Heavy haulage in pictures
Page 70
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MOVING MOUNTAINS (Patrick Stephens; £5.95), it is claimed, is the first pictorial book to chart the history and development of heavy haulage vehicles and their loads in the United Kingdom.
The first thing to say about this book is that the author, Bob Tuck, a police inspector in Cleveland, has collected many splendid photos. Apparently, he has been collectiong them since he was 13, and has worked both as a lorry driver's mate and as a police motorcyclist escorting heavy loads.
Secondly, this history of heavy haulage is not just about tractive units and trailers, engines and gearboxes; it is about men coping with loads, some of the stories are "frighteningly funny" (the inspector's words). Here is one of them: Lol Johnson was driving Sunter's Constructor north on the Al near Ferryhill with a high Kaldo vessel when he saw a large flash come from underneath the lorry, so he immediately stopped to investigate. What he did not know was that the power from a 60,000-volt overhead cable had arced down on the load owing to the prevailing atmospheric conditions.
An automatic cut-out stopped the flow of current but as Lol and the mates were examining the vehicle, the power automatically cut itself back in. It arced once more and, with a mighty bang, driver and mates were lifted off their feet and thrown into the hedgerow. When asked later what steps he took about an ensuing fire in one of the trailer tyres Johnson allegedly said, "Big ones. As fast and as far from the wagon as possible".
Bob Tuck brings the book up to date with an account of the contribution made by heavy hauliers in aiding the development of North Sea oil resources.
Moving Mountains will be published on April 25. It may be useful to quote its ISBN number — it's 0-85059-614-9.