Are there any records of how many artics were caught overweight at that time ■■
Thought Not 
Bewick:
ramone:
joeshell:
I believe the 6bhp per ton was legislated for in 1972 but iirc it came into being in 1974That would have upset many 180 Gardner users , did they have to downrate them to 30 tons?
IIRC all new Gardner 180LXB chassis registered on or after 1st Jan 1973 operated at 30:5 tonnes gvw. Cheers Bewick.
PS this is a b/w shot of one of our Big J’s which was 1973 reg and is shot here standing at Dunstable loaded with 20 ton of core board ex Reeds Tovil Mill bound for the Bowater Scott mill in Barrow -in- Furness. Even though the 180 LXB Chassis were reduced in GVW they were still capable of carrying 20 ton payloads which still suited many operators at that time.
0
Ah , so if they were registered before that date would they still be able to operste at 32 tons?
What were the F86s rated at
Ah , so if they were registered before that date would they still be able to operate at 32 tons?
What were the F86s rated at
Presume they must have been downrated but the laws were strange concerning pre and post date changes, I’m sure the F86 had a 32Ton GCW rating the F Reg the company I worked for ran it at that weight, did it not have a 195bhp engine anyway. Franky.
windrush:
essexpete:
fodenway:
The Act also spelled the end for the Scammell Scarab and Townsman, much beloved of the railways.What was that down to?
The braking system regarding trailers didn’t meet the new C & U regulations.
Pete.
Did the 3 wheelers have airbrakes?
One of our local Agric contractors used a Bedford TL with Scammell coupling to nearly the end of the 1980s. I think the trailer brakes were actuated from the unit and then rods. I might be wrong?
Hi Dennis you certainly always think up some good subjects.
We were waiting for delivery of our 16th Bedford SB (Passenger Chassis)VPT 828F being built by our coachbuilders by Marsden of Warrington (From order of chassis to body completion was usually about 12 month) when we were informed our SBs would be plated as 8.9 ton GVW. As the chassis was a derivative of the Bedford S model 7 tonner we always considered them as 7 tonners and as traditionally Bedfords could easily handle 50% overload on occasion they had carried over 7 ton loads with comfort.
The completed vehicles weighed 4 and quarter ton unladed, but by slight of hand we always managed to get them slightly under 4 ton for taxation reasons.Which meant after plating these vehicles would only be able to carry very little over 4 ton… After much discussion we got agreement that by fitting 4 new slightly heavier duty front & rear springs we could get them up to 9.5 ton GVW (Which was the maximum possible, which got us just over 5 ton loads.
The SBs were phased out much earlier than we ever planned.
Bewick:
How did the "bomb shell " of the 1968 Transport Act impact on the industry so have any of the members on TNUK memories of that momentous occasion ? The only recollection I have personally was an Albion 4 wheeler I ran got down plated from the previously 14 ton gvw to about 11:5 ton ! which made what was an hitherto economical motor totally uneconomic end of ! Cheers Bewick.
Same with this one and two others. All with 4 cylinder engines and I think they had vacuum brakes. Flying machines, but stopping them was a different story especially down hill.
Ray
essexpete:
windrush:
essexpete:
fodenway:
The Act also spelled the end for the Scammell Scarab and Townsman, much beloved of the railways.What was that down to?
The braking system regarding trailers didn’t meet the new C & U regulations.
Pete.
Did the 3 wheelers have airbrakes?
One of our local Agric contractors used a Bedford TL with Scammell coupling to nearly the end of the 1980s. I think the trailer brakes were actuated from the unit and then rods. I might be wrong?
No, just straight hydraulic and only the rear axle was braked which was adequate for the 20 mph top speed. Later versions did have a servo though but even the last Townsmen version still had only two wheel braking.
Pete.
Carl Williams:
Hi Dennis you certainly always think up some good subjects.We were waiting for delivery of our 16th Bedford SB (Passenger Chassis)VPT 828F being built by our coachbuilders by Marsden of Warrington (From order of chassis to body completion was usually about 12 month) when we were informed our SBs would be plated as 8.9 ton GVW. As the chassis was a derivative of the Bedford S model 7 tonner we always considered them as 7 tonners and as traditionally Bedfords could easily handle 50% overload on occasion they had carried over 7 ton loads with comfort.
The completed vehicles weighed 4 and quarter ton unladed, but by slight of hand we always managed to get them slightly under 4 ton for taxation reasons.Which meant after plating these vehicles would only be able to carry very little over 4 ton… After much discussion we got agreement that by fitting 4 new slightly heavier duty front & rear springs we could get them up to 9.5 ton GVW (Which was the maximum possible, which got us just over 5 ton loads.The SBs were phased out much earlier than we ever planned.
Hiya Carl,
Thanks for the kind compliment Carl ! I do try to come up with subjects that hopefully may attract informative discussion and the 1968 Act no doubt qualifies as a subject of interest, well at least among us “senior” TN members. The 68 act certainly threw a grenade into the industry so to speak as you rightly explained about your Bedford order.
Stay safe
Regards
Dennis.
Not only the 68 Act but previous laws in 64 and 66 began the changes then of course the 70’s also, these were mainly concerning weights and dimension changes. 1964 made Artic use very favourable with a big jump to 32 Ton GCW on four axles from the previous 24 Ton, if applicable. With only a 2 Ton rise for three axle outfits from 20 to 22 Ton. The Rigid four and six wheelers got a 2 Ton increase from 14 and 20 Ton with the 8 leggers gaining 4 Ton from 24 to 28, while the Wagon and Drag remained at 32 Ton where it had been since 1947 and hence the huge preference for heavier Articulation and decrease in the Wagon and Drag and of course an artic didn’t need a Brake Man or Trailer Boy as some were known. 1966 seen an increase of 2 Ton for the three axle artic only to 24 Ton GCW the rest staying as in 1964. Into the 70’s and it was all about EU and coming under their conditions, metric use for dimensions and weights (although it had been stated since 1964 with Imperial equivalents alongside) 1Ton was equal to 1.016 tonnes so a 32 Ton GCW became 32.52 metric tonnes but for a long time the imperial weight was always used by most. It’s no wonder transport bosses and fleet managers were possibly pulling their hair out during these years and also adding the hoped for proposals to further weight increases that didn’t materialise late 60’s these years were certainly a Witches brew of uncertainty, not surprising those that didn’t keep up fell foul at times. Franky.
[/quote]
The braking system regarding trailers didn’t meet the new C & U regulations.
Pete.
[/quote]
Did the 3 wheelers have airbrakes?
One of our local Agric contractors used a Bedford TL with Scammell coupling to nearly the end of the 1980s. I think the trailer brakes were actuated from the unit and then rods. I might be wrong?
[/quote]
No, just straight hydraulic and only the rear axle was braked which was adequate for the 20 mph top speed. Later versions did have a servo though but even the last Townsmen version still had only two wheel braking.
Pete.
[/quote]
Thanks Pete!