Chris Webb:
Chris,it would be a tongue in cheek statement about Wincanton being my friend?
Oh Mr Webb, how can you say such a thing? You know how you wax lyrical about them 
240 Gardner:
Chris Webb:
Chris,it would be a tongue in cheek statement about Wincanton being my friend?Oh Mr Webb, how can you say such a thing? You know how you wax lyrical about them
I’ve heard today that Wincanton have lost the Tesco Middleton contract to ESL,a contract that was run by Glass Glover from the start in the 80s.Well Wincanton will pinch summat off DHL and DHL will nick summat off ESL and maybe Langdons - who are now at Dodworth,Barnsley will nick all the lot 
Chris Webb:
240 Gardner:
Chris Webb:
Chris,it would be a tongue in cheek statement about Wincanton being my friend?Oh Mr Webb, how can you say such a thing? You know how you wax lyrical about them
I’ve heard today that Wincanton have lost the Tesco Middleton contract to ESL,a contract that was run by Glass Glover from the start in the 80s.Well Wincanton will pinch summat off DHL and DHL will nick summat off ESL and maybe Langdons - who are now at Dodworth,Barnsley will nick all the lot
At least I have one claim to fame then Chris when I won the Modo contract at Weybridge off both ESL& Wincanton in 1995 and we wern;t the cheapest either Cheers Dennis.
Here are a couple of piccies from my mate John Harrison.
Sainsbury’s Contract, Middleton.
I think that this one might of been on the Littlewoods contract running between Oldham and Blackrod, maybe Chris might know 
.
mushroomman:
Here are a couple of piccies from my mate John Harrison.
Sainsbury’s Contract, Middleton.
I think that this one might of been on the Littlewoods contract running between Oldham and Blackrod, maybe Chris might know
Hi Steve,how are you mate?
I’m not sure about the Littlewoods contract.They had their own transport at one time using ERFs and the trailers were black or grey - I only saw them at night - and did all the non-food haulage,apart from textiles.Maybe Exel took the work on,I’m not sure.I remember their place at Blackrod,I went there once after tipping Liverpool on nights and delivered some parcels.I wonder if that green trailer is ex Fashionflow that did textile work?
What happened to Lowfield Distribution?
Chris Webb:
I’ve heard today that Wincanton have lost the Tesco Middleton contract to ESL,a contract that was run by Glass Glover from the start in the 80s.Well Wincanton will pinch summat off DHL and DHL will nick summat off ESL and maybe Langdons - who are now at Dodworth,Barnsley will nick all the lot
The Tesco Middleton operation will be moving into a purpose built place at Widnes now ESL have got it - it was on the radio news yesterday.
when i started at somerfiels around 12 years ago ( so not that old ) the fleet was a right dolly mixure. daf 75,s and 85,s a few road trains and plenty of daf 2500 and 2700,s. the transport was exel but the older daf where from when heron freight run the transport . a company who id never heard of before or since.
loved the old dafs though, oh for a 3600. 
aye and now eddie ■■■■■■■ is on the scene. can only go one way…plop
dave:
the older daf where from when heron freight run the transport . a company who id never heard of before or since.
Heron freight were based in Westbury, and after the guinness shares scandal when Gerald Ronson got banged up the company was bought out by the management and the company became Merlin Distribution and then became many years later Fiege Merlin.
240 Gardner:
tonyhogi:
excellent pics 240
To be honest, I don’t know - I’ve been fortunate to have been out of grocery work for several years!
It closed but then was reopened as a Christmas relief depot until Northampton opened and automated ambient chamber replaced at Waltham point in 2008 when it closed last time.
Chris Webb:
What happened to Lowfield Distribution?
Didn’t they get bought out by Tibbet and Britten?
37114:
Chris Webb:
What happened to Lowfield Distribution?Didn’t they get bought out by Tibbet and Britten?
bit of a long one but here goes …
Geest Bananas Distribution division was sold off in a management buy out thing and re-named ADL (Applied Distribution Ltd)
ADL then started to take over a few firms and Lowfield was one of them .
ADL was then taken over by Tibbett & Britten,
T&B were taken over by Exel ,
Exel were taken over by DHL.
so in a roundabout kinda way … Lowfield is now DHL
Wheel Nut:
Oh, how times changeA team of men will load the van with loaded roller pallets, keeping terminal times to a minimum
But what they forgot to add was that the time saving was at the other side of the warehouse(goods outward) and only involved their own motors!!! No mention of the poor b****y hauliers lined up waiting hours to tip at other side!!! Bewick.
Thought I would try and resurrect this thread by posting my wagon (as seen on the ERF thread)
That picture was as restored in August 2000. EUR 316Y was based at Fine Fares depot at Hucknall, Notts and was driven from brand new (Aug-Sep 1982) by my dad until he took redundancy when the job was contracted out to BRS in September 1987, by which time they had been taken over by Gateway Foodmarkets. He had been offered a job on the new terms (pre-TUPE of course), but could see the job going further downhill so he decided on a fresh start elsewhere - a bit of a wrench after starting there in 1964 just as FF took over Joseph Burtons Grocers, of Smithy Row, Nottingham.
This was the first wagon he had had from brand new, after progressing through ‘Noddy’ vans, Bedford TK rigids & artics, a Ford D series (the first wagon I went out in with him, aged 5) a Leyland Buffalo and finally the ERF.
Happy, happy (and most formative for me) days! No such thing as double-shifting, nights out (from Nottingham) in digs at Great Yarmouth, Bristol, Cwmbran, Kings Lynn, Chatham, Reading… thumbing a lift back on a ‘dodgy’ from Watford Gap or Leicester Forest East… max 4 drops on your trailer, and it was often 1… sat waiting in their security cabin for what seemed like hours… ‘killing time’ on the way back.
Anyone out there been sat waiting to tip at Hucknall? It had quite a bad reputation at the time, before RDC procedures became the standing joke they are now.
Fine Fare/Burtons staff still hold an annual reunion in Nottingham every March, which is well attended although sadly the numbers are now dwindling.
A few years ago i can remember Safeway on Kingsland Grange Birchwood Warrington having a Fleet of Guy Warriors ,Would be mint to go back in time to see them again .My Dad worked for Smedleys running out of Farnworth nr Bolton both on the tinned foods and sometimes on the frozen foods which where manly Thames .The tinned food wagons where manly Ford D series 16tons (i think) We would go all over the north west and up to ■■■■■■■ Delivering to the likes of Tesco and Hanburys ect .Dad hated going to Tesco as the C***S would not open the warehouse doors .He would offen rattle the door and shout Tate and Lyle which brought an instant response due to the waiting time imposed on Tesco at the time ,Many a time there were Locozade Atkinsons also in the Queue, Happy Days.
Here’s a pick of a couple of the guys from ADL in the late 80s, Paul Pearson and Danny Knight, just about to take another load of consumer goods out for the punters.
The company was formed as someone else pointed out by a buyout of Geest Contract Distribution by then MD Mike Rowley and his colleagues.
i think ADL had a depot north of Sheffield,around Chapeltown IIRC.Didn’t they do fruit and veg for M and S or was that Salserve?
Also does anybody remember a firm called Lloyd Fraser,they did a lot of work out of Lyons at Barnsley and Wakefield,just wondered what happened to them.
I remember reading in a transport mag about a distance driver who was passing comment on a supermarket driver, basically insinuating that as they were home every night and didn’t have to rope and sheet they weren’t ‘proper drivers’…
Having to reverse 40 footers through crowded car parks full of dozy shoppers into tiny yards with an inch or two on each side several times a day didn’t count I suppose.
Chris Webb:
i think ADL had a depot north of Sheffield,around Chapeltown IIRC.Didn’t they do fruit and veg for M and S or was that Salserve?
Also does anybody remember a firm called Lloyd Fraser,they did a lot of work out of Lyons at Barnsley and Wakefield,just wondered what happened to them.
Yes, they had depots AFAIR at Sheffield, Worcester and Belshill, as well as Allington (Maidstone) where I was based.
I did a night trunk up to Sheffield and Worcester on occasions, made a change from the shop drops.
