1993 Leyland Daf 95-430This is a scan of a 35mm photograph taken on a Canon Sureshot and is one of my first attempts at taking pictures of trucks.
From my recollections of talking to the driver the diesel engine load was on the way from Kidderminster to North Wales and was running at close to 150 tons.
The photo was taken (not very far from my home in Lichfield) in a lay-by on the A5 near Shenstone, Staffordshire, England in October 1995.
The grey patch in the bottom RH corner is a DoT weighbridge and I took the shot standing on the weighbridge cabin.
Due to weight restrictions on the elevated sections of the M6 motorway (through Birmingham) northbound vehicles with a total weight of more 75 tons have to use an alternative route from Junction 4 of the M6 via the M42 and A5 to rejoin the M6 at Junction 12 near Cannock with southbound loads following the reverse route.
The lay-by was very large and away from the A5 main carriageway and was a popular stop-over for abnormal loads.
I took many great photographs of heavy haulage loads at the location as I passed it every day on my way to work in Telford, Shropshire, England.
Sadly the lay-by was reduced in size following improvements nearby due to the opening of the M6 toll road, although the weighbridge is still in its original position.
I will be listing some more abnormal loads and hope that viewers do not find the foregoing information too boring.
Picture added on 22 August 2013 at 03:36
