Clearly Mercedes Benz

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…..So there i was , wandering around Truckfest Peterborough when i came across this clear sided Atego on the Mercedes stand. Unfortunately it was uncomfortably surrounded by a set of railings that meant my photo’s were not good, much to my disappointment.

Truckfest 2011 (22)

Truckfest 2011 (23)

I was a little gutted that i couldn’t get a good shot, as with the beautiful SLS car in the back it should have a great photo. So as you can imagine i was a bit p’d off. Any way i forget now how he found out, but my cousin, Tim Andrew, a professional photographer with a world wide reputation i might add, sent me an email saying here have a look at these. Low and behold he had attached some of the photo’s he had taken while doing the official photo shoot for the press launch of “The Clear Idea.com“. So here you go enjoy these excellent professional photo’s. One day my photo’s will get better!! May i also just point out a few years back i too parked my Atego out side that beautiful building, the building being Mercedes head office in Milton Springsteen, sorry Milton Keynes (personal joke!).

Atego pix

Atego pix

www.theclearidea.com is a marketing idea that is based on having a clear sided box on the back of a truck. Mercedes Benz obviously liked the idea. Using the truck you can put an eye catching display of your product and drive it where ever you like, meaning in marketing terms thousands of potential consumers are seeing your goods and products driving past their eyes, and hopefully it’ll be so impacting you’ll reward them with a purchase! Not a bad idea as i really want one of those gorgeous cars!! As you can see by Tim’s picture below the clear side’s of the box are as clear as a clear thing, an aptly named idea i think. If you want to know more about the clear idea concept, click HERE.

Atego pix

Transam Trucking & Truckblog Rock

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Another contributer hopefully signed up to Truckblog on the Move. The one and only Transam Trucking is now sporting the rare truckblog mark! Driver Mat Ireland is the named driver who doesn’t realise what he’s got himself into….sorry i mean is the lucky driver who is now part of the truckblog family. I’m hoping over the next few months we will get some interesting pics of this particular sticker enjoying its new rock n roll lifestyle!

Transam Trucking 2

I did actually hand Mat 2 stickers so you never know we might get another driver from Transam signed up aswell. Can you imagine, we might even get a passing pop/rock starlet passing the sticker while on tour……..In fact i’m not sure who the sticker is currently on tour with, Mat can you fill us in??
I was also quietly pleased that the sticker joins other famous stickers on the back doors of Mats trailer, Superfast Ferries and Minoan Lines, aswell as what i think is a PB Tank Cleaning sticker, yes another sad fact that i seem to know my truck stickers!!

Transam Trucking 1

If you drive the highways and byways of our Great Land or even Europe and beyond, email the blog and pledge your case and I may just send you a truckblog sticker too, if you have a worthy place for it that is. Below is an example of “Truckblog on The Move” on the back of an Astran trailer departing Kent for the Middle East. Also the same truck in the desert on it’s way. Unfortunately the rear view with the sticker in seemd to get lost in translation during the trip! Still you get the idea of “truckblog on the move”.

Off to Qatar
Some Where in Saudi.....

New Mercedes Actros Launched Today

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New Actros June 2011

We all knew it was coming and finally it has been unveiled. As i write this i have seen the article in Commercial Motor and also the YouTube video’s I have put below and that’s it. Totally new cab outside, by the looks of it and inside looks like the current Actros but obviously updated and also the new interior is to share it’s interior with the Mercedes car range, nice. As and when i get more details, photo’s and info i will of course put it on here. For now enjoy the video’s. I think it looks brilliant, I’ll have one!

I also came across this one, which is live coverage of the actual lauch as the truck was revealed to the press in Brussels.

Variations on a Theme

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I keep reading these articles they put in the magazines about the best way to take a truck photo. I always think it really comes down to personal preference, doesn’t it?? I took the following pics of a truck in the yard and thought I’d try a number of angles and now i don’t know which is the better pic. The subject had the sun overhead and just to one side and behind and the truck was parked in a straight line, so what do you do??? Here are my efforts………….

1) Standard, 45 degree corner shot, on the sunny side, looks good and shows the truck as you’d see it by eye.
X400 HCW / NB32

2) Again standard, 45 degree corner shot, but on the slightly shady side, looks good and shows the truck as you’d see it by eye. I don’t think being in the shade is to bad, but again that’s my own preference. Most of the pro’s will tell you, you can’t take it on the shady side. Why not??
X400 HCW / NB32

3) Sunny side, corner shot, from the ground truck pointing up. This gives the pic quite a good perspective, looks good this one i like it, a bit different from the norm.
X400 HCW / NB32

4) Same as above but pointing down. Does this make it a different photo? I think it does give make it different, but not sure how!
X400 HCW / NB32

Any way if you have a hint or tip for taking photo’s please share it with us all, leave you comments below. Hopefully we’ll all become pro’s and will be taking the perfect picture every time, then no one can moan, it’s not in the sun, it’s not this, it’s not that……… yes recently some one said one of my pics was no good as it was, i quote “Slightly shady”………what ever!!

Aston Clinton Haulage – Early 1970’s

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Seeing as its father day……… Back in the early 1970’s before i was a twinkle in my parents eye, my dear Dad worked for Aston Clinton Haulage or ACH as they were known. Based in Aston Clinton Village, long before they moved to Aylesbury. I have often wondered who else knows any thing else about ACH at this time. When i put these on www.trucknetuk.com the photo’s which most people put on were all later liveried trucks, some were F88’s but again they were in a slightly later livery.

Dads ACH Photos (13)

Cracking old ERF, i think the old man used to take her out on the road now again. Also note the lifting frame for loading. It seems in the early 1970’s not many people remember or were working at ACH, as i haven’t managed to get hold of or find anyone else who was there!! The only chap i know was there with my dad was Brian Soames, pictured below obviously in high spirits, perhaps it’s the snazzy coloured trailer!! I did manage to find out Brian was last seen working at Norbert Dentressangle in Leighton Buzzard. If you know of Mr Soames please ask her to get in touch. I do love this picture below. I can just see it now heading out of Calais, sleeper cabbed Scania, little GB box trailer full of Britains finest manufacturing, now that is the romance of the road! Is that one of those old Bedford vans in the background, or a Transit.

Dads ACH Photos (5)

Now as you can tell from the pics New Holland were a big customer. Combines and balers were regular cargo for ACH and that is were my old man comes in. As far as i understand it, he was chief loader and warehouse man. Eventually my Dad came up with the idea of a frame to put on the flat trailers to enable the smaller balers to be double stacked, obviously after the below photo was talking. The balers don’t way anything so doubling the amount on a trailer wasn’t a problem, it just needed the initiative…………..it’s a pity it doesn’t seem to run in the family!!

Dads ACH Photos

Dads ACH Photos (3)

I also remember dad saying that a regular Italian reload was washing machines. The chap that used to drive the Volvo below (no name I’m afraid), used to be one of those old legends, who liked to be home for his Friday night pint. Most weeks he’d head off to the continent with what ever the export cargo was, plenty of fags and cash for the Polizei, reload a full hand ball load of washing machines and be back in the yard in time for his pint. Oh The good old days!!

Dads ACH Photos (7)

Lovely day cab 110 Scania, that was no doubt a European regular. Hopefully you lot may be able to give me some more ACH info, in my opinion the earlier the better. Please comment below or email me, ben@truckblog.co.uk

Dads ACH Photos (6)

Gareth Jackson European

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Sat in the office at 5pm this afternoon, the day is nearly done, when into the yard rolls this clean and tidy 51 plate Volvo. Looking out the window the cab was shinning in the late afternoon sun, ally wheels, TIR boards, LHD and all the other gentle signs of a hard working European truck. The paint work was immaculate, even a black painted grill, giving the truck a very impressive “plain & simple” look that even got the non-truck perv in the office put of his chair to have a look (he ended up taking the photo’s!). I do like a truck that is understated. I’m not saying that all the show and shine doesn’t work, as you know i had an airbrushed trucked and earned a lot of money out of it because of its appearence, but i still think having operated trucks with both approaches, i still prefer the understated approach. This Volvo was a little ray of international sunshine. I think Mr S Wilson summed it up about right, “It looks like it could have come out of one of those pervy films driving to Qatar!” that is a back handed compliment i think.

Gareth Jackson European (6)

I’m hoping that Mr Jackson’s daughter will be emailing over some pictures of this old girl on her trips across Europe. Gareth told me his regular destinations used to be Greece, Turkey and Cyprus amongst others, so there should be some good ones. This is one truck that doesn’t just have that European look it can claim the fame as well……………………..Jackson European is ringing bells in my head but i can’t think why, I’m picturing a DAF, any ideas??? leave your comments below or email me ben@truckblog.co.uk

Gareth Jackson European (3)

Gareth Jackson European (8)

All the badges…….

Gareth Jackson European (5)

Nuclear Powered Foden

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Our good friend the Roving Reporter had his feet on the ground for a few days and even got home to Dorset. While rooting around various yards he came across this lovely old Foden 6×4. Now i can’t say i know my Foden’s very well, but this seems like a good one and also seems to be in remarkable good condition, considering it’s kept outside. It almost needs rescuing and being given a good shine up and be taken back to it’s former glory.

Foden??

Now i put this onto my flickr page and it led inevitably onto some come backs from you lot. Firstly the sign writing on the door says “Tridan Niwclear”, which seems to be Welsh to me. Then Normant300 on flickr showed me a photo belonging to merf292002, of a very similar Foden working at a Nuclear power station in Angelsey, which was Wales last time i looked. If you can tell me any more about these Nuclear Foden’s please leave a comment below or email me, ben@truckblog.co.uk. As yet i cant put the picture directly on the blog, so click HERE to see a Foden of this vintage in action back in it’s hay day,

MAN Consistently Efficiently Tour Rolls on

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As i wrote before MAN are currently running a huge European tour trying to prove that using the right equipment hauliers can save precious fuel and costs. The opening paragraph on the Consistently Efficient tour website states; “MAN Truck & Bus starts the “Consistently Efficient” Tour 2011 running from May 16 to June 17 through 20 major European cities in ten countries. MAN’s objectives are to provide comprehensive information on the subject of transport efficiency to customers and interested parties and to demonstrate how companies can effectively reduce the cost of operating their fleets of commercial vehicles while at the same time making a contribution to environmental protection. The tour blog shows transparently that up to 3 litres diesel per 100 km can be saved by trucks that are particularly efficiently equipped.”

Europatour_MAN_2011_klein

The tour has so far been all over Europe, starting from Munich on the 16th May, to Prague, Breslau, Vienna, Eugendorf, Misano, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Hirschberg, Eindhoven, Frechen, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Lille, Vitoria, Estoril, Madrid so far into Valencia tomorrow (Tuesday 14th June), the finally onto Barcelona, Beziers and then back to Munich. You can follow the remaining days of the tour here at the tour blog. Don’t worry i have given my 2 pennies worth about not coming to the UK.

Here you can see 2 of the 3 artics on the tour, parked in Prague. All 3 trucks are supposed to weigh in at 38,500 kg, but i would like to know where the weight comes from. The trailers all have clear sides and are loaded with slogan’s from the tour. I’m guessing the letters/wording are all different weights??

20110517-man-ce_prague-82

Much more importantly sifting throught the pictures from the tour, that can be seen here on Flickr, this little yellow TGL is obviously taking part on the tour but i think for slightly different reasons. You can see it in the background from the different stops on the tour, but is liveried in “ProfiDrive – Safety & Economy Training”, i feel i need to find out more, i will go back to my excellent German source and see what she, yes she, can tell me.

20110517-man-ce-prague-4.jpg

Old F6 Reach’s End of the Road

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Firstly i must apologise for not telling you i was going on holiday. I was informed by those who arranged said break that the house we were staying in had all the mod-con’s including Wi-Fi, so i took the laptop so i could keep the blog updated. The problem being as you probably realised was that there was no Wi-Fi, Internet or any such mod-con’s. Hey ho it was a cracking week, sampling the Yorkshire ales (oh and 42 miles of walking!), so back to the grindstone, and here we go with some thing from the village we were staying in.

Volvo F6 - Carperby, Yorkshire

The little village of Carperby, Near Leyburn, North Yorkshire is where i found this old girl, living out her last few days enjoying the views of the Yorkshire Dales. If you are like me, you must be if your reading this, then you will often spot old trucks like this sat about, rusting away. In fact there is a topic on TrucknetUK called “Resting Place for Old Trailers” along the same lines. How many old trucks are sat on farms across the country just rotting away after a long hard life on the road? This old F6 got me thinking how it ended up in Carperby. Now bear with me on the detective trail. Firstly i don’t know if the farm yard belongs to the Robinson family or not, so that could be a good link. I’m guessing that it was a cattle truck as it is a cattle farm and the remaining bodywork suggests that or perhaps a hay wagon?? Gainford itself is just West of Darlington on the A67, so not just round the corner. Perhaps you know Robinson of Gainford? Photo’s? or perhaps you have an old truck just rotting away near you? email me with any thing, ben@truckblog.co.uk and after all the feedback on the Manton Freezer Freight posts i put on here, you lot will probably know some thing. I have no idea on the reg as there were no plates. I’m guessing its some where around an A, B or C reg. Over to you…………….

Volvo F6 - Carperby, Yorkshire