Whilst looking about on my Flickr page i started thinking how me and Marshy were both owner’s of Hatcher cabbed MAN’s. Back in the day i had a 7.5 tonner but Marshy’s was a 12 tonner, naturally he was one step ahead. My truck definitely lived up to my expectations and was doing the mileage of any big truck if not more day after day up and down the motorway, Glasgow 3 times a week from my base in Braintree, Carmarthen daily for a week, exactly 4 1/2 hours each way every day, i loved it! Marshy was undoubtedly doing similar mileage but the majority of his was continental with a bit of UK, where i was vice versa. I never quite worked out why i didn’t do more continental?? i think it was probably that i was just so busy doing my thing i never got round to getting more into it. I used to see V99 STE around quite a lot, i often used to wave in the hope he’d wave back, but with out any luck, i think Marshy was just too busy doing his thing while i was doing mine. I think there is a big “what if” here some where. What if we had been going the same way and had had time to stop for a cuppa………….



I often wonder what would have happened if i had got more into continental express type work. There was clearly a market for it a few years back and Steve Marsh is testament to the fact there is still a market for it now. With the office job i do now for HC Wilson, each week we have a couple of job offers that would suit some thing like a 12 ton rigid, more often than not if we can’t cover it some how i end up offering it to Steve. I do wonder if I’ll ever go back to it, running a little rigid, i think the answer is one day yes it would be nice, or perhaps we should get one at Wilson’s!?

I have no idea why they are my favourite type of truck, after all a simple person would call a 7.5 tonner a van!………… that’s a totally different blog all together! I guess at the end of the day there will always be a market for these cracking little rigids with in haulage, but how many there is the unanswered question. Like all area’s of our industry the numbers have declined and only the fittest survive. These day’s with all the driving license issue’s and pallet networks offering such silly cheap rates it makes Steve Marsh Expresses daily life all the more difficult. I think what a lot of companies/customers miss is the personal touch, the knowledge that Steve loads and Steve will deliver. The load isn’t going to get transshipped 5 times and put on a number of different vehicles before being delivered. Is it that customers have realised that their goods are more important than always getting the cheapest rates? Hopefully there will always be a need for a little rigid otherwise in the years to come I’m not going to be able to buy my son one! (if he wants one of course!). Any way enough of this inane banter. Keep the little trucks rolling that’s what i say, everyone loves a Tonka toy!! So until the BJS empire is rebuilt, best you keep calling Marshy.