A few I took today while passing through Chapel this afternoon .
Passing through again today so I took these.
Taken in the layby at Dove Holes where the brew van is.
This Foden was in the compound opposite Cemex quarry again in Dove Holes
Stanfield:
Passing through again today so I took these.
Taken in the layby at Dove Holes where the brew van is.1
This Foden was in the compound opposite Cemex quarry again in Dove Holes0
Great pics of two British classics John.
Cheers Dave.
Stanfield:
Passing through again today so I took these.
Taken in the layby at Dove Holes where the brew van is.1
This Foden was in the compound opposite Cemex quarry again in Dove Holes0
Very Nice proper lorries. 
Another taken in the layby where Katys buttie van is at DoveHoles.I seem to be passing through quite a lot these days 
A local Buxton tipper haulier.
Stanfield:
More than likely had this one on before not to sure,but no harm showing it again.(found on net)
0
Hello, Cracking pic of cruddies
little foden! has anyone, maybe Rigsby? got a pic of cruddies s21 chineese six. I know he drove it way back when (almost 50 years ago?) as did I a little later. One can live in Hope and die in Castleton?
Georgie4
never took pics of lorries back then , film and developing for a box brownie was too expensive ! that 4 wheeler in the photo was terrible , with 8 tons on it rolled through the bends like a drunken sailor . how are you john , keeping well i hope . eric chapman took the s21 over when i left , crashed it first week , said the brakes were no good , i only had them done in fodens a week before . good little motor that , it would nip on when it had the rack bar wired , cheers , dave
Here’s another one, I think we have had this one on earlier in the thread.Not the chinese 6 you were looking for though sorry 
.
thanks john , that was gerald morris’s 8 wheeler . he used to pull the sheet over the cab when loading quicklime and washed the body down with diesel to stop the lime sticking . it was 5 years old when i went to cruddies and just as smart as it was in that photo , cheers , dave
rigsby:
never took pics of lorries back then , film and developing for a box brownie was too expensive ! that 4 wheeler in the photo was terrible , with 8 tons on it rolled through the bends like a drunken sailor . how are you john , keeping well i hope . eric chapman took the s21 over when i left , crashed it first week , said the brakes were no good , i only had them done in fodens a week before . good little motor that , it would nip on when it had the rack bar wired , cheers , dave
Hello Rigsby,
I liked the S21, drove it for 12 months just before the end of marchies. flat out with a force 9 behind it 42 mph at 1700rpm. wired 48-50 mph at just over 2000 (should be shot at dawn!!). very useful
for beating ronny to tunstead at 5.30 in a morning when he slipped out in front of you outside jaspers in his little erf, 42 flat out.
wonder how many of marchies drivers are left now. I was sad to hear eric morton passed away a few weeks ago. Out of interest , Is eric marchie or donna still with us, haven`t seen eric for 20 years or so.
I must learn how to put pics on here as i have few from the pike 2o yrs ago. I drove that barford sn27
pictured at the pike for a few years. straight eight roller, only ever ran on six and a bit pots. depending on where the engine stopped , it would put water in a cylinder and lock it up when starting. saying that a good stock dumper.must go before i get an urge to get the spanners out.
never happy enless yur ands are black""
Georgie4
georgie4:
rigsby:
never took pics of lorries back then , film and developing for a box brownie was too expensive ! that 4 wheeler in the photo was terrible , with 8 tons on it rolled through the bends like a drunken sailor . how are you john , keeping well i hope . eric chapman took the s21 over when i left , crashed it first week , said the brakes were no good , i only had them done in fodens a week before . good little motor that , it would nip on when it had the rack bar wired , cheers , daveHello Rigsby,
I liked the S21, drove it for 12 months just before the end of marchies. flat out with a force 9 behind it 42 mph at 1700rpm. wired 48-50 mph at just over 2000 (should be shot at dawn!!). very useful
for beating ronny to tunstead at 5.30 in a morning when he slipped out in front of you outside jaspers in his little erf, 42 flat out.
wonder how many of marchies drivers are left now. I was sad to hear eric morton passed away a few weeks ago. Out of interest , Is eric marchie or donna still with us, haven`t seen eric for 20 years or so.
I must learn how to put pics on here as i have few from the pike 2o yrs ago. I drove that barford sn27 pictured at the pike for a few years. straight eight roller, only ever ran on six and a bit pots. depending on where the engine stopped , it would put water in a cylinder and lock it up when starting. saying that a good stock dumper.must go before i get an urge to get the spanners out.
never happy enless yur ands are black""
Georgie4
Wired Oh Dear, You wouldn’t be on Mr Lewis Gardners Xmas card list , I wasn’t either how naughty of us Eh, Ha Ha , Regards Larry.
Mind you You were lucky 42 Flat out the one I drove was a 5 Potter 32 Flat out but would go over the 40 mark, Off course when the 150 was introduced it put a stop to our little scheme, But there again motors were improving at that time , Happy Days Eh, Regards Larry.
This Foden was an Ex. Sellers & Kent motor I bought it off them in the 70s when they were still based at Ilam, I believe it sometimes ran out of Doveholes, It was a great bit of gear 150, Gardner fully tuned up for every hill with its 12 speed box , Regards Larry.
hiya john , not many of us left now , ged morris is still with us , must be in his 80s now and then there’s just thee and me i think . good but hard days then , but if you did the work you got good money . i remember the front cross member on the body snapping and eric sent me down to the undertaker in dove to have a new one fitted . i worked there 3 times altogether , eric kept knocking on the door and asking me to go back for a bit more money , last time was enough when callahan took over , i got out the week before they went bust . eric is long gone and donna passed away 3 or 4 years ago . cheers , dave
I never knew this,was it before Hansons or after.
Originally printed on the
3rd september 1987
SWEDES BUY INTO BULK
Swedish money is helping the E & J Meeks empire to expand – the company’s latest acquisition, Sam Longson of Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, is now investing heavily.
- The Swedes are coming. In March Consilium AB of Stockholm bought another long-established Midlands haulage firm, though you probably did not notice, as it was done very discreetly. Consilium owns E & J Meeks, the Nottinghamshirebased tipper and bulk haulage group, and it was through Meeks that the Swedes bought Sam Longson of Chapel-en-leFrith, Derbyshire.
The move may not be particularly startling in itself, but it does indicate that Meeks aims to grow through acquisition, with a strong supply of Swedish money behind it.
Consilium is essentially a manufacturing company, making materials handling equipment, conveyors and a range of dockside machinery. Buying E &J Meeks and its associated company Mansfield Roadways was Consilium’s first move into the UK, and its first taste of the haulage business, The taste was obviously good.
According to Robin Meeks of E & J Meeks, Consilium is keen to move further into the specialist bulk haulage sector.
HOT BITUMENS
Though better known for its tipper business, Meeks is mainly concerned with bulk liquids including hot bitumens, tar and solvents. The tipper side of the business is still growing, but it still only accounts for 35% of the company’s activities. The remainder is skip and general haulage work: “We came to the conclusion some time ago that we had to offer more specialist services,” says Meeks. “The Derbyshire area has for a long time appeared to offer great possibilities for new business.” They plumped for Longson, a well-known name in the region and a company due to celebrate its 50th anniversary this autumn.
The Longson fleet, based in the heart of the Derbyshire limestone district, is heavily involved in hauling the area’s best known product. Around half of the fleet works on limestone haulage with chemicals and general bulk powders providing the remainder of the company’s haulage activity.
“The Longson business was attractive to us as we have long wanted to have a bulk powder haulage sector within our business,” says Meeks. “We did not want a new-start bulk powder operation as we have long recognised that this is an extremely specialised business requiring experience which we did not have.”
Since Meeks’ takeover in March the 50-strong Longson fleet has been through some major changes. Geoff Allen, Longson managing director, explains: “We were suffering from the effects of too little investment, with high repair costs and downtime, a result of elderly vehicles.” To offset this. Meeks is investing heavily in premium 38-tonne tractors, new bulk powder tank semitrailers and 30-tonne eight-wheelers. The new vehicles are all from ERF, which is supplying 12 8x4 rigid chassis and 38 38-tonne 4x2 tractors, all with the ■■■■■■■ E320 engine.
ER.Fs have always accounted for a large proportion of the Longson fleet: “We are well placed with a good local ERF distributor and also close to the factory, so we can obtain good back-up quickly,” says Allen.
The first of the new ERFs are now in service and Allen forecasts that a major reduction in fleet repair costs will offset the investment costs. Once all the new vehicles are in service Longson plans a period of stability.
As at Meeks, the Longson policy is to run vehicles on double and treble shifts. Expansion is the key word at both copmanies. Since the takeover 25 new drivers have been taken on at Longson, in addition to the 20 taken on at Meeks in the same period: “We are expanding fast,” says Allen.
Longson’s expansion will continue to be based around bulk powder transport – Allen, who has been with Longson since 1981, has deliberately steered the company towards specialisation in this sector: “Since I joined the company, Longson has gone from being a major tipper operator to being one where virtually all the fleet are bulk tankers. There is still an important tipper division within the company, but we would certainly not have maintained our fleet size if we had stayed so firmly in the tipper business,” he says.
Longson’s business is benefitting from the construction boom in London and the Home Counties. This has created a tremendous demand for cement and other limestone products, which are trunked by Longson from Derbyshire. Besides its contracts with limestone product and chemical manufacturing companies, Longson has a thriving general haulage business which is unusual for specialised vehicles, but Longson has been able to make this sort of business work in the bulk tanker field.
Its new owner will help this side of the Longson business to develop as Meeks has depots in South Wales, the Midlands and Middlesborough which will provide fuel and maintenance points for Longson’s vehicles.
The bulk powder business is strong in the North West, and moves to establish a Longson depot in this area, close to the M6, are being considered to facilitate work in the major bulk powder markets around Cheshire and Manchester, This move would not take the main emphasis away from Longson’s depot in Chapel-en-le-Frith where the company’s workshops are also benefitting from new investment.
Meeks made its name through intensive vehicle operation and high specification equipment: “We expect this philosophy to be reflected in Longson,” says Meeks. Longson will adopt a similar vehicle replacement policy to the Meeks group, where tractors are replaced after three years. Meeks and its associate company Mansfield Roadways now operate 230 vehicles, most of which are ERF, DAF and Volvo tractive units.
El by Phil Reed