Jazzandy:
La belle France!
Doubs Valley north of Besancon
Hi Andy,
What a lovely setting I always wondered how successful writers spent their leisure time 
I hope you were doing research for the 2nd book !!
Regards
Richard
Hi all when I was on International driving duties which is some time ago now because as our company grew I became office bound I always found a an indicator to a good routiers was one which had an assistant parking the trucks nice and neat so no space was wasted and the fact that the first trucks to park up were the French at about six pm a good hour before service began. This in itself was a sign of good food to come and as a rule this I found true Buzzer.
Jazzandy:
La belle France!
Doubs Valley north of Besancon
There’s a bar / restaurant not far from us that over looks the Nantes - Brest canal, and the view is similar to your picture…so much stunning scenery in Brittany, let alone the whole of France…
Was that a holiday snap ?
Buzzer:
Hi all when I was on International driving duties which is some time ago now because as our company grew I became office bound I always found a an indicator to a good routiers was one which had an assistant parking the trucks nice and neat so no space was wasted and the fact that the first trucks to park up were the French at about six pm a good hour before service began. This in itself was a sign of good food to come and as a rule this I found true Buzzer.
You’re right there John,… The more wagons, the better the resteraunt, driven passed a few to get to the best…can’t remember all of them now, but never had a bad meal in any of them…
Only ever stopped once at the Bakehouse, and never at Victors… 
Buzzer:
Hi all when I was on International driving duties which is some time ago now because as our company grew I became office bound I always found a an indicator to a good routiers was one which had an assistant parking the trucks nice and neat so no space was wasted and the fact that the first trucks to park up were the French at about six pm a good hour before service began. This in itself was a sign of good food to come and as a rule this I found true Buzzer.
Excellent point! I had forgotten about that little nicety. They always did that at Couhe on the RN 10 and Liposthey on the A10. 
Robert
robert1952:
0
One of the nicest looking French wagons of the '60’s - '70’s…only ever sat in one, never had a chance to drive one, no comparison when you had an old Big J, with no couchette !!
Fergie47:
robert1952:
0One of the nicest looking French wagons of the '60’s - '70’s…only ever sat in one, never had a chance to drive one, no comparison when you had an old Big J, with no couchette !!
Complete with winter quilting and Trilex wheels too, I notice! All credit to whoever took a very good picture. Robert
Talking of Les Routiers, as we were earlier; I do remember that when I ran my own lorry for a brief period, I did quite a lot of trips to Marseille. One of my favourite places to stop overnight down in that neck of the woods was Orgon. If you dropped off the A7 and trickled down the RN7, you could fetch up at Relais des Fumades. Plenty of room to park, excellent food and a classic routiers atmosphere! Loved it. The pic below shows my lorry momentarily parked in a town nearby. Robert
robert1952:
Talking of Les Routiers, as we were earlier; I do remember that when I ran my own lorry for a brief period, I did quite a lot of trips to Marseille. One of my favourite places to stop overnight down in that neck of the woods was Orgon. If you dropped off the A7 and trickled down the RN7, you could fetch up at Relais des Fumades. Plenty of room to park, excellent food and a classic routiers atmosphere! Loved it. The pic below shows my lorry momentarily parked in a town nearby. Robert0
Robert…Was that on the right hand side heading south…HUGE. lorry park with the resteraunt in the middle…and the Paris / Lyon /Marseille railway right behind it…if thats the same place, first time I stopped there was with a wide load, the police parked us up there for the night, during the night, that train shot past at what seemed like a 1000 mph …fair gave me a scare… 
Fergie47:
robert1952:
Talking of Les Routiers, as we were earlier; I do remember that when I ran my own lorry for a brief period, I did quite a lot of trips to Marseille. One of my favourite places to stop overnight down in that neck of the woods was Orgon. If you dropped off the A7 and trickled down the RN7, you could fetch up at Relais des Fumades. Plenty of room to park, excellent food and a classic routiers atmosphere! Loved it. The pic below shows my lorry momentarily parked in a town nearby. Robert0
Robert…Was that on the right hand side heading south…HUGE. lorry park with the resteraunt in the middle…and the Paris / Lyon /Marseille railway right behind it…if thats the same place, first time I stopped there was with a wide load, the police parked us up there for the night, during the night, that train shot past at what seemed like a 1000 mph …fair gave me a scare…
Yes, that’s the one. You could pick up the motorway again (going south) at Senas. Robert
Yes Fergie,
That was taken when I was researching the old routes for my ‘Fifty Shades of Tarmac’ book.
Evening all,
what super memory provoking pictures Robert, and Andy. Makes me ache for France!
When I was based in Marseille, the RN7 became as familiar to me as the A5! As did the Routiers, and little bars along its snaking length! No Autorout then, just growling lines of Berliets, the odd Willeme, anticeptic Volvo`s, and those B Scania "crunchy gearbox " things! But lots of “our” Blue Saviems!
Something about the South, and the warmth of the climate I really loved, maybe it was the relaxed air of doing business. I wrote a little about the Pinardiers, and the delight of dealing with them, and so many had their bases around Marseille, and its environs. But Coder, who produced such delightful tanks, with welding that was so incredibly perfect, often mistaken for TIG, yet it was done with a stick!
The warm nights, and the Jazz clubs around the old port, followed by early mornings…and a sampling session, comparing Black Puddings, on fresh crusty bread in the back room of the little bakery on the corner below my “digs”, washed down with sweet Algerian red…and all before 0700!!!
Really threw my friends into disarray when I produced, (one early September morning), the finest possible Black Pudding, only one day old from my Daughters friend, Rebecas family Black Country Butchers, Poxons…A unanimous vote of satisfaction…and for several months I spearheaded a major, (but limited by my capacity to carry), export success of Black Country meat delicacies…
How did I manage to work?..well the days, and nights were long…but somewhat enjoyable…and nothing more enjoyable than dealing with operators “uprating” from those delightful “Relax cab” Tr 250 Berliets, with the early 12 litre, (a bit of a hot old girl), or the desirable 10litre TRKs, both of which found a ready market with the number of North African Traders who virtually camped out in our yard, waiting for “bargins” to appear!!!
But that Relax cab, compact, and with a 60cm couchette, was a comfortable work place, (but atop the inclined 12 litre could get a trifle hot, up the banks)!
The TRs with the airy , modern cab, somehow lacked the personality of either the Relax cabovers, or the TLMs, but looking back, they were a superb work place, style, and function, with great consideration for the man doing the work.
Happy days, and warm nights, filled with exotic music, and sweet wine,
Gosh I miss it all!!!
Cheerio for now,
Saviem:
But Coder, who produced such delightful tanks, with welding that was so incredibly perfect, often mistaken for TIG, yet it was done with a stick!
I had to do some time in our fabrication shop for a while and one of the old school welders ‘tried’ to teach me how to gas weld sheet aluminium.That really is an art in itself and I struggled with just gas and arc welding sheet steel and plate. 
Is that where the phrase ‘Allez les bleues’ comes from John?
Evening all,
Welding…as a young and callow youth, with scant skills, I sought to equip myself with the skill of welding. To this end, I purchased a course on Arc, and Gas welding, at that magnificent Art Deco works of the Quasi Arc company, in deep downtown Bilston…(and this is long before said company, along with Murex were acquired, and closed by British Oxygen)!
The instruction was enjoyable, and as any member of the pupillage did something correctly, then the rest of us hopeless ones were called around to admire, and be instructed as to how to do it correctly!
I had completed a set piece ■■■■ weld, in a jig, with a fizzing and crackling stick, and having removed the slag, what lay before my eyes, amazed me…even more so our laconic instructor…who, (probably in disbelief), called everyone around to view my artistry…then when instructed to remove said beauty from the jig…I could not…I had managed to both ■■■■ weld said job, (beautifully, I have to say), and said job to the Jig…oh dear
But in my defence, I have lengthened farm trailers, and they never broke in two…and Ive mended their bodies…
Andy, yes, “Allez les Bleus”, was the marketing slogan for the Saviems “Europe range”, introduced in 1968, fitted with the 860 serie cab, that was in production up until the end of Saviem with the PS30 tractor, but carried on as the basis of the MAN cab structures. The creation of Saviem in 1955, merged the lorry building interests of Renault, Latil, and Somua. The range back then relied on the underfloor Renault engine models at the light end, and the Somua “heavies” for 19 tonnes upwards. Despite Latil being a heavy manufacturer, its products, (despite the licence built Gardner engines), were perceived as old hat, and were not selling well, and became the specialised 4x4 timber tractor Saviem range. Latils works at Sursnes was to become Saviems head office complex.
The early Saviems all carried the original builders name, ie Somua, but above this would be the separate plaque, LRS, Latil Renault Somua), signifying the grouping. By 1957, a new single production facility was acquired, the old shipyard at Blainville, close to Caen, and situated between the River Orne, and the Canal, (just down from Pegasus Bridge). The site, a shipyard since the 1900s, covered around 100 hectares, and originally had 7 slipways for ship construction.It was renamed the Paul Durlach works, in honour of Saviems President Director General, in the `60s. An interesting feature, the main assembly hall was actually built as two separate halves, with a 50mm gap between the two roof halves, to allow movement…it was a blooming drafty place to work inside!
First built were the Renault Tankerville, 15 tonners, and the Mondragon 13 tonners. Then with the closure of the Saint Ouen Somua works, the JL, and JM Somua LRSs came on line. These would eventually be the backbone of the Saviem Heavy range, later to receive the 200hp Henschel engine, and as that deal foundered in the late 60s, as Henschel hit financial woes, a new partnership with MAN came into being. This gave advantage to Saviem as from 1966, the aged “public works” Somua, MTP, could be phased out, and the full MAN public works range could be badge engineered as Saviems for the French market,(and very succesfull they were as well)! MAN sold MAN badged light Saviems in Germany, plus there was the interchange of components, engines, axles, and from `68 the European cab.
The JL, and JM heavies received the 2146 MAN straight 6 engine, replacing the Henschel 520 D6, and for the first time the curvaceous 840 sleeper cab, and its lighter day cab 830, left the factory finish painted, “Saviem Blue”. When the 860 cab was introduced in `68, that was always finished in Saviem Blue,and all marketing refered to “Les Bleus”, lorries, buses, coaches. It gave a single identity to a product that came from several sources, and promoted the Saviem Brand.
It worked…I wonder if a similar “merging” would have worked better for our own comglomerate, Leyland Group, rather than having many brands to sell?
Just looking back at Fergies pictures, one really hit me square on, on page 48, Fergies post of 08 September, second picture, shows the rear, “resting area”, of Roger Baillon`s Niort operation, with various discarded BussingBS19s, and TR250 Berliets, and one of his Ferrari Californians…and he owned many…and Rolls Royces…and Facel Vegas…and may more exotica…and all at the same time!
The sale after his passing is well documented in the Classic Car press…but of more interest to us would have been his fleet. The operation peaked in the early 70s, Baillon , (as so many in France), built much of his own equipment, and that he did not build he modified…how about Bernard`s over 70 in the fleet , most , when the need for more power came, and the original Gardner simply did not have it, well out it came, and in went…Leyland 680s! And the same happened to his Saurers…and they were all pulling his own design, and manufactured trailers, both dry freight, and bulk liquid tankers, built in the enormous workshops at Avenue de Paris Niort. They even had a go at building their own cabs!
When I became aware of Baillon, the business was beginning to founder, and many of his staff joined Onatra, but the tales they told!!! Perhaps for another day, or night.
Cheerio for now.
Evening all,
You know Im getting on a bit, (but still feel a youngster…and behave like a teenager…drives the good lady, and daughter quite mad it does)!!! So today, whil`st doing the “chores” my mind ran free…(could I ever charge for it)■■?
But I was thinking about Transports Baillon, and the very clever mechanical genius that ran the business, and the first time that I came across them, must have been around `66. I was running down to Sicily, in my “Micky Mouse” with all of M Gardners 150hp, when I was overtaken by a red and white Bernard pulled tandem outfit, just before Lanslebourg, (used to take me around 17 hours from Dunkirk)…yet it never seemed that long!!!
He shot by me, on the bank before Termignon, like I was standing still…all I saw, (when driving a Foden Micky Mouse one never , ever took ones eyes off the road…only at your immennent peril)!!! Was a trailer with the name Usines de Melle on the back of it.
I could not believe that a Bernard with the same 150 Gardner as me had shot past so easily…but years later I was to find out that it was a Leyland 680, and ZF 5 speed that had made me seem so slow!!! Roger ended up with a Bussing agency, (really for his own use, as he greatly loved the German powerhouses). But truly he was a free thinker…before the onset of the stifling hand of EuroCrat legislation.
Baillon was a true cross border haulier, Spain , Italy, Portugal in the 60s, then in the 70s Iran , and Iraq…and that truly leads me on to Valenton, et Chapuis, et Lamy, et al…
France, and the Moyen Orient…you think that we Brits were big…then think again!!!
But for me its the Bollinger…to remember those so rare Leyland powered Bernards, and that true eccentric, (so much in the Anglo Saxon mode . Roger Baillon, I raise a glass to your memory…a man, where everything that he ran was a rebuild, a wreck, a re-incarnation…he once told me that he had only ever purchased 5new chassis…and he ran over 150!!!
Cheerio for now.
Saviem range in 1958 :
Here you go John, Roger Baillon…
