Harleyman Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Because as a nation we enjoy a quiet confidence in our cultural and psychological wellbeing, which precludes the need to prove ourselves in that aggressive and tasteless way? (ie by driving the biggest lumps of iron on the planet). If you think the trucks are bad, you should see the RVs.... They are the lifeblood of this nation at least. The arteries through which everything we need to live on is transported to our front doors Without them we'd be starving to death and walking around naked Try living a life of quiet confidence and cultural and psychological well being on an empty belly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daid Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 They are the lifeblood of this nation at least. The arteries through which everything we need to live on is transported to our front doors Without them we'd be starving to death and walking around naked Try living a life of quiet confidence and cultural and psychological well being on an empty belly Ours occupy the same status here prety much albeit on a smaller scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Ours occupy the same status here prety much albeit on a smaller scale. I noticed while on a visit to the UK in 2007 that there are many large trucks from Europe to be seen on the motorways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 I can understand somewhere like Australia (now they do have trucks) where you don't see a gas station for a day or two let alone a town. The US has a fantastic rail network. Driving one of these trucks from East to West must be mindlessly inefficient unless fuel is heavily subsidised. A train only moves things so far. At some point, it must be loaded onto a truck to either get it to it's destination, or for delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 A train only moves things so far. At some point, it must be loaded onto a truck to either get it to it's destination, or for delivery. He's obviously never heard of the container system of transportation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old tup Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Before I retired I was a Class 1 HGV driver some of the places I was sent to with my rig you would not believe,trading estates built for horse and carts nevermind 48ton units like mine!.American rigs would have no chance in such places,the transport office didn,t give a monkeys it was get out there and get on with it!.I wouldn,t send a Transit van to some of the drops I,ve done,so American rigs would have no chance,horses for courses!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Before I retired I was a Class 1 HGV driver some of the places I was sent to with my rig you would not believe,trading estates built for horse and carts nevermind 48ton units like mine!.American rigs would have no chance in such places,the transport office didn,t give a monkeys it was get out there and get on with it!.I wouldn,t send a Transit van to some of the drops I,ve done,so American rigs would have no chance,horses for courses!. And a transit van being what exactly.... something that UPS and Fedex use? :hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddycoffee Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 He's obviously never heard of the container system of transportation Containers would be great on our railways if they would fit through the tunnels. Unfortunately when the Victorians built the railways in the Sheffield region from 1845 onwards, they never anticipated such size and so we are left with a very narrow loading gauge for our rail freight. W6a is the loading Gauge guaranteed on the UK rail network, whereas W8 would be required to transport standard 8ft6in high shipping containers. Improvements are being made to achieve this but it will take many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Containers would be great on our railways if they would fit through the tunnels. Unfortunately when the Victorians built the railways in the Sheffield region from 1845 onwards, they never anticipated such size and so we are left with a very narrow loading gauge for our rail freight. W6a is the loading Gauge guaranteed on the UK rail network, whereas W8 would be required to transport standard 8ft6in high shipping containers. Improvements are being made to achieve this but it will take many years. You've answered the OP's question very well. Large, heavy duty trucks (which are called tractors here) use containers. Where I live these trucks load up huge containers from incoming ships in the Port of Los Angeles, a few thousand a day in fact and take them to transit warehouses where they are off loaded and loaded onto other similar trucks for delivery to places hundreds or thousands of miles distant or sometimes delivery will be made direct from the Port. Sometimes these containers are also put onto railway flat cars. It's not unusual to see freight trains near enough a mile long crossing the desert on their way to Chicago and points east. I've seen them many a time from the Interstate 40 when driving to Flagstaff, Arizona The whole crux of the matter is that British and Euro freight trucks are designed with the systems of motorways and surface roads in mind while American trucks are designed for the Interstates and urban areas where they have to operate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old tup Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 And a transit van being what exactly.... something that UPS and Fedex use? :hihi: Hi Harleyman no mate a UK Ford Transit van is smaller even than a UPS or FedEx motor,they are used for small local deliveries over here!.:hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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