Come and ride shotgun down Shap with me, see how it's changed over the years, and delve into your own memories of your experience driving wagons, trucks, Lorries, what ever you prefer, on the countries most infamous route to the North.
anyone remember the leyland drivers going north on a chassis no cab just a seat and steering wheel wrapped up in old coats sacks and goggles I think they were going to Albion trucks Glasgow First time I did the trip was in a A35 Manchester to Kilmarnock 9hours now it's 3 1/2 things you do for love
I'll ride Shotgun with you and I'll bring my Rose Tinted Glasses too! Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot, for Auld Lang Syne? I'll also admit to going over Shap Southbound in my car in Aberdeen Booster, more than once. 77 this year and still miss the days when Drivers stuck together and helped each other out. Thanks for the memories, Jock!
Hi Alex...Climb aboard buddy, we can ride back into a better time together....those days are gone when we all stuck together, buddy, but the memories are still alive..75 now and still trunking (part time) can't seem to let go...lol. Keep it lit my friend.
Good to see this I am nearly 86 and spent most of my working life on the lorries. I remember Gees from Outlane as I lived in Huddersfield and started my long distance driving for Hirst Bros. Holmfirth. All their lorries had Gardner engines in them, Fodens , Atkinsons, E.R.Fs etc. Went over Shap lots of times, hard work in them days. If we had a motor that done 40 m.p.h. It was a flyer but they would run for ever. I live in Scotland now but I still go south now and again and usually go over Shap just for the nostalgia. Good to see articles like this, very enjoyable. Cheers from Scotland.
Thanks for watching Mac, glad you enjoyed it, I also go the old road every time I go back up home to Scotland, it never loses it's charm, and gives you a nice warm feeling, and a chance just to drift back and relive a lost time, and remember old faces, good for the soul I say..
I loved the.old atki, as a.kid. we used to.take stone to bury st.edmands, 5'oc,start, back at.6,'from k in ash,feild, hears rattling fo afe hour, good.days, misse,m.I could cry, honistly,,,
@@chrisdurant4627 Chris, I used to drive an Atki for Mckelvie's, out of Paisley back in the 70s pulling steel out of Govan Shipyard in Glasgow, they were great days indeed, and sadly missed.. the Atki was a good old wagon.
@@yorkshirejock You could always recognise an Atki Driver in a Cafe, their plate (Like an Atki's steering wheel) was always to the left of where they sat! LOl!
@@alexsaville6237 Ha ha yes Alex...lol.... I worked for McKelvies out of Clark Street Paisley back in the mid 70s, when I lived in Neilston, I had an Atki Borderer pulling steel out of Govan shipyard, up to Ardrossan, I still have the centre badge out of the steering wheel with the A on it in my shed to this day.
We collected that memorial stone from the Shap Granite Quarry and delivered it direct to the stonemason at Troutbeck Bridge, in 1992. To keep things nostalgic, we used a Gardner-engined Atkinson!
That Quarry has been going for as long as I can remember Chris, it's the only landmark on those lonely moors...lol ...And the old Atki was a fine machine in it's day.
I was a lad of sixteen 1965 and was drivers mate, my driver Norman no longer with us, but always remember the days we had up and over the shap we worked out of kilmarnock and the jungle cafe, never forget our travels, I'm now 71 and still giving it the wellie.
Thanks for memories shared. My uncle used to drive from Midlands to Manchester, and took me along as a small boy. Could not eat the breakfast sandwich at that age. I recall seeing Summers Brothers truck form steel works. I relived some of this as a Sales Manager travelling UK roads, up to 2019. Cheers all.
I also drove the shap witha 6 legger ERF mate with a 150 Gardener took forever M6 was closed fully loaded with stone took forever Alex 😳Happy days.Excellent post.
I am 71 retired at 66 from lorry driving but went back to work at 67 driving a van still working know. When I retired I said I would never drive a lorry again but to my surprise I miss it and wish I had my time over,nothing like walking in to an old road side cafe and bumping into an old pal you have not seen for months.I even miss trying to rope and sheet a load and fighting a strong wind in some out of the way places with now one to help.
Sadly John, this job has changed beyond belief compared to the old days, with all the new motorways connected, the old Cafe's are just a memory, and it seems as though no one has much time for each other, like we had. But that's what they call progress bud.. and that's what we call memories, let's hold on to them.
Thanks for the video. My father was a lorry driver most of is working life.He started out with BRS and finished up doing heavy haulage.I have fond memories as a boy going with him in the fifties and sixties.I often think of those times,although I am old man now.
Hi Dennis, They were hard days bud, but we knew nothing else, it was good grounding to take us through life...Happy memories indeed, glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching.
Thanks for the video, Alex. I lived in Shap for 15 years back in the fifties and sixties. As you say, the opening of the M6 allowed the village to become a village again. My mother often made soup for stranded lorry drivers especially in the winter of 62/63. We lived opposite Simpsons garage at the top end. Notice that the Leyland clock has gone as well as the Jungle Café.
Your very welcome Alvan..glad you enjoyed it..I always go that way on my way to relatives in Scotland..it never fails to take me back..lol..there was also the Crows nest at the top if you remember..two old buses stuck together..
I well remember when the bus went off the edge in 1953. I was only 7 but my dad who was the village doctor for over 20 years went up there and wasn't back until daybreak. It was a bad accident but nothing to do with the weather.
Alex do you remember Hudsons Milnthorpe garage, they had a wrecker it was an ex USA military truck a diamond T, six legger converted to a recovery truck for the heavy lifting, it looked a beast of thing as a young lad
Hi Graham, back then there were many Diamond Ts knocking about, left over from the American forces that were stationed here during the war, they were a fairly common sight up and down the country, they surely were a beasty boy, and you can still see some of them at war weekends, in better condition than they ever were, in loving private ownership.
Thanks for sharing I had relations that owned a garage on the shap road. Not so many remember the infamous reputation the road over Shap had before the M6
Hardly a winter would pass without the news reporting 'The A6 over Shap Summit is closed due to heavy snow.' My dad got stuck coming south one winter because Shap was Closed!
Many people do not realise that the Penrith to Carlisle section of the A6 was a far more dangerous road. It was (and still is) an almost continuous switchback with frequent blind summits. The road was a mixture of two-lane, three-lane, and four-lane single carriageway. In addition, the road was far busier, having traffic to and from the A66 Stainmore road. The danger of Shap was primarily the overloading of lorries, and braking systems which were far less efficient than today. Another accident black spot was the bridge over the main line at Clifton and Lowther station. Lorries travelling south would cut the corner on to the bridge, reducing the width for oncoming traffic. The last time I drove on this road, the bend had been eased somewhat, but it is still a potential hazard.
@@yorkshirejock I was a bit younger too then LOL - turned 18 that year! The pain in my legs is nothing compared to that of knowing I'm now in middle age!!!
Lovely film thanks. I only ever went north over the border with a lorry about three or four times in fifty years. After a few years doing Smithfield London in the early 60s all my trips were predominately SW and Wales with steel back. Do like all the stories about the Jungle. Regards WD.
Hello William, I'm glad you enjoyed my nostalgic film, the Jungle was just one of the cafes on that road back then, but it has secured iconic status to us old uns, and I always go that way when going back home to see my family. I did a bit of steel out of Tiger bay a few years back. Love the Valleys down there too. Take care William, and thanks for watching.
No one can take your memories away, in their time those trucks were the king's of the road, there was an art to driving them and a skill too. No power steering, no synchromesh on the gear changing, you couldn't stop concentrating for a second. If you did, these trucks would soon let you know about it. I often wonder how younger drivers would fair today if they had to drive them. Modern trucks today are lovely wagons too. Don't ever forget your wonderful memories, keep on trucking 👍
Hi Paul, Thanks for watching bud....They were different days, and your'e right about today, and what younger drivers might make of it, today it's like driving a luxury car, with all the home comforts...but I miss the cameraderie that was there then....it's all too fast these days, so yes..the memories will stay, until we all die out, and then it will be up to the historians to tell the tale..All we can hope..is that they get it right...lol👍👍
Started in 61 as second man, twice per week Scottish Borders to Yorkshire, or three if on the wrong wagon, you got a change over at the Jungle on a friday night. Lorries were commers which used to de-coke when pulling up northbound, after silent 13th to get a run at it. Happy days
Awesome vid Fella, my Dad drove for Harellas in Halifax delivering Fur coats in the 60's, I remember riding in the "Thrupenny bit" cabs sitting on the dog house getting a warm arse off the engine, been a mechanic since 1976. Great memories as I did trucks from 16 to 22. TK Bedfords, D1000's and all the Ralph Douglas hay and straw merchants stuff, Miss those days and Sat aft chatting with the drivers.
@@yorkshirejock Well I'll be damned LOL, small World indeed, 16 years old I was servicing Tonys Leyland ?? Artic, '78/'79 My Dad eventually became Chauffer for Harellas and then Riding Hall carpets. A Lady called Jean Illingworth that worked there (Harellas) also went on to publish a lovely book on the History of it, my Dad and his brand new 1961 Mk4 Zodiac is in it, he was also hi jacked and all the fur coats nicked in the mid 60;s, .....all this from stumbling across your vid.......life's strange sometimes.
@Mark holroyde Sure is strange mark, I had the Zodiacs too ..the Z cars shape and the one we called the "Flying Pig"...lol Tony had a black pony on the farm that was called Jet, we used to ride it bare back, always threw us off, he also used to come to school on a shire horse sometimes.. Happy times..
@@yorkshirejock LOL, I'm sat here now looking at all the photos of it all back then, Ralphs brand new Leyland in the yard where the guard dogs were "T" reg, '79. , Binn Royd farm you must be on about?, I use to deliver Tonys BMW back there when I hade serviced it, TOD 69, reg number, I remember it all , my Dads Zody, SJX 55, i'm still a car nut today via my old Fella' I have 60's US Musclecars one of them I bought in '84 and still own it today, motorcycles galore, I'm still a full on petrolhead and i'm now 59 LOL. Thanks Dad!
@@markholroyde9412 Same here Mark..petrol head through and through ..had yanks, and still run a V8, but a bit more modern, always had bikes since 1965..got two bikes now, and ride as often as I can.
Not as good as your video Alex but took this today on the way back from Carlisle, A6 was closed with snow on the way up there.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G1ivNAgrVB4.html
Me too Alex, it's a shame there aren't more original photos and film around. I've got the Leyland Museum DVD, a couple of books and a few old postcards of Huck's Brow, but that's just about it.
Took a Bulldozer up and through Shap I had sold in the 80’s by low loader, it started snowing , it was touch and go whether I’d have to take the Cat off the trailer and tow it !
Great video sir . My Dad was a lorry driver from 1963 to 2008 an often told me stories of Shap in the winter . I cycled from Lands End to John o Groats earlier this year and had a tear in my eye going over Shap fell.....
@@bardzoszybki7420.. Not sure Gary, got it off the youtube audio library, will have to try to find it again..i'll have a trawl through and get back to you..
My initial knowledge of Shap was from seeing pictures of steam trains climbing from Tebay, and also of the Lune Gorge, where trains would take water and take a run at the bank. I was aware that the A6 also went over Shap, but I knew little about the road, apart from the fact that every effort was made to keep it open, even in the depths of winter. Imagine the shock I received the first time I travelled on the line. It was the summer of 1968. I must have been aware of a new bridge being built over the line, near Thrimby Grange, between Penrith and Shap, but I could hardly believe what I saw a few minutes later, namely a massive bridge over the railway just north of Tebay Station, the Lune Gorge being churned up with a six-lane motorway, and an even more massive bridge over the railway at Grayrigg, at the end of the gorge. Shap and Tebay would never be the same again. Until then, the only classified road in the area was the A685, and I gather that this road had to be considerably realigned to make way for the M6. Next time I travelled along this route by train, three years later, the M6 had been open for about a year and a half, and the destruction of the Lune Gorge was complete. I made three enforced trips on the M6 not long after, and finally, in 1977, drove the Kendal to Carlisle stretch of the A6, shortly after passing my test. (Yes, and a large lorry cut the corner on the bridge at Clifton and Lowther Station.) How I missed both the lorry and the bridge parapet remains a mystery. I
Hi Andrew, That's a great story, and a wonderful memory for you, Shap has an affection for quite a lot of us.. Thank you for your comment and thanks again for watching.
@@yorkshirejock Incidentally, that trip was made on the Newcastle to Blackpool through train, hauled by a Class 24, which would have been a rare type on Shap. I seem to recall that it was down to walking pace well before the summit. I assume that it would have worked the return service, so I wonder how it fared on the climb from Tebay.
