Gone with the drand. Robert
robert1952:
Found these superb pics on another thread: looks like Cenis (?). Robert10
You,re spot on with Cenis Robert…both lorries were operated and owned by Transport Services
( formally Jim Squibb & son ) from Southampton.
mappo:
robert1952:
Found these superb pics on another thread: looks like Cenis (?). Robert10
You,re spot on with Cenis Robert…both lorries were operated and owned by Transport Services
( formally Jim Squibb & son ) from Southampton.
Oh good! Wish I’d taken notice of who took the pictures. Robert
ANDREWDAX:
Archie Paice:
Really Nasty Hills, Now this does’nt mean you have to have driven a Lorry up, or Down them. Most of them mentioned either here or abroad most of us have tried at some time or another. But not far from where I live is I believe, either the joint or the steepest hill in Britain. This is known locally as Rosedale Chimney Bank it is 1 in 2 1/2. When we first moved there it was a challenge, but now with modern cars, just about anybody can master it.Is that the road from Whitby to York, I used to load from Whitby to Swansea many years ago and remember a steep hill not far from Whitby.
Clive.
Hullo Clive,
No mate, Rosedale Chimney Bank is located right in the centre of the Moors, it’s the road from Rosedale Abbey to Hutton le Hole, if you want to see it on Google.
The two hills that you are thinking about is from Whitby to Pickering. From Whitby you drop down into the village of Sleights, through the village then without too much warning you have to climb up Blue Bank, the first two hundred meters is really hard, with a right bend on it, then you have a long slog of about four hundred meters to the top. The next one is some six miles further on, and about a mile and a half past RAF Fylingdales is another monster, this is Saltersgate Bank, the old Saltersgate Pub at the bottom, then off you go a real pull up, then after about two hundred and fifty meters there is a really sharp left hand bend, more than forty five degrees and still climbing, this has been the stopping place for many a man, and unless you are very aware you would need a tow. The lads on Slaters used to load 18 tons of steel off Whitby Docks and often do two trips a day. I remember I sold a Scania 80 to one bloke, he tried to get up there and broke a half shaft clean as a whistle.
Not a very good photo, but here,s another one of the same Company also on the Cenis.
mappo:
And here,s another…same place.
I must say Robert,you have a fantastic collection of photos
Good photo Mappo,
Was a nice old hill las Carolina’s, sort of woke you up after bombing down the flat as a pancake n4 after getting round Madrid, and wondering how on earth spanish fridges kept overtaking you when you were flat out…must have different gears was always my thought…or just in a hurry for lunch / tea / Carrillo
Thanks tubbysboy, yeh it certainly broke the monotony that’s for sure.
When the photo was taken most of Spain by then was covered by Autovias and Autopistas
so virtually every town and village was bypassed as I,m sure you know.
Good for journey times, but took the challenge out of the job I reckon.
mappo:
Thanks tubbysboy, yeh it certainly broke the monotony that’s for sure.
When the photo was taken most of Spain by then was covered by Autovias and Autopistas
so virtually every town and village was bypassed as I,m sure you know.
Good for journey times, but took the challenge out of the job I reckon.
Your right, has ruined it. And probably ruined most of the towns along the way as well… What was the name of the restaurant at the bottom of the hill coming homebound?? Pedro’s ? Or something similar had a very pokey car park not room for many lorries but the locals used to frequent the place and pull straight out in front of any oncoming g traffic. Had a sign up about the best olives in the world…or some such…
Frightened the bloody life out of me on several a Saturday afternoon…as once there thoughts of Calais and me own bed started coming on top…haha
robert1952:
chilistrucker:
A lot of those already mentioned in italy and spain bring back memories
Also seem to remember there was a twisty/hilly section on the old n4 in spain, think it was in the la carolina region maybe.It was known to many drivers as ‘the gorge’ - here’s a pic. I took when you could still park on it! Robert
0
Thats the 1.
remember coming up 1 night, madrid bound, and it was hammering down, really, really stormy. I steadily made my way, and was amazed at how many trucks and vans just flew past me.
by the time I was out the otherside I’d passed 2 artics in the barriers at different points, and a van on its side at another.
was some cracking stops along the way though on that route.
bestbooties:
Retired Old ■■■■:
.
Pete.
How about Froghall in the Winter with too much weight on the back end of the trailer? I thought I was stuck in there until April at least!About 40 odd years ago, I bought a Diamond T wrecker from a bloke in Waterhouses that used it to tow trucks up Froghall bank when they’d run out of gears.
Hey B Bo, on the N4 Brussels Luxembourg tnere were farmers with one or two horses to tow you up on some hills.
But only heart,was before my time, but when you heart with nearly 20 tons with only about100hp.
Cheers Eric,
robert1952:
Found these superb pics on another thread: looks like Cenis (?). Robert10
Mont Cenis.
I did that one a few times, the first time was out of curiosity as I’d heard many older drivers talking about it, the other was usually because some one with a flash hat and lot of braid on their uniform had relieved me of to much running money earlier on in the trip.
I was coming down there one Saturday morning in the winter and there was a couple of guys skying along side me.
Another one that no one has mentioned yet is the old access to the Blonk at the French end from where the services is at La Fayet, the bit that we use now to come down opposite the stilts used to be the road. Very narrow under the rock over hangs.
Jeff…
Some of the worst hills I went up and down were in Italy north of Vicenza, going to pick up parts of my groupage loads, I’ve been around hairpins that had the front axle of a triaxle step frame hanging in the air while I’ve dragged it round on the under run bar. I was not concerned about not being able to make it as although it was unchartered territory for me, the people back in the office were all familiar with the area, but going up or coming down was edge of the seat stuff.
My worst one was in Austria, close to the Swiss border, it was a DT job and I was delivering a ‘fun factory’ type thing, an indoor adventure playground (used to be made out of pallets and crates when I was a kid) it was going to a hotel in a ski resort. I got to the point where I parked and walked up the hill to make sure I could get to the top, I was about 22t gvw and my 400 F12 was in 1st gear and I had to ride the clutch to get up one section! Tight hairpins was an understatement, I was not a happy camper that day, but I got there, well as close as I could as I had no chance of getting through the village. They shuttled the stuff to and fro on a VW LT flatbed, which the hotel manager informed me, was supposed to be meeting me at the bottom of the hill…if only the ■■■■■■ in Gerbruder Weiss had informed them of my imminent arrival! Needless to say I had a word (which nearly got me arrested, only having my son with me saved me from that) never did another Austria for DT after that funnily enough 
I got a photo at home, I’ll put it on when I get back.
Gothard Pass (not tunnel) the load limit was 2t & at certain times of day the road was North/South one way & later in the day S/N.
Grand St Bernard pass in Winter -lovely ! The Italian side was lethal.
Evening all, interesting thread this, and some superb memory jerkers!!
The mind wanders as you plod the regimental “tramlines” over the golden flowered ■■■■…reminding me , of course that Wolverhampton Wanderers begin their ascent of the various football league tables once more, then as the day progressed I was wandering with aimless abandon in the sprayer…in search of the scourge of all grassland men…the (invincible), Dock…the Rat of the weed world, whatever you do to them,however many you kill…more will follow as true as night follows day! And I was reflecting on the vicious inclines named by so many on this thread…and reflected upon the surprise that some had caused me over the years.
But Cenis , truly I loved her, loved her for her history, for her dramatic changes and faces , and how one part in the spring, could be a true nightmare in the winter. How I loved to take my rest at the top, free from those vicious Italian biting Mosses! And how wonderful that bit of Italy that you saw descending could look…untill you arrived there!
How on earth did those British Engineers build that Fell Railway System…for anyone who has never driven Cenis…it seems incomprehensible that a true railway could ever have existed there…but it did…and when redundant…was dismantled…shipped…and ran succcesfully in South America!
The day that I drove Cenis, back in the 60s, with a massive power upgrade to a 150 Gardner, and Foden 12 speed,… I flew…compared to many journeys in a 5 speed 4LK Gardner!
Harry is right, the Gothard Pass…but when did the weight limit go on? And the Grand St Bernard, and the Petite Grand St Bernard could be a bit of fun in the snow, (particularly those hairpins down towards Bourg St Maurice)…but a great view of Mont Blanc going over the top…
Tip Tops right about some of those Ardennes banks, and they hit you before you realised it…particularly with low power…straight into the lowest ratio…and hope that it was low enough!
The Pass de la Faye going down to Grasse could be a bit tight, but a great stew house in Grasse made the trip worthwhile. Talking of Restaraunts, the twisty bits around Peira-Cava, down from the Col Del Turini, always showed the best of M Berliets Maxi-Couple engine design, and there was a smashing, and very intimate eating house, down in L`Escarnene…(where I would suggest appropriate phrases to be used in the Journalists report on the vehicle)…before, I allowed him to drive the easy bit own to Nice…and park along the Promenade… for a refreshing early afternoon beer…and admire one of Lyons finest, resplendant in Black and chrome…and of course the promenading ladies…then a taxi to the airport for him…and digs for me, for I had to do it all over again the next day…Never had a bad press report…even on some rather “iffy” vehicles…told you that restaurant was good, and the Promenade…well was there ever a better place to show off a lorry■■?
Happy memories, going up and down hills!!
Cheerio for now.
Your’e right, Saviem, Nice was a flattering place to show off lorries. Here are a few pics of the day I tipped in Nice for the famous film festival, before crossing the border to re-load out of Italy.
And just to keep ‘on task’ with the thread, my homeward trip inevitably took me back up some nasty hills to cross the Alps. Robert 
Yeah, 1:3 is a bit iffy. I remember driving my old Morris Minor up a 1 in 3 somewhere in Torbay in the early '70s. Just made it! Robert 
robert1952:
Yeah, 1:3 is a bit iffy. I remember driving my old Morris Minor up a 1 in 3 somewhere in Torbay in the early '70s. Just made it! Robert
All loaded to gross weight up to around 38 t gross depending on type including a hill start.It wasn’t unknown for propshafts to break although surprisingly rarely. 
Carryfast:
robert1952:
Yeah, 1:3 is a bit iffy. I remember driving my old Morris Minor up a 1 in 3 somewhere in Torbay in the early '70s. Just made it! RobertAll loaded to gross weight up to around 38 t gross depending on type including a hill start.It wasn’t unknown for propshafts to break although surprisingly rarely.
Did the examiner place one of those empty stiff matchboxes behind one of the wheels to ascertain that the vehicle was not permitted to run backwards a fraction when the handbrake was released, like they used to with bus drivers in the '50s? Robert
Re.Sav I went over with a Swiss reg Henchel wag and drag with two pallets that weighed one and a half ton. The limit for the load on Gothard Pass was two ton . The truck was an old rattle trap that had previously demolished a house in Portugal and been more or less repaired. When I reached the descent on the Tessin side it’s one of the few times I felt like abandoning ship. It was a rough track that just fell away into rocky hairpins . You were way above the clouds and could see the tiny roads in the valley below . I didn’t have much confidence in the clapped out old truck but it made it. And I had to go back that way empty because at the time there was no tunnel.
A few years later I took an artic ( bl##dy Henchel) over fully freighted with Laser sailboats from UK ,about two about two and half ton and back empty.
The alternative was right round San Bernadino and I was going to Basel.