Recently in British truck operators Category

I've had further e-mail conversations with Brian 'Mr Foden' Lomas who has also been chatting to our mutual friend and fellow Foden Stalwart John Ormondy, to see if John could add anything to the Syd Bishop thread---and John says: "Sorry Brian; I was never close to Syd Bishop. His S80s were supplied by Sid Sullivan of Streeters, and later Fodens, including a 150-tonner, by Russell at Acorn Trucks. I was jealous, tho'! I do, however, remember the influence of his 'Watch it Come Down' slogan, with several other South London imitations, including 'However Tall, Watch it Fall' and 'Have Gravel, Will Travel'  amongst others. John O." All of which prompts Biglorryblog to say who did those other slogans belong to? And while I am at it I seem to recall John put together a rather splendid 4000 Series Caterpillar-powered 6x4 tractor called 'Black cat...'? or was it 'Black Cat II'? Either way does anyone have any decent shots of it?

A brief moment in history? Last one for tonight..Richard Smith has sent me this photo and says: "This is, I think, is Ralph Davies's first ever truck, though obviously he now runs Volvos." So what do Raplh Davies afficionados have to say? True or false? And click through here for a slightly-more up-to-date RD wagon.

 
Biglorryblog's  'Man North 'o' the Border' John Henderson has resolved his computer problems and can now contributte as usual to BLB. He tells me: "I enjoyed The Brochure King's recent four page gem of an article in Truck & Driver and it led me to think about brochures and advertisements produced by haulage companies. I've picked up a few of these pamphlets in my travels over the years and I'd be interested to see if BLB's anorak army have acquired any similar examples. Starting in the south, a 1980s Motor Transport advert for Sayers Transport of Newbury, I visited their depot a couple of times in that decade and was always impressed by the standard of kit and paint finish. Are they still around? -They rarely, if ever ventured to Scotland, so I wouldn't know." yes sayers were certainly a VERY smart outfit. Now click through here for more...

Hardly a day passes without someone posting a comment on Biglorryblog "Can you please send me a list iof Eddie Stobart truck names?" or "How can I get the name of my daughter, grandmother, pet aardvark (female of course) on the front of an Eddie Stobart truck?" With great patience I reply: "Sorry I do not have a list of ES truck names. The only way to get it is to join the Eddie Stobart fan club at http://www.clubstobart.co.uk/ "

So if you don't know by now please enjoy BLB but go direct to Club Stobart to get all your questions answered...do we have a deal? Meanwhile click through here for a really old Stobbie.... 

"Greetings Brian," says Gyles Carpenter."Following the Syd Bishop theme of the moment, here is Syd's Diamond T wrecker, laid up in their yard for 15 years, until recently bought by Tony Graves - the first time with sun on her back for a while.Regards Gyles." I love ther legend on the door... 'Heavy WRECKING division' Never mind 'wtach it come down' this would PULL it down! Thanks Gyles.

John Henderson, Biglorryblog's 'Man North 'o' the Border' is stuggling with a broken modem at present! However, he's managed to get this through to me and says: "Saw you mention Syd Bishop and it reminded me of an article in an old Foden news and herte's a scan of the front cover, I hope you can do something with it.  I'll follow up on that issue's  'Watch it come down' magazine article when I'm back on line proper.Cheers, John." Well this is a good start JH...I reckon the Syd Bishop thread will run for a bit longer!

Once again Biglorryblog is deeply indebted to Brian 'Mr Foden' Lomas who, having seen my comments on Syd Bishop Demolition (who was a big Foden operator and whose trucks sported the legend 'Watch it come down!') has leapt into action and sent me some shots of Syd's finest. Brian adds: "Syd would be proud of you!" Well it's all down to your photo archives Brian! Now click through here for one more...

Martin 'Keeper of the Flame' Phippard recently sent me this shot which rang a bell in the back of my mind as it reminded me of a more recent picture which appeared in Motor Transport . Anyway MP says: "Check out this cleverly posed picture of a Meachers F10 in front of the Royal Princess at Southampton Docks I guess. Photographer was John F. Simons by the way who I guess was the predecessor of Agent Reg! Martin..." Well click through here to see the same picture... But with the odd subtle difference.

Gyles Carpenter has been following the thread on Eric Vick and whether or not it hauled to North Africa and he's sent me this picture to further confirm the fact it indeed did wander far and wide... with a Gardiner 240-powered ERF. "Brian," says Gyles, "Eric Vick B Series seen on the 2008 Gloucester Wander run."

And the legend on the front says it all...

Flower of Scotland? Now what could that possibly mean? Well click through here to find out...

Paul Anderson has e-mail Biglorryblog to say: "Hello Brian,I am in the process of building up a website about the once large haulage company Scott's of Oldham. I have attached the link to the web site http://scottsofoldham.fotopic.net/ Could you please ask any of your BLB readers if there are any ex-Scott's employee's or anyone else for that matter who may have any pictures or memorablia relating to the long gone company. Now click through here for more... And another shot of ancient trucks and cobbled streets in Oldham...

Naturally the shots of a Guy Big J got the Brochure King's (AKA Richard Stanier) interest! And Rich replies: "Hi Brian, just got in from working in my garage, sorting out a few Guy spares for a fellow preservationist, and I've seen Alex's excellent contribution from Taylor & Morrisons. It's great to see an "old time" haulier still, that still hangs on to his old motors, just in case. It put me in mind of the legendary Bert Swift of Swiftways Transport, Coleshill. I have attached a photo of the man himself from Commercial Motor, 1 September 1989, when Bert was selling his business to Benton's transport. Bert rated the Guy Big J so highly that he ran his fleet up to the end, and as can be seen, he always had a few donor vehicles about him too. Whilst I recall his drivers were not so keen on the old 'uns, his yard was always a bit of a treasure trove to me!" Funny Rich, I don't seem to recall the story in CM which is unusual for me. Who wrote it up? Meanwhile click through here for a very special Guy...

Ashley 'The Crane King' Coghill has sent me this heart-warming story: "Hi Brian, out of the embers of Milbank Trucks comes David Watson Transport and now some of the trucks have the new livery applied. David Watson (former MD of Milbank Trucks Ltd) and his team are pleased to announce the purchase of the company formerly known as Milbank Trucks Ltd. The fleet will keep the same colour scheme of red and white that people have come to know but will now carry the new David Watson Transport brand."

And here it is in close-up---nice job too. Ash continues: "As far as I am concerned as a driver, the take-over seemed very smooth (though probably not so for the MD!) and I would like to say a big thank you to Dave Watson for keeping the business going especially over the Christmas period. Over the next few months more of the vehicles will be fully liveried up. Until then, most have the David Watson name written in the headboards. And for all the 'lorry spotters' out there, the fleet numbers and mythological names will remain unchanged." And to prove it click through here...

Corus and TDG have put their heads together to come up with a new multi-purpose trailer which, Biglorryblog learns, "will help to reduce the steel producer's impact on the environment. The 45-footer tri-axles can carry steel loads of various shapes and sizes--from coils of strip steel and wire rod to sheets of plate steel, beams and tubes up to 13.6m long. And this loading flexibility means that empty running can be cut as the trailers offer increased versatility and greater opportunities to carry a return load." BLB also understands that Corus has been working in partnership with TDG since 2006 "...when the logistics specialist set up a centralised planning platform to manage Corus' entire UK road haulage needs."

By linking outbound journeys with return legs and more efficient planning, the system is reducing the number of miles travelled by trucks delivering Corus products by a million a year. Overall, this has led to annual savings of 1,315 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and 500,000 litres of diesel." That's quite a reduction in the old footprint. Now click through here for more...

Biglorryblog's 'Man North 'o' the Border' John Henderson has taken up the 'Robson's of Carlisle Challenge and says: "Hello Brian, the above subject headline--Robson's Frae Carlisle' is not a Scots spelling mistake! Rather it is, in fact, what Robson's old sign writer Tommy Osgood used to paint, alongside some other classic phrases, on the front of the company's box vans. Brian Lomas' black and white Robson pictures are absolutely superb! Please keep 'em coming. As it's too cold to venture into the attic for my Robson album (and Mr V. is keeping me too busy anyway) here's some stuff from the shelves of my warm office at home! There's no big motors allowed on Tower Bridge today, but back in 1971 the crossing was a favourite spotting haunt of late Edinburgh enthusiast, Joe Donaldson. The slight speed blur on the image of Border Cossack just adds to the period atmosphere."

 
John continues: "The Provincial Insurance Company cashed in on the popularity of Robsons in the early 1980s with this advert featuring the legendary, hand typed spotters list. This were revised three or four times a year and sent out to very grateful young enthusiasts such as myself. You didn't need an 'Eddie' paid up fan club then! The advert features Border Saracen, " Nice to see a Daf 2800 represented John---as I recall Robson's were big Daf fans.

"The T45, Border Patrol is a cutting from an old Motor Transport," adds John, "Its trial obviously went well, as Dafs continued to roll in to the Carlisle depot long afterwards!" Now here's a question for all T45 experts. yes it had the TL11 (C?) engine or was it TL12? And yes at one time it had a Cummins too..and as the daf 80 Series the old 11.6-litre Dutch lump. But did Leyland ever fit a Gardner in it? Answers to the above please. Now click through here for a Robson's brochure....

It seems that once again Bigloryblog has tapped into a fascinating vein...this time on R.J.Norman, the Barnsley-based tipper operator. Having been reminded by Richard Stanier that they called all their trucks 'Midnight...'something' (and that they ran a Bedford TM as well as bonneted Macks) I've been contacted on this happy day by BLB's 'Man North 'o' the Border' John Henderson who provides this great contribution: "Hi Brian, I liked your picture of R.J. Norman's Mack and remember the advert well. Norman's trio of Macks were named Midnight Hobo, Midnight Star and Midnight Glory and all were regular visitors to Scotland in the days when I was a trucking mad teenager."
 
With no internet or BLB in those days, my information files on firms further afield were boosted via a hand written letter to the company in question, politely requesting some more details. R.J. Norman duly obliged with the nice wee reply. I've also attached the cover of a Bedford UK range brochure form the same era, which is quite relevant.
'Hope this is of interest, Best regards,  
John
And here's a blown up section of R.J.Norman's letter to John detailing all the trucks that had been named.

And well done R.J.Norman for satisfying the needs of a truck-hungry youngster, How many companies would have simply chucked that kind of letter in the bin. But not RJN!.

And for those Biglorryblog readers who'd like to read more about R.J.Norman and see a shot of the Atki Midnight Phantom there's a terrific thread on one of the TruckNetUK forums on RJM. Only the other day my good mate and TruckNet UK community manager Rikki Chequer and I were trying to figure out how to boost traffic between BLB and TruckNetUK's forums---well here's the perfect opportunity! So get clicking http://trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=426875

And click through here to see the complete letter...