Great article Robert.
I remember the Air Force jet running out of fuel and trying to land on the road. I can’t see a date in the article, but I think it was 1978. The irony was that where he’d tried to land, the desert was reasonably smooth - stony, but not rocky. The wisdom at the time was ,If he’d kept the wheels up and landed it near the road he would have walked away from it.
John.
ronhawk:
Jedda early 80’s I was on leave , when a ship called The Snow Ball , docked at Jedda port ?now directly opposite our house lived Mary &Bill Hooper ,there son Paul was a engineer on this ship, my mate Jonnie Davies got a port pass and took him to our villa and showed him round the town ,returning to the ship JD had a thirst quenching beer lucky lad , Back at work picking up box’s you may get 2-20ftcontainers of soft drinks This may be 40ton ,dropping these off round the streets was a bit cramped at times ,and occasionally and unfortunately the trailer legs would disappear down some old cellars when pulling out from under the trailer,but Jedda was an old town who knows what was underneath ? There was always something going on before we had the Trailer park. Photo outside our Villa Ron
Thanks Ron. Loved the bit about the trailer legs disappearing down old cellars. The enchanting picture of the kids also shows a good old ERF NGC! Robert 
I’ve just read the posts about cement in Jeddah on the ERF thread, but thought a reply may be more appropriate on here. I certainly remember the helicopters and the dust. I also remember that one unfortunate pilot caught the rigging on a ship with the trailing wires when heading back empty over the port for another load. The effect was to swing him nose down into the drink and he didn’t survive.
However, I’m also certain I remember a cement plant to the north of town. Maybe it only processed cement that came in by ship? It sent dust a few thousand feet into the air and was directly below the flight path. I’m certain I discussed this with a BA pilot and he complained that they often had blocked pitot tubes after a trip to Jeddah.
This was in the days when you could go up on the flight deck. I often asked and spent many happy hours in the cockpit chatting to the pilots and watching them at work. I was there for about 3 hours on a first return flight of a brand new Tristar and the crew were trying everything out… Pulling levers to ‘see what happened’ followed by warning horns. None of this could be heard in the passenger area, thankfully! The pilots were always interested in how we made a living out there.
John.
John West:
I’ve just read the posts about cement in Jeddah on the ERF thread, but thought a reply may be more appropriate on here. I certainly remember the helicopters and the dust. I also remember that one unfortunate pilot caught the rigging on a ship with the trailing wires when heading back empty over the port for another load. The effect was to swing him nose down into the drink and he didn’t survive.However, I’m also certain I remember a cement plant to the north of town. Maybe it only processed cement that came in by ship? It sent dust a few thousand feet into the air and was directly below the flight path. I’m certain I discussed this with a BA pilot and he complained that they often had blocked pitot tubes after a trip to Jeddah.
This was in the days when you could go up on the flight deck. I often asked and spent many happy hours in the cockpit chatting to the pilots and watching them at work. I was there for about 3 hours on a first return flight of a brand new Tristar and the crew were trying everything out… Pulling levers to ‘see what happened’ followed by warning horns. None of this could be heard in the passenger area, thankfully! The pilots were always interested in how we made a living out there.
John.
As long as you had what passed for a hi-viz vest on in those days, John I’m sure all was well! 
Robert
robert1952:
Hi Robert that was a great 3 part article by Ian Pender who now lives in Florida USA I have been in touch with him until lately on SKYPE unfortunately he had a mild stroke and the memory is,nt quite as sharp as it was !!! I have,nt spoken for a couple of months he was a real worthy and a larikin but knew the job inside out I think was with SARAMAT up till the end or close to it
and another couple from the shoebox !!!
backsplice:
1robert1952:
Hi Robert that was a great 3 part article by Ian Pender who now lives in Florida USA I have been in touch with him until lately on SKYPE unfortunately he had a mild stroke and the memory is,nt quite as sharp as it was !!! I have,nt spoken for a couple of months he was a real worthy and a larikin but knew the job inside out I think was with SARAMAT up till the end or close to it
and another couple from the shoebox !!!
Pictures
Top one - Jeddah - Airport Road - the Port to the Old Airport with the water tower in the distance and the fruit market on the right
What finally happened to Saramat?
Ken Broster
As you can imagine Robert - a Hiviz vest was always the first thing I packed. Most Brits were pretty Hiviz, for a while anyway - pasty white skin and no T shirt!
Thinking again about the cement plant. I think it was about where they built the new airport, so may have been there in 1977, then closed down.
John
John West:
As you can imagine Robert - a Hiviz vest was always the first thing I packed. Most Brits were pretty Hiviz, for a while anyway - pasty white skin and no T shirt!Thinking again about the cement plant. I think it was about where they built the new airport, so may have been there in 1977, then closed down.
John
Good, that tidies things up a bit. Now all I need is a Jeddah street scene with one of these Falcon Freight ERFs in and I’m home and dry! 
Robert
I had a contract to the Airport site and delivered the site furniture in 74 when there wasn’t much more than a fence around it.
The gates to the airport site were about 2 clicks past the cement works going towards Jeddah, but can’t remember when they knocked it down.
Jeddah was a fair way away then – anyone remember the Wimpy Bar at what I remember as the 1st roundabout near the Al Mokhtar supermarket.
Kenb …I think SARAMAT finished up around 1980 most of the British and Greek drivers had long gone replaced with Philipino,s etc after being trained by what was left of the lads !! but have,nt heard it from the horses mouth !!!
I confess that I really enjoyed my 12 months there even with 4 days in the nick at TAIF these were the things that made it a bit of an adventure ■■ Now what I like about this thread is that I feel I,m in company with others who shared the same …out here I don,t know anyone who was there and so consequently its a bit hard to chew the fat so to speak and when you tell somebody about these times they are inclined to think its all BS .I also think that there was a difference between “overlanders” and internals… the overland would have been a lot more difficult what with borders etc therefor a totally different scenario where internals usually had backup one way or another
I had a mate who worked along side me at Allisons Dundee …the late Bill (Wullie) Kaye in the early 70,s he bought an old ERF ( ■■) and took a load overland to Saudi then stayed on working internal for quite a while but before my time I think he subbied where ever he could and I suspect made a few bob and in the finish I believe he worked the old girl into the ground then just abandoned it… you would have to agree hardy lads who did,nt have a big company to fall back on for medical etc …so there are a million untold stories out there I was young then in my early 30,s but as time flies we are getting thinner on the ground …no idea whats happening these days as out here in Australia its a different scene from the UK that I knew by the sound of things EU red tape is even thicker than ever so I feel I was a lucky one who was in it at the right time and also I cannot recall having any bother with locals in fact it was the opposite
sorry lads just felt writing what I was thinking
another from the shoebox
backsplice:
Kenb …I think SARAMAT finished up around 1980 most of the British and Greek drivers had long gone replaced with Philipino,s etc after being trained by what was left of the lads !! but have,nt heard it from the horses mouth !!!
I confess that I really enjoyed my 12 months there even with 4 days in the nick at TAIF these were the things that made it a bit of an adventure ■■ Now what I like about this thread is that I feel I,m in company with others who shared the same …out here I don,t know anyone who was there and so consequently its a bit hard to chew the fat so to speak and when you tell somebody about these times they are inclined to think its all BS .I also think that there was a difference between “overlanders” and internals… the overland would have been a lot more difficult what with borders etc therefor a totally different scenario where internals usually had backup one way or another
I had a mate who worked along side me at Allisons Dundee …the late Bill (Wullie) Kaye in the early 70,s he bought an old ERF ( ■■) and took a load overland to Saudi then stayed on working internal for quite a while but before my time I think he subbied where ever he could and I suspect made a few bob and in the finish I believe he worked the old girl into the ground then just abandoned it… you would have to agree hardy lads who did,nt have a big company to fall back on for medical etc …so there are a million untold stories out there I was young then in my early 30,s but as time flies we are getting thinner omkn the ground …no idea whats happening these days as out here in Australia its a different scene from the UK that I knew by the sound of things EU red tape is even thicker than ever so I feel I was a lucky one who was in it at the right time and also I cannot recall having any bother with locals in fact it was the opposite
sorry lads just felt writing what I was thinkinganother from the shoebox
Hi. Interesting - what did you do to get put in the nick? We had 1 in there due to a lorry fire on the mountain road, another 2 in Alkobar charged with “murder” the 3rd guy they were with died of a heart attack on the beach at half moon bay - that took a few days to sort - a few others had near misses me included
I was 27 when I went to Jeddah and had the family there after 1 year although it was very tough on the females - no driving etc etc. I mAde a lot of friends there whom I keep in touch with and a couple of times a year and in fact went to see one in the Falklands last year - trouble is they are starting to fall off the perch as have many of the original Trans Arabia drivers - it’s good to see Trans Arabia is still running and with some of the Philipino people I recruited over 30 years ago - I paid into that GOSI pension but cannot get a pension though!!! Even after writing time and time again to the HQ in Jeddah and the Embassy in London
I only knew a manager from Saramat called Herbert but ran into a guy some months ago who said he had set up Saramat originally .
Keep joining in
Ken Broster
Saudi Drivers License
Great picture Backsplice ,somewhere to the right of the water tower near the fruit market was the SA licensing dep ? Just a block of concrete ,upstairs we went and had a full set of Dabs taken ,it was a filthy place every body wiped the hands on the walls and it left long black finger lines all over ? It reminded me of a mediaeval dungeon where the poor soles had been tortured to death ! I can still see the pools of dried Red spit on the floor which added to the scene this was late on with my career at T/A We filled in the forms" so “that we did” Not" have to give Blood ? I and the rest of the lads writ down that we had contracted all the Venereal diseases including yellow fever ?in one case this was true ■■? It did not make any difference they still had an arm full !,there was a tree just out side of the window less window, where the Saudis threw the Lipton’s Tea Bags on strings ! !This would have been a fantastic photo? No leaves on this tree just hundreds and hundreds of tea bags hanging down with yellow labels twisting in the sun shine ,it was Better than a painting by Van Gogh ? Photo of me following Jonnie Rider after unloading , roped and sheeted I might add ,I only use the half hitchu now to tie my lovely wife up,?!!night out in Binzagrs yard Riyadh after a hose down no towels dried in two shakes, on our way back, nothing on the road we parked up by the foot ball stadium. Did any of the lads use those sleep easy bunk beds in the desert by the Shi cafes ? I know Gypsy Dave did, as his None deplume suggests ,his name was on nearly on every sign from Jedda to Damman including he painted a shara bang mini bus wreck ? With learn to drive here on it ? !!!That’s !!where all the paint was going ? , Ron 
I forgot to say that it was an MVA that got me locked up but thats another story for another time but see the end result of a pickup going under th wheels of a tandem trailer at 60 kpm… the photo was taken at a later date as you can see no fear about getting the chop for nicking well stripped
Firstly I must say thanks to Backsplice what a surprise when I opened up the thread there it was just as I remembered. The shara bang !! It made my day ,thanks again!! Gypsy Dave was quite a caricature, about that same time he had ! Some banter going on with the yanks about the Mac trucks in the commercial motor mag ■■ There’s a couple of lines I remember ■■? Now I suggest to Uncle Sam when he’s got time to Doodle he must take" our "dog from of that truck and tie a nice Toy Poodle , well I say no more ,I do like USA and Oz. Photo up and down the track sorry about the quality the one reads. Abha, thanks for your your memories. Ron.
As you know from earlier in the thread, erstwhile Trans Arabia mechanic/driver Jerry Cooke has supplied a lot of photos which I posted on other threads (mostly the LHD B-series ERF thread, ERF European 1975 thread, and the LHD ERF 5MWs thread).
Jerry kindly send me these three this morning. The first one shows an ERF NGC (with the 7MW cab) piggy-backing with a short skelly. The next shows a 5MW-cabbed ERF loading or unloading. And the last one is self explanatory! Enjoy. Robert
The Cinderella Shoes
The mountain roads can find out any weak link in the chain,the use of the brake in the mountains is unavoidable when loaded heavy , the temp is already hot ,so the heat build up as a head start ,Two Trans Arabia Mac trucks had over run there engines on the mountain roads carrying heavy loads. This was one of the reasons for me going out there to help rebuild the engines, its obvious the reasons why,they overran? Looking at the broken valves and Pistons the engines where totally destroyed, it must have been terrifying for the drivers to find that the 50ton was pushing you faster and faster down the mountain with all brakes failing ,The noise of the Broken valves being crushed into the 6cylinders must have sounded like machine gun fire ?standing up on the middle pedal ,with white knuckles on the wheel about to meet there maker?? I write smiling !!! With no where to go, the drivers stuck with it they where lucky to get away with there lives !!! They have my praise and must be given credit for there skills ,to walk away from this nightmare , and forgiven for being fooled by the Look of this truck in my opinion !! The engine rebuilds went well, Jonnie Davies and myself in Red hot conditions inside a tin shed completed the rebuild, and where soon back in service, Maybe a year later one of the same !! Mac114 would you believe it loaded 50ton plus was burnt out going" UP " the Mountain!!! I have relined many brakes that where in poor shape, the Mac on the mountain road in Khamis had the same problem lucky JP he managed to stop. on a long straight , the linings had turned into Cinderella’s shinning Glass shoes !!! photo of the unlucky 114 & mountain roads Ron
robert1952:
As you know from earlier in the thread, erstwhile Trans Arabia mechanic/driver Jerry Cooke has supplied a lot of photos which I posted on other threads (mostly the LHD B-series ERF thread, ERF European 1975 thread, and the LHD ERF 5MWs thread).Jerry kindly send me these three this morning. The first one shows an ERF NGC (with the 7MW cab) piggy-backing with a short skelly. The next shows a 5MW-cabbed ERF loading or unloading. And the last one is self explanatory! Enjoy. Robert
210
Interesting pictures
Top one is de mounting after shipment from the UK on a bank
Middle one is a picture from the roof at the rear of Villa Trans Arabia over a storage compound, the warehouse was the original central Binzagr Warehouse before they built a new on on Mecca Road Kilo ■■
Not sure about the trailers - non of our had headboards and side stakes!! Any thoughts
Ken broster
ronhawk:
The Cinderella ShoesThe mountain roads can find out any weak link in the chain,the use of the brake in the mountains is unavoidable when loaded heavy , the temp is already hot ,so the heat build up as a head start ,Two Trans Arabia Mac trucks had over run there engines on the mountain roads carrying heavy loads. This was one of the reasons for me going out there to help rebuild the engines, its obvious the reasons why,they overran? Looking at the broken valves and Pistons the engines where totally destroyed, it must have been terrifying for the drivers to find that the 50ton was pushing you faster and faster down the mountain with all brakes failing ,The noise of the Broken valves being crushed into the 6cylinders must have sounded like machine gun fire ?standing up on the middle pedal ,with white knuckles on the wheel about to meet there maker?? I write smiling !!! With no where to go, the drivers stuck with it they where lucky to get away with there lives !!! They have my praise and must be given credit for there skills ,to walk away from this nightmare , and forgiven for being fooled by the Look of this truck in my opinion !! The engine rebuilds went well, Jonnie Davies and myself in Red hot conditions inside a tin shed completed the rebuild, and where soon back in service, Maybe a year later one of the same !! Mac114 would you believe it loaded 50ton plus was burnt out going" UP " the Mountain!!! I have relined many brakes that where in poor shape, the Mac on the mountain road in Khamis had the same problem lucky JP he managed to stop. on a long straight , the linings had turned into Cinderella’s shinning Glass shoes !!! photo of the unlucky 114 & mountain roads Ron
hi Ron
Confused!!
Yes the situation with the Mack engines was deplorable - the reason for the piston failure was put down to the incorrect use of the engine brake system - the Brit drivers were quite used to the Jake Brake system but the Mack system was a copy but had to be operated differently - they never told us!!
Mack initially refused to have anything to do with the failures but having parked them up for months on the main road by villa Trans Arabia gathering inches of dust that they eventually came to the table as they were unable to sell to local hauliers because of the embarrasment - they them agreed to fly new engines from the states to be fitted at there new Jeddah workshop - were you involved with that? I remember JD got involved - were there further failures after 1982 when I had gone that you had to rebuild internally?
I know that all the failures were with Brit drivers not Philos as they knew how to handle them. The other interesting situation was with Gypsie Dave Mack that was involved with that run away pulling a new generator on low loader to Abha - his brakes failed and they were ready for jumping a the American traveling with him had already jumped - when the vehicle final started to slow -Dave told me at the time that he had the revs well over the limit with the exhaust brake but it didn’t fail!! Interesting times - certainly my conversations with Mack were very colourful although I had a lot of respect for the Indian Engineer - Jimmy Jasmarie - he was a Tata trained engineer and knew what he was doing
Mack 114 failed due to the plywood base that the sleeper pod was sitting on being to close to the bottom of the exhaust stack and no insulation - she was carrying 2 @ 20foot containers loaded with Italian marble said to contain 20 tons each more like 30tons each - they were being carried for Salmine Bin Mafooz the Binzage Port man - you may remember him - there was a row over the weight!!
I have spoken before about this one where the driver was in jail in Taif - they had called Faisal Binzagr who advised me three was a slight electrical problem - I went up there with JD to find it and get our man out of clink!!!
Anyway - when are we going to meet up - give me a call
Cheers
Ken broster
ronhawk:
The Cinderella ShoesThe mountain roads can find out any weak link in the chain,the use of the brake in the mountains is unavoidable when loaded heavy , the temp is already hot ,so the heat build up as a head start ,Two Trans Arabia Mac trucks had over run there engines on the mountain roads carrying heavy loads. This was one of the reasons for me going out there to help rebuild the engines, its obvious the reasons why,they overran? Looking at the broken valves and Pistons the engines where totally destroyed, it must have been terrifying for the drivers to find that the 50ton was pushing you faster and faster down the mountain with all brakes failing ,The noise of the Broken valves being crushed into the 6cylinders must have sounded like machine gun fire ?standing up on the middle pedal ,with white knuckles on the wheel about to meet there maker?? I write smiling !!! With no where to go, the drivers stuck with it they where lucky to get away with there lives !!! They have my praise and must be given credit for there skills ,to walk away from this nightmare , and forgiven for being fooled by the Look of this truck in my opinion !! The engine rebuilds went well, Jonnie Davies and myself in Red hot conditions inside a tin shed completed the rebuild, and where soon back in service, Maybe a year later one of the same !! Mac114 would you believe it loaded 50ton plus was burnt out going" UP " the Mountain!!! I have relined many brakes that where in poor shape, the Mac on the mountain road in Khamis had the same problem lucky JP he managed to stop. on a long straight , the linings had turned into Cinderella’s shinning Glass shoes !!! photo of the unlucky 114 & mountain roads Ron
Great stuff as usual Ron.
I haven’t driven a truck - apart from moving the odd one or two in the yard, since 1982, but I still regularly dream about driving, mainly brake failures in the Asir mountains, Taif to Khamis. One recurring one is that the mountain gets steeper and steeper and eventually I fall off backwards. That’s where I wake up! At least, always have so far.
Keep the memories and the photos coming.
John
A considerable number of photos, now valuable evidence of models now almost extinct, were taken from Villa Trans Arabia, it seems! Robert
