As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!
I have noticed a lot of the old guys are now on the FB sites,contrary to public critique here the Europe and ME forums there are very good with a lot of international input from various countries.I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that people there use their own names and don’t hide behind pseudonyms so we can all see the real people and what they done. also there is less confrontation and vitriol as everyone is glad to see new photos and read new stories to keep things alive.
Hi Hutpik, or is it Mike?
I thought as much really, having been on a couple of them, but from what I’ve seen I don’t think they’re as good as here was in the last decade!
But either way it’s a bit of a shame!
Pete
petecud:
As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!
My thoughts exactly “petecud” but I couldn’t be fashed to say so ! Anyway “that was then and this is now” as the saying goes and of course times and opinions do change over the years and not for the better unfortunately as the PC /'elf and safety crowd have continued to spread their BS into all corners of media . However the only outcome is the one you have outlined " petecud" and by the looks of it is set continue and for myself I have made a conscious decision to curtail or avoid making any comment on the various posts and photos which , of course, will no doubt be welcome in some quarters ! 
Bewick.
Hi Petecud,its Mike.I have found that the Astran forums and Europe and beyond have been excellent for me,I have posted a lot of pics and so many more new pics have turned up.Also the stories,anachdotes and reminiscences are more genuine due to the people using their own names and by virtue of that many know each other.Also there is a Dutch forum called ‘ouwe meuk is leuk’ which is full of companies that no longer exist.
Hi Petecud having been in this International game for half a century I can recall a little ditty for you, over the years I have employed numerus drivers and some drovers as well and this little story started on a Sunday morning when we were let down by a regular driver, we used to do traction back then and the load in question was Naples bound a load of empty cows as we used to call them, cow hides to be fair. Anyways I had to find a replacement driver to ship out Sunday night from Portsmouth but to add to the problem the truck was a LHD Scania 111 and not every one could handle that, after a few phone calls a friend of mine said he may have some one but he would be in the working mens club at Sunday lunchtime, anyways he went and got him and brought him to my house to discuss the job, he already had consumed a few pints and I asked if he had ever driven a LHD truck, straight back with the reply that he had tipped a mate of mines over on a roundabout with a 20ft container on. At this point I began to doubt what we were about to do but he agreed to ship out that night.
Heard nothing but that was not unusual back in the day as communication was normally on a Geotoni phone and for those who know understand, usually when tipped the drivers would ring the company who we were pulling for to get reload instructions which he did manage, well the load got delayed and he was to load on the Monday morning, by Wednesday neither the company nor I had got a phone call for a ferry booking so we became a little concerned, by Thursday still no call so I phoned the British Embassy in Rome and asked if they had any knowledge of Mr Michael Long who was the driver, oh yes came the reply he is in prison and we are seeing him later today. Later on they came back to me explaining that he and a Dane & a Dutch driver had been drinking and tried to get into a club for couples only, an argument ensued but the guards were armed and apparently my driver asked if he was Roy Rodgers at which point the Carabinere came and took them away, they ended up in court with a fine.
When I got to speak with Micky Long he told me of his plight in prison in one big cell with 20 other men some in for murder, he said he did not know which way to lie at night for fear of any sexuall advances so dont think he got a lot of sleep. Eventually he loaded for home but that is not the end of this tale as about 3am I got a phone call from another driver telling me that my man had lost a pair of back wheels on the Scania but he and the truck were safe and he would ring in the morning. The company we were doing traction for sorted recovery and replacement wheels and after two more days he got rolling again.
To his credit the driver offered to turn round in Le Havre and do another trip which he did with no problems, after this he stayed on with us doing countless trips but that is just a taster of what it was really like back in the day and after all said and done they were the best days with real cameraderie among drivers.
Hope this is a bit of what you were after Pete enjoy, Buzzer
Buzzer:
Hi Petecud having been in this International game for half a century I can recall a little ditty for you, over the years I have employed numerus drivers and some drovers as well and this little story started on a Sunday morning when we were let down by a regular driver, we used to do traction back then and the load in question was Naples bound a load of empty cows as we used to call them, cow hides to be fair. Anyways I had to find a replacement driver to ship out Sunday night from Portsmouth but to add to the problem the truck was a LHD Scania 111 and not every one could handle that, after a few phone calls a friend of mine said he may have some one but he would be in the working mens club at Sunday lunchtime, anyways he went and got him and brought him to my house to discuss the job, he already had consumed a few pints and I asked if he had ever driven a LHD truck, straight back with the reply that he had tipped a mate of mines over on a roundabout with a 20ft container on. At this point I began to doubt what we were about to do but he agreed to ship out that night.
Heard nothing but that was not unusual back in the day as communication was normally on a Geotoni phone and for those who know understand, usually when tipped the drivers would ring the company who we were pulling for to get reload instructions which he did manage, well the load got delayed and he was to load on the Monday morning, by Wednesday neither the company nor I had got a phone call for a ferry booking so we became a little concerned, by Thursday still no call so I phoned the British Embassy in Rome and asked if they had any knowledge of Mr Michael Long who was the driver, oh yes came the reply he is in prison and we are seeing him later today. Later on they came back to me explaining that he and a Dane & a Dutch driver had been drinking and tried to get into a club for couples only, an argument ensued but the guards were armed and apparently my driver asked if he was Roy Rodgers at which point the Carabinere came and took them away, they ended up in court with a fine.
When I got to speak with Micky Long he told me of his plight in prison in one big cell with 20 other men some in for murder, he said he did not know which way to lie at night for fear of any sexuall advances so dont think he got a lot of sleep. Eventually he loaded for home but that is not the end of this tale as about 3am I got a phone call from another driver telling me that my man had lost a pair of back wheels on the Scania but he and the truck were safe and he would ring in the morning. The company we were doing traction for sorted recovery and replacement wheels and after two more days he got rolling again.
To his credit the driver offered to turn round in Le Havre and do another trip which he did with no problems, after this he stayed on with us doing countless trips but that is just a taster of what it was really like back in the day and after all said and done they were the best days with real cameraderie among drivers.
Hope this is a bit of what you were after Pete enjoy, Buzzer
Brilliant!!
Thanks for taking the time to share that memory with us, great little tale from back in the day! I used to meet with some of your lads regularly at various truckstops and border crossings (when we had T-Forms), I must say your fleet always stood out from the crowd, and your drivers were a credit to you and your company, (I’m sure you must have had the exeptions)
Back then, we had companies like yours but also we had the, shall we say, the less professional!
I started my ME driving then European with the latter, but eventually, when I gave it up, it was with an extremely reputable outfit, wish I could have started with them!
Pete
Bewick:
petecud:
As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!My thoughts exactly “petecud” but I couldn’t be fashed to say so ! Anyway “that was then and this is now” as the saying goes and of course times and opinions do change over the years and not for the better unfortunately as the PC /'elf and safety crowd have continued to spread their BS into all corners of media . However the only outcome is the one you have outlined " petecud" and by the looks of it is set continue and for myself I have made a conscious decision to curtail or avoid making any comment on the various posts and photos which , of course, will no doubt be welcome in some quarters !
Hi Bewick,
I still miss your recollections about your fantastic operation, your banter and insight into how you managed to build such a well known and successful haulage company.
I used to see your, mainly Atkis, in Kent in the 70s,all loaded sky high with cardboard or reels.
Those were the days eh Bewick?
petecud:
Bewick:
petecud:
As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!My thoughts exactly “petecud” but I couldn’t be fashed to say so ! Anyway “that was then and this is now” as the saying goes and of course times and opinions do change over the years and not for the better unfortunately as the PC /'elf and safety crowd have continued to spread their BS into all corners of media . However the only outcome is the one you have outlined " petecud" and by the looks of it is set continue and for myself I have made a conscious decision to curtail or avoid making any comment on the various posts and photos which , of course, will no doubt be welcome in some quarters !
Hi Bewick,
I still miss your recollections about your fantastic operation, your banter and insight into how you managed to build such a well known and successful haulage company.
I used to see your, mainly Atkis, in Kent in the 70s,all loaded sky high with cardboard or reels.
Those were the days eh Bewick?
Many thanks for your kind comments about my old firm “petecud” 
I can say that it was some journey for me from teenage trailer mate to growing a reasonably sized operation with all the up’s and downs it entailed along the almost 30 years in the haulage industry, but more "up’s than “downs” eh! and yes I do have a wealth of memories from those now far off days which are still knocking around the old brain cell ! 
Anyway my old firm , Bewick Transport Services Ltd , is now in the hands of my good friend Mike Ponsonby so it is still alive and quietly kicking !!
Regards Bewick.
Hi again just summit that sprung to mind during my time in transport, back in the 80’s we did a lot of traction for SCAC out of Portsmouth. When I first started pulling out of there I had 3 units on the work an F12, a F89 & a Bionic Bubble which I did local traffic with 100 miles or less, any ways my drivers went down on a Sunday night to pick up two tilts loaded with apples bound for Spalding, I had a phone call from one of them to say the winding legs on the trailer were knackered & would not wind up so I called the traffic clerk at home who worked for our agent and he asked if I knew any fitters who could go to the docks and cut the offending legs off and when we returned empty we were to drop the trailer on a tressel, after calling a mate at trailer care and they duly turned up and gassed of the legs.
Part 2. my driver got to the Winchester bypass and thought this truck is pulling well for 20 ton of apples on the back so he had a look and then discovered it just had empty stillages on as it was loaded for return to France, when I investigated what had happened was the driver had gone down the line of trailers and got what he thought was trailer number 286 which was a plaque on to the high headboard like a number plate only to find he actually had trailer 206 with a big headed rivet right in the middle so it looked like 286, needles to say we had to return the trailer to the docks explaining to the gate man what had happened and get the right one, we were a tad late delivering and I had the bill to pay for the removal of the legs so not a lot of profit in that job but we were more cautious in the future and drivers were issued with a good torch 
Buzzer
petecud:
Bewick:
petecud:
As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!My thoughts exactly “petecud” but I couldn’t be fashed to say so ! Anyway “that was then and this is now” as the saying goes and of course times and opinions do change over the years and not for the better unfortunately as the PC /'elf and safety crowd have continued to spread their BS into all corners of media . However the only outcome is the one you have outlined " petecud" and by the looks of it is set continue and for myself I have made a conscious decision to curtail or avoid making any comment on the various posts and photos which , of course, will no doubt be welcome in some quarters !
Hi Bewick,
I still miss your recollections about your fantastic operation, your banter and insight into how you managed to build such a well known and successful haulage company.
I used to see your, mainly Atkis, in Kent in the 70s,all loaded sky high with cardboard or reels.
Those were the days eh Bewick?
I agree I really enjoyed reading Mr Bewicks posts and his pics
Buzzer:
Hi again just summit that sprung to mind during my time in transport, back in the 80’s we did a lot of traction for SCAC out of Portsmouth. When I first started pulling out of there I had 3 units on the work an F12, a F89 & a Bionic Bubble which I did local traffic with 100 miles or less, any ways my drivers went down on a Sunday night to pick up two tilts loaded with apples bound for Spalding, I had a phone call from one of them to say the winding legs on the trailer were knackered & would not wind up so I called the traffic clerk at home who worked for our agent and he asked if I knew any fitters who could go to the docks and cut the offending legs off and when we returned empty we were to drop the trailer on a
tressel, after calling a mate at trailer care and they duly turned up and gassed of the legs.
Part 2. my driver got to the Winchester bypass and
thought this truck is pulling well for 20 ton of apples on the back so he had a look and then
discovered it just had empty stillages on as it was
loaded for return to France, when I investigated
what had happened was the driver had gone down
the line of trailers and got what he thought was
trailer number 286 which was a plaque on to the
high headboard like a number plate only to find he
actually had trailer 206 with a big headed rivet right
in the middle so it looked like 286, needles to say
we had to return the trailer to the docks explaining
to the gate man what had happened and get the
right one, we were a tad late delivering and I had
the bill to pay for the removal of the legs so not a
lot of profit in that job but we were more cautious
in the future and drivers were issued with a good torch
Another little gem Buzzer, reminds me about my mistake, or at least one of them, late eighties I decided to venture into the owner driver business running to Spain and back. I bought a hard worked Iveco 190, I could see it was needing quite a lot of TLC to get it something like right, but it was a runner, I’d do a trip, then do a bit on the lorry.
Did my first load for Richmond and all went well, but the silencer was blowing. So as soon as I got home I got the lad who was going to do my maitenance and bought a complete exhaust system for him to put on my truck.
Now he was a proper Hgv man so I didn’t take much notice when he said ‘This parts a bit long so I’ll just cut it off’ referring to the new exhaust.
I set off on my second trip, it was for Barcelona.
I arrived at Zona Franca, tipped, and was on my way to park up for the night.
As you probably know, there were train lines crossing the roads at various points, and as I went over them my engine immediately started to roar, I got over the tracks, stopped and jumped out, looked back, and there was my £400 exhaust system, fat as a pancake, lying on the tracks where I’d run over it
I picked it up and cradled it like you would a baby, and placed it gently in the passenger side.
I reloaded and got all the way home with my exhaust as my co-pilot.
My so called mechanic had only cut off the flexi part of the down pipe!!
Needless to say he didn’t work for me again.
Pete
atlas man:
petecud:
Bewick:
petecud:
As the title implies, what’s happened to all the fantastic story writers gone?
Trucknet isn’t the same without them!My thoughts exactly “petecud” but I couldn’t be fashed to say so ! Anyway “that was then and this is now” as the saying goes and of course times and opinions do change over the years and not for the better unfortunately as the PC /'elf and safety crowd have continued to spread their BS into all corners of media . However the only outcome is the one you have outlined " petecud" and by the looks of it is set continue and for myself I have made a conscious decision to curtail or avoid making any comment on the various posts and photos which , of course, will no doubt be welcome in some quarters !
Hi Bewick,
I still miss your recollections about your fantastic operation, your banter and insight into how you managed to build such a well known and successful haulage company.
I used to see your, mainly Atkis, in Kent in the 70s,all loaded sky high with cardboard or reels.
Those were the days eh Bewick?I agree I really enjoyed reading Mr Bewicks posts and his pics
I’ve put two cheques in the post but for the life of me I can’t remember signing them 
Regards to you both as I am pleased that you enjoyed reading my ramblings from years ago ! Cheers Bewick.
PS by way of a bit of info about the loads you saw on the Atkis in Kent well the high loads were toilet tissue from Bowater Scott’s Barrow in Furness mill and the reels would be Core Board from Reeds Tovil mill destined for B/waters Barrow and other loads of reels would be from Aylesford destined for either Wigan or Hartlepool. I liked the H/pool loads as once they were tipped it was straight round the dock to reload with wood pulp back home to Milnthorpe ! Luvvery Jubberly