He’s keen to point out something as we sit down with a coffee, “I did actually leave for a year in 1973. I went to help my Dad who was a builder, but I went back to the driving again.” That’s a total of 56 years service for Cullimore’s, an astonishing statistic. It wasn’t his first driving job either, that was delivering caravans with a Bedford TK.
It’s hard to imagine the changes that Brian has seen in transport and on the roads during this time. In the ‘60s, sleeper cabs were still a rarity, so drivers would sleep in digs at night. The Swedish invasion by Volvo and Scania was still years away. He has generally fond memories of those early days and the driver accommodation, “You’d always get a good feed, although the beds could be rather lumpy!”
He drove a variety of Bedfords, Dodges, Albions and Leylands, which were basic, but it was the way it was back then, “We didn’t know any differently, I remember getting a Bedford with a windscreen that could open to let air in during the summer and thinking it was lovely, that it was a touch of luxury!”
Life on the road was different back then; although there were a lot less vehicles, the motorway network was in its infancy which means journeys you wouldn’t blink at doing today, were a major task. Brian recalls the A38 being packed with traffic. “There were a lot of three-lane sections, and some of those survived well into the ‘90s, where each direction could use the middle lane for overtaking. We called them ‘bumper clippers’ because you’d have so many near misses with cars trying to overtake. It could literally take you 20 minutes to pull out at a junction.”
Building Britain
Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.
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Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Well forked Daf
Remember, we like to cover all sorts of different trucks here at T&D – like this impressive new CF rigid complete with Moffett Mounty forklift
King of the hill
Moving heavy equipment off road calls for a truck with plenty of power and traction, which is why M&J Plant chose a mighty 6x4 FH16 750
Time Machine 2015-2019
It’s the final part of our series on the history of UK haulage. Let’s look back at those innocent times before that pesky virus turned up
Original and best
There are few trucks which have been customised to the level of the Scania 143, but let’s not forget that the standard product was pretty awesome just as it left the factory, like this rare 420
GOING ALL THE WAY
Simon Rogers got behind the wheel as soon as he was able to, and nearly 30 years later, his company is going from strength to strength, with a striking all-black, top-spec Iveco S-Way 570 the latest addition to the fleet
Abnormal loads
In the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, truck drivers were a very different breed, made from sterner stuff than us mere mortals
Range change
After a gap of 13 years, Renault trucks have reappeared in the unique colours of MacRitchie Highland Distribution. T&D takes the high road to Inverness to meet owners, Donald and Catriona MacRitchie
Cutting a dash
Freshly showered and munching a healthy egg and cress sarnie in Gloucester North services, Chris has a Foden update
Air we go!
On Saturday 29 May at 6pm, 240 drivers gathered with their trucks at South Mimms Services for a parade to raise vital money for Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance
A Cutt Above
From coal to turf to fencing and loads more, there’s not much the Calcutt fleet hasn’t transported over the years
