BigLorryBlog

OK guys that's about it for the night on Biglorryblog but before I go up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire (with a bottle of single malt) I thought you'd like to see this marvellous collection from the world-famous Road 26 Ruissalo Finnish weather webcam starting with this shot taken at 20:15 this evening. And you can see ALL the fabulous Finnish weather webcams by visiting this link! And why wouldn't you?

Well the big day has come and Dennis says: "Good Morning Brian, yesterday we officially started the rebuilt machine after a year's rebuild. She sounds even better than when she arrived in SA brand new back in 1976! Today all four (4) Ultra Pacific's will leave the depot pulling my new trailer!" Eat yer heart out JB! (Maybe Dennis can make you one from all the bits left over?) And click through here to see four of his magficent maulers hard at work!

Continue reading "How to rebuild a Pacific Truck. Dennis and the boys at ROTRAN breathe new life into an old warrior--only on Biglorryblog!" »

Stu has contacted me to say: "Hello BLB. Don't know if this is the right address for contacting you on, so my apologies if it's not." No worries Stu, you'e in the right place. He continues: "Just wondered if you or any of your army of readers might know anything about this bizzarrely proportioned wrecker I happened across during my browsing the internet for good recovery truck snaps. At first I couldn't decide if it had been photoshopped but it does look genuine. Surely this is the shortest wrecker in the world? Not sure I'd fancy being shoved out of a tunnel by one, but they're an interesting oddity all the same!" And for a quick pie who can tell me what the truck is? Now click through here if you like your wreckers slightly 'longer'...

Continue reading "Give us a push mate! A simple way to get a broken down car out of a tunnel....or is this the shortest wrecker on record asks Biglorryblog?" »

Alex Saville in Scotland has sent me this truly 'rare bird' and says: "Brian, Here is a surprise! I was tipping at a warehouse in Glasgow this morning when this Seddon-Atkinson 401 rolled in. Don't see many of these still working these days! Alex"

A Surprise? You're telling me Alex.Who can tell me anything about C1 DRJ? Funny thing is when I first saw the picture I thought: "No that's too small for a 401...must be a 301." But Alex is 100% spot-on. It just goes to show how SMALL these cabs were compared to today's high-roof flagships. Still it looks in immaculate nick and with big boots on the front axle too!  Cummins 320 badge on the front suggests to BLB an N14 under the hood. Something for Chris and AtkiPete to enjoy I think....and thanks Alex well spotted!

Frank Whalley must be looking down from heaven with a big 'I told you so' grin on his face!

Biglorryblog is indebted to Road Rat for answering the call for pictures of the wonderful Labatt's Streamliner. And before I get another (no doubt justified) rollocking from across the water it's a CANADIAN brewery!  Old RR says: "Hi Brian, photo taken when it was over here at the Wheels '88 truck show in Ellesmere Port. This version was a 4cyl petrol engine. The cab was completely coach built out of wood." What can anyone else tell me about it?

Meanwhile, for some more Eddie Stobart Trivia and exclusive photos check out www.road-rat.co.uk

Finally Road Rat says: "P.S. can you ask Nick Garlick to contact me please?" So Nick, just for you is RR's e-mail address: mail@road-rat.co.uk
 

Now click through here for another superb link to Labatt's website and information on the legendary Streamliner... 

Continue reading "Labatt's Streamliner. Only the most ancient aerodynamic artics on Biglorryblog thanks to Road Rat!" »

Anyroadup Alan tells BLB: " In terms of where the Foden Aerodeck Concept came from and who commissioned it, it was actually a personal design project. I used to go to work with my father in his lorry probably as early as 1970 when I was just 4 years old.  We'd naturally be spotting lorries along the way, Bedfords, Leylands, Scammels, ERFs, Fords.  Later on I thought the Foden was a really fabulous design with it's V shapes dipping into the front grill.  We'd always keep a keen eye out for new new trucks on the road and my Dad's firm were one of the first locally to get a new Foden in the late seventies. [Ah...you see? haulage in the blood! BLB] What a fantastic sight to see, this monster struggling past in a tight cornish street."

Alan continues: "Needless to say, I recently thought Foden, a great and probably the last of the British truck manufacturers, could do with a boost and intended to send in some design ideas for the next generation Foden, I truly believe innovative design is the key to success. Anyway, after labouring away for a hundred hours or more I finally had the first of two designs ready, the 'Foden Areodeck'. I then called Foden to find out who to send it to only be told they weren't making trucks any more!  What a disaster!" Now click through here for more.....

Continue reading "Foden Trucks are back! (Well to the future anyway). Biglorryblog enjoys the Aerodeck Concept 'Kite' Marque!" »

John Henderson Biglorryblog's man 'North o' the Border' and features editor on that fine upstanding Scottish publication Transport News e-mails me to say: "Hello Brian, I enjoyed the blog on truck adverts last night and Nick Garlick's recent posting on 'reflection' photos was notable too!  Here's a 1981 Seddon Atkinson advert claiming they are the 'Leaders of the Pack no less! D.&J. Sibbald's 'Hardhill Chieftain,' led their Bathgate-based pack for a very short time, as the firm only bought one 401 type tractor and for some reason quickly returned to purchasing Scanias! The motor is pictured with a load of steel, in what could possibly be the Ravenscraig works."
 
 Now here's a real treat as Joh has sent me this shot of the cover image from an early Seddon Atkinson 400 series brochure and he says: "The Bowker motor must have been double manned to Europe, as the passenger has his own clock and radio speaker. Happy days!" Now click through here for some Scottish trucking history featuring and Albion lost at Dunkirk!

Continue reading "Classic Seddon Atkinsons...(with an Albion and a couple of Scanias thrown in too)from John H on Biglorryblog..." »

I'm going to make this the last one of the night but having founda couple of old copies of TRUCK magazine floating around the office I thought I'd scan in some of the ads..and naturally being a misty-eyed old-romantic I thought Bigloryblog should include this one from November 1994 when Foden's line-up included 4000, 3000 and 2000 series trucks from 16-38 tonnes.

'The Drive, the trucks..the future...' maybe it was in 1991 but it didn't last. Enough to make you weep eh Pete? 

Fast forward to December 2003 and it all seems liked it would end happily ever after....now click through here for a truck in a Class of its own.....

Continue reading "And it's good night from them...the last hurrah of UK truck makers on Biglorryblog" »

It's 'News from Uganda' time again as Biglorryblog's 'Good Man in Africa' Jerry Burley reports to us on old Fiats still roaming free in Africa. i suspect JB has probably given up on me ever posting up these pictures of (in his words) "Flower Power Fiats still smoking like a hippy's reefer!" Or should that be a hippo's reefer? Anyroad up I've clearly been testing his patience for far too long so here they are in all their Italian colonial glory...

he tells me he spotted: "Nine of these together outside just one Inland Container Depot (ICD)."

And here's a crack local team of contract maintenance providers...or as Jerry describes them: "Couple more prowling for a load. Ancient shunters that don't leave town any more and as can be seen by the three grubby mechanics who spent the day under one, beginning to show their age!"

It makes you wonder who was the salesman who sold them all into this part of Africa. Clearly he did well...

Considering their age, and the fact they're Fiats the cabs on these two look pretty good! Must be the lack of salt on the roads. It probably doesn't snow too often in Uganda either eh Jerry?

Typical Italian 6x2 rear-steer spec too. I suspect the boxes contain Jerry's beer supply forthe week..(Whoa! Walk away from that one BLB).

And click through here for one more...

Continue reading "Old Fiat trucks in Africa on Biglorryblog...still working and smoking like a Hippy's reefer says Jerry B! " »

Thanks to that slack-jawed idler and purveyor of fine press releases to the Crown Heads of Europe 'Agent Reg', Biglorryblog learns that when Norfolk-based waste and recycling specialists Pearsons (Thetford) took delivery of four new Volvo trucks (an FE rear end loader, two FE skip loaders and an FM hook-lift) they were also presented with a reminder of the firm's roots----a Volvo mountain bike!  Oh come off it Biglorryblog you're making it up...think so? Then read on.

According to Reg: "The surprise addition to the fleet commemorates the company's origin in 1945 as a sideline in scrap metal, run by its founder Cyril Pearson from the basket of his delivery bike. [must have been a flipping great bike is all I can say Reg!] Back in the 20^th century, reliability and aftersales support were key factors in the choice of Volvo vehicles.

"Ours is a very hard business," explains MD, Jo Pearson - who just so happens to be the founder's grandson. "The trucks are on and off landfills and building sites or through town centres all the time. It's tough on vehicles, and Volvo's are very, very reliable - it's as simple as that, but it is a huge issue for us.The drivers love Volvo's," he enthuses adding, "especially the I-Shift transmission. I test drove one in Sweden and, within a minute, I knew this was the way we had to go. They're such easy trucks to drive!" Now click through here for a shock horror health & safety breach uncovered by BLB!

Continue reading "On yer Bike! Pearsons of Thetford put their pedal to the metal with Volvo Trucks and a err...mountain bike? Biglorryblog has the story. " »

Consider, if you will the humble artic tractor which has a drag coefficient or Cd of around 0.57. Not bad...but how about this baby? It's the MAN 'Dolphin' concept artic combination (named after the sea-going mammal with the same slippery shape) which manages an astonishing 0.29Cd and just think how much fuel that would save you? And here it above is undergoing a bit of the old computational fluid dynamics (oohhh get you and your CFD Biglorryblog!) 

I have Tristan Honeywill writing in the November edition of Automotive Engineer to thank for alerting me to this story and Simon Hall, MAN's amiable PR geezer, for providing me with these images. Speaking to AE, MAN's director of engineering Dr Karl Viktor Schaller says that it's possible to go even further but to do so would mean changes to current EU artic length and height laws. So what are we waiting for? Meanwhile I intend to catch up with the good Herr Doktor soon to get the full story on Dolphin so stay tuned over the coming weeks.

Now take a look at this graphic representation of the MAN Dolphin and tell me what does it remind you of...could it possibly be one of these things below?

Yep it's one of those clever Don-Bur Teardrop trailers which is surprisingly close to the one on the back of the Dolphin don't you think? (A clear case great minds thinking alike).

And what about the Cd on this baby..phwoarrr!!!!! (Yellow card Biglorryblog--once more and you're off) Actually the delightful Chloe is pictured here waving a pair of purple M&S Big Mum pants in the air to show that err....with the Teardrop you can save lots of fuel...or was it a trailer load of pants? Anyway WHATEVER.. No doubt like me you're looking at the above picture and thinking to yourselves  'How cleverly they've enclosed the rear end of the trailer...'' I know I am. Now click through here for some vintage streamlining..... 

Continue reading "NASA, MAN, Dolphins, Teardrops, Labatt's beer and Marks & Spencer ladies underwear...where else would you find them altogether but Biglorryblog? " »

Not for the first time Biglorryblog seems to have been asleep at the back of the coach when the press pack was given out. For its taken the recent e-mail and information from Jim McNamara---Volvo Trucks North America's PR Wallah---to alert yours truly to the vehicle above. What is it? Where have you been er...Duh? It's the wonderful Volvo Integrated Safety Truck, an artic with more safety devices fitted to it than you can shake a risk assessment manual at...And thanks to Nigel Hanwell that Towering Titan of Volvo's UK truck PR department I now know a hell of a lot more about it than I did 24 hours ago....For instance did you know (and not alot of people know this) that the ITS has the following bits of safety kit?

• Voice control of multimedia devices
• Driver awareness support Longitudinal support

·         Forward Collision Warning

·         Collision mitigation (when crash is unavoidable full braking is autonomously applied to mitigate or avoid the consequences of a crash)

·         Curve speed warning (with help of "previewing" of map data) 

·         Take-off inhibit to avoid pedestrian accidents at take-off situations (e.g. running over a pedestrian at a crossings due to blind spot in front of the truck)

That's not all, for under the heading of 'lateral support' there's also

·         Lane departure

·         Active lane keeping support

·         With help of active steering - a small vibration and small corrective torque is applied to the steering wheel  [this is a new one on BLB]

·         Lane change support 

·         Lane change support with haptic  feedback(in the steering wheel) and correction torque 

·         Blind spot surveillance

Safety services

·        Safety Channel, Dynamic information on road, traffic and weather

Not bad and maybe one day they'll let BLB have a go in it---I'd certainly like to try out the 'Active lane keeping' device.....

Continue reading "Foden steam traction engines...Lake Goldsmith revisited (again) and this time it's serious says Biglorryblog" »

Now I know you all think that we Europeans are streets ahead of the Americans when it comes to vehicle technology but don't you believe it because word reaches Biglorrybog that Volvo Trucks North America has been proudly showing off this VT880 tractor loaded up with all sorts of clever kit at the 15^th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems in New York which is currently running until 20^th November. Check out the website at www.itsworldcongress.org. The bright yellow Volvo VT 880 highway tractor pictured above is part of the Trusted Truck^® partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Transportation Research Center, Inc. and Volvo Technology Corp and I have VTNA's PR supremo [he prefers 'PR Wallah' and who am I to argue] and keen Stateside Biglorryblog reader Jim McNamara to thank for the picture and the following information.

The 'Trusted Truck' is outfitted with a whole passel of on-board systems to monitor and relay important vehicle safety information such as brake condition and other critical performance factors from the vehicle to roadside or mobile monitors. And interestingly, Volvo says: "This demonstration technology allows trucks deemed safe and 'trusted' to bypass inspection stations so inspectors can focus on trucks that might be unsafe." Now that IS a good idea reckons BLB... Now click through here for more.

Continue reading "Volvo Trucks star at the World Congress for Intelligent Transportation Systems with 'Trusted' VT880. Biglorryblog has the story." »

Biglorryblog's most favoured travcelling cloggie Tim de Jong e-mails me this to say: "Hi Brian, en-route in the south of Francefor the Dutch magazine Truckstar, I spotted this typical French scene. A deceased Berliet GCK 160, which was made in the first half of the seventies. Left on its own for a very, very long time at some abandoned stone yard.

Look at the old, worn out tyres that nobody looks after anymore. This truck may have been used for water supplies and it really looked like it has served as inspiration for a character in Thomas the Tank engine. The GCK was a typical middle class Berliet truck. The French family firm bought the 5-cylinder engine from M.A.N. but I don't know how much hp it had. Can anyone else help with that perhaps? Berliet went up in Renault Véhicules Industriels back in 1980, that's 28 years ago. Renault based itself in the headquarters of Berliet, Vénissieux, a suburb of Lyon, where it still resides. But would the Berliet family ever have imagined Volvo having an engine plant on their premises as is the case today? Cheers, Tim." And Mr de Jong says he has more pictures to come---I can't wait! Now click through here for the Mother of all Berliets!

Continue reading "More French Follies, (or is that French Fancies?) on Biglorryblog. Tim de Jong spots a retired Berliet..." »

Rikki Chequer, Biglorryblog's community manager mate at Britain's best drivers' website TruckNetUK has sent me these pictures of the former Econofreight Unipower which BLB featured a couple months ago. Rikki says: "It is still alive and well and working in the Middle east, although I'm unsure where exactly. It is now in the colours of ALE (Abnormal Load Engineering) who bought Econofreight off Brambles and seems to have a Arabic number plate." And for a pie whose cab did Unipower use? And what's underneath the hood?

Rikki goes on to add that: "RobV8 posted the two photo's attached of it on the TruckNetUK photo forum, he says it's OK for you to use them if you wish." I wish Rikki and thanks RobV8..presumably a Scania fan! Now click through here for one more shot of a mighty Unipower...

Continue reading "Unipower Trucks...They just keep on rolling and turning up on Biglorryblog too!" »

I've had these pictures sent to me by (I thin) Adhley Lovering the Biglorryblog Malteaser (and if it's not Ashley then post a comment whoever DID do it!). Anyway he says: "Hi Brian, spotted these little tippers at the NEC yesterday. Morris J and a Citroen." Errr what was going on at the NEC then? And never mind that says Biglorryblog, isn't that one of those wonderful bicycles with the powered front wheel next to it?What are they called and how powerful is the engine?

And here's the Morris J, anyone guess the year and engine in it? And speaking of tippers click through here for the weirdest six-wheeler you've seen for a long while...

Continue reading "Classic Citroens and a Morris J at the NEC. Biglorryblog is none the wiser..." »

Driving to fwork today (how long should it take to cover 63 miles....?)I find myself in yet another queue of traffic after a foreign-registered artic took out yet another UK car with a well aimed side swipe...anyroadup slowly moving past me was this strange beast...the 'Lean green grain machine' no less. And for quick pie what is it? (Don't get too worked up as you'll soon find out...

And then I notice that 'OH MY GAWD IT'S GOT A COW STUCK IN THE BACK OF THE CAB!' (unless it's a bull---I'll let those Aussies and Kiwis tell me which, they're a bit more into  animal husbandry than me) But what's the truck?

Can you see what it is yet? if not click through here to be put out of your misery...

Continue reading "The back end of a cow stuck in a mystery artic...it could only happen to Biglorryblog...!" »

If you met a bloke in the pub who told you he was a Mercedes-Benz test driver, who makes a living out of testing vehicles to destruction, you'd probably be jealous. I certainly would anyway! For me it conjures up images of wheel-spinning SL55 AMG's though the Arizona desert. But in actual fact the truth is very different - at least it is if you're based at the new truck proving ground in Worth, Germany.

Click below to continue reading...

Continue reading "Mercedes gets a Brazilian - and a North Korean, an African and an Indian" »