stuck trucks

I reckon that semi load of elephants pulling a bus back on the road is pretty impressive

Imagine riding along in the car as kid and seeing this
Then Monday morning at show and tell at school
No one would believe you


Paul

I saw the text but did not get any pictures after the semi load of Elefumps, or Heffalumps as my father called them.

Ah, shared memories, like you Morris, they were hefelumps when I was growing up too.

On the same wavelength, my eldest daughter had trouble with the pronunciation of the word helicopter when she was first talking . . . heli-cer-cop was her version. 

Trust you are feeling better and becoming more familiar with your new accoutrements. 

Thanks for the good wishes.

When I first came to Melbourne, my landlord told me that his father always called helicopters "Aeri-go-flops" and he (the storyteller) had trouble remembering the correct name for them.

Funny the discussion on the elephants as my Aunt worked with Sole Bros Circus for many years doing acrobatics and tiger taming. Yes tiger not lion.

She drove trucks during the Second World War and never drove again after. She never held a licence. I remember her telling me (not that long ago) that the brakes failed on a truck she was driving, with elephants on board, and her nudging the truck into a cliff face to stop it.

She was the most interesting person I have ever met. She died of Covid in 2022 at 101 and 8 months, whilst still living at home.

One interesting side light was that during the war, they didn't have petrol rationing and they had special dedicated trains to get to West Aussie and back. That was the importance of entertaining the populace.

@Lang
Herbert Curry with a Linn tractor truck loaded with hoop pine in Villeneuve Queensland around 1929. The truck is a 100Hp six cylinder Linn ‘Haftrak’ with a Linn US-made chassis and local body. This vehicle was made specifically for the logging industry, often carrying far more than its load capacity of five tons. 

99% confirms we are discussing the same Linn.

@Morris
I believe heffalumps came from the fertile imagination of A.A. Milne, in Christopher Robin.

When I lived at Bald Hills I was inbound on old Gympie Rd, just before entering the end of the freeway, when I saw a pile of grassy excrement blocking (I mean blocking!) the left lane. I thought some dirty barsteward had cleaned out a stable, into a horse float, then dumped it in the road. All became apparent when I saw a circus set up opposite the Caltex. 

Had to laugh at your comment about the elephant droppings V8Ian. It reminded me of a series of letters to the Adelaide Advertiser in the mid 80's . . . 

Someone complained about the amount of pollution emitted from trucks using the Port Road.

The next day a reply came stating that considering the tonnage being carried perhaps the initial letter writer should be thankful they were not still using horses and carts - otherwise they would be up to their knees in horse sh*t for the same tonnage.  

But there was more to come as another letter appeared the following day, this time it was pointed out that for such heavy tonnage it was common practice to use bullocks rather than horses. The writer added that as a bullock could put down two to three times as much as a horse could for any given load, where would that leave us?     Apparently you would be up to your neck in it!   

As they say in Marriage, only the depth varies!

This happened on Stradbroke Island late 1950's or early 60's. Photos taken by my late father who worked for the sand mining company, TAZI, as the head mechanic.


 
 

My mate Goldy a tad stuck in Gold Finger a few years ago now
Goldy has told me he needed a few wheel bearings after this miss adventure out in western QLD 



Paul