The archive
Vehicles
Stories and guides from the vehicles collection.
19 Aug 2022
A Real Swiss Sweetie
At a truck show in Assen, one vehicle stood out from everything around it. A Swiss-registered Scania, finished in deep burgundy and gold, took the top honour from the judges, and it was easy to see why. Parked between a
20 Jul 2022
As Old As The Greek Gods
A customer recently returned from a break in Kalamata, in southern Greece, with photographs that will be of interest to anyone who keeps an eye out for older commercial vehicles while abroad. Kalamata retains a somewhat
19 Feb 2023
Big Love for #littlebigcabclub
There has been plenty of activity around the lightweight big sleeper cab scene, a niche corner of road transport that continues to attract a devoted following.
30 May 2023
Canadian Co-Op Caper
A fuel tanker driver who relocated from Suffolk to Regina, Saskatchewan, is the subject of this latest dispatch from the road. The move followed a familiar pattern: a few months spent waiting on permits and visas, then a
1 Feb 2023
Catch The Pigeon…. Well Nearly!
An email arrived at the weekend with a photograph attached and a few lines of explanation. It came from a reader who had spotted a familiar vehicle and thought it worth sharing. The lorry in question is a blue example th
3 Jul 2022
Classic & Vintage Commercial Show
A free Sunday and a favourable weather forecast were all the encouragement needed to head south for the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show. It had been a few years since the last truck show, and this one had long been a
8 Oct 2023
DAF Danzas Detective
Old trailers deserve just as much attention as old trucks, and a Saturday spent wandering among rows of vintage commercials turned up plenty worth writing about. First among them is a Danzas drawbar trailer, found in not
19 Sept 2022
Elizabeth Windsor. 1926 – 2022
The death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral on 8 September 2022, at the age of 96, brought to a close a reign of seventy years. She was born in London on 21 April 1926, the elder daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York,
22 Aug 2022
Finnish-ed Power
The long summer break can drag for some children, who are restless by the third week with too little to occupy them. For those of us who stay behind while others head off on holiday, there is a small consolation: the pho
14 Jan 2023
Fleenor Brothers, MO.
For anyone with an interest in American trucks, social media cuts both ways. On one hand, it gives enthusiasts a platform to share their passion with the world. On the other, it means there is always a channel to suit ev
26 Aug 2022
Fordham Vehicle Show 2022
The Fordham Vehicle Show returned in August 2022 for the first time since 2019, bringing a welcome burst of activity to this corner of the Colchester area. Despite a scorching, humid day that kept some owners away, the t
16 Jul 2022
Fun in The Spanish Sun
What does a person do after running one of the UK's best-known international family haulage firms? What does a person do when they are a genuine, committed truck spotter? And what does a person do to satisfy a lifelong r
11 Aug 2022
Greek Express by Mat Ireland
Greece has plenty to recommend it: the food, the weather, the beer, and a transport heritage that rewards anyone who keeps a camera within reach. There is always something old to find.
6 Jul 2022
H.E.T. Ltd
A small family-run transport firm based at Heathrow has shared a set of photographs from one of its regular runs down to the Greek capital.
3 Jan 2023
Happy New Year Bloggers!!!
2022 was a strange year. Too frantic for comfort, with far too much panic and urgency for anyone who prefers a slower pace. The Retro Truck Show weekend was the opposite: relaxed, unhurried, full of good conversation and
29 Aug 2022
Heinrichs Thermoliner
The livery is a familiar shade, one that has appeared on Danish and Swiss fleets alike, but it looks particularly striking here. It works just as convincingly on a flat-top DAF as it does on a Scania, which rather proves
29 Mar 2023
Is It Nearly Show Time??
The long winter is dragging, and the pull of the truck show circuit is being felt keenly. There is nothing quite like the chance to gather with like-minded people who share an appreciation for the machines that defined t
15 Aug 2022
Italia Man’s MAN
A familiar Italian-registered MAN has been turning up in Dover again, photographed by Neil Jarrold a few weeks ago. The truck belongs to a driver from Italy who has become a regular subject for British truck spotters ove
24 Feb 2023
Kenworth T680 Signature Edition Celebrates Company’s 100th Anniversary
Kenworth has marked its 100th anniversary year with the launch of the T680 Signature Edition, a specially trimmed version of its flagship long-haul tractor. The model is offered with the company's 76-inch mid-roof and hi
3 Mar 2023
Kenworth Turns 100 in 2023
Kenworth marked its centenary in 2023, a year-long celebration of a marque that has appeared on the grilles of more than 1.3 million trucks working across the United States and Canada over the past century.
22 Feb 2023
Kenworth W900 Limited Edition
Kenworth is marking its centenary in 2023, and the truck maker has chosen the W900 as the centrepiece of the celebrations. A Limited Edition version of the long-running model was announced as the opening act of a year-lo
8 Feb 2023
Long Days Late Nights
The sun never sets on a long distance lorry driver. That line, from a well known documentary, holds true whatever the size of the truck. It came back to me recently while thinking about the hours drivers once put in when
31 Oct 2022
McLaren & Mercedes-Benz
McLaren's long-serving truck driver Ian Hodges has been reunited with the 25-year-old Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor unit he once drove to race circuits across Europe, following a painstaking restoration by enthusiast rest
24 Jul 2022
Me? Doing some Mechanics??
Getting hands-on with a truck engine for the first time is a milestone for any enthusiast, especially when the most complex job you've previously tackled was a water pump replacement on an old 141—and even that had been
10 Oct 2023
Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 Launched
Mercedes-Benz Trucks has unveiled the eActros 600, a heavy-duty electric truck intended to set new standards for technology, sustainability, design and profitability in long-haul transport. The vehicle is aimed at replac
25 Dec 2022
Merry Christmas Bloggers!!
A Christmas greeting to readers, published on 25 December 2022.
19 Jan 2023
Missing The Old Days…
Two days back on the road and the old longings resurface. By trucking standards the trip was modest: leaving Essex on a Tuesday morning for a meeting in Wellingborough, then pushing on through the afternoon to Tankersley
5 Feb 2023
Pages of Days Gone By
Most drivers cut their teeth in a 7.5-tonner. It is the classic starting point, and for plenty of people those early miles were happy ones — particularly before speed limiters arrived to put a ceiling on the fun. You wen
8 Sept 2022
PETERBILT LAUNCHES SPECIAL EDITION MODEL 389X
Peterbilt has unveiled a limited-run special edition of its Model 389, a truck that has become a familiar sight on North American highways since the model was introduced. The new 389X pays tribute to that legacy with a p
19 Oct 2022
Re-Post: Centurion List – The Final 4
Four Scania Centurions remain unidentified in an ongoing effort to catalogue all 100 of the special-edition trucks. Each of the four is a confirmed Centurion, yet no one has produced solid evidence of the build number al
12 Sept 2022
Retro Show ‘22 – The Roundtrip
The Retro Show 2022 marked the first UK outing for the Gr814, and the trip there and back was made in good company.
1 Apr 2023
SCOOP: Scania Sauna Series
Scania has unveiled a Sauna-Series cab, developed specifically to help drivers manage stress and improve their wellbeing while out on the road.
6 Oct 2022
Sheldrake Steamer
A steam wagon is still a truck, and this one is a fine example of the breed. A photograph of a Foden steam wagon, finished in a striking shade, was captured at a steam fair by a contact in the trade who attends such even
2 Sept 2022
TB Hits the Big Time
The closure of one of England's best-known haulage firms has been announced, with the company set to shut its gates for good. The decision by Whites Transport Services comes as a result of retirement rather than any othe
23 Sept 2023
TB is Back!!
After a stretch of posting only to social media, this blog is returning to its own corner of the web. Recent months saw updates shared through Facebook and Instagram rather than here, and some of those posts found a surp
28 Nov 2022
The Gr814 Passed Again
The little Gr814 has sailed through its annual MOT for the second year running. Preparation amounted to little more than a bulb check and the addition of a concrete block over the fifth wheel, which made for a welcome ch
23 Sept 2022
The Retro Show – Just Gets Better!
The Retro Truck Show at Gaydon has long been a fixture for anyone with an interest in older commercial vehicles, and the most recent edition did nothing to dent its reputation. By Sunday morning the count stood at 401 tr
28 Sept 2022
The Trucks of Steve Jenkins
Steve Jenkins spent most of his working life in transport, and for fifteen of those years – from 1971 to 1986 – he ran his own truck as an owner-driver. Much of that work was European, and while he was never a regular on
27 May 2022
The Week in Trucks
A weekly round-up of notable lorries and heavy haulage spotted on the road and shared by drivers and enthusiasts.
8 Jul 2022
The Week in Trucks
The UK's truck scene has long thrived on the dedication of enthusiasts who document the vehicles they spot on the road. Across the country, photographers and drivers alike capture the comings and goings of both modern fl
3 Sept 2022
The Week in Trucks
A weekly look at lorries, drivers and the details that catch the eye.
15 Oct 2022
The Week in Trucks
The third instalment of the magicblue series has arrived, and it brings with it a striking sight: a Russian trailer operating on English roads. The juxtaposition is hard to miss — a vehicle built for long-haul routes acr
8 Jan 2023
The Week in Trucks
A weekly round-up of truck photography from around the world, published on 8 January 2023.
18 Mar 2023
The Week in Trucks
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6 May 2023
The Week in Trucks
The haulage world never stands still, and this week has served up a typically varied mix — from heritage restorations to modern fleet movements and the odd spot of driver humour.
4 Aug 2022
Truckstar Festival 2022 – #1
The 2022 edition of the Truckstar Festival proved to be the finest of eight visits for this particular attendee, and the reason had as much to do with the people as the vehicles.
9 Aug 2022
Truckstar Festival 2022 #2
The Truckstar Festival in Assen has become known for something that now feels routine at truck shows across Europe: the nightly tradition of trucks standing open with their lights running, their owners trusting the crowd
29 Jul 2022
Truckstar Festival 2022
After a three-year gap, the Truckstar Festival returned in 2022. The last edition covered here was in 2019, so this year's event was a long-awaited reunion for regular attendees.