ASTRAN IN IRELAND

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM CUNNINGHAM, WORDS BY IAN NORWELL

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ks s truc n a r t s s of A ers colour c i n -spott o k c i c ver u e r h t T err y o for f r e e h g t g i r takes panys are a t e com e. T&D h r t e f h o w t one mievery to visi y in se l d t n e i a l u e q to Ir ving gford iers, li d l o s ty Lon n d u ol o C ent in retirem

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ASTRAN IN IRELAND

Fact focus
Model: Scania 143.500 Topline Streamline Reg: 95 RN 2207 (re-registered) Engine: DSC1409, 14-litre V8 Gearbox: GRS900 12-speed manual Power: 500hp @ 1900rpm Torque: 2150Nm @ 1100-1500rpm Owner: Eoin McGinnity, Longford, County Longford, Ireland

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randfather having run a haulage business in the Twenties, and dad carrying on the enterprise, is not an easy thing to let go of. Even though Eoin McGinnity now runs a large retail outlet for home furnishings and DIY products, with just a couple of light vans and a three-tonner he can hardly be said to be running a haulage fleet. But dig a little deeper and the roots start to show. In 1930 Eoins grandfather, Owen, and his brother started with a Ford Model-T truck, moving stone for the construction of Enniskillen airport, and the business grew from there. The 1953 Leyland Comet that Owen bought new is still in their hands and its approaching the end of a loving restoration. Owens fleet peaked at 20 trucks and they were essentially ownaccount operators in the steel fabrication business. In the 1960s my grandfather got the contract to lift a lot of old railway lines in Ireland, up into the North too, says Eoin. The steel rails were lifted and used for construction. Theyre still

propping up plenty of farm buildings around this part of the world. But even with just a few modern vans and the lovely Comet to their name, theres a bigger secret hiding behind their warehouse that betrays Eoins real love. There arent many trucks, or liveries to be more precise, that prompt the kind of response that Astrans red and yellow combination do. In the vanguard of the hardy pioneers who ran trucks to the Middle East in the Sixties, they pressed on when others would turn back and established a justifiable mythical status.
SOUGHT-AFTER ICON

Still going after 50 years, the old Astran trucks that helped beat a path to Afghanistan, Saudi and other difficult destinations are now sought-after vehicles and they turn up in the most unexpected places. Eoin has one. I was looking for a Volvo F10 really, he says. But my son saw this 143 in a classic commercials mag and then again on a blog somewhere, saying that an Irish haulier not far from me, Gordon Regan, was selling it. As soon

as I saw it she stole my heart away. This specimen had been operated by one of Astrans hard-working subbies, Graham Ball, and after it had been laid up in Calais for six months Gordon Regan persuaded him to part with it. Gordon put it to work on European haulage and also carried out a lot of humanitarian work with it, to Belarus, Chernobyl and Moldova. It then worked internationally from the Middle East and eventually came back to the UK, where it was re-registered. My original idea was to buy an oldtimer F10 and paint it in our livery. Wed had one new in 1979. It cost us 29,000 Irish and everyone thought we were mad, says Eoin. Hed traded it in against an AEC Mandator and ran it until 1994. It spent 15 years with the same driver from new and theyd taken it off the road after nine years to tidy it up for sale. It had new doors to replace the rusty ones and a new screen. It was the 245hp model with the eight-speed gearbox, says Eoin. But when it came out of the workshop, we looked at each other and agreed that
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we just couldnt part with it, so she worked on until 1994. Eoin was still looking for an F10 when he saw the Astran 143.500. He talked to Gordon about it and any change of livery on this one was immediately ruled out, says Eoin. I was even discouraged by Gordon from tidying up some flaking chassis paint [original] after he had made it plain that hed had a bigger offer for the truck from elsewhere. Gordon wanted the heritage respected. I understood what he meant. T&D has come across a few people with old trucks tucked away, even if theyve never run a haulage operation (for example, Lee Herbert, a gas engineer from Banbury, T&D October 2011) and they often use them just on high days and holidays. Were all in favour of that at T&D because it keeps the trucks away from the crusher. However, this 143 is only in semiretirement because it still works for a living a couple of days a week. It is used to move coal and peat briquettes and also takes on a little groupage work out of a hardware company in Naas.

Using the red curtainsider, and in Astrans livery with the classic headboard and spotlights atop the rear of the cab, it strikes quite a pose in the green lanes of County Longford. Maintenance is not an issue. Ive a technician who looks after it for me, says Eoin. Hes not trained or qualified but hes one of these amazing guys who can do absolutely anything. Mick Lenihan restores classic cars when hes not under, or inside, Eoins Scania 143. I was so lucky to find such an able perfectionist, says Eoin. He was a neighbour of Gordons and when he sold the truck to me, Mick sort of came with it.
MODEL VEHICLE

The next best thing to owning one yourself, and easier to store, will be one of the top-quality metal models from Tekno, the Dutch specialist modelmaker. It produced a model of this truck and it sold out in a matter of days. Teknos latest effort, an Astran Scania 140 drawbar, will surely move as fast and it will be a case of the quick and the dead when it goes on sale.

Scanias dominated the Astran fleet from the early days and this 143 soon took on the hallmark appearance: the beacons, a massive roo bar, the lamps and headboard behind the roof rack and ladder. Interiors were heavily customised for looks and practicality. Passenger seats were usually stripped out to give drivers more space for weeks living away from home and Eoins example has a red and yellow leather interior, trimmed in Doha, making it the real deal. Eoin says its an ambition of his to follow in Gordon Regans tyre tracks and undertake a humanitarian run to eastern Europe. If a trip came up, Id jump at the chance to go, he says. It would be a fantastic experience and youd be doing some real good at the same time. As it is, hes happy to turn out at 5am to go and fuel her up before some gentle work around County Longford. But if theres anyone organising a humanitarian run in the near future, and theyd like one of the worlds most iconic liveries and trucks to go along, then Eoins your man. O

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