Woodies week 15th October 2007

[woodie]

One of my diarys from January got some interest recently, so I decided to copy over my latest diary from the UK site. I hadn't done any for a few months, so last week I decided I'd better work on a new diary. Hope you enjoy it.




It's Monday and I've left Stuart (the other trunk day driver) to tip and load both the trunk trailers, while I do work for our Dalgety Bay depot. First up is a load of timber from the docks down to Irvine, but first I need to strap it down;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4757.jpg

Two drops done and it's straight back for a second load, this time for Boness;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4759.jpg

Time for a few photo's while driving out the docks;

The ruins of a castle at the entrance to Rosyth docks
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4761.jpg

View of the Forth Bridges
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4763.jpg

Tipping in Boness;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4764.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4765.jpg

I finish the day by going back to Dalgety Bay for a curtainsider, then off to pick up 1/2 a load in Broxburn (well I can't leave Stuart to do all the work)

Tuesday, back to the trunk stuff. My trailer is loaded with paper reels ex. Sheerness (originally from Sweden) destined for Glasgow

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4766.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4768.jpg

Then it's a short drive up to the docks at Govan to collect a load of OSB (Oriented Strand Board);

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4772.jpg

Strapped down and almost ready to roll
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4773.jpg

But first a trip round the quayside for some pictures;

A customs vessel & an oil rig support ship
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4769.jpg

Now that's some size of helipad!!!
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4770.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4771.jpg

Not quite finished, a short run across Govan and pick up a couple bundles of steel then it's back to the yard and get stuck into office work.

A quick google search came up with the following link for anybody that might be interested in the Oil-rig support vessel featured above;
http://siemoffshore.inmedia.no/filesystem/2007/08/sioff_presentation_29august_2007_429.pdf

Wednesday and the rest of the week to follow.

[woodie]

On to Wednesday now, and first up is a trip up to East Kilbride to drop off 10 ton of steel sheets, then 6 pallets into Christian Salvesons Newhouse depot on the way back, take a photo of one of their aerodynamic double deckers parked up in their yard (streamlined deckers are all the rage now, replacing the original square fronted deckers which due to their high frontage had fuel consumption issues, streamlined ones are claimed to be at least 1/2mpg better)

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4774.jpg

Anyway, back to my day, I return to the yard to reload;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4775.jpg

Then I head off across the Forth Bridge into TD James country (Fife). Pulling up at the tolls, I noticed an unusual vehicle at the next toll, so I got the camera out ready for it to pass me;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4776.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4777.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4778.jpg

Not very often that you see vans covered in artificial grass!!!

I dropped into our depot at Dalgety Bay and on the way out snapped a photo of the old church on the way out;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4780.jpg

Dropped boilers off at a building site in Ballingry then headed off via Leslie into Glenrothes, where one of the roundabouts has these massive flowers which no doubt somebody got paid loads of money by the local council to design, all in the name of modern art;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4781.jpg

Tullis Russell is about the only papermaker left in the Glenrothes area and while hunting for a forklift driver (endangered species forkies, never one around when you need them !) I took some photos inside their plant. Most of the plant is built on two floors with storage on the ground floor and the paper machines upstairs.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4782.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4783.jpg

Next up is the Diageo warehouse facility at Leven, each of these warehouses are stacked with barrels of whisky maturing for the day they get to be blended into Scotlands most famous product.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4784.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4785.jpg

P.s. I've tried counting the buildings while driving around the site, but there are too many to count!!!

Finally after doing the last delivery at an industrial estate in Perth, it's a quick trip thru the town centre (avoiding the lows bridges!) to the docks to collect some timber for London;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4786.jpg

The Forth Road Bridge is currently undergoing a lot of repair work, part of which involves the cables being checked out and the outer coatings being painted, the brave guys (or idiots, whichever you prefer to call them) are working in these cradles slung from under the cables.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4787.jpg
(apologies for not getting the whole basket in the centre of the photo, but I was doing 55 mph with my hand out the window holding the camera at the time !!)

Hopefully will be back tomorrow with more.

(wonder if they have to get the lawnmower out to cut that van after it rains.. :rofl: )

[woodie]

A quiet day (of sorts) today, I had some paperwork to catch up on in the office so I got that out of the way first, then it was up to the Lidl RDC with a load of flour. As usual there was a wait to get on a loading bay, just over an hour today which is not too bad for them. With Lidl, you tip yourself with an electric pallet truck, so at least there's no waiting once you're on a bay. We always collect empty pallets so I had to go back to the yard with them, where I loaded a pallet for Stirling, my only other delivery today. A load came on from Cumbernauld, so I tipped Stirling and ran down to Cumbernauld to load groupage going down to London for shipping abroad.

At Cumbernauld, with the curtains tied back ready to load;
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4788.jpg

The trucks all come together at much the same time with the goods I'm collecting;
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4789.jpg

Once everybody's in I'mloaded fairly quickly, then have to wait for paperwork. Then it's back to the yard to do paperwork for the days work.

One of our trucks is working for a timber merchant/house kit builder this week, he's brought a trailer back with him tonight ready for delivery in the morning;
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4791.jpg

[woodie]

Friday, was a run down to Kilmarnock first then drop in at Celtic Football Club on the way back with one pallet, as usual I had to get the comments in about my team (Rangers) being the better of the big two in Glasgow. Then on to Bathgate to pick up a load of bollards from a foundry.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4803.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4804.jpg

Then back to the yard to change trailers before going out the the Argos distribution centre, which is run by TDG at Eurocentral;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4806.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4807.jpg

Then back to the yard to wash the truck down and hook back up to the load of bollards ready for tonights trunk.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4808.jpg

On my way home on friday night, one of the customers down south phones to say that a pallet coming up tonight needs delivered in Kilmarnock on saturday instead of monday. Luckily I stay south of the yard, so I make arrangements for the night driver to drop the truck and trailer near my house and take my car back to the yard. This will save me some time in the morning.

Up nice and early and I head west through Ayrshire on the A70, arrive at Diageo, Kilmarnock at 6:50 and have no problems getting the pallet taken off. There are another 2 pallets for Kilmarnock, they're booked in for Monday but I go round there on spec and trade a bottle of Irn Bru for the removal of the 2 pallets and everybody's happy. I'm almost back at East Kilbride before the sun breaks thru the morning cloud;

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4812.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/woodie_bucket/October/DCP_4813.jpg

I chance another drop at Bellshill, there's another driver on site but no staff, but he's happy with me dropping the cartons in the warehouse. So 3 drops done so it makes life a bit easier on Monday. I get back to the yard and sort both the trailers out for Monday, so that's another job less to do.

That's all for this week,hope you enjoyed it.

[RodeoJoe]

Hey, Woodie! Thanks for the pictures, I really enjoyed seeing what others in our line of work are up to.