Western freights,wasnt they just off the A4 in Brislington,then moved to Keynsham next to Olliss tpt?
Used to do a lot of work for Western freights in the early 80s, usually carrying
John West tinned fish or packaging for DRG Fishponds.
One of the traffic bods started on his own maybe 20yrs ago ?
Still going i believe as Saville Freights?
Suedehead:
Western freights,wasnt they just off the A4 in Brislington,then moved to Keynsham next to Olliss tpt?
Used to do a lot of work for Western freights in the early 80s, usually carrying
John West tinned fish or packaging for DRG Fishponds.
One of the traffic bods started on his own maybe 20yrs ago ?
Still going i believe as Saville Freights?
Savilles still running out of Longwell Green next to coca cola depot there.
As for freights i thought that was a split from western transport but I’m prob wrong on that. Freights had the place next to jewsons on the edge of keynsham, Then they moved across the road next to co-op I think that was as they were taken over by gregorys the were doing teh pallet line thing
I too think Nick has Western Transport and Western Freights mixed up…but he isnt the first,Ive lost count of the times drivers have asked me how so and so is getting on and its turned out they were asking after a Freights driver and I was on for Western Transport.I’m like Ghostrain ,worked for them for years and dont recognise the names Nick quoted…Western Freights did have a yard in Brislington,behind the old Smiths crisps factory but that was donkeys years ago when my old chap drove an “S” type Bedford for them although the address on the door was 37 Welsh Back Bristol which is right on the old docks in the city.Gregorys bought Freights with other local hauliers H and M of Keynsham plus John Hodgeson jnr who ran from Bristol fruit market .Gregory ran the show from Keynsham and then ironically moved the lot into Western Transports old yard in Avonmouth.Now they reside at the old T.N.T depot at Tormarton
Cheers Marc
A bit of sad news lads,Nigel Mellor (jazzman) the author of this thread has passed away peacefully in his sleep,he was 61…l never met him face to face but l spoke to him several times on the phone,he sounded a nice chap.
He’d just gone back to driving artics after being away from the job and told me his reversing came straight back after so many years…he was really chuffed.
Goodnight mate,we’ll meet one day in that big transport caff in the sky.
Marc.
R.I.P. Jazzman.
I didn’t know him personally, but feel that I would have got on with him if I had met him, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading his reminiscences in this thread about the old firms around my patch.
At 61 he was a year younger than I am, which makes you think of your own mortality.
My sincere condolences to his family on their sad loss.
i was just wondering if any of you older lads can remember
a couple of stockport lads who worked for weston transport,
tony perkins and joe barrington both worked for them and later
for RTZ at widness, perky was pritty loud and a real character so i
thought it poss some may remember him/both of them. 
I started on Western at Avonmouth about 1975, I recognize some of the truck photos, but none I had.
The photo of the Scania 80 that was used for a head to head in the truck magazine was driven by Dave Parkin who had it from new.
In 1985 Magsy decided to set up 3 owner drivers at Avonmouth following on from the scheme at Warrington.
3 of us ( Andy Spearing, Clive Plummer & me bought 111’s and started to make some money. We thought the rate was a bit tight at the time but it turned out to be brilliant compared to what some were earning on other firms.
I bought EEU 530W (Cost me 5 Grand), which I had driven from new eventually trading it in against an Iveco.
We had a good year or so & then they decided to sell some more motors, Dave Morgan, Geoff Hunt & Bob Hodges set up.
The work fell off & as Andy & I didn’t by now owe him any money we had to go. We got a start pulling for Western Freights at Keynsham until Andy sold up & I went on the Continent full time.
I did end up pulling for Western Ice which by now had Andy in the office.
Happy days starting off the morning with a pre loaded trailer from Purfleet to Avonmouth then a few drops around the Midlands, back empty & as only 12 hours had elapsed since you started it was time for a load of meat to Lowestoft ready to tip first thing in the morning, happy days!!
Seen a few of the “old hands” over the years but I’m afraid I hear about more & more departing this mortal coil.
Who could forget the nights out at Vine Lane, or sitting in the Glassmakers at Warrington trying to make out what ■■■■ Bell was saying!!
One name I didn’t see mentioned was Hamer Thornton, a man with a wealth of experience who had driven tanks in the desert during WW2.
I’m afraid I only recognize Hunty & Elmo from the nicknames but perhaps I know more. Anyway all the best from sunny Spain, if you hear of anybody wanting a driver don’t bother telling me!!!
Hello Roy,Elmo here…Marc Lester,remember me,I’m up the page a bit next to Weekesey…good fun on WTs was’nt it 
Bubbs, 
Hi Marc have sent you a pm
Roy
i went to school with a girl who’s dad drove for western transport,he ran out the appleton depot driving a 110/111 scania ?,he was always on the kraft foods job back then ,this was round about 1979/1980 ,he also parked up in harris road services yard in lostock gralam ,northwich as they were in the tdg group as well.the girl’s dad was called reg johnson,he went on to drive for harris’s.
Two names mentioned on this WT thread Mike Timms & was it Colin? Maggs brought back memories when I met them at Avonmouth a few times in the late 70s/early 80s.WT had just taken on the Cellulose pulp contract for Courtaulds and apparently Barrow-in-Furness tonnage did somehow not appeal so we agreed a deal and Bewick Transport delivered the Barrow tonnage.I got on well with both of them, decent blokes, although they eventually gave up the traffic which was then taken on by Linkflow Shipping and we continued with the Barrow-in-Furness consignments.Happy Days Bewick.
Hello again ,since the thread has been returned to page 1 it seemed a good idea to put on some old pics .Dennis in all the time I worked for WT Mike Timms never ever spoke one word to me and the only time I spoke to Tony Maggs was at my interview…it didnt matter though cos I was working with a great bunch of blokes…management 
Here we go then,
The last pic is for Wireon
Cheers Bubbs,
bubbleman:
Hello again ,since the thread has been returned to page 1 it seemed a good idea to put on some old pics .Dennis in all the time I worked for WT Mike Timms never ever spoke one word to me and the only time I spoke to Tony Maggs was at my interview…it didnt matter though cos I was working with a great bunch of blokes…management
Here we go then,
The last pic is for Wireon
Cheers Bubbs,
Never mind Bubbs at least you have accepted the “pecking order” that MDs and their right hand men don’t converse with life at the bottom of the “Pond”----I would have spoke to you Bubbs on the times I visited Mike and Tony (thanks) even if it was only to complain about the poxy tea you made!!! Cheers mate you are no less a star 'cause Timmsy and Maggsy ignored you! They were too busy “brown nosing” Sir James Duncan.I also new sir James andcame across . him later on when he had left TDG and was Chairman of Bo-Alloy.He had to ■■■■ up me then 'cause I was a favoured customer of Bo-Alloy----What would you like a treble of MR.SMITH!!!heers I don’t mind if i do sir James.
The old EEU 530W looking a bit tired when this pic was taken. It was the mutts nuts when I had it new, blokes would climb up to have a look inside. I remember the 1st trip in it was a load of frozen to Sainsburys at Buntingford.
The last time I saw it was on the M1 near Leicester a couple of years after I sold it.
The Courtaulds job mentioned before i.e. the pulp out of Portbury had me & the Captain on it, cracking job mostly to Grimsby with a reload out of Boston or sometimes up to Flint, all ropes & sheets.Gordy Brittain ran the job at out of a portakabin at Portbury. Terry Daley ran to Bridgewater about 3 times a day with a Mandator, Colin Graham was the shunter.
I remember the 4 wheelers in the photo’s, the little Scania 81 flat was the sister to the one I had new SOU976S, it had been on display at the Bath & West show.
The lad on here who went to school with Reg Johnsons daughter. Reg was the night trunker from Warrington to Avonmouth for quite a few years, remember him well.
SOU976S which I bought from Western Transport ran it for a while as a flat then fitted tautliner body real good truck.
Scania 112 s which I used subbing for Western Transport when they had the Norfolk Line contract.Double shifted Chatham trunk at night
usualy tip and reload south wales during the day.
