Oz's travels.

Phil has had a bit of a change of job... well same job but for a different company. Leaving R Adams and sons due to reasons we wont go in to.... Phil moved to Joseph Holloway Ltd Oldbury. In his own words "it was like a breath of fresh air!" Joseph Holloway move scrap metal around the country, plus other stuff, NOT GRAIN! thank god. R Adams used to move scrap but after a few years they stopped an concentrated on grain. Phil was glad to get out on the sleeper job with Swampy because the grain job was doing his head in. Anyway here we are working for Matt and Adam Holloway.

They have a website, here is the link....... http://josephholloway.co.uk/

Here is the lorry Phil was given.

Here at Bridgenorth delivering coal to the Severn Valley Railway.

One day delivering scrap plastic to Liverpool Phil found sticking out of the mud was Thomas. We brought him home, stripped him down, new buffers, connecting rods, whistle and a touch of paint an he was bolted (well cable tied) on to the front of Phil's lorry.

Not all metal shifted in the back of a tipper is scrap. We had a good load from Euro Auctions at Kellington North Yorkshire.

From old'ish to new. Phil was given one of the new Renault T Range lorries. He soon made up a bracket up above the sun visor for Thomas.

Here we are doing a spot of Heavy Haulage.

With my mate Hue Lorry who travels around with me in the lorry. He asked me if he could start a web site about him. We are in discussions about that at the mo.

Nice little job was to go and collect these trailers an take them to auction.

Back to the tipper work. We was called into Shropshire Road Sweepers to collect a load of sweepings. Driving into the yard we thought 'this is not good!'

Mat Holloway was given some stickers from Renault, He left them in Phil's lorry. Phil looked at them an wondered what could be done with them.

From this.... To this....

Now it didn't go down well with Renault. Phil called in one day an was soon in conservation with the depot manager at Tipton. After a while a gentleman's agreement was shook on an the until it broke down bit was taken off. I think Phil is pondering on what could replace it though.

Loaded with concrete hula hoops.

Parked with the sister lorry BX64 BXH in the yard.

A slight edit by me.

We don't just listen to music, we do enjoy listening to audiobooks like Stephen Fry's autobiography. Phil has a very big collection, it keeps us entertained while traveling around the country.

On a Job near Wigan. The site was very wet an muddy. The funny thing was the tipper we was pulling was Jack Holloways brand new trailer with alloy wheels and Scania mud flaps. It very soon got plastered in muck.

An so did Phil.

John Talbot was on the same Job aswell. Phil used to work with John when they were draymen for The Beer Seller in Stratford upon Avon.

After the mucky loads its nice to be given a clean load. Here is a load of bailed (crushed together) washing machines. The smell of clean washing was wonder full, it must of been wonderful for anyone who followed us down the road with their windows open.

Here's a new one to the Holloway fleet, Adam Holloway's V8 Scania. Adam offered a Scania to Phil,

he declined it in an instant!

There was some work done to the roof of the garage an scaffolding was put up. One night Phil nipped up an took these photo's.

Talk about bring you work home with you... Thank you Matt for lending us the pickup to bring home some timber Phil an I collected on our travels.

A new addition to the trailer fleet is this ex MOD slide top. Phil an I took it out for it maiden run. It is a great bit of kit, so much easier than a curtain sider. On the sides and the back are the haz card holders, the cards were in them. One of the cards was RADIATION!!!. We wondered how big a gap could we generate on the M6 motorway if we showed them. When we told Matt he laughed but said "NO". Once back in the yard Phil removed all the haz cards an put them in the stores.

A lorry needs air to release the brakes so you can move, when the compressor packs up, YOU STOP! Well that's what happened to us on the A449 topside of Wolverhampton, a mile off junction 2 of the M54. Phil called Renault assistance an I put the kettle on.

Now we have the hazard lights on an Its amazing how many pulled up behind us expecting us to move.

Renault muk-a-nic came out, connected an air line from the compressor in the back of the van to kid (the lorry) an blew enough air... oh yer after a false start due to the compressor ran out of petrol, an the bloke had to go off to get some. anyway.... enough air to move kid off the island into a industrial estate near by.

Where we waited until a recovery lorry came to tug us to Tipton.

Renault Trucks Tipton. Renault couldn't fix it until they had approval from Volvo, yes Volvo... (cuz that what a Renault T Range is under the cab) ... to either bung on a new compressor or they had to strip down the broken one to see what buggered up in it an see if it could be fixed. Luckily they approved to have a new one fitted. It was fixed overnight. Phil, Hue and I slept in one of Holloways Renault premiums that broke down earlier, brought in an fixed an was waiting to be collected.

"Fork crying out loud mate!" a nice little job of shifting two knackered forklifts from Stoke-on-Trent to Lutterworth."

The bits that were wanted on the forklifts are the bag grabs on the front, the rest I think they will weigh in for scrap.

Another new addition to the fleet, I'm sorry but not the best looking lorry in the world, well it is a Scania.

Is it just me but it looks like its got a bad smell under its nose (grill), it reminds me of the late great Kenneth Williams.

Ha Ha only been in the yard five minutes an Scania had to come out an fix it.

I baled out on this job.

First thought you might think we are delivering silage (winter feed for livestock), no, wrapped up in this plastic is rubbish. I stayed in the cab, Phil took these photos.

Have you herd of a bucket list? well we had a bucket load!

Ha.... Oz the safety officer!

I should of had a clipboard.

Here we are at Whitworth quarry near Rochdale.

Here to transport this weighbridge to Finmere Buckinghamshire.

As the crane set up, Phil positioned Kid along side. Phil had to extend the trailer 6 ft to accommodate the length of the weighbridge.

I gave instruction to Rip... (crane operator) on how it was to be done safely, While Shaun connected the chains.

Rip had to increases the weight on the back of the crane, due to the weighbridge was slightly heavier then presumed.

It was about 12 tonne.

"Alley-oop"

Nice an steady....... Shaun had a rope one end an Phil the other.

Carefully lowered on to the trailer.

Rip.

Shaun.

Cracking job there lads, thank you.

Phil chained it down an we set off.

No crane at Finmere,

two 360 excavators lifted it up an Phil drove out from underneath it.

Here at Joseph Holloways we have to be fit and ready for every job that comes along.

This is Caddy our fitness instructor, who regularly puts us all through our paces.

ARE YOU READY

FOR ACTION

CADDY?

Mark... one of our muckinic's, showed me how to fix a puncher.

Sadly one of our drivers ,Lucjan, that has worked for Holloways for many years left to return home to Poland. He's a good mate an I'll miss him.

December 2020... A call out by Welsh Water for lorries to transport water... of course... from Conway to Flint (North Wales), when a pumping station had broken down. Keeping a underground reservoir topped up was important.

Phil an Paul took it in turns to transport the water or too sit with the pumping trailer at the reservoir.

Filling up from a stand pipe near Conway.

2021.... a slight change of ownership has happened, EMR.... EVERY MI... ahem... European Metal Recycling. We will be working just the same out of Oldbury, so no change in routine. I do like the the new decals.

Caught on the move,,, this photo was sent to me by Jim Lennox, Jim is a dedicated photographer of lorries from different locations around the motorway network. He took this near Gailey on the M6 on the 11th June.

Want to see more? here's the link too... lorryspotting.com

Thanks Jim, give us a wave next time you spot us mate.

Oz's travels.

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