The Early Days
The story of the “Blue Trucks” starts back in the 1960′s when coal was trucked into Camden from mine sites in the Burragorang Valley. The public have no access to this area as it is a catchment area for Lake Burragorang behind Warragamba Dam. Approximately 50 miles west is the historic town of Camden.
Coal haulage started in the area as far back as the 1930′s when it was handled by Clintons, a small haulage company. The Coal mines started in the 1930′s from small beginnings with single axle rigid trucks carting coal to local customers e.g. hospitals and foundries to fire up the boilers & blast furnaces.By the 1950s the two major haulage companies Clintons and S&M Fox who owned the mines found their fleets rapidily expanding. S & M Fox had approximately 20 trucks, mostly K8 series Internationals (photo 1).
In the late 1960's coal demand was as its peak and Clintons was bought out by S&M Fox, whose fleet had grown to approx 200 trucks. These trucks were commonly referred to as the "Blue Trucks" because of the distinctive blue coloured cabin (photo 2), single axle drive and single axle trailer configuration. The "Blue Truck" was a very recognisable icon in the Camden district.
The story of the “Blue Trucks” starts back in the 1960′s when coal was trucked into Camden from mine sites in the Burragorang Valley. The public have no access to this area as it is a catchment area for Lake Burragorang behind Warragamba Dam. Approximately 50 miles west is the historic town of Camden.
Coal haulage started in the area as far back as the 1930′s when it was handled by Clintons, a small haulage company. The Coal mines started in the 1930′s from small beginnings with single axle rigid trucks carting coal to local customers e.g. hospitals and foundries to fire up the boilers & blast furnaces.By the 1950s the two major haulage companies Clintons and S&M Fox who owned the mines found their fleets rapidily expanding. S & M Fox had approximately 20 trucks, mostly K8 series Internationals (photo 1).
In the late 1960's coal demand was as its peak and Clintons was bought out by S&M Fox, whose fleet had grown to approx 200 trucks. These trucks were commonly referred to as the "Blue Trucks" because of the distinctive blue coloured cabin (photo 2), single axle drive and single axle trailer configuration. The "Blue Truck" was a very recognisable icon in the Camden district.
The Drivers
The Valley was a place of unforgiving terrain, of vertical cliff faces & narrow roads (photo 3), at the time it was regarded as one of the most scenic places in NSW with a backdrop of “imposing hills, valleys and river formations” (Hatfield, 1974) & on the other hand exposing drivers & their trucks to some of the most severe conditions known in Australia.
By the 1970’s a total of 9 Coal mines were now in operation: Nattai, Oakdale, Lower Brimstone 1 (photo 4), Brimstone 2, Wollondilly, Wollondilly Extended, Valley 1, Valley 2, & Valley 3.
At 4am in the morning, while most of us were still sleeping, the Blue truck drivers were negotiating down into 3 areas of the Burragorang Valley:
The Valley was a place of unforgiving terrain, of vertical cliff faces & narrow roads (photo 3), at the time it was regarded as one of the most scenic places in NSW with a backdrop of “imposing hills, valleys and river formations” (Hatfield, 1974) & on the other hand exposing drivers & their trucks to some of the most severe conditions known in Australia.
By the 1970’s a total of 9 Coal mines were now in operation: Nattai, Oakdale, Lower Brimstone 1 (photo 4), Brimstone 2, Wollondilly, Wollondilly Extended, Valley 1, Valley 2, & Valley 3.
At 4am in the morning, while most of us were still sleeping, the Blue truck drivers were negotiating down into 3 areas of the Burragorang Valley:
To challenge these skillful drivers even further, a heavy fog laid in the valley till mid-morning like a large blanket of cotton wool. A small number of drivers were killed in road accidents, and some drivers recall stories of trucks falling over the valley’s cliff face while negotiating the road in the fog, or simply running out of brakes. In summer the intense heat generated by the the vehicles engine when climbing out of Burragorang, made the vehicles unbearable to sit in. Drivers were known to drive with their doors open trying to keep themselves cool.
The Fleet
Between 1960 to 1968 the S & M Fox fleet primarily consisted of a mixture of 150 various model Leyland trucks. The first Leylands were 1962 Comet non tilt half cab (photo 6), then came the 1965 Leyland Comet & Albions Non tilt Square cab, followed by 1967 Leyland Super Comets with Ergonomic tilt Cab. In 1968 Approximately 40 Commers were added to the Leyland fleet, bringing the the fleet size to around 200 trucks.
Incidentally, the Blue truck fleet was not alone, approximately 250 privately owned sub-contractor trucks mixed into the fleet meaning that there were well into the vicinity of five hundred coal trucks on the road at times. It has also been said by locals, that a constant non stop stream of Coal trucks would dominate the road from the 9 mine sites in operation at that time. Assistant Editor of Truck & Bus Transportation magazine Barry Hatfield in 1974 who put together a magazine article on the Clutha coal haulage operation made this comment: “That would place you as probably having the largest fleet of trucks to operate in the state from one depot” (Hatfield, 1974)
The Fleet
Between 1960 to 1968 the S & M Fox fleet primarily consisted of a mixture of 150 various model Leyland trucks. The first Leylands were 1962 Comet non tilt half cab (photo 6), then came the 1965 Leyland Comet & Albions Non tilt Square cab, followed by 1967 Leyland Super Comets with Ergonomic tilt Cab. In 1968 Approximately 40 Commers were added to the Leyland fleet, bringing the the fleet size to around 200 trucks.
Incidentally, the Blue truck fleet was not alone, approximately 250 privately owned sub-contractor trucks mixed into the fleet meaning that there were well into the vicinity of five hundred coal trucks on the road at times. It has also been said by locals, that a constant non stop stream of Coal trucks would dominate the road from the 9 mine sites in operation at that time. Assistant Editor of Truck & Bus Transportation magazine Barry Hatfield in 1974 who put together a magazine article on the Clutha coal haulage operation made this comment: “That would place you as probably having the largest fleet of trucks to operate in the state from one depot” (Hatfield, 1974)
The trucks had to haul up to 32kms of road, to an elevation of 700ft to reach the Wollondilly Washery (photo 7) commonly known as the Top Wash. The trucks were either single or bogie drive, or single axle with single axle trailers loaded up to 14t, now that was a big ask for a 125hp Albion Clydesdale, Leyland Comet or Perkins powered Commer. The road in some places was so narrow that loaded trucks had to drive on the wrong side of the road to keep up against the cliff face, any empty trucks were on the out side with no safety barriers a lot of the time
Road transport was the only means of delivery for coal from the mines to Glenlee Washery where the coal would be stored & washed, placed on trains & delivered to Balmain for export or sent to Port Kembla for steel making. Coal was also delivered to Campbelltown railway & loaded onto trains (photo 8).
The Workshop was split into two sections, the top shed were most of the major repair work took place, and the bottom shed were trucks were brought in by the fleet number, approx 1 per week and put over the 3 available service pits for inspection & service work (photo 9).
The Worshop was split into two sections, the top shed were most of the major repair work took place, and the bottom shed were trucks were bought in by the fleet Number, approx 1x per week and put over the 3 available service pits for inspection & service work (photo 9). Trailer also needed repairs so a trailer fabrication section was built to meet the repair requirements of aluminium trailers. Most of the single axle bodies fitted to the Commers were built by the trailer fabrication section or Alcan.
By the 1980s the trailer shop (photo 10) had bought out the well known Trailer manufactures Panther Trailers (located at Smithfield) & started to build their own aluminium bodies with a slight change to the logo to now called “Panther by Clutha”
Mechanical failures & accidents were common place (photos 11 & 12). The workshop facility based in the main street of Narellan cared for the maintenance & breakdown requirements of the fleet. A tow truck was readily available to pick up broken down vehicles. The workshop was continually repairing or fitting new engines, transmissions or final drives to the trucks.
The Worshop was split into two sections, the top shed were most of the major repair work took place, and the bottom shed were trucks were bought in by the fleet Number, approx 1x per week and put over the 3 available service pits for inspection & service work (photo 9). Trailer also needed repairs so a trailer fabrication section was built to meet the repair requirements of aluminium trailers. Most of the single axle bodies fitted to the Commers were built by the trailer fabrication section or Alcan.
By the 1980s the trailer shop (photo 10) had bought out the well known Trailer manufactures Panther Trailers (located at Smithfield) & started to build their own aluminium bodies with a slight change to the logo to now called “Panther by Clutha”
Mechanical failures & accidents were common place (photos 11 & 12). The workshop facility based in the main street of Narellan cared for the maintenance & breakdown requirements of the fleet. A tow truck was readily available to pick up broken down vehicles. The workshop was continually repairing or fitting new engines, transmissions or final drives to the trucks.
The mines were operating 24hrs a day; however the fleet of trucks were now operating 5 days a week from 4am till midnight, & very rarely operated on weekend. Most drivers took their vehicles home during the week & on the weekend most of the fleet would be parked at the Narellan maintenance yard. During this period S&M Fox sold to a new company named Clutha Developments Pty Ltd.
In 1974 the fleet of Leyland Comets & Albions was up for replacement. The decision was made to replace the fleet with 110 Mercedes Benz 1418 (photo 13). The truck was slightly larger; having a 26ft tandem axle Alcan Bogie trailer meant larger pay loads for the fleet. In 1976 the remaining Fleet of Comers were replaced with 50 International Acco’s (photo 14).
In 1974 the fleet of Leyland Comets & Albions was up for replacement. The decision was made to replace the fleet with 110 Mercedes Benz 1418 (photo 13). The truck was slightly larger; having a 26ft tandem axle Alcan Bogie trailer meant larger pay loads for the fleet. In 1976 the remaining Fleet of Comers were replaced with 50 International Acco’s (photo 14).
In 1978 Clutha realized that the aging fleet of Mercedes Benz & Acco needed to be replaced. The company decided to purchase test trucks before making that decision. In 1978 twelve new trucks were purchased: 3 Kenworth, 3 Mack, 3 Scania, & 3 White Roadcomanders (photo 15). All single drive with 26ft Panther trailers, these test trucks had to keep records of fuel consumption & tyre wear.
In 1981 Clutha purchased 80 new White Roadbosses (photo 17), with a 300hp Cummins, bogie drive & 32ft Panther tri-axle trailer made this truck the largest truck that the coal haulage company had ever bought.
The short trailers were made so that they could continue to operate out of the valley (photo 16). Now the trucks were larger with bigger payloads, it was decided at this time to reduce the fleet size.
Ten White Road bosses were sold to other fleets (Blue Circle), the 10 new tri-axle trailers were fitted to the 10 single drive test trucks. You can see these trucks on their last day carting into Glenlee here
Two 237hp Macks retained their old trailers. The fleet continued till 1989 when it was sold of the new company Bulkhaul. Bulkhaul purchased a new fleet of Mack Valueliners and changed the fleet colour to yellow.
Ten White Road bosses were sold to other fleets (Blue Circle), the 10 new tri-axle trailers were fitted to the 10 single drive test trucks. You can see these trucks on their last day carting into Glenlee here
Two 237hp Macks retained their old trailers. The fleet continued till 1989 when it was sold of the new company Bulkhaul. Bulkhaul purchased a new fleet of Mack Valueliners and changed the fleet colour to yellow.
Special Thanks to the contribution of information & pictures:
Hatfield, B. (1974). Full-time job for Clutha’s coal-carrying tippers. Truck & Bus Transportation, 55-57.
Bob Edward (Blue truck driver)
Geoff Martin (Blue truck driver)
Geoff Malcolm (Blue truck driver)
Kevin Wintle (Blue truck driver)
Camden Heritage Centre
Hatfield, B. (1974). Full-time job for Clutha’s coal-carrying tippers. Truck & Bus Transportation, 55-57.
Bob Edward (Blue truck driver)
Geoff Martin (Blue truck driver)
Geoff Malcolm (Blue truck driver)
Kevin Wintle (Blue truck driver)
Camden Heritage Centre
(1) Brimstone: through the section known as the “Opera House” (photo 5 & video).
(2) Nattai Bulli: located below Wollondilly Extd Central Washery, with the notorious “Bluff Corner” then continuing down a precarious narrow and twisting road to Nattai Bulli pit.
(3) Valley Coal: 1, 2 or 3.
(2) Nattai Bulli: located below Wollondilly Extd Central Washery, with the notorious “Bluff Corner” then continuing down a precarious narrow and twisting road to Nattai Bulli pit.
(3) Valley Coal: 1, 2 or 3.
The following rare footage was kindly donated by Kevin Dryden. It was taken around 1969 or 1970 on a Super 8 camera. The footage shows a Commer, a Leyland Comet half-cab ascending up the opera house from Brimstone 1 bins.