The Old Days by Jan Sunlay

Reg no.: I-7284

Ø. Stie`s first truck with trailer

Scania Vabis Regent L71

Mod. 1956..

Hp. 150

Colour: Truck pink and trailer turquoise

Photo from about 1958-59.

Truck driver Kåre Delin delivers a package to a shop. He has a white mantle because he handles foods. Stie’s drivers where always clean and dressed for the job.

This truck was built in 1956 for transport of frozen spinach from Grimstad in Norway to Sweden. This was not a success.

1957 Øystein Stie took over the truck and started with transporters of frozen fish from Trondheim to different places in Norway and Sweden. Sties Termo-Transport had started.

From 1956 until 1962 Øystein was driving his trucks him selves together with his truck drivers at the same time as he was operating his transport company.

In 1960 Stie also buy an used DAF truck with trailer. 1959 mod with hp120.

Used in transport from Trondheim to Oslo with frozen fish and from Oslo to Trondheim with fruit/vegetables and general cargo.

This trucks has no mechanical refrigeration and we use dry ice to keep the fish deep frozen.

Stie has now two trucks with trailers.

“The DAF-truck was the first truck I was driving for Øystein Stie. It was eastern 1961. I was bus driver then. And one day when I was home after done an early bus shift one of my friends knocked at my door. He asked me if I could take a job as second driver on a truck to Hanover in Germany. There was a truck owner named Øystein Stie standing in the harbour who need a driver with passport to help him to drive to Germany. He has no drivers with passport. It was an express transport with a machine to Hanover, and it was necessary with two drivers.

I was still in my bus uniform, but I picked up my tooth-brush and passport and follow my friend to the harbour.

I didn’t know who Øystein Stie was and had never heard about him. When I come to the harbour I saw a young man in my own age (25 years) and his truck. He asked me if I had time for driving with him to Hanover. I had free from bus a few days to celebrate Easter, so I said yeas and jumped into the truck and we started. The machine was delivered I Hanover at the right time.

That was my first drive for Stie. Tree month lather, the 2. of july 1961, I started up in a new job as truck driver by Øystein Stie.”

After 5 year (1961) on bad roads it was time to shine up the Regent.

Here is the Regent in new “Stie-colour”. Photo taken by a subway in Sweden 1962. The truck was only tree meter high because of the tunnels and bridges in Norway at that time. So it was same places in Sweden too.

Stop for fuel in the night outside Karlstad in Sweden 1962.

2 July 1961 Stie’s new Scania Vabis 75 Super was ready for use. This truck was the first Scania Vabis 75 Super in Norway, the first truck with Stie colour (Stieblue and white), and the first truck with Thermo King mechanical refrigeration.

Reg. nr.: 29-94-24

Nickname: Peggy

HP.: 205

Width: 2,40m (Narrow roads)

Heigth:3,20 (Low tunnels and subway/bridge)

Length total with trailer: 16m (Roads where full of curves)

Stie has now three trucks with trailers. With this truck Stie was able to carry out thermo transporters for long distance in Norway and at the European Continent. Frionor, company for deep frozen fish and food and Stie’s main customer, had big problems to deliver the deep frozen fish to all places in Europe in the right volume and at the right time. Now they could deliver the fish in good order at the right time as the customer want. The Norwegian importers of fruit and vegetables were now able to offer fresh products by using Sties from Europe to Norway.

The blue and white colour on the trucks go so succesful that Frionor, Stie’s main customer, paint all their own vans in the same colour. They used turquoise and pink colour before. Sties blue and white trucks were well known and you could see the trucks in the landscape over long distance. And they were always clean. The drivers had to wash them themselves with soap and brush. And they did, even after a long nights drive.

Peggy by night. Stockholm in winter 1962

Peggy at Storlien border between Norway and Sweden. Custom office to the right.

Springtime 1962. It was left hand drive in Sweden at that time. See the signs.

Peggy at Storlien border.

In 1962 the diesel oil was more expensive in Sweden than Norway. Therefore we made an extra tank under the trailer and fill it up in Norway. In the night in Sweden we pump up by hand the diesel from trailer to truck. .

Jan Sunlay