Old Pond publishing days

Ice Road Truckers series 4 expected into stock

Ice Road Truckers: the Complete Season Four, History Channel. Four-disc DVD set, approx 12 hours. Now in stock at Old Pond at £19.95.

Melting ice, whiteouts, punctures, avalanches,fatigue ... and that’s on a good day!

Join Jack Jesse, Lisa Kelly, Alex Debogorski and the rest of the ICE ROAD TRUCKERS as they return in the fourth series of this hit History programme.

This time around the action comes thick and fast as the drivers tackle frozen rivers and swamps out beyond the Dalton Highway, hauling supplies to some of the remotest towns of the great white north, where they come across the most dangerous terrain they have ever faced.

The stakes are higher than ever as the dash for cash continues!

SPECIAL FEATURES: Additional Footage includes Ray Leulleaux Bio, Greg Boadwine Bio, Trucker Pranks, Trucker Competition and Truckers Speak.

The three other Ice Road Truckers DVDs are available at Old Pond's trucking books and DVDs.

Appleby Fair and Know Your Ducks - new books in stock

Old Pond has now received stock of two new paperbacks: The Horses of Appleby Fair by Heidi M Sands and Know Your Ducks by Jack Byard.

High, Wide and Handsome new trucking DVD advance information

High, Wide and Handsome: four exciting abnormal loads, Pete Connock and Martin Phippard (CP Productions). DVD approx 75 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-94-5. Now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc VAT.

In Switzerland Friderici was transporting massive wind turbine sections from the port of Basle to the highest point on the Jura Mountains. Mercedes, MAN and Iveco units hauling Nicolas, Broshuis and Faymonville trailers undertook this challenging journey.

In America, Ohio-based Diamond Heavy Haul was moving one of its more spectacular loads. The huge casting was hauled out of the port of Indiana, offering the sights and sounds of Peterbilts, loud Jake brakes and a DHH powered trailer.

The British haulier Plant Speed operates sophisticated Volvo FH 16 8x4 tractor units to move the heaviest loads. CPP was fortunate to catch one of these moving a twin-hull ferry from Keswick to the port of Workington.

French transport specialist Brame P regularly moves heavy loads from Belfort to the port of Strasbourg. CPP captured the unusual sight of two massive loads each with a tractor unit at the front and a ‘pusher’ at the rear! 

For more DVDs by specialist big-trucking film-makers CP Productions, see their section in the Old Pond online catalogue.

Gwen and the Art of Tractor Travel new book in stock

Gwen and the Art of Tractor Travel is the story of one (very pregnant) woman's pilgrimage through the byways and green roads of Wales on an MF35. Josephine Roberts' book is now available from Old Pond.

The man in the truck on the front cover of 'Eight Wheelers in Colour'

At Truckfest we were delighted to be visited on our stand by Barney Leonard who worked for Arrowsmith for five years. When he was browsing he came across the cover of Peter Davies's Eight Wheelers in Colour, a Roundoak Publishing title.

Barney had never seen the book or picture before. He recognised himself in the cab as trailer mate alongside the late Bill Birkby driving. He reckoned the photograph was taken in 1967-8.

On the Sunday we had the company of Ashley Coghill for a couple of signing sessions on his book The Long Haul Pioneers.

Here Ashley has just signed for 18-year-old Matthew Simmons from Walsall.

This was the first time we had run a stand at Truckfest. The weather was good and we enjoyed the event.

Scrap Metal Giants DVD advance information

Scrap Metal Giants, Steven Vale. DVD approx 88 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-86-0. In stock at Old Pond at £17.95.

Scrap metal is handled in bulk by some truly large and exciting machines. Steven Vale starts by taking us to a site at Liverpool Docks where each week 200-250 cars are processed for 85% recycling. They form just part of the massive amount that goes through the shredder, sometimes as much as 150 tonnes an hour. After shredding and stockpiling, the ferrous metal is loaded onto ships by four very special Liebherr 984s.

The source of metal scrap ranges from drinks cans to structures weighing several thousand tonnes. On Norway’s coast sections of decommissioned oil rigs are brought in by Thialf, the world’s largest crane vessel. Once on the dock the sections are moved by SPMTs to areas where they can be cut up for recycling. This is where Rusch’s new demolition machine is being pioneered, based on a Cat 5130B mining excavator and carrying a 25-tonne tool.

Balance cranes are designed to use the force of gravity as a substitute for some of the mechanical power in materials handling. Steven Vale takes us to see Europe’s newest and largest examples at work in Belgium: E-Cranes including one from the 2000 series. Another example of balance crane is the Sennebogen 880D at work on the UK’s south coast unloading steel bars.

Steel mills have a special attraction because there you see scrap being handled – in the case of Thamesteel at Sheerness by Swedish-made MultiDockers – and loaded into the mill before reappearing as steel billets ready for use once again.

The processes, machines and narration in this programme give a fascinating insight into the current state of metals recycling in Europe.

Steven Vale has planned and scripted many of the DVDs in the Massive machines series of which this is number 8.

Agriculture in Russia DVD in stock

Agriculture in Russia Vol 1 by Tammo Gläser is now in stock at Old Pond at £19.95.

On Wings of Diesel new book available at Truckfest

On Wings of Diesel: trucks, identity and culture in Pakistan by Jamal J. Elias. Paperback, 252 pages, highly illustrated in colour. £29.99.

Professor Elias, based at the university of Pennsylvania, is the world's foremost expert on Pakistani truck art. Among other topics his book deals with: trucks and transportation in Pakistan; trucks, truckers and society; truck design and the trade of design; structure, motif and meaning.

This is written at a serious level but full of information and superb photographs of what are perhaps the most outstandingly decorated vehicles in the world.

Copies will be on sale at the Old Pond stand at the Peterborough Truckfest on 1 & 2 May. This is the first time we have exhibited at the show. Our stand number is E34.

Alan Spillett's Astran at Ararat new painting

Charles Trace, Chairman of the Point Foundation, tells us that he has commissioned this stunning painting of Astran at Ararat by Alan Spillett. A limited number of prints, framed and unframed, will be on sale at the Gaydon vintage truck show on 12 June.

The prints will be sold to raise funds for The Point Foundation, a registered charity which supports orphans in Africa, predominately in Rwanda and South Africa.

In May 2008, the Foundation was delighted when Sally Gunnell OBE accepted the role of Patron. Today the Foundation raises funds and provides on the ground support for 5 major projects helping around 2500 children, most of whom are orphaned and live in institutions. The projects are based in Southern Africa where 85% of the children are HIV and in Rwanda, which does not have the same Aids problem but has many of their own following the genocide of the mid 90’s.

In the autumn Old Pond will be publishing Alan Spillett's second book of truck paintings, Roadscapes II.

Agriculture in Russia DVD advance information

Agriculture in Russia Vol. 1, Tammo Gläser. DVD approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-00-3. Now in stock at Old Pond at £19.95 inc VAT.

For his latest look into farming methods and machinery Tammo Gläser has selected the black earth area of Russia. This lies around the city of Voronezh, south-west of Moscow and close to the border with Ukraine. Noted for the fertility of its soil, this region hosts some mega-farms, with three holdings cultivating a million hectares between them.

Tammo looked at four principal activities: the end of the sunflower harvest; stubble cultivation, drilling wheat and the start of the beet harvest. He also visited a state-of-the-art dairy farm.

The season had been a dry one. Outbreaks of fire were visible on the horizon; the beet and sunflower crops were meagre, and the correct depth for drilling – very shallow – was a constant challenge for the agronomists.

Given the scale of the enterprises, some of the machinery was large, with John Deere prominent working with Vaderstad equipment. There were JD9630, 9530, 8430, 8420 and 8330 tractors. Another powerful beast was the Kirovets K744. On a more domestic level Tammo recorded several examples of Belarus at work.

The sunflower harvest was handled by Don harvesters, an Acros 560, NH TC56, Claas Lexion 530s and NH CX8070.

The beet harvest was difficult not just because the yield was low, but also because the individual beets differed in size, making it difficult to determine harvester settings. Among the machines were Holmer Terra Dos and Ropa Tiger 83. Needless to say, after a delayed start to the campaign the beet factory quickly closed its doors and deliveries had to wait.

Russia is striving to become more self-sufficient in agricultural production and foodstuffs. This DVD gives an insight into how mechanisation is serving this end and some of the obstacles that have still to be overcome.

Another of Tammo Gläser's DVDs available from Old Pond is Agriculture in North America Part 2.