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Yankee logging lorry just keeps on trucking

Emilene White
27/12/2006

IT'S a far cry from the lonely logging roads of the American deep south.

So it's no wonder that, when Paul Goddard drives his firm's monster Peterbilt truck, he turns a few heads.

Paul works with his dad, also called Paul, at their vehicle recovery company Glossop Motors.

Bought six years ago from a London firm, the 20-ton truck, which has eight gears and a 12l Detroit two-stroke diesel engine, is capable of recovering vehicles weighing in at up to 44 tons.

"It's a bit of a challenge to drive it," said Paul, 23. "But you get used to it. And yes, you get everybody looking and making comments.

"Spares are a bit of a nightmare with it being old and American. We've had to make quite a lot of parts ourselves."

While the truck is certainly up to the job, he admitted it was really a bit of a showpiece.

"It's Dad - he loves his American vehicles," he said.

Paul senior, 51, agrees. "I've had American pick-ups and vans since being 15 and I've always found them well built and very strong.

"It's cheap and does the job. They do look aggressive - it's sort of small boys and their toys."

Founded in 1939 by entrepreneur TA Peterman to carry freshly-felled logs to the lumber mill efficiently, Peterbilt has factories in Tennessee, Texas and Quebec.

The famous truck starred in all three Smokey And The Bandit films and its latest appearance was in this year's animation from Pixar, Cars.