H1 KGB was driven by my very great mate Pete Newlyn. Originally Pete had driven the Kepstowe Volvo road train. Pete was on Kepstowe from 1981 until the company closed down in, I believe 1998.
I knew Pete for all of that time and we worked out that although I had been to Moscow before him, but only just, between 1981, when I first went there and 1990 when I started going again, he had done hundreds of trips. However, between 1981 and 1990 we used to meet up at Eastern European exhibitions, when I was tipping at them.
Like me he spoke Russian and we had lots of good times and laughs together out there.
Unfortunately Pete passed away at the end of 2015. I only wish that he had written a book about his time out there. Because to me nobody could surpass the time that he spent in Russia, or the destinations that he ran to.
Anybody that knew him would tell you that you could not meet a finer, better human being.
Absolutely interesting. The thread is open to everyone who drove out in to the far reaches of Russia and the other ex-Soviet Republics’
The first British drivers who drove out in to Kazak’ were my two very great mates, Cyril Gardner and Gordon McMillan, who drove for Croome. With them was Danny McAuliffe who was a subbie for Kepstowe.
I knew both Cyril and Gordon from when I drove for Pro-Motor back in the late 70s and early 80s Cyril had been on Croome’s and Gordon on Expo Freight.
Those three really set the bar, for others to follow.
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
Absolutely interesting. The thread is open to everyone who drove out in to the far reaches of Russia and the other ex-Soviet Republics’
The first British drivers who drove out in to Kazak’ were my two very great mates, Cyril Gardner and Gordon McMillan, who drove for Croome. With them was Danny McAuliffe who was a subbie for Kepstowe.
I knew both Cyril and Gordon from when I drove for Pro-Motor back in the late 70s and early 80s Cyril had been on Croome’s and Gordon on Expo Freight.
Those three really set the bar, for others to follow.
Very interesting posts recently Micky T. No doubt I shall be reading similar tales when I get my hands on your book. ETA for delivery of the book here in Southern Spain is 1550 hrs today. Roll on!!!
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
Absolutely interesting. The thread is open to everyone who drove out in to the far reaches of Russia and the other ex-Soviet Republics’
The first British drivers who drove out in to Kazak’ were my two very great mates, Cyril Gardner and Gordon McMillan, who drove for Croome. With them was Danny McAuliffe who was a subbie for Kepstowe.
I knew both Cyril and Gordon from when I drove for Pro-Motor back in the late 70s and early 80s Cyril had been on Croome’s and Gordon on Expo Freight.
Those three really set the bar, for others to follow.
Very interesting posts recently Micky T. No doubt I shall be reading similar tales when I get my hands on your book. ETA for delivery of the book here in Southern Spain is 1550 hrs today. Roll on!!!
If that’s 15.50 local time then you should have received it by now Brian. If that’s U.K. time then the anticipation must be building up. Hope that you enjoy it. Let me know how it strikes you.
I had a quick flick through Truck & Driver magazine today when I picked up my paper. I noticed that it not only had a full article about trucking in Russia, but it carried a good review of your book, Mick! Robert
robert1952:
I had a quick flick through Truck & Driver magazine today when I picked up my paper. I noticed that it not only had a full article about trucking in Russia, but it carried a good review of your book, Mick! Robert
Thanks Robert. I will get a copy tomorrow. Hope that you are well and that we can arrange a get together with Andy in the near future.
tiptop495:
Hey, Vodka C.C. Super will be a nice thread.
I only was a few times over there, about '84 '85 at the time de new border came in the far west, nord of Brest. But for us it was difficult to become Visa’s, why ■■? You got one than next time refused and an other driver got then one strange story.
After the fall of the wall it was too much queueing for me, and finished driving abroad.
Eric,
Brilliant picture, Eric! Happy New Year to you! Robert
Thanks Robert, and the same for you, a healty 2017.
robert1952:
I had a quick flick through Truck & Driver magazine today when I picked up my paper. I noticed that it not only had a full article about trucking in Russia, but it carried a good review of your book, Mick! Robert
Yes, I got a copy of T&D today and you were right Robert. 5 star review. The article about trucking out East was interesting as well. Thanks
robert1952:
I had a quick flick through Truck & Driver magazine today when I picked up my paper. I noticed that it not only had a full article about trucking in Russia, but it carried a good review of your book, Mick! Robert
Yes, I got a copy of T&D today and you were right Robert. 5 star review. The article about trucking out East was interesting as well. Thanks
My pleasure! I’ve got a file of articles on the Russia ‘run’ from the days before laptops, by the way; so next time we meet up for nosh I’ll take it with me. Cheers! robert
robert1952:
I had a quick flick through Truck & Driver magazine today when I picked up my paper. I noticed that it not only had a full article about trucking in Russia, but it carried a good review of your book, Mick! Robert
Yes, I got a copy of T&D today and you were right Robert. 5 star review. The article about trucking out East was interesting as well. Thanks
My pleasure! I’ve got a file of articles on the Russia ‘run’ from the days before laptops, by the way; so next time we meet up for nosh I’ll take it with me. Cheers! robert
Jelliot:
There was a thread a while back that Dave Mackie put up I think it was “Kazakhstan anybody want to start a thread”. Quite a bit of Russian stuff on that. He also had a web site running for a while with some cracking photos on it. Also Colin F Whitetrans used to run out that way for Frankie White. and I had a bit of a ramble with “Over the water and beyond,” but it got a bit lost here and there.
By the looks of things you were mainly running south west Russia, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Did you ever run into Sleggy that was on for Expo trans form Honiton, He used to hang out at the Red Bull in Moscow.
There’s also a home made dvd going about done by some Irish lads and Gilder the red, that were running pigs from Scotland to Russia, going by the trucks I guessing about late 90’s early 2000
Jeff…
Hi Jeff. I remember seeing that you used to reload from Omsk. I was sitting in the flat in Moscow watching a news documentary on Russian T.V. and they were saying that a factory in Omsk had been caught polluting the local river with toxic waste. There were suddenly a large number of birth deformities commensurate with nuclear contamination. As was found in Belarus following the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Obviously , the river contributed to the local water supply that people were drinking and also to irrigating the local farm land. So people were eating contaminated crops. If you start glowing in the dar mate, then you know the reason why
Well I just don’t believe that, they all seemed to be the most caring, environmentally friendly people I have ever met (lol)
Good to see that Russia has opened up a bit, if you go not so far back into the Russian history, ( 70’s and even 80’s ) people like us would never have been allowed to wander about, and stories like the birth defects would just have been hidden under the carpet. I would imagine that there is still a veil of secretly in many aspects of Russian life that will never get past on to the general public
I didn’t go into Russia much, in through Donets’k, not the big city called Donets’k but the border crossing called Donets’k about another 150k’s east. The picture post card city of Volgograd was always a delight, then out through Astrakhan, either with or with out a " K ". We never really got a chance look about as we were firmly told which way to go,vary from the route at pain of death. Well your visa would get cancelled, or something like that.
The only other bit we did was running back along the A 4 from Omsk but we usually cut back through Celybinsk, Ufa, Samara, and down the Ukraine rather than go back along by Yekaterinburg, Novgorod, then do all the stuff round Mocba.
There’s an e book about a American travel writer that went with one of Ralfph’s drives to ( I think it was Tashkent ) maybe Bishkek, I can’t remember and it was before my computer crashed. It was a big main frame computer for a bank. The driver he was with went out through Moscow Samara and turned south through Astana, The other driver went the way we used to go which was down the M32 past the Russian space centre, Oktobe. Symkent and along the bottom road ( old silk road ) that runs out to Almaty.
I’m not a fan of truck books that are written by pro journalists, I can understand what they’re trying to do, but they always start blabbing on about Genghis Kahn, the Romans, or Alexander the Great. Then of course they pepper it with meanderings of other potted history, to appeal to a broader reading demographic. Of course now days you also have to through in the odd local authentic gastronomic recipe. Like there’s something wrong with Tesco’s home brand crisps and a can of Iun Bru that’s been rolling around under the bunk so long you can only just read the label.
Don’t get me wrong I as much as the next man am great full the Alexander the Greek wandered about with his merry bunch men up the Oxus river to plunder gems from the locals. I really don’t care about the 1892 land slide that changed it direction of flow it still comes out that the same place. It’s a pity some of the recent Greek bankers didn’t do that a few years back instead of getting into the Euro zone, perhaps it might have done them a bit more good ( probably not ) Nicked the gems, not change the direction of the Oxus river.
Good to have a bit of ramble on a Sunday after noon
Yes Jeff. When Gorbachev collapsed the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, a lot of the T.V. journalists started producing investigative programmes, such as the one about Omsk. But, that did not last for long. Up until then I would watch the news which would tell you about some tractor factory’s annual output or the result of the harvest in Ukraine. Typical Communist propaganda.
The investigative journalists soon found themselves as the target for assassination attempts. Drive by shootings and car bombs. Many of them fled the country.
I remember the W.H.O. or some such outfit stating that at the end of the Soviet Union something like 40% of the country was contaminated. The Sov’s just thought that as there was so much wild countryside they could dump whatever and it would not affect people.
I went to Volgograd to load a consignment of chemicals. I liked the place as well. The centre was very good, although I saw it at night.
Did you say that you were running up there from Italy ?
Morning Micky T. I am now two thirds of the way through your book. Its a great read. A true life adventure that many would aspire to but never succeed. Looking forward to reading the rest.
Nesotra, Holtima and Van Amarongen. I remember all of them well. The Nesotra boys were among the first that I met in Moscow in 1990.
A friend of mine who drove for them, Robert was badly beaten up in Sochi, when a gang of Russians stole his top spot lights, off of the cab.
I remember the 3rd one down particularly because it says “Perestroika Express”, below the windscreen.
Nesotra, Holtima and Van Amarongen. I remember all of them well. The Nesotra boys were among the first that I met in Moscow in 1990.
A friend of mine who drove for them, Robert was badly beaten up in Sochi, when a gang of Russians stole his top spot lights, off of the cab.
I remember the 3rd one down particularly because it says “Perestroika Express”, below the windscreen.
There was this older gent working for van Amerongen, Gijs, passed away couple of years ago, used to drive that DAF pictured, I remember reading an article where in he states that the situation at the borders are becoming more and more less civilised, to put it mildly, and none of the transport agencies was doing owt about it…
Hmm, Perestroika Express…and I just reckoned it translated in sommat like; russian transport expert
I’ve got some more pic’s up me sleeve, just need to sort things a bit, will post them as soon as I can.
We had a couple of motors painted in Nesotra colours when i worked for Veelo Veenendaal in the 80s.Together with Van Amerongen,Holtima and Rombouts they formed the co-operative of Nesotra[Nederland\Soviet Transport].
Nesotra, Holtima and Van Amarongen. I remember all of them well. The Nesotra boys were among the first that I met in Moscow in 1990.
A friend of mine who drove for them, Robert was badly beaten up in Sochi, when a gang of Russians stole his top spot lights, off of the cab.
I remember the 3rd one down particularly because it says “Perestroika Express”, below the windscreen.
There was this older gent working for van Amerongen, Gijs, passed away couple of years ago, used to drive that DAF pictured, I remember reading an article where in he states that the situation at the borders are becoming more and more less civilised, to put it mildly, and none of the transport agencies was doing owt about it…
Hmm, Perestroika Express…and I just reckoned it translated in sommat like; russian transport expert
I’ve got some more pic’s up me sleeve, just need to sort things a bit, will post them as soon as I can.
Cheers, Patrick
I remember Gijs, Patrick. I had quite a few Dutch friends who worked in Russia.
It will be great if you can put up more pictures.
Robert
