King of the ‘fill

Processing waste for the City of London has always been a major operation. For many years McGovern’s ran specially-built bonneted Magirus-Deutz artics on landfill work, and this superb restored example pays tribute to those trucks

- Dougie Rankine

At a glance

Make & Model: Magirus-Deutz 232D 24K

Engine: 11.3-litre air-cooled naturally aspirated V8

Power: 232hp @ 2650rpm

Torque: 722Nm

Gearbox: Six-speed ZF manual

Operator: McGovern Haulage, London

London. Mere mention of the capital city of England is enough to strike dread into the heart of many drivers. Despite what the politicians and councils seem to think, trucks are an essential part of what keeps the city moving, and it has always been this way.

Imagine being back in the 1970s, working in “the big smoke”. The M25 is years away from being built. Emission controls simply weren’t a thing back then, with plumes of smoke pouring from trucks, buses and vans, and choking carbon monoxide from cars running on leaded petrol.

Health and Safety? Didn’t exist mate. Drivers, mechanics and hauliers were all sussing it all out on the job. Crash gearboxes, heavy steering, filthy rubbish tips, sweltering heat, bone chilling winters. You had to be tough, and so did your truck.

The post war era of transport bred drivers we’ll never see the likes of again, the determined heroes who conquered the ice cold of Shap in the snow and headed fearlessly into the scorching Middle East to places unknown. But we can’t forget the drivers and the trucks who kept one of the biggest cities in the world working. McGovern Haulage may never have travelled far, but they travelled hard. Waste transfer work was as grueling on a truck as it was possible to be.