Saviem's fan club (Part 1)

[pete_smith]

MaggieD:

pete smith:
Here you go Richard, a couple in Mid Counties Livery and a Mier’s Guy for Saviem, Cheer’s Pete P.S Last pic a restored float with a Wolverhampton reg number.

Hi Pete,

That restored one is exactly the same,well done,many thanks.

I’ll have to buy you a pint of M & B when I come up !

Regards
Richard

Hi Richard, Ain’t seen no M+B for years, used to drink Springfield bitter in the Merry Hill 25 year ago, sometimes Brew X1 in the Springhill but that gave me a bad head in the morning, It’s all Banks’s now, well Marston’s, Cheer’s Pete

[maggied]

pete smith:

MaggieD:

pete smith:
Here you go Richard, a couple in Mid Counties Livery and a Mier’s Guy for Saviem, Cheer’s Pete P.S Last pic a restored float with a Wolverhampton reg number.

Hi Pete,

That restored one is exactly the same,well done,many thanks.

I’ll have to buy you a pint of M & B when I come up !

Regards
Richard

Hi Richard, Ain’t seen no M+B for years, used to drink Springfield bitter in the Merry Hill 25 year ago, sometimes Brew X1 in the Springhill but that gave me a bad head in the morning, It’s all Banks’s now, well Marston’s, Cheer’s Pete

Hi Pete,

Small world that was my Dad’s local we lived less than half a mile away off Bhylls Lane in Southfield Grove,until we moved to Woodfield Avenue,then it was The Mount !

Regards
Richard

[pete_smith]

MaggieD:

pete smith:

MaggieD:

pete smith:
Here you go Richard, a couple in Mid Counties Livery and a Mier’s Guy for Saviem, Cheer’s Pete P.S Last pic a restored float with a Wolverhampton reg number.

Hi Pete,

That restored one is exactly the same,well done,many thanks.

I’ll have to buy you a pint of M & B when I come up !

Regards
Richard

Hi Richard, Ain’t seen no M+B for years, used to drink Springfield bitter in the Merry Hill 25 year ago, sometimes Brew X1 in the Springhill but that gave me a bad head in the morning, It’s all Banks’s now, well Marston’s, Cheer’s Pete

Hi Pete,

Small world that was my Dad’s local we lived less than half a mile away off Bhylls Lane in Southfield Grove,until we moved to Woodfield Avenue,then it was The Mount !

Regards
Richard

It is a small world Richard,I used to see a girl that lived in Southfield Grove and i used to live in Pennwood Court Merry Hill flats and my local was the Flying Dutchman then,Merryhill still open as well as the Mount, Dutchman shut and the Warstone’s demolished and houses built on the site, Cheer’s Pete

[deanb]

An old Saviem advert from the 70s.

[fergie47]

Davidoff:
[

Cheers
David

Two more pictures of the Restaurant posted by Davidoff earlier…

[fergie47]

A few restaurants / cafes / bars

[fergie47]

Little and large Berliets…

Click on picture for full size

[fergie47]

Publicity shots for the Saviem and for Onatra Tpt

[robert1952]

Well two of those routiers jumped out at me immediately. I seem to remember L’Escale was quite a big one at Deols, down the RN20. And Les Platanes was on the RN10 but I always passed it between breaks. Then one early evening I just managed to make it as my tacho clocked up its full time for the day - and the damned thing was shut! I still rather miss that first kir at the bar in les routiers after a day at the wheel. Robert

[fergie47]

robert1952:
Well two of those routiers jumped out at me immediately. I seem to remember L’Escale was quite a big one at Deols, down the RN20. And Les Platanes was on the RN10 but I always passed it between breaks. Then one early evening I just managed to make it as my tacho clocked up its full time for the day - and the damned thing was shut! I still rather miss that first kir at the bar in les routiers after a day at the wheel. Robert

Before sleeper cabs, when you saw those Les Routiers signs it meant a good meal and a decent bed for the night, stayed in a fair few over the years, even when I did get a sleeper…up about 7.00 breakfast…stop mid-day for a meal…coffee break in the afternoon, then finish around 6.30 / 7.00 for another meal and a bed for the night…that’s how it was…After the sleepers really came in and everyone had one, it all changed, and not all for the better either.

[fergie47]

Body’s…

[fergie47]

Assembly line at UNIC"s factory

[fergie47]

Odds :- UNIC’s and SAVIEMS

[robert1952]

Blimey! That must have been some camel farm at Carcassonne - did they export them to Algeria? Robert

[saviem]

Evening all,

WOW!

Where does one start with this memory overload?..The Pinder Circus “power centre” on a true Bernard lorry…Camels from Carcosonne…(Robert be serious)…you must know this operator…Unic…so beautiful to behold…so fragile to operate…but that V8 had a heart so strong…and has there ever been a more beautiful lorry than the “Long Bonneted” Izoard, Galibier, or Auvergne?..even if Phillip Charbonneaux had to re design the original…to stop it falling to pieces!..Les Trois Moustaches…boy could they droop!!!

But Les Routiers…Fergie, surely any of us from “over here”, when confronted by the average Routiers, would just not believe it!..Personally I hated the “digs” in the UK…“ring ahead for a bed”…what sort of bed…warm from the last driver…dirty…flea bitten…greasy food…quantity…but never quality…Beer…nearest Pub, (to dull the senses of what you were about to endure…and pay for…Boy, did I hate night outs in the UK…and Im sure that most of you who drove the roads of Europe in the 60s and 70s would agree.

My first encounter was at a little Routier outside of Auxerre,…B… tired, I parked at the end of a long line of , (seemingly enormous), French lorries, and nervously entered the little Café…I can still remember the taste of that Salad of Tomato, and the Veal Cutlet…and a Café…al for the price of a “greasy spoon” sausage egg and chips!..That was the day that I knew that I would never ever go back to 2nd class…as a lorry driver in La Belle, you had some status…unlike the UK…and as Fergie states…ones hours of work were “human”!!!

Favourites, we all had them, The Belle Air, atop the Col De Rochport, Chez Jo at Hautvilliers, countless ones around Les Halles, and Sebastopol…(all life was here)…The first Kir…Biere Pression…the company…the tales…the friends made…

Then I discovered, (and quite by chance), the Hotels Commercials…for the economy of France was founded upon legions of travelling salesmen…and every town had a Commercial Hotel…room rates similar to the Routiers, but more mixed clientel…A memorable night in Saint Jean La Maurien with a Coffin Salesman, and a bi lingual salesman in ladies corsetry…two more lorry drivers…and a salesman for Velo Solex Mopeds…I can still remember us all, struggling to find the light switches to illuminate our way to our respective" chambres"…without awaking “madame”…at some rather ungodly hour!!!

And you could park your Camion without fear in the Town Square, or side road …and no one thought about it at all.

That “Moyen Orient” version of the Saviem European cab really came about because of “our” links with Transports VIT, (Valenton International Transports)…I really must write a bit about them …(if I do not bore you all)…but that was a great conversion…A/C, Fridge/Freezer, water supply, sink, single burner cooker, and a raised bunk…all in the cab with an internal volume +23% on the KB42 Berliet cab!..oh and 600kgs lighter! I think that we showed one at the Scottish Motor Show around `76…

And my friends at ONATRA…there is a story to be told…and their links to VIT…so regular into the Middle East …rather like a bus service…I am privelaged to still attend the reunions of ONATRA…and the last one for VIT…perhaps France`s real hauliers to the Middle East.

Another story, for another night…but those pictures sure do evoke some wonderful memories…not least DEANBs Saviem UK advert for the 36.280…introduced to the UK because we kept telling the …less than responsive…(ex Leyland), Marketing head of Renault Truck and Bus…that a light 36/38 tonne unit was the best one for the UK…and “we” simply derated the tyre equipment on the 36.280 TUT turbo 6 cylinder tractor to 11.22.5s and the UK had a real “screamer”…only those of you who drove/ran these lorries could appreciate the whooping/ screaming turbo whistle as the giddy up go actually got going…but that was a real pleasure to hear as you slipped through that delightful ZF AK 680 splitter 12 speed box…quick on the road…and easy on the diesel…and comfortable to drive…so easy any lady could get the best from them…a much underated lorry in the UK…

But the Poles purchased them in quantity…and the French ran the Middle East easily with them…

ABollinge to cool my nerves I think…

Happy memories…

Cheerio for now.

[fergie47]

Saviem:
Evening all,

WOW!

Camels from Carcosonne…(Robert be serious)…

But Les Routiers…Fergie, surely any of us from “over here”, when confronted by the average Routiers, would just not believe it!..Personally I hated the “digs” in the UK…“ring ahead for a bed”…what sort of bed…warm from the last driver…dirty…flea bitten…greasy food…quantity…but never quality…Beer…nearest Pub, (to dull the senses of what you were about to endure…and pay for…Boy, did I hate night outs in the UK…and Im sure that most of you who drove the roads of Europe in the 60s and 70s would agree.

My first encounter was at a little Routier outside of Auxerre,…B… tired, I parked at the end of a long line of , (seemingly enormous), French lorries, and nervously entered the little Café…I can still remember the taste of that Salad of Tomato, and the Veal Cutlet…and a Café…al for the price of a “greasy spoon” sausage egg and chips!..That was the day that I knew that I would never ever go back to 2nd class…as a lorry driver in La Belle, you had some status…unlike the UK…and as Fergie states…ones hours of work were “human”!!!

Favourites, we all had them, The Belle Air, atop the Col De Rochport, Chez Jo at Hautvilliers, countless ones around Les Halles, and Sebastopol…(all life was here)…The first Kir…Biere Pression…the company…the tales…the friends made…

Then I discovered, (and quite by chance), the Hotels Commercials…for the economy of France was founded upon legions of travelling salesmen…and every town had a Commercial Hotel…room rates similar to the Routiers, but more mixed clientel…A memorable night in Saint Jean La Maurien with a Coffin Salesman, and a bi lingual salesman in ladies corsetry…two more lorry drivers…and a salesman for Velo Solex Mopeds…I can still remember us all, struggling to find the light switches to illuminate our way to our respective" chambres"…without awaking “madame”…at some rather ungodly hour!!!

And you could park your Camion without fear in the Town Square, or side road …and no one thought about it at all.

That “Moyen Orient” version of the Saviem European cab really came about because of “our” links with Transports VIT, (Valenton International Transports)…I really must write a bit about them ….(if I do not bore you all)…but that was a great conversion…A/C, Fridge/Freezer, water supply, sink, single burner cooker, and a raised bunk…all in the cab with an internal volume +23% on the KB42 Berliet cab!..oh and 600kgs lighter! I think that we showed one at the Scottish Motor Show around `76…

And my friends at ONATRA…there is a story to be told…and their links to VIT…so regular into the Middle East …rather like a bus service…I am privelaged to still attend the reunions of ONATRA…and the last one for VIT…perhaps France`s real hauliers to the Middle East.

Another story, for another night…but those pictures sure do evoke some wonderful memories…not least DEANBs Saviem UK advert for the 36.280…introduced to the UK because we kept telling the …less than responsive…(ex Leyland), Marketing head of Renault Truck and Bus…that a light 36/38 tonne unit was the best one for the UK…and “we” simply derated the tyre equipment on the 36.280 TUT turbo 6 cylinder tractor to 11.22.5s and the UK had a real “screamer”…only those of you who drove/ran these lorries could appreciate the whooping/ screaming turbo whistle as the giddy up go actually got going…but that was a real pleasure to hear as you slipped through that delightful ZF AK 680 splitter 12 speed box…quick on the road…and easy on the diesel…and comfortable to drive…so easy any lady could get the best from them…a much underated lorry in the UK…

But the Poles purchased them in quantity…and the French ran the Middle East easily with them…

ABollinge to cool my nerves I think…

Happy memories…

Cheerio for now.

Well John…First, Robert, he knows full well those lorries from Carcosonne hauled Cigarettes, not Camels, …silly boy.

Second…How right you are on the comparison between UK and France regarding cafes and digs, opposed to Restaurants and Hotels… …well, there was no comparison really, in France they were proper hotels, kept to a standard and inspected by
Les Routiers, not just the rooms, but the meals, service, and price. If only the the British had a similar system, unfortunately, we just accepted the un-exceptable, like Brits do…

Thirdly John, please, how could you EVER bore us, your knowledge of the French haulage system and its vehicles are second to none. This thread differs from most on T/N in as much as it’s not specific to one vehicle, one haulier, one model, it encompasses a whole variety from the 50’s - 90’s French industry, which is why it’s so interesting. Long may it continue.

Mrs Fergie has just gone for a hair cut, it’s raining, (in fact it’s a miserably day out side) so, I’ve an hour to play Some more pic’s coming up…

[fergie47]

Not sure whether this is an add for Saviem…or BISS. If it is for Saviem, do you recognize the demonstrator driver John
(or anyone else of course) In the mid seventies I had a 3 day demo Saviem from a company in Dorset ( can’t remember the name) the sales / demo man was a nice guy, but he had to be with the wagon all the time, not sure whether that was company, or Saviem policy, or maybe I looked a bit dodgy…anyway, I loved the lorry, especially the column gear chance, came very close to buying it ( 8000/9000k I think ) but in the end bough the second hand F89, for considerably less money…

[fergie47]

Mixed bunch to-day…

[fergie47]

Guy Marin ( him of TT fame ) did a film “Close to the edge”…this driver comes a close second I think !!

[fergie47]

Some German wagons…