harry_gill:
Hiya,
Carl. can you tell me why the top trailer was transported upside down ■■ it wouldn’t
make the load any lower, I’ve carried trailers but always “wheels down” and loaded
so they could with the aid of a ramp be unloaded using a tractor unit.
thanks harry, long retired.
Hi, Is it because the two new trailers are fitted with Scammell couplings!
Dave.
dave docwra:
harry_gill:
Hiya,
Carl. can you tell me why the top trailer was transported upside down ■■ it wouldn’t
make the load any lower, I’ve carried trailers but always “wheels down” and loaded
so they could with the aid of a ramp be unloaded using a tractor unit.
thanks harry, long retired.Hi, Is it because the two new trailers are fitted with Scammell couplings!
Dave.
Yes Dave, looking again at the photo, you could be right.
I don’t remember anything about the photo or how it came about. We certainly never had trailers with Scammell couplings, but it is possible that Taskers had two trailers they were supplying into the North East and they hired us to call round at Andover and collect them as a return load.
Well spotted
Carl
Carl Williams:
dave docwra:
harry_gill:
Hiya,
Carl. can you tell me why the top trailer was transported upside down ■■ it wouldn’t
make the load any lower, I’ve carried trailers but always “wheels down” and loaded
so they could with the aid of a ramp be unloaded using a tractor unit.
thanks harry, long retired.Hi, Is it because the two new trailers are fitted with Scammell couplings!
Dave.
Yes Dave, looking again at the photo, you could be right.
I don’t remember anything about the photo or how it came about. We certainly never had trailers with Scammell couplings, but it is possible that Taskers had two trailers they were supplying into the North East and they hired us to call round at Andover and collect them as a return load.Well spotted
Carl
I think they’re upside down because they are skeletal trailers, possibly on the way to have bodywork of some type done. If you look closely at the second of the pictures you can see daylight through the trailers.
Regards
Ray
My son Paul. recently joined Chatfield DAF as a sales executive and I’m pleased to see my family once more connected in Road Haulage, be it vehicles sales. He has just secured his first large order from George Allison Darlington (another old NE name) for 6 new DAF XF Supercab 460 tractor units.
So I’ll be looking forward as they start to hit the road December.
Although most of the old names have gone over recent years and there are few large hauliers left in the North East, he is finding those who he meets still remember W.H.Williams (Haulage) Ltd of Spennymoor and most appreciate meeting someone who’s bloodline is in transport.
I enjoy hearing where he’s been and who he’s been to see. Times change but the characters of Road Transport never do.
An excellent video of Bedford Trucks youtube.com/watch?v=6HJwWh3EQ_U with one of ours representing 1937
David Kirk, has just told me that Tony Kirk, his father passed away in September. Many will remember Tony best from the days he drove the Thorn Heating van
A photo of one of our ERF tractor units. This one had a Gardiner 180 turbo charged engine (I think) driven from new by Alf Ridley. In this photo its been used as a float, on its first day out, brand new being diven by Colin Watson. The ERF’s with gardiner engines achieved over 15 mpg compared with average of 10 with our other artics
Carl Williams:
A photo of one of our ERF tractor units. This one had a Gardiner 180 turbo charged engine (I think) driven from new by Alf Ridley. In this photo its been used as a float, on its first day out, brand new being diven by Colin Watson. The ERF’s with gardiner engines achieved over 15 mpg compared with average of 10 with our other artics
Hi Carl, Not sure it would have a 180 Gardner in a 1980 tractor unit, could it be a 265 Turbo Gardner.
Dave.
dave docwra:
Carl Williams:
A photo of one of our ERF tractor units. This one had a Gardiner 180 turbo charged engine (I think) driven from new by Alf Ridley. In this photo its been used as a float, on its first day out, brand new being diven by Colin Watson. The ERF’s with gardiner engines achieved over 15 mpg compared with average of 10 with our other articsHi Carl, Not sure it would have a 180 Gardner in a 1980 tractor unit, could it be a 265 Turbo Gardner.
Dave.
Yes Dave, thats what my cousin Peter Summers has just told me, We bought three over about 12 months. That was the 3rd and it was turbo charged. The first probably was a 180 second still naturally aspirated and modified? Third turbo charged. For the majority of the time they were running at only about 20 ton gvw hence good fuel consumption. Running with similar loads we had quite a few D800s TM2600s Mastiffs Leyland Lynxs & Super Comets, AEC Mercuries, and most were getting below 10mpg The Mercuries were getting 12.
This may have been on before found on facebook.
A Seddon 16 tonner in ATM livery. This boxvan was built for D.G Craig & Sons Darlington, owned by Wendy Craig’s brother, Alistair. Following the planned closure of Patons & Baldwin’s wool spinning factory in Darlington, Alistair decided to close down his Removal & Transport business, and we bought 4 vans. This one which was unregistered with a boxvan body by York, A Seddon 13ton GVW boxvan by Marsden, 13 ton GVW Luton van by Marsden and a Commer Comando by Marsden (All fibreglass bodies each about 1 year old. The remainder of the Craig fleet was 6 old style Commers with Perkins engines & Marsden Fibreglass luton bodies about 6-7 years old and we were offered them at virtual give away prices & although I wanted them Dad said we had no use, which was a shame as they were tidy vans & better than some Leylands we were running. many will remember Dennis Lee driving this van. Dennis, after we closed went on to drive tippers and sadly was killed when his brakes failed on the way down Crawley side bank. He tried to jump free out of the cab but sadly his coat got caught on the cab door, and he didn’t make it
A message from Colin Watson
Today at 9:46 AM
Hi I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year,
As I said in the last email the room for the reunion on Saturday 12th March 2016 has been booked, I am not very familiar with Facebook but I hear someone talking about it everywhere I go and it may be the best way of finding more of or ex colleagues if each one of you who is on Facebook could ask your Facebook friends to spread the word for us and with that and the verbal word we may find more than with the use of newspapers of which we have no guarantee that they will print it for us.
Colin Watson just passed onto me this sad news this mornin
Hi I am the bearer of bad news, Roger Owen died in Darlington Hospital at 23.00hr last night
Rodger joined us in the 50s and left in the late 60s to drive for NESS Furniture Croxdale Durham
Its strange I never met Roger for so many years until last years reunion when he came along. We all get older and I was wondering how old Roger was as I was a young boy when he joined us, and yet last year he was there as young as ever.
Hello Carl. Sad news to start the New Year. I hope the rest is better and free of any worries or woe. Jim.
jmc jnr:
Hello Carl. Sad news to start the New Year. I hope the rest is better and free of any worries or woe. Jim.
Thanks Jim
We all get older & its the cycle of life. Hope no more this year
Just heard one of our Mechanics who worked in the workshops at Green Lane Ind Est, Mik Solans died yesterday. I think this was a photo of him at work which was subject of an article in Northern Echo many years ago
Hiya,
You are a mine of useful information Carl and this is a great way of storing it for
future reference, hope you are keeping well.
thanks harry, long retired.
Here is a photo of some of us who attended 2016 reunion at Ferryhill last Saturday. Quite a few from last year couldn’t attend for work commitments and sadly several ill health. Among the first timers to the reunion was Caroline Vane, seen centre of photo. Caroline was our first female HGV class 1 drivers, which led to 7 or 8 over the years and I had the opportunity to tell her a comment dad made about her during the 9 to 10 years she spent with us. ’ i don’t know what her father thinks of what she does, but if he knew how hard she works he would be very proud of her’ Caroline said he knew she drove, but as I explained he could not understand that the vans didn’t load & unload themselves, & a load often consisted of 132 fridges 3 high. She told me the story of I think it was Hul Electricity board where she arrived with a 40 ft trailer full of cookers & fridges and was told, as about 6 blokes stood & watched her from a loading dock that insurance did not let them get on the vehicle to help her and she had on her own to put all the load of fridges cookers & washing machines on to their loading dock, only to find next time she went one of our male drivers were delivering & all were on the an helping him.
Unfortunately once again I’m the bearer of sad news that Kenny Nelson, a small van driver with us (Brother of Eric) has passed away after suffering a stroke
