Before the L110 Scania,there were a lot of Somua with factory cabs or like this one with Cottard ones.
Beetween the Somua/Saviem trucks and Scania-Vabis, they also owned a few Bussing sold by the importer Garabedian.
Here a LS 11 from 1963.
I used to service some of those 110’s and their trailers now and again at B+W, I seem to remember them pulling some almost see through glass fibre tanks at one time, there was usually a line of mech’s with plastic vending cups checking the quality of the contents in the tank 
Strange no one ever tested the contents of Leathers chemicals or Albright and Wilson’s tanks !
Saviem:
Fergie47:
It’s just SO FRENCH.
Evening all,
Well done Johnnie, now Rochet Schneider was a really interesting company…spawned the Beardsmore load transfer artic/drawbars, and eventually those FAR 3 wheelers.
But that picture Fergie, oh how I would love to own a Bernard just like that one, just jump in it and go…anywhere, they never broke down! And that Pelpel cab was a comfortable one!
Robert that L Giraud Scania even though being an early 60s one must have been photographed well into the 70s with that tri axle Coder tank. Girauds fleet in the 60s was almost totally Scania, L110, LB110, then 111s. I seem to remember the fleet strength was about 650 then. Then came the DAFs, and eventually the wine red livery was dropped for white, red and blue. But really the wine red was the memorable one. Used to depart with one or two of their tanks on the “posh” boat from Tilbury, long time ago now!!!
Thanks for such evocative photographs, real memory jerkers…will you watch the TT on TV? Sadly a French lad died in practice yesterday I think…
Cheerio for now.
Saviem was it the Doric or Cedric Tilbury to Antwerp where the steward escorted you to your wood paneled cabin 
there was also a similar ferry on the Preston to Belfast route as well
cheers Johnnie 
I’ll wager that a few of us will be glued to ITV4 at 9.00pm for the next week or so.
Retired Old ■■■■:
I’ll wager that a few of us will be glued to ITV4 at 9.00pm for the next week or so.
Yep, I’ll be there ROF…
.One of my mates is over there, he works with a small team, lucky sod. I haven’t been for years, since the Hailwood Agostini days…not as quick, but more noise, bit like a Gardner 240 versus a - Scania 750…
Got a friend who lives here who keeps on about going over , might have some serious thought about it, …before I’m too old. In the meantime the TV it is, and with modern cameras, what spectacular onboard footage…respect for some brave men…
Fergie47:
Retired Old ■■■■:
I’ll wager that a few of us will be glued to ITV4 at 9.00pm for the next week or so.Yep, I’ll be there ROF…
.One of my mates is over there, he works with a small team, lucky sod. I haven’t been for years, since the Hailwood Agostini days…not as quick, but more noise, bit like a Gardner 240 versus a - Scania 750…
Got a friend who lives here who keeps on about going over , might have some serious thought about it, …before I’m too old. In the meantime the TV it is, and with modern cameras, what spectacular onboard footage…respect for some brave men…
Update… Due to high winds, first races will be tomorrow (Sunday). So for those of us who forgot to tune to ITV4 this evening, you ain’t missed nothing!
Evening all,
Benkku, lovely, (as usual), interpretation of a Bernard “Television” cab…originally conceived to tilt…but like Trevor Dudleys beautiful Guy Invincible cab, the techniques with fibreglass in the 60s meant that the cabs were not strong enough to be tilted!! And in the case of the Pelpel built Bernard Television cab, meant that the sleeper windows had to be changed from the original rectangular style, to the round portholes in production.
Johnnie, as I sit here I simply cannot remember the name of that boat…but I can remember feeling like a VIP, as the white jacketed steward led me to my cabin…bib and brace overalls, and big boots not withstanding. Really made you feel important…unlike some of the rough boats that I later used from Dover…just another lorry driver… and some of the food!
Ah Fergie, and ROF, 2100hrs now becomes sacrosanct! I really hoped to be there this year, but my good lady is not well, and I got her out of hospital last week, (thank goodness), and today had the result of her biopsy, thankfully clear…and that I have to say was better than sitting at Ballacraine!!! But the coverage is superb, and the on board shots really are quite something.
Cannot say that I was impressed by Michael Dunlop “jumping ship”…ok, so he wants to win races, but he took Milwaukee`s “shilling”, and I bet that a lot of talented technical expertise, let alone funding, went into developing that bike for him to ride. That it needed further development…ok… but I bet he was not poorly recompensed for his ability…but to throw everyones effort onto the fire, in a fit of self pitying…“Imust win, Im only here to win”, does not show much regard for the critical members of that team, let alone the confidence placed in him when he was given that ride.
But its really enjoyable to watch, and as Anstey went through the Sulby time trap at 193mph, I remembered last month cruising through that spot at a stately 45mph!
Enjoy your viewing…(I was going to write about Berliet…but its 21oo hrs…
A Bollinger, and the TV
Cheerio for now.
Two black and white old pics, you can probably guess in what region they were taken by the houses in the background on the first one…
Classic French European Berliet from 70/80s. Regards Chris
Here you go Saviem the truck bit about the Berliet you wanted and a few adverts from the 70/80s.Should bring back a few memories ! Click on each page to improve focus for reading.
What a cracking looking motor !
Evening all,
DEANB , thanks for that, I did not realise that Truck made such a good story out of that trip with the Aquillino`s Le Centaure. For me it was total heartache…
Aquillinos were big Saviem users, just down the road from the Berliet works..........so when they took a Le Centaure into their fleet it was big news. I had been talking to Pat Kennett about coming down and driving her........he was keen.......but then I had to sell it to the Aquillinos…not easy, because they did not understand what type of journalist Pat was…certainly NOT like the average French Journalist!..
But then they agreed…bingo…and the arrangements were made…
And off the plane stepped not Pat, but the agreeable Steve Sturgess…(and here if John West is reading this I apologise for transposing Peter Minnis in this role on the ERF European thread…and if that does not confuse everybody…well I am getting on…and the little grey cells are a tad slow)!!!
But the family Aquillino were not happy…so would only let the Englishman drive the outfit…unladen!!!
Anyway everything seemed to turn out ok…and it looks like “we” got some ok publicity in the UK off the back of it all…
But thinking about John Wests comments regarding Peter Minnis, and his background driving in Saudi, our friends Jazzandy, Chris Arbon, Jelliott, Spardo, Deckboypeggy ,Robert 1952,Newmercman, and a dozen more, who with great eloquence reveal their experiences to us all, and really develop a rich tapestry of an industry, and personal endeavour that is fast, (and in some areas has totally), disappeared.
Now all those writings as a compendium would be something to behold, and treasure…a true social history…a true representation of a time both recent and yet long gone…A hard, and mamouth job for someone to do…but what a weighty, and readable tome would result…Anyone up to it■■?
But going back to Peter Minnis, I seem to recall that after his flirtation with Truck, he floated a new magazine , " Trucking International", published and backed by Swedens Stig Sjoberg`s AS Publishing …but was there not another title back in the UK s 80s market published by Future Publishing, called “Trucking”?..Did both survive or die? …And what of that title that Morgan-Grampion ran “Transport Week”, I seem to remember that was quite an analytical publication, but it would have struggled to obtain the advertising revenue that Reed Publishing enjoyed with Commercial Motor, and Motor Transport…
And then I am reminded of Road Tests with “cruncher” Cunningham from the Isle of White…and ex Dodge man Jon Barras…the memories come flooding back…particularly of a road tester who used a portable Dictaphone to record his comments…and each time said journalist missed a gear…or made a “boo boo”…I bawled some lewd comment into said device…but in those days the tapes were sent to a typing pool, and apparently my vocal comments raised some delicate female eyebrows…oh dear…but never ever with Pat Kennett…Pat could drive…and he did not miss gears!!!
Quite cheered me up just thinking about it all…or when a certain Italian Journalist gave me his “gift list”…in order that he should write favourably about a TR356 Berliet…
Im away to my Bollinger…its past my bedtime!!!
Cheerio for now.
Saviem, Dean; brilliant! Robert
Funny old world!
Hi Saviem,
I will write in the old fashioned way to Peter and find out how he’s doing. We exchange Christmas cards, but I don’t have his email address.
You are right, after writing for truck he became ‘publisher’ for Trucking International. I have no idea what ‘publisher’ means, but I certainly did a ‘my mistake’ or ‘I learned about trucking from that’ or whatever it was called in that magazine some 20 years ago.
I picked up a hitch hiker at Charnock Richard going home unit only to Barrow from North Wales one Friday night, and my brief case, which normally sat on the passenger seat, kept sliding forward into the gear stick. This was in the mastiff. I picked it up and put it down to the right of the driver’s seat.
Unfortunately, I hit the hand brake! A stumpy lever with about 3 inches of travel. The brakes locked on and I finished up stalled in the fast lane facing south in the north lane!
Lucky? Yes! I started the engine and did a 180 into the hard shoulder. Suddenly car after car was flashing by, but in my moment of extreme stupidity the motorway had been empty.
Peter printed my little article.
I have written some stories since based on my time in the Middle East. I did overland from that appalling winter in Turkey in January 1976 to the end of the year, going to Damascus, Baghdad, Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh. I consider myself lucky never to have gone to Iran, yet what we did then was way still beyond anything ever experienced in Britain.
The stories are on kindle. If anyone wants copies I am happy to send them without charge, I wrote them for fun, not to make money! Please email me on johnantonywest@gmail.com.
A H McLennan has given me a ‘customer review’ of one star, saying ‘another load of crap this guy never been there.’
I’m happy to give him his £2.00 back, and I can understand that my writing may not be to his taste, but I find it upsetting to have spent hours trying to write something about what it was like in those days and have that reaction.
For the record, after doing overland during 1976, I did another ten years in Saudi, doing internals, then becoming Transport manager, at Al Qafilah, and eventually becoming General manager, returning back to the UK in 1987, when my wife became pregnant with our daughter, who is now 27 and works as senior editor for an educational publisher in Oxford.
John
Interesting posts from both Saviem and john,
As for writing a social history encompassing road haulage from the 1960s = to the present,would be a MAMMOTH task ,i do think that only members of the forum, readers and contributors are, i am sorry to say, "bothered " i find nearly all that has been written on here informative, and “i did not know that” !! information .
The reason i have said that is ME,i like to talk about what we used to have to do,and moan about it.perhaps with resentment,.how easy it is now for drivers.
and to be honest that is why we all post on here.“saying listen up” we did this or that.and nothing wrong in that.However thousands of all differnt stories are out there from large employers company men to small one man bands so why not write it down and just post it on here.
sorry Saviem ,not trying to hijack your fan club.
As for drivers doing test runs on vehicles ,most were i suspect were not on a haulage companies payroll ,thousands of drivers never ever got the chance to drive what they liked ,you drove what the boss had, or walk.so the influance of the reports to me personaly were just pointless if you were in any managment capacity in a company yes maybe but as a driver no.
i do recall a Magazine called “headlight” only good for rip off back load merchants, clearing houses, we used it to fill in the drafts…
John West:
Funny old world!Hi Saviem,
I will write in the old fashioned way to Peter and find out how he’s doing. We exchange Christmas cards, but I don’t have his email address.
You are right, after writing for truck he became ‘publisher’ for Trucking International. I have no idea what ‘publisher’ means, but I certainly did a ‘my mistake’ or ‘I learned about trucking from that’ or whatever it was called in that magazine some 20 years ago.
I picked up a hitch hiker at Charnock Richard going home unit only to Barrow from North Wales one Friday night, and my brief case, which normally sat on the passenger seat, kept sliding forward into the gear stick. This was in the mastiff. I picked it up and put it down to the right of the driver’s seat.
Unfortunately, I hit the hand brake! A stumpy lever with about 3 inches of travel. The brakes locked on and I finished up stalled in the fast lane facing south in the north lane!
Lucky? Yes! I started the engine and did a 180 into the hard shoulder. Suddenly car after car was flashing by, but in my moment of extreme stupidity the motorway had been empty.
Peter printed my little article.
I have written some stories since based on my time in the Middle East. I did overland from that appalling winter in Turkey in January 1976 to the end of the year, going to Damascus, Baghdad, Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh. I consider myself lucky never to have gone to Iran, yet what we did then was way still beyond anything ever experienced in Britain.
The stories are on kindle. If anyone wants copies I am happy to send them without charge, I wrote them for fun, not to make money! Please email me on johnantonywest@gmail.com.
A H McLennan has given me a ‘customer review’ of one star, saying ‘another load of crap this guy never been there.’
I’m happy to give him his £2.00 back, and I can understand that my writing may not be to his taste, but I find it upsetting to have spent hours trying to write something about what it was like in those days and have that reaction.
For the record, after doing overland during 1976, I did another ten years in Saudi, doing internals, then becoming Transport manager, at Al Qafilah, and eventually becoming General manager, returning back to the UK in 1987, when my wife became pregnant with our daughter, who is now 27 and works as senior editor for an educational publisher in Oxford.
John
Considering that you’ve never left the Barrow area in your life your vivid imagination seems to have created a fine work of fiction to rank with that of the “Fast Eddie story” so IMHO that McLennan geezer is a cheeky ■■■■■■■ who dosen’t appreciate what a fine St.Bees edification can produce 
Evening all,
Dennis, you are a wind up merchant!
Anyway, I cannot invite you to my new two up, two down in Dudley…as they are all being demolished to make way for the new “mega” Mosque…surely you have heard about it■■?
Will fit in nicely between the Zoo, Castle Hill, and the rolling acres of Cannabis Farms at The Wrens Nest, and the Priory…(every house has a loft insulated with the finest 300mm Celotex…wonderful thermal efficiency…and the Police Helicopter cannot deploy its heat seeking camera.)…every house has a Motorhome, or ML, or Range Rover outside…
So I will have to stay here in the rolling border country betwixt Shropshire and Staffordshire…
John, just ignore him, I bet he has started some arguments in his time…then slipped neatly out the back way as the" action" began!!!
Funny how quite often you may say something relating to a past experience, and someone else will say" that cannot be so"…but they were not there, or perhaps their experience is very different…
I can remember one individual, who it would be polite to describe as incompetent in every area…yet said individual rose to head a vehicle leasing business for a noted commercial vehicle manufacturer…got all the numbers wrong…made a ■■■■ up…lost a lot of dosh…blamed it on everyone working for him…and was promoted out of danger, while a new team was brought in to straighten out the" balls up"…and the innocent were sacked, and johnny come lately went on his incompetent way…and had the audacity to present a paper at the BVRLA on Commercial Vehicle Contract Hire!!!
Deckboypeggy, you are always welcome here, but I still think that the general population are so totally unaware about the real world of our industry, and particularly its recent past, that there would be an appetite for a “factual” compendium…either in print, or on the media. The essential ingredient, romance, and adventure are there. All it wants is the right person to galvanize the project, there are enough sources out there to be pulled together!
So today having equipped my good lady`s new Greenhouse with running water, and electricity, (but stopping short of a Pot Belly Stove, …(I do need her home for the tea)! I went for a drive in my Star Flyer…32 mph tops, but a dream at 25…(and I have to give total and full credit to Gordon Calder of Shildon who created such a wonderful lorry to drive).
Then the old brain sort of clicks into a false neutral as the countryside slips by, (at an unleaded consumption of 10mpg…remember she is 1930, and lead only went into petrol in 35)! and I remembered just how delightful I found my first Foden S20, 4LK Gardner box van to drive. 5 gears, a speedometer in the centre of the steering wheel, on a good day 42mph, but really happy at 38. What a step up from doing South Wales over the Heads of the Valleys in a venerable S18…(but the 20 tons on her poor back may have blunted performance a little)…In fact everything including tyres was blunted!.
Then I was off to France, and that gorgeous country just rolled by through the four front windows…like having an carriage for ones exclusive use on the Orient Express....and the lack of velocity never seemed to be a problem......far from it, I was rolling along at the same rate as those beomoths of the Route Nationals , the long distance 6x2s of Berliet, Bernard, and Willemes. And I got there and back…(even southern Italy in not a lot of time)
Which made me contemplate speed…or lack of it. We have gone from modest speed , then outright speed, (was 70mph “slow” in the 80s)? and now back to reasonable speed…(subject to traffic)… And I remembered standing with my old friend the late Trevor Morris in the old Cambrian Railway Yard in Oswestry, and watching his son Phillip burst through the gate at great speed fresh from London Town, in a DAF 2600 drawbar outfit, (a proper “camion et remorque”, that is a wheel at each corner)…and I was impressed…
Trevor dryly commented, " the man who has earned me money will be here in 15 minutes"…and about a quarter of an hour later in drove a MK1 Atkinson with aGardner immaculate in Trevor`s black, red and white livery, just as Trevor said.
And the question that my cognitive function posed to me…now we are back “slow”…persay, do those in the industry, and do the wage packets paid out, reflect a greater earning capacity both for the operator of the vehicle, and of more interest, for the driver of these superb new lorries, than back then, or have things really become worse■■?
Funny how my old brain ticks over…more questions than answers…
Perhaps a little of M Bollingers oil will help.
Cheerio for now.