TDX400K & UBM104K - Coincidence ?
This little history of two different trucks is of little interest to most, but it tickles me. TDX 400K and UBM 104K were both Scania 110s, probably from the same dealer, Scantrucks, in the same year. Both started life on the Middle East run, TDX with Astran, and UBM with HG Brown. Both passed through the hands of our old friend Dave Weekes, Addington Recovery, whose yard was virtually next door to Astran.
| This is UBM 104K. Drivers in those days were Bill Robins and Sid Philpott. Bill has emailed me with a load of his pics, and info about Sid see below
| TDX at the start of its life: still "Asian Transport" then
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| UBM looking very sorry for itself, probably going to a scrapyard....
| TDX at work with John Holland , now Astran, but no "white Line logo"
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| Someone in East London rescued UBM, and put it to work, and then sold it to Dave Weekes, who sold it to me for £1200. I had already removed the name before the picture, and can't now remember what it was. Anyone know? | Looking very clean here, now got the "white line" logo : respray?
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| We started doing a lot of UK shunting for Astran in the 80s, here loading at Ellesmere Port.
| Working hard in Doha
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TDX is sold to the next door neighbour, Dave Weekes, to be converted to recovery, and here TDX and UBM really come together after UBM blows a bigend on the M10, and yes, I used Astran's workshop to do the rebuild.
| Collecting Tony Soameson's trailer with Billy Russel's outfit on top after he crashed in Adana. Ramsgate Docks
| TDX again recovering a coach.
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| UBM still chugging away, here loading a 20' box at 43 berth, Tilbury
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TDX moved to Cambridge
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| UBM spent its last few years as our yard shunter, until the noble rot finally caught up with that fine Scandinavian steel. | TDX appears to have moved to Devon, and been recabbed, found this picture on the internet
Anyone with any news about TDX 400K today, let me know |
| In 1997 I went bust, and with a heavy heart, I sold her to CMS at Paddock Wood, that fine old engine still running.
I bought her for £1200, sold it to CMS for £300 , £900 for 17 years hard graft is pretty good in anyone's book. |
So that's it, two trucks with very different lives, but sisters under the skin. Many thanks to Ashley for a lot of the TDX pictures, and my thanks to those anonymous internet owners of the others.
The black & white picture came from Ashley, but Bill Robins spotted it and sent me the pictures below from when he drove UBM. I've attached his email as well, bit of info about old-timers.
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