When I was in the garage at Whitwick around 1973 .It was owned by ARC then .The garage is still there it wasn’t very old then , obviously a replacement for the old one. It is on the left on the way out of whitwick just after the quarry workings l think a private haulier is in there .Vesty?.Anyway there was some Commers on the fleet in ARC colours.not sure if they were E reg.but they were getting on abit.they were 16tonne gross maxiloads .on the later ones the super charger was driven by a toothed belt. All drivers had a spare one in the cab for when it broke you could get to it behind the cab.The injectors used to seize in. Ron said take nuts and plpe off and spin the engine but stand back.they used to come out like a bullit.
my dad drove one of those Guy’s for Redland (or was it Greenline at that time ),and was in the Leicester Mercury with a photo of the burnt out remains as it caught fire driving down the road.i have the cutting in my family scrapbook
carryfast-yeti:
my dad drove one of those Guy’s for Redland (or was it Greenline at that time ),and was in the Leicester Mercury with a photo of the burnt out remains as it caught fire driving down the road.i have the cutting in my family scrapbook
One of my favourite cabs, till the foreign invasion concentrating on driver comfort. Excellent vision, the standard exterior visor and power point/cig lighter overrode my distrust of the bizarre ratchet hand brake whose handle rested on the floor and could be released with a kick of the heel.
Did Pallets buy the last few Guys made. They used to load at Tamworth cannot remember the company.I was near Drayton Mannor They used to come through Measham,Heather and Ibstock all hours. Good picture.
Seeing that Mickey Mouse and thinking back to my own time with one, I am impressed with the double arm for the mirror at a time when vibration, as well as size, was a major problem for rear views. Somebody at Foden saw a problem and decided to try and do something about it.
I remember well my own Mk1 Atki at Midlands Storage and, at a time when you were often allowed to ‘mess about’ with a motor, I removed the single arm mirror from the door and transferred it underneath the curve of the screen, with an extra bracing arm, and later saw I was ahead of my time when the Mk2s arrived.
Dean B.
Hi
Interesting to see the photo of the Murphy Bros: Foden.
Back in the sixties they ran a fleet of Leyland Beaver artics here in South Wales on the steel out of Port Talbot steelworks and their yard was on North Road on the Bridgend Ind: Est:. Iirc they operated as S.W.H&W.
South Wales Haulage& Warehousing.
Yet more memories !
Regards, Allan
Ex Bexton and Smith Seddeon Atkinson Srato.Me at the helm. Transporting an ex RAF Buccaneer from shawbury to East Midlands Airport Areopark, late 90s .60ft long 20ft wide 16 ft high. Special movement order.
When we unloaded at East Midlands Areopark. parked up in my yard and that night the one in the picture and it’s sister were stolen along with 2 crane trailer’s. Never seen again .I only had three vehicles lucky for me Bexton had parked the strato. So I could get back to 2 . That’s why the sed atk is still in there colour’s with my company name stuck over there name. I still had my ex Enderby Transport box cab MAN 280.
Hi nick , bexton and Smith that’s a blast from the past , we use to deliver coal to there yard towards the end just before they finished it was tight between two houses, when I was young I remember they had a new sed atki 401 twin steer , my dad knew the driver think they called him ginge ir ginger , he let let me drive it around gedling pit yard I was only about 13 at the time it wouldent happen now, also in your photo theres a Middleton erf , weve a ex Middleton lad working for us , small world indeed cheers Andy meer
Hi yes very tight .l managed to get a 40ft flat trailer down there, took alot of shunting.They had 2 401 units one 2axle and the 3 axle. they sold the 2axle and the Stato replaced it.yes I knew ginger.Back in the early 70s I drove the first 8 Wheeler they had VBF118J Atkinson ex Smith’s Tamworth.
We use to go to a coal yard at enerdby there was a haulage firm on the lane down to the coal yard , would that have been enderby transport ? Coal merchant was shaws I think cant remember long narrow yard,
Yes there was a drive into the yard.l am not sure about the coal merchants… It’s all housing now. Lish Transport bought Enderby Transport and sold all the lorry’s to a leasing company the n leased them back. It went bust and I bought the MAN from the leasing company.thry lost a lot of money. Payed half than they had it on the books for .they took the biggest hits on the Leyland Road Trains . They were low value.
),and was in the Leicester Mercury with a photo of the burnt out remains as it caught fire driving down the road.i have the cutting in my family scrapbook 
