Lawrence Dunbar:
Hi Dennis, Im getting a bit mixed up, I used to deliver paper to the Express, But Ive just remembered they were on Great Ancoates Street not Whitey Grove, But I do recall Law Bros delivering reels of paper to some firm in W/Grove in the 50/60s era, Regards Larry.
I think Withy Grove was The Daily Mirror plant Larry, but I’m fairly certain that’s where the DCT ERF’s ran to from Kendal on the day shift. Cheers Dennis.
Leyland600:
Hi Lawrence & Dennis. I thought you would both have been fans of Oor Wullie and The Broons in the Sunday Post published by DC Thompsons of Dundee. A good number of their ERFs are now preserved and appear regularly at various rallys. Their all grey livery with just narrow a red band was a distinctive style with no lettering at all on the cabs making then fairly anonymous. I did not know they operated a changeover at Kendal Dennis. Other well known publications as well as the comics were The Peoples Friend and Weekly News.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
My memory is a bit vague now Gerald but I recall the DCT 4 wheelers were the tapered chassis models and then prior to them finishing in Kendal they had some B series 4 wheelers IIRC. In earlier years they used to run some 8 wheeler flats but they seemed to disappear when they went onto the demounts. Cheers Dennis.
Hi Dennis, I can remember the 8 wheeler flats they also had one or two six wheelers…
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Leyland600:
Hi Dennis, I can remember the 8 wheeler flats they also had one or two six wheelers…
Cheers, Leyland 600.
I can’t say I ever saw any 6 wheelers in Kendal Gerald, and as for Kendal been used as a change over spot well Charlie Alexander had probably 10 or a dozen Kendal based drivers for many many years, where they changed over on New Road by the river used to stink like a fish market as I suppose by the time they’d run down from Aberdeen during the night the ice would be starting to melt eh! they wouldn’t get away with it nowadays but then again all the fish is moved in fridge vans now. Cheers Dennis.
Leyland600:
Hi John, I don’t know about any Canadian links with this firm but there is a comprehensive history of the firm if you click on this link.
You’re right, I can’t find a Canadian reference anywhere, but I still like my story best! If I were like my brother and had kept every single thing from the christening spoon on, I would be able to go back and find that old biography. Unfortunately, my wife has won an award for the ‘best thrower outer in Britain.’ , so there is nothing unattached to anything else in our house that is more than about a week old - I’m surprised I’m actually allowed to remain!
John
McWilliam:
There is a a picture of a newer Dourie Farming Co Foden on Brian Edgars Fotki site and it is a cracker, I can just see Mackereth, the Cattleman howling like a wolf when he sees it.
Here get your teeth into this.
The Doonhamer:
T P Niven still going strong. This EC11 has just been restored for showing with the old girl.
Great photos, The ERF IIRC Is a 1944 reg from Dundee, Regards Larry.
Hi Lawrence I believe Nivens ERF was originally new to Joseph Grant, Flour Millers, Dundee. I have seen it at Dumfries Rallys numerous times and had a chat with the driver.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Leyland600:
Hi Lawrence I believe Nivens ERF was originally new to Joseph Grant, Flour Millers, Dundee. I have seen it at Dumfries Rallys numerous times and had a chat with the driver.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Thanks for the Info, Regards Larry.
This is a little slide show of the EC11s restoration which took place in house at Nivens Palnackie Base.
Guiy de Montfort:
McWilliam:
1There is a a picture of a newer Dourie Farming Co Foden on Brian Edgars Fotki site and it is a cracker, I can just see Mackereth, the Cattleman howling like a wolf when he sees it.
Here get your teeth into this.
Very smart, what do they run today since Fodens are no longer in production.
Cattle Man Stan:
Guiy de Montfort:
McWilliam:
2There is a a picture of a newer Dourie Farming Co Foden on Brian Edgars Fotki site and it is a cracker, I can just see Mackereth, the Cattleman howling like a wolf when he sees it.
Here get your teeth into this.
Very smart, what do they run today since Fodens are no longer in production.
Are Dourie still in existence? Haven’t seen their waggon in ages.
John West:
Somewhere lodged in the back of my mind, I seem to remember reading a biography of DC Thomson some fifty years ago. I think he led a fairly ordinary life in the backwoods of Canda until he was in his middle sixties. I think he used to collect the mail from town and get in the back of his covered wagon to let the horse find its own way home while he read the papers.One day he read something about Dundee, which I think is where his family came from (the Scottish spelling of Thomson - as opposed to the English Thompson). He emigrated to Dundee and built up a massive publishing company over the next twenty years.
There’s hope for us oldies yet - you’ve still time to do it all again Dennis!
John.
After I wrote this, Leyland 600 pointed me to a website with the history of DCThomson and it was quite clear that my memory was totally wrong and that the firm had started in Dundee.
I’m currently reading Hunter Davies’s autobiography. He was born in Johnstone near Glasgow and throughout his youth lived in Carlisle. He wrote a book about Edward Stobart and ‘Eddie Stobart’ which I read about 5 years ago. (Perhaps you should commission him Dennis…) his wife, Margaret Forster was also an author and wrote a wonderful history of Carr’s of Carlisle.
In his autobiography HD tells of working for Kemsley Newspapers in Manchester. In 1959 this group was taken over by a Canadian with Scottish roots, Roy Thomson, (1894-1976), so this was the man I read about, who had bought ‘The Scotsman’ a few years earlier and went on to build a newspaper empire.
So. It must have been Edinburgh, not Dundee. I was half right and completely wrong!
John.
John West:
John West:
Somewhere lodged in the back of my mind, I seem to remember reading a biography of DC Thomson some fifty years ago. I think he led a fairly ordinary life in the backwoods of Canda until he was in his middle sixties. I think he used to collect the mail from town and get in the back of his covered wagon to let the horse find its own way home while he read the papers.One day he read something about Dundee, which I think is where his family came from (the Scottish spelling of Thomson - as opposed to the English Thompson). He emigrated to Dundee and built up a massive publishing company over the next twenty years.
There’s hope for us oldies yet - you’ve still time to do it all again Dennis!
John.
After I wrote this, Leyland 600 pointed me to a website with the history of DCThomson and it was quite clear that my memory was totally wrong and that the firm had started in Dundee.
I’m currently reading Hunter Davies’s autobiography. He was born in Johnstone near Glasgow and throughout his youth lived in Carlisle. He wrote a book about Edward Stobart and ‘Eddie Stobart’ which I read about 5 years ago. (Perhaps you should commission him Dennis…) his wife, Margaret Forster was also an author and wrote a wonderful history of Carr’s of Carlisle.
In his autobiography HD tells of working for Kemsley Newspapers in Manchester. In 1959 this group was taken over by a Canadian with Scottish roots, Roy Thomson, (1894-1976), so this was the man I read about, who had bought ‘The Scotsman’ a few years earlier and went on to build a newspaper empire.
So. It must have been Edinburgh, not Dundee. I was half right and completely wrong!
John.
I can help you a bit more here John as regards D C Thomsom. Kendal used to be their change over point between Dundee and Manchester. When they ran ERF 8 wheeler flats they always had to parked under cover during the hours of darkness as well as for security purposes ( they couldn’t afford to have copies of next weeks Beano and Dandy been “nicked” and turning up in Barrow a week before official publication !) The place they parked in Kendal was inside Crabtrees Garage which as you know was just coming into the south end of the town. In later years when they changed over to 16 ton ERF 4 wheelers with demountable Pennman containers they parked opposite The Duke of ■■■■■■■■■■ on far Cross Bank, Shap Rd. Cheers Dennis.
Most of those ERF four wheelers and I think at least one 8 wheeler have all been restored in various liveries and are now on the rally circuit mostly in Scotland.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
