I have to ask this, it’s been puzzling me for ages…
What the hell did you Middle East drivers deliver to those far off places? What did we have that they wanted out there?
Richard J:
I have to ask this, it’s been puzzling me for ages…What the hell did you Middle East drivers deliver to those far off places? What did we have that they wanted out there?
They wanted civilising but had import ban that still exists to this day
Coco butter for sweets, generators and spares into Baghdad. Chocolate into Kuwait
Richard J:
I have to ask this, it’s been puzzling me for ages…What the hell did you Middle East drivers deliver to those far off places? What did we have that they wanted out there?
A few ERF’s Ron Hawkins, Vince Cook, Jerry Cook and a few more Aldridge lads to show them how to do it!
During the boom days just about anything that was ever delivered by ship (including shipping container) went down there because the Gulf was as good as shut. Later, when sea transport was restored, the kind of thing that went by road was anything that was better off being driver-supervised, like awkward or delicate objects (machinery for example) that might receive rough treatment as deck-cargo; also things that went in fridge trailers like computers and ice-cream. I came late to it and only did a few trips so I was carrying more obvious stuff like equipment for the gas/oil fields. But I did one trip with switchgear for the power station in Doha - again, too delicate for deck cargo.
I hope that helps. I’m sure the lads who did it for years will give you more detailed answers.
In the post above, Pete quite rightly mentions the chaps who did ‘internals’ (like Trans Arabia). They unloaded ships from the Red Sea port of Jeddah and transport stuff across the Arabian peninsula to the Gulf. Robert
Probably more like what we wanted from them as most of the stuff I remember going out there was oil releated like drilling gear and pipeline equipment with the odd pieces of constrution machinery thrown in. One of the more interesting loads I recall was our fleet taking out 4 trailers that bolted together to form a mobile palace for a saudi prince , complete with gold bathroom fittings. Then bobtailed all the way back to blighty.
Probably the predictable result of a region without its own manufacturing base that was awash with oil money and Europe being the closest large scale manufacturing and trading area of the world.In which road transport could offer better service levels than sea transport in the day regardless of cost.
Which seems to be confirmed by the total value of the load shown in Destination Doha at least looking like it was worth ‘a lot’ less than the costs of transporting it. 
Robert
S Jones only loads overland to ME - Doha were computers
Interestingly at some point Binzagr had a contract with Saudi School feeing program and orange Co Ro was a part of that food program ie vitamins
Their was insuffice to supply via shipping tour so they sir freight Jumbo Jet frights in with full loads from Denmark where Co Ro were based.
Do not forget in 1975/6/7 there was a 12 week wait to get into Jeddah port hence the offload to barge out in the bay and also those barges that were part of a ships cargo fully loaded.
Ken b
Envious of you Egypt trip to Aswan - if had been me I would have continued into Sudan!! But that my wandering ■■■■.
Have been traveling down the West Coast from Seattle to LA over last 2 weeks, board ship tomorrow for Mexico and beyond then Panama Canal
Our greatest number of loads in the early days were bathroom suites, toilets sinks shower trays etc.
These were not for the locals as they didn’t know how to use them, but for the hotels where they were expecting an avalanche of tourists.
I’ve delivered concrete block making plants complete with forklift trucks, plasterboard, steel strip, Swiss rolls, components for a new battery factory being built in Baghdad.
You name it, we delivered it, more things than you can think of!
My Dad was an O/D, subbing for Bestbooties old company B.E.T- he took toilets to Baghdad too…
Kenb:
RobertS Jones only loads overland to ME - Doha were computers
Interestingly at some point Binzagr had a contract with Saudi School feeing program and orange Co Ro was a part of that food program ie vitamins
Their was insuffice to supply via shipping tour so they sir freight Jumbo Jet frights in with full loads from Denmark where Co Ro were based.
Do not forget in 1975/6/7 there was a 12 week wait to get into Jeddah port hence the offload to barge out in the bay and also those barges that were part of a ships cargo fully loaded.Ken b
Envious of you Egypt trip to Aswan - if had been me I would have continued into Sudan!! But that my wandering ■■■■.
Have been traveling down the West Coast from Seattle to LA over last 2 weeks, board ship tomorrow for Mexico and beyond then Panama Canal
Hello Ken. I had already done the Sudan bit! You’ll find a thread on here called Sudan Trucking Scene onto which I put my transport photos from the trip. Cheers! Robert
kmills:
My Dad was an O/D, subbing for Bestbooties old company B.E.T- he took toilets to Baghdad too…
It’s a good 35 years or more since I read ‘Cola Cowboys’, but I seem to remember a story in there about a new hotel rotting in the sands because it had been built with toilets that were aligned in such a way that your arse faced Mecca, so no one would use it! Robert
I had a contract with the Electrical Contractors at the New Jeddah Airport
I took all the urgent kit that could affect construction times & hence kick in their penalty clause
Also once had the Xmas presents for the Staff’s children - just made it for 8am Xmas morning
I even took 20 tons of Anti Freeze to Saudi once
whisperingsmith:
I had a contract with the Electrical Contractors at the New Jeddah Airport
I took all the urgent kit that could affect construction times & hence kick in their penalty clauseAlso once had the Xmas presents for the Staff’s children - just made it for 8am Xmas morning
I even took 20 tons of Anti Freeze to Saudi once
Well, it can drop to below freezing in the desert in winter. I heard of sand being exported by lorry to Saudi! Apparently, the local sand doesn’t make good ‘sharp’ sand for building with. Which reminds me that I took a full tilt-load of sheep pelts out to Turkey. Now Turkey is stuffed full of sheep but apparently theirs is all long-haired gear and our short-and-curly stuff is what they wanted. Naturally, because it was still attached to the skin, the rest was used in the leather trade. Robert
When I worked for Chapman and Ball they had a contract with British Aerospace to deliver spares and equipment to the Saudi Air Force at Dahran to keep their planes in the air.
There was a large contingent of ex pats running the air force service department and they told me if they weren’t there the Saudi’s would never get a plane in the air.
The Air Force officers all came from well of families and being in the air force was more of a hobby to them, if they didn’t want to turn up, they didn’t turn up.
I never realised that that part of the world owed our drivers so much…bit late now, but well done, lads!
> robert1952:
> Well, it can drop to below freezing in the desert in winter
The anti freeze - as you say Robert - is not as unusual as it sounds, my load was for Rockwell & their Radar Stations up in the Mountains
I also heard that it snowed in Jeddah around 1978