Leyland600:
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.
Aye Gerald they did run 8 wheeler flats but I don’t recall the 8 wheelers running with the containers I think they had been phased out when the 4 wheelers took over. Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
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.
Ok. I’ve finally figured out where you got the deposit on that Trader! The Kendal schoolkids were reading those DC comics a week before anyone else, with a certain DS creaming a surcharge!!!
Anon
not forgetting the penny singles (with a free match of course ) 
Hi I used to meet this Foden regularly heading down the A75 as I headed the other way in my own Foden. I also encountered it a few times in the Foden Sevice Depot at Carleton Carlisle .
Cheers, Leyland 600.
Hi Dennis, I think this is the ex D.C. Thompson 8 wheeler you are referring to seen here at Dumfries road run in 2007. I once got a lift back home over Shap in it from Kendal back in the late 60s I guess. I was speaking to the owner of this lorry at Biggar rally last Sunday, he now runs an ex DCT four wheeler. What a classic capable looking 8 wheeler.
Cheers, Leyland 600.
South West Scotland!!! Cairn Ryan, does this count ■■? 
Harvey
Curries of Dumfries
John Craig Stranraer
true cattlemen
McWilliam:
John Craig Stranraertrue cattlemen
0
1
Always run a tidy fleet, I think he was related to John Richardson who owned J.Richardson haulage who was also based in Stranraer. Now run by his Son Alan.
Mention of Clarkes gave the old brain cell a knock as I recall buying this Seddon 32/4 6 LXB unit off a Dealer Pal and it was ex Clarke’s and IIRC was about 3 years old. It was a nice unit and gave us reliable service.
Bewick:
Mention of Clarkes gave the old brain cell a knock as I recall buying this Seddon 32/4 6 LXB unit off a Dealer Pal and it was ex Clarke’s and IIRC was about 3 years old. It was a nice unit and gave us reliable service.
0
Aye, shes a fine old girl, just the one in your company or did you own more?
McNab and Weir
