The 2000s saw the end of a significant number of haulage and vehicle-manufacturing companies as well as a series of company takeovers. British lorry manufacturers had all but disappeared and foreign vehicles became more and more prominent on British roads. ERF, which was sold to Western Star in 1996, had moved from Sandbach to Middlewich in 2000, around the time of the takeover by M.A.N., and the name was dropped completely in 2009. Foden’s ceased production in 2006, and in the same year it was announced by ENASA/IVECO that Seddon Atkinson production would end. All had been major players in Britain as well as the export market. Fortunately, there were still a number of diehard users of British vehicles, and these were more than capable of doing a hard day’s work.

Carl Johnson’s collection of rare and previously unpublished images celebrates a time of change on the roads in the early years of the twenty-first century.

Carl Johnson has a lifelong interest in lorries and has written several specialist magazines, as well as giving many talks on a variety of topics. He was the first chairman of the Register ERF Society and is now sharing his knowledge and photographs with a new audience.