As Steve explains, having gear that’s ready to go, round the clock, is vital

The first trailer on the Convair set carries a s elf-contained backup blower in case the tractor unit (which uses its PTO to drive the primary blower) is temporarily out of commission. As Steve explains, having gear that’s ready to go, round the clock, is vital. The appetite of the bakeries is insatiable.

Fully loaded, the B-train carries around 30 tonnes of flour, which – thanks to dual delivery ports on the tanks – c an be discharged in under an hour. Despite the weight-saving design of the Convair tanks, all the equipment adds up, and the unit is H-rated to 54t.

As the main linehaul rig, the Kenworth is based in Christchurch, where drivers Reece Martin (Steve’s nephew) and Matt Brown live. When required, the Argosy backs up, towing a smaller semitrailer tank.

Steve describes a t ypical schedule for the linehaul unit:

“At the beginning of the c ycle it will have delivered a load to Dunedin, then back to Timaru and reload it for Nelson.

“The other driver will jump in at midnight at Christchurch and deliver to Nelson, return for a driver swap – and the next driver will then take it to Dunedin before returning to Timaru and picking up another load for Dunedin.

“Generally he’ll get back to around Oamaru before running out of time and taking his 10-hour break. On his next shif t he’ll then load again and head for Nelson, swapping for the next driver at Christchurch.”

Once a f ortnight a load of grain goes to Wellington, which is when Steve of ten has to back up with the Freightliner on a couple of runs to Nelson.

Because the schedule isn’t time critical it offers quite a lot of flexibility, he adds: “As long as we can keep the bakeries going, we can be doing it any time of the day or night.”

Reece Martin concurs: “Flour in the silos is all that matters, so there’s no need to stick to a tight schedule. We might get back to Dunedin on a Friday and load up at Timaru for Nelson on the Sunday af ternoon if they’ve used a lot of flour – but if they’re in good shape I’ll go on the Monday, leaving around