1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176 
l 11! [ 1 [41UJ sJ II
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Rikki Chequer, the community manager of TruckNet UK, wanders down memory ane.
Without a doubt, one of the most popular forums on TruckNet UK is 'Old Time Lorries, Companies and Drivers'. The forum opened in December 2004, and since then, almost every aspect of haulage from days gone by has been discussed, dissected and analysed. Drivers relate stories of trips to places near and far, with adventures seemingly every time they got behind the wheel. Personal photos of places most of us have only ever heard about and trucks long since rusted away show up regularly. The forum is a truly unique archive of our industry's history, written by those who were there.
Active threads this week include a request for help from a person who is about to start renovating a Seddon Atkinson 401. It makes me feel a little old that this truck is now seen as ripe for preservation since it doesn't seem all that long ago I was driving one for a living.
Another thread has some cracking photos of some ageing Volvos and Scanias rusting away in Western Australia. There is some discussion as to whether the oldest pictured Volvo is an F88 or a G88 as it seems to have a set-forward front axle. The Scania also looks to have the same configuration. Take a look and give us your opinion.
While running to the Middle East has been well covered in the 20 pages of posts in the forum, North Africa up until now hasn't been discussed much. Luckily, a new thread has brought some great photos and stories to the website. All contributions to these memory threads are welcome, reminding us as an industry that we used to go regularly to some exotic and far-flung places.
Finally, we have plenty of memories and photos from hauliers who didn't wander quite as far afield. A thread on Western Transport has bought a flood of posts recalling drivers, trucks and routes, and a short history of the company.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the users of TruckNet UK can dig through their old photos and get them up on the web for others to enjoy.