Evening all,
What a cornucopia of superb French haulage operations, and vehicles, thank you Fergie, Robert, Buzzer, michel , and Pete…for the stuff closer to home…(yes that is Tony by the Big J). They bring back so many memories, the wonderful integral fridge bodied 6x2s, from the works of Chereau, Pelpel, Cottard, and Tuel and Gourmelen, so beloved of the operators from from Britagne. Big horsepower, for the rapid movement of the perishable cargo.
Mont St Michel, now that was a favourite backdrop for anything “special”, that we wished to photograph…an easy trip down from Blainville…and good food at the end of the day! Somewhere there must be a copy of the shot that we used for the SM300 V8, rumbling back across the causeway with the tide just coming in, spray bursting all around the white outfit…found its way onto many office walls did that one!
Fergies STEF R serie fridge outfit with Mont St Michel in the background, wears the original livery of Guy Galopins Transports Frigorifique European TFE operation. STEF, (Soc Transports & Entrepots Frigorifiques), is an interesting operation founded back in the 1920s. Bought by the French Railways in the late 30s It absorbed in the 90s, Guy Galopin, Michel Sancier and Robert Diemerts TFE, Having during the 70s taken over, Britagnes largest operator, Louis Melodo, and Delanchys Britagne Transports, & Almasse et Boule…prime transporter of that most excellent “President Brie”…plus the rump of Michel Hurels refrigerated operation. STEF, today is arguably perhaps one of Europes largest totally refrigerated transport operations.
But perhaps I could go back to the start of this wonderful “magic lantern show”, and the Saviem JM240 of 1965 in the distinctive livery of VIT, (Valenton International Transports), of Valenton, Val de Marne Powered by a MAN 2146 HM4F 240 hp 6 cylinder, and fitted with the 840 serie sleeper cab. As you realise those photographs were “posed” for Saviem publicity work…But the work that those vehicles did was genuine and hard…the Paris- Naples run was a service that ran like a bus timetable…as did their other traffic, be it Iraq, Iran, or Nigeria…
French operators who were engaged in this type of activity gained a status far outside the industry itself , for in France in the 70s there was the phenomen of Max Meynier, and his Radio show, Les Routiers sont Sympa, and the population became aware of the depravation, and romance that long distance road haulage, both within Europe, and beyond entailed.
I was fortunate to have business dealings with VIT, Onatra, Chapuis, and Annemasse`s finest, Stouf…and yes Fergie, there are many tales to be told, of the companys, their traffic, the personalities, and the equipment…but you asked me about VIT…
What a company…from the delightful “Mimi” (Michelle), who was everyones first contact with VIT…but how many haulage operations do you know who had film stars on their payroll?
Well in the case of VIT, they had three. In `76, the film and television producer Maurice Cloche, had the idea of producing a TV drama series about a young, and struggling transport company engaged in "make or break " traffic to the middle east. The male leading role was cast to Jean Pierre Castaldi, and the female to the delightful Dora Doll, as Jean, and Rose Dupuy. Music…and quite good at that was by Jo Moutet…Vehicles …by us…the unlikely combination of a JP13 box van, and a SM280TU 4x2, and Savoyard tilt…plus a couple of actual VIT working vehicles on the run to Bagdad.
Three VIT drivers were used, the camera work was excellent, with evocative shots from the trailer bogie, real wheel changing on the roadside, plus actual filming in the Turkish mountains. So good was the potential that , (if I remember correctly), six episodes of about 50 mins were talen up by ORTF 1, and received a great response. Les Hommes de Rose, went out in `78…and I expect that there may be an episode or two lurking in the depths of these machines for those interested!
I suspect that Fergies pictures, 3,4, &5 are stills from Les Hommes de Rose, but the publicity did VIT a lot of good…but then of course Tpts Chapuis, had the author of Chien Perdu en Arabie, Andre Mariette working for them…a real heart breaker of a book…and there was always the big argument about who really was the first to go to Lagos and back, via the Sahara, was it Andre -Henri Hernandez, for Chapuis, in a Saviem 6x4 SM340VT, or Jean Gerard Dean in another SM for VIT…
Lovely people, lovely companys, and loads of memories…now there was the" big" …order for TRs from Stouff`s…there is a story…
Cheerio for now…and thank you.
