Hi all,
I’ve been going through some old photos.1984 I painted this Ford Transcontinental for a chap from Penzance,he was on the convoy in South Wales back then.This Transcon replaced a rotten ex Atkins of derby Fiat.
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .
hi ian, when roger Gibson asked morley if he would like a sleeper cab he said would you sleep on the office table because I wont , geoff
pete 359:
Joint’s only E series ERF,tipping at signode fforestfach…
Interesting shot there Andrew so how long was the Signode works there ? They must have slit those coils into their banding. I don’t know if Barrow Steel was the only manufacture of the banding but they produced it in the actual band form which was then banded into “biscuits” which were then banded into about one ton lifts I’m not sure when Barrow Steel would have stopped producing Signode product but IIRC they closed in the mid 80’s after been run down over the years finally just producing billets. Bit of useless history mate ! Cheers Dennis.PS Leyland 680 will be able to give us accurate gen !
Bewick:
pete 359:
Joint’s only E series ERF,tipping at signode fforestfach…Interesting shot there Andrew so how long was the Signode works there ? They must have slit those coils into their banding. I don’t know if Barrow Steel was the only manufacture of the banding but they produced it in the actual band form which was then banded into “biscuits” which were then banded into about one ton lifts I’m not sure when Barrow Steel would have stopped producing Signode product but IIRC they closed in the mid 80’s after been run down over the years finally just producing billets. Bit of useless history mate ! Cheers Dennis.PS Leyland 680 will be able to give us accurate gen !
Thank you Dennis,tbh I wouldn’t know how long signode were there? Though as you are probably aware? They aren’t there now.ive also taken slitter coil in there from Caldicot.I personally have never been to and have no knowledge at all of the Barrow works,other than photos on line.I do know that the banding had to have a specific type of anodised coating so as not to contaminate the product during long periods of storage.Maybe they did that at Barrow?
Regards Andrew.
Hiya Andrew, Thanks for the gen ! I’m not sure what if any treatment the Signode banding received at Barrow Works,but it was librally covered in tar though and the same banding was delivered to the, then, big UK cable manufactures like Scottish Cables at Renfrew, Conolly Cables in Manchester and a Cable firm down in Dartford the name of which slips my mind. Can’t just recall if BICC were delivered to, long time ago Mate 
Cheers Dennis.
pete 359:
Joint’s only E series ERF,tipping at signode fforestfach…
A proper lorry 
pete 359:
scania81:
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .Evening Ianto,i have a old photo of Morley standing outside a early Swansea Brs 50,s eight wheeler erf on is way to Isle of grain with pipes on.
I can remember him looking at delivery notes with is glasses like a old bank manager.
You would remember his mate Denzil Davies aka The Happy Wanderer,who drove on the Western Book Binders contract originally from Llanelli.
His knowledge on Gwynne Bowen etc was 2nd to none and spoke fluent welsh a lot.
He use to crack me up laughing about is big ford which i thought was a transcon but it was a Ford d box van.
Excellent memories.
DaiGood morning Dai,
I’m not sure if I’ve posted this before tbh?
I got this photo Andrew,the depot shut in the 70,s and some of the staff went to Newport.
Never went in this yard but i know Tony Green worked there who ended is days on TWT.
A question for you?
Do you have any photos of Swift Transport Bridgend,run by Bob Hawkins.I am sure John Raymonds wife was a director.
They could have been brother and sister.In the 70,s for the eagle eye they were in the fleet line up of J.R,s depot.
They ran a F86 and a few Seddon atki 400,s and a borderer with similar livery to Torridge Transport.They took tyres to Halifax from LLandow and tried their hardest to get on the tissue work.I know ex Vaughans driver Terry Crisp worked for them.
Regards
Dai
Hi all,
I heard the sad news earlier today that Harold Read has sadly passed away.His fleet of lorries worked in and out of south wales every day for many years.R.I.P.
pete 359:
Hi all,
I’ve been going through some old photos.1984 I painted this Ford Transcontinental for a chap from Penzance,he was on the convoy in South Wales back then.This Transcon replaced a rotten ex Atkins of derby Fiat.
Hi Mate,
Do I see the nose of a Chevette Blackwatch in the corner of shot 2?! Now that could tell some stories.
Signode, I believe closed in the late nineties, early Naughties, remember tipping there with various products and reloading for urgent pallets for various parts of the UK & Europe on the vans. Ah, good old days, now ripped apart by our ‘friendly’ Eastern European curtain vans overloaded and cutting the rate bless
Si
Geoff54:
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .hi ian, when roger Gibson asked morley if he would like a sleeper cab he said would you sleep on the office table because I wont , geoff
Hel.lo Geoff was Gibson the ex-army fella always in a tweed jacket ? there was also a manager by the name of Mellor maybe from Derby
vanman99:
pete 359:
Hi all,
I’ve been going through some old photos.1984 I painted this Ford Transcontinental for a chap from Penzance,he was on the convoy in South Wales back then.This Transcon replaced a rotten ex Atkins of derby Fiat.Hi Mate,
Do I see the nose of a Chevette Blackwatch in the corner of shot 2?! Now that could tell some stories.Signode, I believe closed in the late nineties, early Naughties, remember tipping there with various products and reloading for urgent pallets for various parts of the UK & Europe on the vans. Ah, good old days, now ripped apart by our ‘friendly’ Eastern European curtain vans overloaded and cutting the rate bless
Si
hello Simon,
Correct my old mate,that was my blackwatch chevette just in shot.Happy days,you were there si.
regards andrew.
Ianto full pelt:
Geoff54:
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .hi ian, when roger Gibson asked morley if he would like a sleeper cab he said would you sleep on the office table because I wont , geoff
Hel.lo Geoff was Gibson the ex-army fella always in a tweed jacket ? there was also a manager by the name of Mellor maybe from Derby
Thats him Ian,Gibson was ex high rank army and ended up area manager of the western region.
He asked me who i was one day,so i told him i,ve only been here 3 and halfs years at the time.
Mr Kelly was before him,who joined ITV as transport manager.
Dai
scania81:
pete 359:
scania81:
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .Evening Ianto,i have a old photo of Morley standing outside a early Swansea Brs 50,s eight wheeler erf on is way to Isle of grain with pipes on.
I can remember him looking at delivery notes with is glasses like a old bank manager.
You would remember his mate Denzil Davies aka The Happy Wanderer,who drove on the Western Book Binders contract originally from Llanelli.
His knowledge on Gwynne Bowen etc was 2nd to none and spoke fluent welsh a lot.
He use to crack me up laughing about is big ford which i thought was a transcon but it was a Ford d box van.
Excellent memories.
DaiGood morning Dai,
I’m not sure if I’ve posted this before tbh?I got this photo Andrew,the depot shut in the 70,s and some of the staff went to Newport.
Never went in this yard but i know Tony Green worked there who ended is days on TWT.
A question for you?
Do you have any photos of Swift Transport Bridgend,run by Bob Hawkins.I am sure John Raymonds wife was a director.
They could have been brother and sister.In the 70,s for the eagle eye they were in the fleet line up of J.R,s depot.
They ran a F86 and a few Seddon atki 400,s and a borderer with similar livery to Torridge Transport.They took tyres to Halifax from LLandow and tried their hardest to get on the tissue work.I know ex Vaughans driver Terry Crisp worked for them.
Regards
Dai
Hello Dai,
The name swift transport has been mentioned to me previously by a member on here,bookworm.he is a life long family friend and worked for JR for many years.sorry I don’t have any photos of their lorries.
Regards andrew.
Thanks for that Andrew,next time i bump into Bob Hawkins i will ask to borrow some to put on here.
He worked as a ambulance driver in cowbridge after and then went to Gloystarne.
A very hard working man and i am sure John Raymonds wife was his sister.[I may well be wrong though].
Again around 1978,quite often their Swift motors were to the right in the J.R. line up,perhaps for maintenance etc.
Cheers
Dai
scania81:
Ianto full pelt:
Geoff54:
Ianto full pelt:
Hi Scania 81 , I ran with Morley Walters many times always wore pyjamas and dressing gown on a night out sat outside his truck with a deckchair and small table I believe he became a councillor down the Gower when he retired what a character ! .hi ian, when roger Gibson asked morley if he would like a sleeper cab he said would you sleep on the office table because I wont , geoff
Hel.lo Geoff was Gibson the ex-army fella always in a tweed jacket ? there was also a manager by the name of Mellor maybe from Derby
Thats him Ian,Gibson was ex high rank army and ended up area manager of the western region.
He asked me who i was one day,so i told him i,ve only been here 3 and halfs years at the time.
Mr Kelly was before him,who joined ITV as transport manager.
Dai
Gibson had a prince Charles attitude towards the drivers mike mellor didn’t last long he was moved on as they say. when nfc was sold off morley told me to take a second mortgage on my house and by shares , if only id listened to his sound advice 
Hi all,
D38 LWN a 1628 that joint bought new.seen here leaving the abbey,with I think an eye to the sky coil for Ebbw vale.
This little merc shunter of joint’s could weigh off 28 tonne loads at 38 tonne gross. Was usually driven by long serving shunter Taff.
Hi all,
Thirty odd years ago,this Albion Hd57L was abandoned opposite us at work.my father is seen here giving it the once over.
Hello Andrew, yes you are quite right, Swift Transport was set up by JR, his wife was a director along with a few Bridgend business people, one of them a solicitor. Bob Hawkins ran the operation until it was absorbed into the JR fleet and Bob and Sandra ran Traffic along with Ken Coombs. This was just before 1975 when I started back with JR for the 3rd time.
One of their trailers, a low height box, was the one I had permanently on the WBC Bookbinder contract for 8 years until I finished in 1989, doesn`t time fly, it seems like yesterday.
Best Wishes
Mike