I remember it well

I've been looking at some old photo's from my trucking years. Three years in particular when I was at Leicester Heavy Haulage. Good memories of a job that I loved. 

Intercity rail carriages. Eight of these were coming into Felixstowe Docks from Italy, every two months. We had eight wagons down there, with trailers stretched to 60 feet. They were craned straight out of the boat and onto the trailers. Easy to fasten down because they had blocks of wood at each end. Two chains, front and back. There was a 10 feet overhang at the back. Overall length 95 feet. The police escorted us out of the docks, then let us go, and West Midlands police met us when we came off the motorway and escorted us to Metro Camel at Birmingham. 

Railway sleepers complete with tracks. I picked these up from Leicestershire and took them to a small railway somewhere in Dorset. Trailer stretched out to 60 feet. This load was overweight because there wasn't any weighing facilities onsite. The next time a similar load was picked up they loaded it to three high. 

Sometimes we didn't need a trailer because the load came with it's own wheels. We just hitched up to it and pulled it out of a quarry. This was heavy and low to the ground, with only one axle at the back. I had to go over a hump back bridge to get out of the quarry. There was a danger of it being grounded. Luckily I had some timbers with me. I ran one side up onto the pavement, and lay the timbers down on the other side to lift it. The bottom just cleared the bridge by a few inches. My vehicle was plated to 75 tonnes on special types. 

 

Another piece of machinery picked up from a quarry. The problem of getting out of a quarry with a heavy load like that is loss of traction on the drive wheels. Some of the units had a lift axle which helped. Sometimes a digger machine had to be summoned to attach a chain to the front of the cab and help pull it up a slippery slope. 

The biggest load I did, 20 feet high and 17 feet wide. Six of us pulled these out from a factory at Snetterton in Norfolk, and took them to Trafford Park in Manchester to a sugar refinery. It took six days with police escorts all the way. A lot of it was done at walking pace. British Telecom came as well to put up the telephone wires we pulled down. 

I can't remember where I picked this up or where I delivered it to. Loaded on a step frame trailer, chained back and front. 

This was a very dodgy load to carry. All the weight is at the top. I had to virtually stop at every junction and roundabout to turn a corner. It was a slow journey as I remember. 

Here I had a low loader trailer to pick up this all-wheel drive tipper demonstrator. With a low loader you can split the neck from the bed, drop it down to the ground, and drive on the vehicle you are picking up. Careful not to slip off the side, the two are exactly the same width. Ratchet straps around the wheels are enough to secure the load. 

And at the end of a days work, and you have a big load, you don't get to choose where you park up. The police drop you off, and send someone from the morning shift to come and pick you up. 

Best thing I ever did was to spend £250 on ten days training to get an HGV licence. It gave me 32 years of work. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona