arthur who owns J.Arthur Ltd still has Blagdens trailers in his yard at Throckley, Arthurs originally had The Cooperage on the Side, on the River Tyne, Doing barrels etc, They moved to where there are now & went into metal drums, & Tanker work hauling Orange plate stuff,?,I used to load fro m Blagdens in the 50/60,s Usually for Glasgow but I cant remember the delivery point, The only drawback was that the shaped kickers had to be returned regardless of wether you were loading there or not, It was good traffic up to Glasgow, The old Thornycroft BEG 506 Used to fly over Shap , The good old days IMOO, Regards Larry.
Itâs a long time ago now Larry but on thinking further into our drum job Brabys head office was in Derby IIRC and that is where our monthly payment came from for the loads we did out of Aintree. The firm Gerald mentioned who took loads of drums from Whitehaven to Bristol for recon was owned by a chap called James OâNeill ( aka Squeak) fraeâ Aspatria, and he eventually started running a couple of bulk tankers on contract to A & W Whitehaven so I guess the Bristol job had dried up at that time. Although I can recall his 4 wheelers running down through Kendal in the 60âs they had like large open frame bodies and the drums were stood on end three high ? Cheers Dennis.
Aye Dennis, Drum wagons with framed sides were very common in those days, There was a firm from Paisley had them but I cant remember their name, There was a chap from Ponteland did M/T Drums His Logo on his Ford Artic was Distant Drums, In fact when he packed in & shot off to Austrialier my mate from Seaton Burn G.Lowdon Ltd bought the Ford Unit, How times flys when you are enjoying yourself, Ive just opened a bottle of Speyside Single Malt slight smokey & very mellow, ÂŁ18.50, from Asdas, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Aye Dennis, Drum wagons with framed sides were very common in those days, There was a firm from Paisley had them but I cant remember their name, There was a chap from Ponteland did M/T Drums His Logo on his Ford Artic was Distant Drums, In fact when he packed in & shot off to Austrialier my mate from Seaton Burn G.Lowdon Ltd bought the Ford Unit, How times flys when you are enjoying yourself, Ive just opened a bottle of Speyside Single Malt slight smokey & very mellow, ÂŁ18.50, from Asdas, Regards Larry.
When Anne and I were away at a long weekend with the family at Hawes about 3 weeks ago I had a couple of large ones on the Saturday night of a Single malt I couldnât pronounced the name of all I can recall is it was âsmooth and expensiveâ 
Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Aye Dennis, Drum wagons with framed sides were very common in those days, There was a firm from Paisley had them but I cant remember their name, There was a chap from Ponteland did M/T Drums His Logo on his Ford Artic was Distant Drums, In fact when he packed in & shot off to Austrialier my mate from Seaton Burn G.Lowdon Ltd bought the Ford Unit, How times flys when you are enjoying yourself, Ive just opened a bottle of Speyside Single Malt slight smokey & very mellow, ÂŁ18.50, from Asdas, Regards Larry.When Anne and I were away at a long weekend with the family at Hawes about 3 weeks ago I had a couple of large ones on the Saturday night of a Single malt I couldnât pronounced the name of all I can recall is it was âsmooth and expensiveâ
Come on Dennis if you cant pronounce the name you must have had more than two large ones, 
Ive had three large ones tonight and Im off to the family holiday caravan for the Bank Holiday Break, Im hoping the weather is good so I can get my good Lady onto her Scooter, Mind you Its limited to 8 MPH, And I cant run very fast I may tell you, I can only do 7 at present then I need to refuel at the Malt Station , Puff Puff, Then Hiccidy bloody Hic, Oh dear Im getting old but I still enjoy life, And determind to wake up in the morning raring to go, , Regards Larry.
Period shot from the 60s taken at the junction of Greymare Lane and Ashton Old Rd Beswick Manchester ( note the Trolley bus lines )
Get yerself into yer garage, Larry and knock up a two-wheeled trailer for that vehicle of your good ladyâs. One of your surplus garden chairs bolted on to a short platform should get you sorted. You could enjoy a small one while being towed along waving graciously at the locals. The extra bonus is, of course, that you will be to the rear of 'Er Indoors and thus conveniently out of earshot!
Post Office new Electric van, even the dog wont here it coming & our postie will be able to ditch her pocket full of dog biscuits used for self preservation, reminds me of the old style milk floats, Buzzer.
Hi Larry, Dennis, Buzzer, The local operator I was referring to was Jimmy O- Neil (Squeek) from Aspatria, I think he had two wagons on the drum job from Whitehaven to Bristol. Here are three photos given to me by fellow TNUK member âmilkman tomâ I am sure he wont mind me posting these images here.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Hi Larry, Dennis, Buzzer, The local operator I was referring to was Jimmy O- Neil (Squeek) from Aspatria, I think he had two wagons on the drum job from Whitehaven to Bristol. Here are three photos given to me by fellow TNUK member âmilkman tomâ I am sure he wont mind me posting these images here.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
So Gerald when would Squeak switch from running the drums to Bristol and start running tankers ? He was pals with one of Henry Cookes drivers from Milnthorpe and he used to stay at Milnthorpe on the odd weekend IIRC. I believe they got pally as they used the same digs a Falfield on the old A38. Henry Cookes used to send a lot of paper to Bristol and Midsomer Norton and their own motors mainly ran on this traffic. Cheers Dennis.
Thanks to Buzzer, Bewick, Stanfield and Leyland600 for the pics, and all the info
Earlier this week on dashcam, the A9 Easter Ross, proper job.
Oily
Hi Dennis I could not put a date on when Jimmy packed in the drum job but I guess it would be around the time he put the tankers on. I still see one of his drivers once a year at the Fletchertown slide show each September but first got to know him when he was with BRS at Howgate mid 1960s.
Cheers Leyland 600