Every evening I see a shunter trundling along the road between the 2 Morrisons depots in this area. Probably about 5 miles or so between them and I am guessing it takes about 15/20 mins depending on traffic.
These things look as basic as you can get. Now I am wondering why a company the size of Morrisons (not sure if they do their own logistics) have this set up where resources are split between 2 depots. Are the shunters that expensive that over time it would not pay to have the right number at each depot to save this?
Is this common in the logistics industry?
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Most of the Morrisons depots I have been in certainly have more than one shunter and certainly the one you mention does, BobbyG.
They do their own logistics and also security are all Morrisons staff.
Shunters work incredibly hard and are an expensive piece of equipment so I'm wondering if it's parked at one depot each day for maintenance at the workshop and refuelling, since you seem to see it at the same time each day.
Many happy memories of tipping in there and when it was Safeways, too.
Not such good ones of Iceland though:)
Pat
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The glare of the goods in staff could make your icicles drop off1
Pat
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shunters used to be old atkis with a dodgy clutch and unable to get a ministry test
have morrisons gone posh then and bought a proper iron horse?
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A few years back we put some tow tractors into a parcel warehouse to shunt the trailers around the huge yard, Those were Nissan tow tractors & converted old massey ferguson tractor to do the same.
They did the job just fine im sure there still in use diesel 2.7 engines on the nissan.
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Pat did you only deliver to depots or to stores as well? I remember seeing a woman driver delivering to the shop but not sure if it was my Safeway / Morrisons days or Sainsburys.
The Safeway depot in Bellshill had (and probably still has) a snack van outside it that the regulars would have a roll and pie (scotch pie). First time I had ever seen that......
I am using the term shunter but maybe incorrectly. The vehicle I am describing resembles the front end of the thing that brings the steps up to the aircraft - just a plain driver only cabin, totally exposed back? And seems to have a top speed of about 20mph!
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A bit ironic this morning. After posting this query on Morrisons last night, one of their wagons tried to squash me into the concrete barrier on the A8 this morning! Pulled out whilst doing I recon about 30mph less than me, no signalling, and for no reason!
The Seat's brakes seem to work well....
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Ah the roll and pie Bobby. I remember that culinary curiousity. My first, and I think only encounter with it was when working in Edinburgh as a Saturday boy in a menswear shop when the area manager arrived on a surprise visit and I was despatched to Martins the bakers to fetch a roll and pie for him. At the bakers they thought I was unhinged but sold me the combination in separate bags as they more or less refused to believe that I'd been asked for a pie actually in a roll.
Mr Donnelly I'm sure his name was ( must be dead by now on that diet ) was an otherwise dapper and reasonably erudite man for a Glaswegian, or as near as those characteristics are achievable in Glasgow anyway :-) and I clearly remember watching in awe in the staff room as he grumpily put the pie into the roll and then dunked the whole combination in his mug of tea as he quizzed the manager about the week's takings through mouthfuls of his mid-morning snack and concurrent regular tugs on a Benson and Hedges. I also remember he got gravy on his tie and simply took one from the stockroom to replace it......
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Ah the mutton pie, looks, and often tastes like an ashtray. I have tried a deep fried Mars bar, that was quite pleasant. :)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 8 Sep 10 at 21:12
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I did a couple of months shuting for Argos 10-15 years ago and I had an old dog of a unit.
BUT having said that, it had an amazing turning circle and was tiny in comparison to the units I drove for deliveries. It was ideal for the job.
Having said that I'd have liked a Tugmaster so it was even easier to connect the air line (yes I know I said line rather than lines, emergency is all you need when moving around a yard)
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>> Ah the mutton pie, looks, and often tastes like an ashtray.
You're obviously going to the wrong place for your pies! A good Scotch pie is the food of the gods :-)
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>> You're obviously going to the wrong place for your pies! A good Scotch pie
there is no such thing, they are trully disgusting.
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>> >> You're obviously going to the wrong place for your pies! A good Scotch pie
>>
>>
>> there is no such thing, they are trully disgusting.
>>
To a youthful Scots palate when washed down with a bottle (glass bottle is best) of Irn Bru there is nothing better. Purchased hot direct from the bakers they are not to be confused with southern imported copies.
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>> >> >> You're obviously going to the wrong place for your pies! A good Scotch
>> pie
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> there is no such thing, they are trully disgusting.
>> >>
>> To a youthful Scots palate when washed down with a bottle (glass bottle is best)
>> of Irn Bru there is nothing better. Purchased hot direct from the bakers they are
>> not to be confused with southern imported copies.
Had them under such circumstances, tho not with juice of girders, but a pint.
There is a very good reason there are lots of piles of vomit in Glasgow, and its not just the beer.
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I thought that would provoke a response, You can't beat a fishing village fish supper though.
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>> I am using the term shunter but maybe incorrectly. The vehicle I am describing resembles
>> the front end of the thing that brings the steps up to the aircraft -
>> just a plain driver only cabin, totally exposed back? And seems to have a top
>> speed of about 20mph!
>>
I think you are referring to the Tugmaster. Superb piece of kit for serious shunting. You walk out of the back to connect the air line(s) and then just raise the trailer rather than rasing the legs. Saves you LOADS of time and you keep reasonably dry in the rain/snow.
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I just delivered to the Distrubution centre's Bobby and then their own local transport takes it out to the shops.
The snack van was excellent, square sausage and tatty cakes in a bread roll ( bun,batch,cake depending on locality!). I still miss tatty cakes!
The shunt motors are Tugmasters as mentioned further down and they are excellent and efficient for putting trailers on and off bays. The turntable lifts up and down hydraulically so the trailer legs don't have to be wound up and down manually, saving so much time.
We have one in our yard for the 60 lorries working out of the Guyhirn depot so you can imagine the cost saving for an operation the size of Morrison's/Sainsbury/Tesco.
The vast majority would never be taxed to go on a public road (or maintained!), so the shunter drivers tend to decorate them with stray teddy bears, carrots on sticks sticking out of the grills and rude remarks painted on them!
Suffice to say, you need a sense of humour to do that job:)
A typical trip up there for me would be Somerfield East Kilbride, Morrison's and Iceland at Bellshill then on to Morrison's at the Pyramids in Bathgate, Tesco Livingston and Somerfield Dunfermline before getting out to CJ Lang in Dundee and then up to Aberdeen. There was always a few Cash & Carry's thrown in for the odd pallet as well and I used to dread the ones in the centre of Glasgow.
The M8 junctions may well have made sense to the Scotsman who designed them, but I don't think they've ever made sense to an Englishman yet!
Pat
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>>The M8 junctions may well have made sense to the Scotsman who designed them, but I don't think they've ever made sense to an Englishman yet!
Ha ha, I know where you are coming from especially the ones in the centre of Glasgow where you have an on-slip coming on in the outside lane and this then becomes an off-slip a mile further on, in between which you have 2 slip roads from the left as well.
Listening to TomTom directing you through this area is quite amusing!
Oh, and its Tattie Scones not cakes!!!
Seriosuly, when I worked in Safeway the depot was run by Salvesen I think and there was huge initiative to get the stores and depot working together with helpdesk etc to update the shops. The numbe rof times they would knock back a chilled delivery was scary if they were late for their slot. At the shops we would have area managers going berserk because staple fresh lines were not in and it was due to one guy at the depot saying "sorry mate, I am not tipping you"
I often wondered what happened with chilled deliveries that got knocked back due to temperature? Would the supplier, ahem, just take the wagon away again, bring it down to temperature and then deliver the next day??
Finally, had a tour round the Bellshill depot and, even going back about 10 or so years now, the control for the HBC (Health & Beauty) picking lines was amazing to watch.
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It's one thing we could never understand. We would travel for 9 hours to make a booking time at Bellshill, catch the aftermath of an accident and be knocked back because were 30 minutes late.
BUT, we would arrive an hour early and have to wait outside, then when we did get in there we'd join the queue right round the ambient warehouse and wait for our POD's ( sorry, lines!) for at least 4 hours. Will haulage ever pay?:)
The answer to the question you asked about chilled is yes, but you have to understand that I didn't say that!
Pat
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Passed another one tonight. Its a Tedberg I think it said on the front? Assume these are not allowed on motorways as it takes a lengthy detour to avoid the A8/M8?
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>>Its a Tedberg I think it said on the front?
Terberg, grand bit of kit.
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Shunters - how much? - Pat
