Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style
    Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style
    Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style
    Ebook169 pages57 minutes

    Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style

    By Bill Reid

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Traditional Scottish liveries have long featured combinations of tartans, thistles, stags, piper and monograms on a strong background colour.Bonnie Scottish Trucks brings together 231 high quality photos of trucks operated by past and present Scottish companies, small firms and owner drivers who have used their vehicles as a means of attracting the eye of potential customers and as a matter of pride in the presentation of their business. To emphasise the ownership and purpose of the vehicle, the user's name is emblazoned on the front and sides in shade lettering leaving the onlooker in no doubt. Although not exclusive to Scotland, this treatment seems to have been more prolific and has stood the test of time in Scotland.The beautiful vehicles featured in this book were spotted by author, Bill Reid around the country, in towns, in cattle markets, on the road, and anywhere else trucks or lorries can be found. This striking collection will appeal to drivers, road transport enthusiasts and in particular those with an interest in vintage commercial vehicles.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOld Pond Books
    Release dateDec 1, 2016
    ISBN9781910456682
    Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style
    Author

    Bill Reid

    Bill Reid was a civil servant before becoming a police officer in 1967. He trained as a police driving instructing and after 30 years in the police service, he carried on as a civilian police driving instructor until 2013 when he retired. He has had a lifelong interest in transport, having been brought up among lorries in Ayrshire and holds LGV and PCV licences. He is the organiser of a small local transport enthusiast club and co-organiser of the annual Ayrshire Road Run for vintage and classic commercials.

    Related to Bonnie Scottish Trucks

    Related ebooks

    Automotive For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Letters

      Jun 21, 2024

      Volvo’s F7 tractor unit featured on your June front cover and in Pip Dunn’s leading feature article was relatively successful in the UK. But it was never regarded in the same, dare I say affectionate, way as its F86 predecessor. That was the vehicle

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Old Dogs New Tricks

      Jul 26, 2024

      Old Dogs New Tricks
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Touring Caravan Story

      Aug 4, 2022

      The Touring Caravan Story
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Here For The Beer

      May 26, 2023

      Here For The Beer
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Letters

      Apr 29, 2022

      To request your NEW Sealey hand tools brochure, call 01284 757500 Send your letters to: Classic and Vintage Commercials, PO Box 1243, Spalding PE11 9HE or e-mail: [email protected] As a subscriber to Classic & Vintage Commercials I noticed in the M

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Compact Camper

      Oct 30, 2020

      Compact Camper
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Two Wheels To Four

      Jun 9, 2023

      Two Wheels To Four
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Brands On The run

      Jul 13, 2023

      IT’S big news when a car manufacturer such as Saab or Rover disappears, but plenty of other motoring-related brands quietly slip away from our lives with us barely noticing. We’ve flicked through the archives to find 18 big names that would have been

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Introduction

      Apr 29, 2022

      Introduction
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Scout – A Brief History

      Apr 28, 2023

      Scout – A Brief History
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      When Toy Cars Went To War

      Oct 28, 2022

      When Toy Cars Went To War
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      DENNIS without MENACE

      Jun 19, 2020

      DENNIS without MENACE
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      My Favourite Truck

      Nov 26, 2021

      SRT 634M, is my favourite truck ever explains Simon Waspe. Driving it is an honour and a pleasure. A time warp of simple Swedish reliable engineering. It’s now 46 years old. Brothers-in-law Glyn and Ron Davies started their own transport company on 7

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Ernest Thorpe Transport Remembered

      Jan 27, 2023

      Ernest Thorpe Transport Remembered
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Market Update

      May 26, 2023

      Market Update
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Dundonian Talisman

      Jun 21, 2019

      If you are going to do a job – big or small – then do it well or not at all.’ We didn’t ask Dundee-based Harry Lawson whether he ever repeated such a mantra but actions generally speak louder than words. So, when it comes to vehicle restorations, the

      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Model Corner Morris Minor Lcv Van And Pick-up Models

      May 24, 2024

      So far, I’ve looked at specialist hand-built models of the Minor van and pickup, as well as mass-produced models by Corgi and Lledo. In this concluding part, I’ll review those made by other manufacturers. Lyndon Davies of Oxford Diecast had worked at

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Spiers Of Melksham An Appreciation By Michael Marshall

      Sep 25, 2020

      Sadly, the firm sold-out to a larger concern over 20 years ago now and the once familiar brown and red lorries are just a memory, so I thought it would be nice to look-back at some of the motors the firm operated by way of a tribute. It all started i

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      European Unıon

      Sep 13, 2024

      European Unıon
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Scottish Half-tonner

      Feb 25, 2022

      Scottish Half-tonner
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Sure As The Sunrise Part One

      Oct 30, 2020

      By the early 1820s, Glasgow had overtaken the capital Edinburgh as Scotland’s largest city and was already an important trading centre. Over the next few decades, the city would also establish itself as a major industrial hub producing iron, steel, l

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Model News

      Feb 25, 2022

      PART TWO Also in 1/18 scale Solido have issued their diecast 1950 VW Type 2 T1 splitscreen pickup in bright blue Volkswagen Service livery with a light grey tarpaulin [7], priced at £49.99. The model has steerable wheels, opening doors and tailgate.

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Campervan History

      Apr 1, 2022

      A Campervan History
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Letters

      Sep 24, 2021

      I was interested to read, in the September issue of CVC, the very well-informed article about the Bedford TL and, in previous issues other Bedford models. I started work in 1948 as an apprentice mechanic with a Vauxhall/Bedford main dealer and have h

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Your Say

      Jan 21, 2020

      The December issue of Heritage Commercials is very good and nice to see so much Leyland content. You may like to know that Leyland (then the Lancashire Steam Motor Co) built four very early tower wagons to serve Belfast’s extensive tramway network. T

      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Bonnie Scottish Trucks

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Bonnie Scottish Trucks - Bill Reid

      Introduction

      My book is a celebration of Scottish road haulage liveries, which were well known up and down the country, and still are, through the travels of long-distance lorries in past times, or the truckers of today.

      I have a life-long interest in road transport, having grown up among lorries, and had an indirect connection with haulage through my adult life. That indirect connection saw me amassing a vast number of photographs of working lorries, and of vintage and classic exhibits at events across the country. My photo collection, of good-looking vehicles, which in the main were traditionally painted with a pleasing livery and were well lettered, inspired this book. Plain white, or self-coloured lorries do not come into my scope. Similarly, those with vinyl lettering pulled off do not work for me.

      Scottish road haulage was severely restricted in the late 1940s and early 1950s because much of it was nationalised into British Road Services (BRS). This changed from 1953 when much of BRS was sold off and many of the pre-nationalised businesses were resurrected, alongside new haulage businesses starting up. This change brought about a host of distinctive liveries to differentiate haulage companies, and at the time, most of these new companies took to painting and lettering in the traditional fashion.

      Although BRS relinquished much of its grip on UK haulage in the 1950s, building up a fleet of lorries was by no means easy. Carrier’s Licences, unless bought with a secondhand vehicle, had to be applied for, and a need for licences and vehicles had to be proven. BRS and British Railways were vehement objectors to new licence application, as were other hauliers, and any other interested parties. Carrier’s Licences were not always granted, or were granted with restriction in use, which held back the growth of many haulage fleets, until the change to Operator’s Licences after 1968. Fleets expanded quickly and more new businesses were created, thus ensuring that the road haulage scene became more competitive, with many companies adopting new styles to stand out in the crowd.

      The traditional style was a reflection of the pride felt by haulage operators in having their name and business presented to the public. It is a form of advertising, and, as I always think, a smartly turned-out lorry will be much more noticeable than a drab, unlettered example. The modern practice of customised painting, or vinyl wrapping, carries on this means of attracting attention.

      Much of the style in the liveries was down to the craft of the signwriters, who could letter a vehicle to perfection, showing off names and details, such as phone numbers, telex numbers, etc. To me, the signwriter’s art is all about the detail. Many Scottish fleets were adorned with tartan bands or scrolls, sometimes with a fleet name included. These swirling scrolls had to be symmetrical across the front of the cabs, or identical on each side. Other Scottish motifs used by signwriters were thistles, bagpipers, flags, horses and cattle. Some signwriters would incorporate small details to fill out otherwise vacant panels. It can be interesting to look for the variation of signwriting skills between two vehicles of the same company.

      Since lorries have been coming off production lines with cabs pre-painted in factory conditions, to the buyer’s choice, there has been a move to applying company lettering on adhesive vinyl. This can be achieved in the traditional style, or to any modern design. Vinyl lettering can be applied much more quickly than a signwriter can paint it, and there is a secondary advantage in that it can be pulled off when the vehicle is sold. A step forward is to cover the entire cab with vinyl wrap, incorporating the fleet colours and name. This again has the advantage of the cab being any colour and the vinyl can be peeled off when the vehicle is sold, leaving a virtually unmarked cab. This can be seen in any commercial vehicle dealer’s adverts, which takes me back to the number of plain white or self-coloured lorries seen on our roads.

      The use of plain-coloured lorries and vinyl suits the needs of corporate company fleets, where uniformity is required. The former Transport Development Group was a good example of this. The entire fleet was in a shade of green, with only lettering to distinguish the different operating divisions.

      The new methods using vinyl can look just as attractive as the old paint and signwriting did, but I believe there is a dullness in the vinyl after a time, due to weathering, which affected a paint job as well, but the modern use of vehicle washes probably hastens the process. There again, there were many lorries out there that never had a decent wash, painted or in vinyl, but did that stop you, the enthusiast, from looking at them? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

      It is my hope that you will enjoy studying the traditional liveries in my book, many of which come from an era well before corporate liveries were thought of.

      illustration

      1. Anderson of Newhouse began in the 1930s when Sam Anderson set up a haulage business in central Scotland. General and heavy haulage for local industry was the main work undertaken, with maximum-weight lorries. Anderson also ran a large fleet of tippers on coal haulage, their 8-wheelers becoming a common sight throughout the Scottish coalfields. The fleet colours have been virtually the same red and maroon over the years, modified to suit modern cabs as they came along. ‘Anderson for reliable service’ has been the company logo for well over 60 years. Through acquisition and development, Anderson of Newhouse is now part of the Anderson Group, which is involved in vehicle dealerships, buses and property.

      illustration
      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1