Wigan Album

The old Atki struggles,
up hill over tare.
Powered by diesel,
pulls all she can bear.
And divine intervention
of nuns wings and a prayer,
as well drivers sweat
in faith she got there.

My word! The Atki's made it.

Dont tell me where back to lorries again please.

I suspect it's the same lorrie!

Ed, if you don't like the photo's don't look, that's your best bet. Now for me, being a retired lorry driver I find these pics very pleasing. Ozy, do you remember Lindale on the way to Barrow, I missed the gear at the steepest part when on my way to Barrow Docks with Manchester Liners - oops, boy did that 150 struggle to get going again, banged my head when it started with the cab-nod, taught me a lesson. I wonder if Atkinson's commissioned these pics for their sales brochure. Another thing, I'll bet any owd driver of a certain age would love to go back for a little time to these days, I know I would. Thanks for the photo Ozy.

To all new HGV drivers who passed their test in the last ten years, and "with all respect" they would NOT be able to handle these motors. No power steering, No heated and electric mirrors, No washer wipers, only one wiper, No proper cab heater, ratchet hand-brake, poor foot-brake, time the gearbox to the engine revs, No clutch booster, No good steering lock to lock, No radio, engine noise level high, No tilt-cab, check engine oil under engine bonnet, and so on. These trucks would really sort out the boys from the men.

Men from the boys.

I remember Lindale very well JJP, before they put the bypass in. The Geest banana boats used to come into Barrow and heading up there in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark, I used to take the blind bend at the bottom of hill near the post office on the wrong side of the road in order to get a run up. You couldn't risk doing that in daylight hours though. I was driving a Mickey Mouse Foden at the time, and your left leg was on fire kicking through the gears on the 12 speed box climbing the hill. Almost the entire length of the A 590 from Levens Bridge to Barrow was an abortion back then though, not just Lindale. On the plus side, it was very scenic. Speaking of mirrors owd John, have you seen the size of the mirrors on that motor?, I've seen women pull bigger mirrors out of their handbags.

Regards. Ozy.

We used to call them Budgie Mirrors in our day Ozy.

With regards to the modern day HGV driver comment: I call it progress, nothing clever about things being hard work!

i bet many of the drivers of these never even passed a test or have the ability to pass todays test

With the greatest respect Dave, trying to be ' clever ' never even entered into the equation, it was all about trying to rebuild a bankrupt country out of the ashes of a punitive and cripplingly costly five year long conflict, using only the sub standard equipment that was available at the time. I'll readily admit, I wasn't there at the outset, only coming into the haulage game in the mid to late 60's, but I've done my bit, and on occasions it was hard, at times very hard, and I have the utmost respect for the lads that did the job before me. Coming over Woodhead at midnight in January for example, with the Daily Mirror stuffed down your jumper, and rags wrapped around your mitts in an attempt to maintain functional body temperature is nobody's idea of a holiday in the Maldives, but that's the way it was, just in case you didn't know. I suppose I've been very fortunate, inasmuch as I've driven quite a lot of these old motors, as well as many of the more modern ones. I've worked alongside some of the old timers, as well as a lot of the lads that have entered the game relatively recently. I have no plans currently to go back to driving the damn things, but assuming that I had, and more importantly, if I could choose which era, then there'd be no contest, I'll take a crash box over automatic transmission any day of the week, a length of stick spragged off the accelerator pedal over cruise control, and an hour in the Jungle café with the rest of the lads over 45 minutes in a fancy motor by myself with the kettle on. And another thing, we only got Christmas Day and Boxing Day off, we had to be sober by the 27th, as it was business as usual then.

Regards. Ozy.

Dave me owd pal. I never mention hard work or being clever, my point was ability to drive these things against today's HGV's.

ashtona. Grandfathers rights. We just spit in our hands and got on with it.

I'd like to bet that the guys who constructed Stonehenge didn't have to undergo an induction, or wear hi - viz vests either ashtoner, but the job got done nonetheless.

Progress Ah Ah Ah!

I agree with Dave, progress is the way. What do you use as a daily driver these day, or have you all still got your Ford Consuls.

I've got my bus pass Boyse, you lot can just get on with it, pensions don't grow on trees y'know.

What is coming over to me with these two pictures is the sheer passion of memories driving these vehicles, no matter how hard the experience. Modern truck drivers often describe their love of the open road. What a few of you describe. suggest to me, you spent most of the time fighting your vehicles, one to get it up the hills and the other to keep it on the road. The open road seems to have had a different meaning for you chaps in those days. I can't even contemplate the experience of driving these vehicles on icy and snowbound roads. I mean did ever your vehicle give up the ghost half way up one of these hills? How did you get it moving upwards again without it rolling backwards? I can only think that there was a particular technique to this that involved a huge amount of body movements.

Considering the crazy drivers you see on the roads these days I think we are safer with the Bus Pass.

Julie, your mind would ' boggle ' at the huge amount of body movements that a wagon driver is capable of, but as we're on an open forum, I'll spare you the details.

Julie, stranded on a hill your best bet was another lorry driver who would help by chaining the stricken lorry up to his and pull or a push from behind until you reached the top, those days drivers were Knights of the road. Like Ozy, I learned my trade from older chaps who had it harder than me (respect). Ozimandias, I must mention that I have sung duet's with ever known singer who came over my 'Bush' transistor that sat on the bonnet, Ronnie Hilton, David Whitfield even Alma Cogan and -- Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson to name a few. 'Thanks for the memory'.

Not to mention the dreadful greasy boiler suit full of oil and muck that wives had to get clean and the thick sweaty socks!

Veronica, on the flip side though, a husband who was away for most of the week, that enjoyed being home at weekends spending time with the kids and all that. Most women would love their partners to be gone for a week or more i'll bet.

Trouble was a 'dyed in the wool' lorry driver would not do anything else. So there must have been a sense of adventure and enjoyment Walt -half the time was spent 'broken down' if I recollect and it wasn't the best paid job for the hours worked either.

It's heartening to know, that during an unforgiving hard day's slog at the wheel, yon drivers maintained sufficient wit to have enjoyed their onboard entertainment. G.W.s 'trucker' rhyme, when considered with Ozy's b/w photo, now offers similar fayre, and must surely evoke memories of the rhythmic beat of W.H. Auden's rhyme that is featured in the ever popular film Night Mail.

Ten Four Mr Gormley.

After tanker drivers, supermarket drivers are the best paid.

I think you may have overlooked drivers of car transporters Arnold. Someone has to die before a vacancy becomes available on that job.

G.W. (Looks to Nature.).

He see ahead a worthwhile view
on which his rhyme did shower,
Our scribe had seen it through
on shifting wayside flower.

A kindly nun had seen his gift
and told him he'd been blessed,
She queried nonstop flowing line,
which came from Tombow's best.

She took her leave with dainty gait,
his rhyme for truckers' breeze,
Then terse request from passing pair
was furnished "May we please?".

I rolls up at an RDC, a half an hour late,
the gatehouse man he up and sez, " Come back tomorrow mate ! ".
I've only got two pallets pal, they'll tip me in a minute.
" Youre booked at three, you've missed your slot, the problem's yours now innit? "

O it's " turn around and sling yer hook, you can't park that thing there,
but it's quite a different story when the supermarket's bare.
Yes, the slipper's on the other foot boys, when the shelves are bare.

Then it's " Morning driver, go straight in and back it on Bay six,
the canteen's open, fill yer boots, they'll have you tipped right quick. "

Yes, it's fashionable to knock the lads that bring our daily bread, but park those wagons up a week, then watch the panic spread.
No fuel at the forecourt no baked beans, no frozen peas.
No Ozy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Ozy sees.

With apologies to Rudyard Kipling.

Poets and trucks, hey.

How about a spot of Trivia: Which truck is named after a poet- and an Arab poet to boot?

You've got me there AP., but I won't cheat and look on Google. The only truck with an Arabic sounding name that I can think of would be Mammout, but they're a bit of a specialist entity, and I thought that was a French name anyway.......Do I get the cigar?......probably not.

'fraid not. Thorny question, this one. I bet Bob Grundy knows the answer.

Lorry of Arabia??

It's too much for me, as well, AP. Shakir-Shakespeare does sound rather nice, though. Come on lad, what have you got up your sleeve?

On second thought, AP, hold your guns. I've just had one of Ozy's electric light-bulb moments; Is the lorry a Sheik, Rattle and roller?

Well, you've given the game away there AP, unless your clue was a red herring. Ellen Thornycroft Fowler was a poet I'd never heard of until I caved in and Googled it just now. So my answer would be Thornycroft, am I right?, and if I am, then what's the Arab connection?

Well, thanks for participating. Figure I had better post the answer before the thread gets too stale.

Link to wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarah_ibn_Shaddad

So, ANTAR, The Mighty Antar, remembered mostly as tractor unit of the tank transporter, and the occasional low loader.

The original target market for the Antar was The Middle East Oil Fields' requirement for haulage tractor. Thorneycroft named if after 'Antarah ibn Shaddad', to suggest strength and endurance, and of course to flatter the potential Persian customers.

Well, you've taught me something there AP.......Oh, and I mis - spelled Thorneycroft twice as well. Apologies, but that's the way the iPad wants to spell it evidently.

"Sir John Isaac Thornycroft", You are spelling correctly Oz, tis me getting it wrong, and with need to apologise.

I think his name is the less common variant of the spelling, so fooling the spell checking tech.

Page 354, of August 1950 vol of 'Meccano Magazine' (available online here: http://pdfmm.free.fr/5008.pdf) has interesting article, and couple of photos of introduction of Thornycroft 'Antar', if anyone is interested.

Even better article in 'Commercial Motor', but I can not find an online access to this.