Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers

In this opening episode, Ashley Maddocks and Craig Garside head north to appear at Truck Fest Scotland. On the way, Ashley has a drop-off in Livingston, but en route he gets word of a traffic jam that could delay his arrival at the festival. Unfortunately for Craig, he fails to hear the traffic report and ends up right in the middle of it. At Truck Fest Scotland, the Stobart boys are the hit of the festival with crowds of people waiting to meet them. Then Craig and Mick face their driving rivals in the ultimate trucking test as they go head-to-head with the Ice Road Truckers in a truck-off! Whowill be crowned King of the Road?

This week, there are major jobs in store for Stobart’s rail team. Ian ‘Spit’ Wilson has to deliver a 15-tonne rail repair machine, known as the Gopher, to Sunderland. He battles through traffic and heavy rain, but then has to get the monster machine on to the rails. Along the way, we learn where his unusual nickname comes from. Trainee Dan Metcalfe has his first ever shift in charge of the Gopher, carrying out overnight repairs to the line just south of Sunderland. But almost as soon as he gets started, things begin to go wrong. Will the team be able to get the job done before the trains start running again? Trucking favourite Matt Ekins makes a return to his spiritual home. He goes on a tour of the East Midlands on a multi-drop mission, but it seems that around every corner is another massive queue .Will he manage to make all his deliveries on time? Fitter Chris Lacey has a real challenge on his hands when he ‘wraps’ a brand new model in the Stobart branded livery for the first time. As the truck is a new and unfamiliar shape, Chris must work out the new wrap design, getting each of the sections in exactly the right place. As anyone who has ever put up wallpaper knows, it is not an easy job. Mark Dixon and his leading lady, faithful truck Phoebe Grace, come to the end of the road together. It has been a three-year romance, but it is now time for her to retire gracefully. There is a surprise in store for Mark, however, when he is introduced to his new truck and sees her name!

Biomass is big business for Stobart, with the company now shifting over 750,000 tonnes a year. In his last job before the weekend, biomass tramper (a driver on a long trip who sleeps in his cab) Tim Fox is loaded with woodchip on a run to a paper mill in Shotton. Before Tim can drop his load of green fuel he has to make a stop at a biomass processing site in Widnes, where a giant sorting machine screens his haul as part of quality control. Trucker Roy Marshall is working on a bank holiday, heading to the West Country with a load of timber on a time-pressured multi-drop. There is no room for delays but, as he begins his morning safety checks, he notices a big problem – a large tear in his tyre. With an illegal tyre, there is no way that Roy can hit the road. He has no choice but to watch time tick by as he waits for a fitter. As Southend Airport continues to expand, Roy Hill is supervising the installation of a made-to-measure concrete staircase, which will be the centrepiece of the new terminal. The staircase has to be erected overnight and the job must be finished before the first passengers arrive the following morning. After a large crane is wheeled in to get the stairs in place, a problem arises when the concrete sections are found to be too heavy for even this 8-tonne monster to lift! Car transporter driver Paul Goodenough is loaded with nine cars fresh from the manufacturer. He hits the road bound for two dealerships in Cheshire. Unloading cars is a difficult task, and to make things worse Paul cannot park his mammoth transporter in the first dealership. He has to unload his pricey cargo on a busy side street. His day gets no easier when he realises that his 16-foot trailer is too tall for a low bridge! Back at Southend Airport, employee and self-confessed plane enthusiast Eliott Mason readies himself as a brand new aircraft arrives at the airport. Eliott can hardly contain his excitement as he prepares the passengers to board the state-of-the-art Aer Li

This time, car transporter tramper (a slang term for a driver who sleeps in his cab) Gareth Ayres embarks on a mammoth 500-milemulti-drop trip across Scotland carrying a precious load of luxury 4x4s. Hit by delays on the notorious A9, Gareth is up against the clock to make his deliveries on time. Stobart CEO Andrew Tinkler’s son Adam joins the trucking team. Having completed his training, he takes the wheel of a fully-loaded 44-tonne log wagon. Mentored by veteran Peter Grant, Adam must learn fast as he negotiates a ten-mile mud track with steep drops on either side in a remote forest. Ashley Maddocks has a new truck, but is having problems delivering a load of fizzy drinks to Livingston in Scotland. On the unpredictable A66 trunk road, he meets every trucker’s nemesis – fog. As Southend Airport continues to expand, the company has invested in some brand new kit. The two newest vehicles on the fleet, called Aqua and Loo Loo, cater for the water and waste requirements of the growing airport. PR consultant Tracy and marketing co-ordinator Rebecca wants to get these two new models on therunway for a press photo shoot.

Biomass trucker and self-confessed foodie Tim is on day three of a strict diet as he embarks on a journey across Scotland. With a fondness for haggis and all things fried, Tim will require an iron resolve to resist temptation. The trip proves eventful as a road closure results in a detour and a delivery to an unusual power station offers a rare chance to go behind the scenes. Southend Airport is experiencing its busiest month of the year as the British public take to the skies during the peak holiday season. Cameras join fire fighter Darren on a routine patrol of the airfield and discover his cunning scare tactics during a chance encounter with some stubborn wildlife. Tanker-driving teacher Mark escapes the classroom to make a delivery in Carlisle. Meanwhile in Lockerbie, new recruit and boss’s son Adam is getting to grips with his new three-tonne crane. His truck, Sienna Belle, is Stobart’s second fully operational log wagon and in a bid to prove that he has got what it takes to cut it on the timber trail, Adam sets himself an ambitious target.

Mark anticipates a manic Monday as he sets off to Swindon to deliver a full load of soft drinks. He manages to dodge the traffic, but at the end of the day he winds up with only half an hour left to tip, reload and park before his driving hours run out. At the massive Daventry warehouse, Jon is in charge of getting 36 containers of goods onto a train bound for Scotland. Ian drives the reach stacker, lifting each container onto the train in a race against the clock. If they fail to make their deadline, they face fines from Network Rail, especially if they hold up passenger trains. Elsewhere, preparations for the annual Stobart Fest are underway. Thirty vehicles need to be transported to Carlisle to be scrubbed clean and put on display. The weather is doing no one any favours and Mark struggles to find a trailer at the Carlisle depot. Meanwhile, Mick is ready to show off his new mean machine – the Mercedes Zetros. In Inverness in Scotland, a trainload of freight has arrived and Andy is waiting for his trailer to be loaded with stock, which is due at a supermarket down the road. He is very close to home, but has a long wait to go off duty as his trailer is last on the list for loading. Stobart Fest turns out to be the largest and most successful of the company’s festivals to date. This year’s event features live displays of the log wagon, the biomass truck and the car transporter as well as machines from the rail division and even a plane! Raffle tickets are selling like hot cakes as the first prize is the opportunity to name a truck.

Tim Fox arrives at Penrith fire station just as the alarm bells start ringing, while the rail team call upon the services of a mega machine to make safe a dangerously subsiding slope beside a track.