So your first sale was to Teddy Smith, then? A couple of my mates ran two of Ted’s eight-wheelers on changeover from Hereford to South Wales, load and back to Hereford. I never found out in the dark of a winter’s night, if the colour of the vehicles was Royal Blueish or if that was just the result of oil & road muck that had caked on.
I presume that Parkfield Garage and Transport Ltd is yet another of our old firms to be consigned to the “gone but not forgotten” file?
Retired Old ■■■■:
I reckon Bewick’s still rubbing his hands together thinking of that LOVERLEY 9.5 mpg!
9.5 was just the what the ■■■■■■■ motors in the fleet achieved,the Gardners never dropped below 15 MPG loaded both ways !!!Pass the laughing gas !! Cheers Bewick.
240 Gardner:
Retired Old ■■■■:
I reckon Bewick’s still rubbing his hands together thinking of that LOVERLEY 9.5 mpg!Only 9.5■■
DIA 877 Atkinson ‘SIlver Knight’ Mk.2 by Gardner 8LXB, on Flickr
The Dukes photo is that of a typical “Paddy” van of that era,basically a 40ft ISO container fitted with tandem running gear at the back and landing legs and pick-up plate at the fron’t ! Into those “vans” was loaded all manner of goods,light or heavy,preferrably the heavy stuff on top of the delicate lighter freight so it was crushed down so as to get more on top !! Cheers Bewick.
Retired Old ■■■■:
Not half! When I got my F88 290 after years on Atkis, I just couldn’t believe the difference. It was literally like stepping into another world. The fact that, when pushed, it would only return 6.9 mpg didn’t cause me too many sleepless nights as I wasn’t paying for the fuel.
Sorry, Bewick, but if the average driver was given the choice between excellent fuel consumption and superb (for it’s time) comfort, which one do you honestly think he would choose?
Especially as this driver in particular was being paid a percentage of GROSS vehicle earnings and I could squeeze in an extra couple of loads a week with the Volvo!
Just for you “ROF”,a shot of an absolute “GEM” of a motor,this 20 geared Borderer could “walk past” the early F88’s effortlessly ! Honest ! and the drivers on the “new fangled” F88’s did not like it one bit,they sometimes disputed the “load weight” until you showed them the notes!!!,then on one occaision a Volvo driver insisted that the Atki must have an uprated engine !! It was hilarious on the odd occaison you got to grips with an 88 on some of the M/way grades !! Happy days,Bewick.
Just for you “ROF”,a shot of an absolute “GEM” of a motor,this 20 geared Borderer could “walk past” the early F88’s effortlessly ! Honest ! and the drivers on the “new fangled” F88’s did not like it one bit,they sometimes disputed the “load weight” until you showed them the notes!!!,then on one occaision a Volvo driver insisted that the Atki must have an uprated engine !! It was hilarious on the odd occaison you got to grips with an 88 on some of the M/way grades !! Happy days,Bewick.
[/quote]
Evening all, Dennis, you must have been the only man in the UK to run a 10speed Fuller, with a two speed axle! I have never come across that combination before, but a gear for every occasion no doubt!! (providing you could remember which ratio/gear you were in)!! Needed a skilled driver to get the best from it , no doubt.
I remember demonstrating a Rolls 220/Fuller 10 speed to Eric Fletcher Garages at Amblecote, Stourbridge. They were big Mandator users, and their yard was at the botom of a short sharp climb. The Mandators tackled this in first, the Seddon, 32tons all up, went up four gears, without a pause, and took hi, first at the top! They never bought another AEC, What a b…, I left the next month, to sell Volvos, so never “earned”, my just rewards!!
Boy I loved those Fuller 10speeds, so quick and easy, all the advantages of a twin stick transmission, but so easy to use, and I think better ratios than in the later 9speeds.
Another great combination was the 6.600 David Brown, 6speed, with an Eaton 18802 two speed axle. What flying machines that combination made, either if it was in an Atkinson, (superior quality), or an ERF, (sadly inferior quality)!!! Gordon Cadwallader, he always insisted that Russell chose that spec on their new Atkinson`s. But the day that I supplied Trevor Morris, just down the road at Morda, with the same lorry,…boy it was as if Oswestry was consumed by a Nuclear explosion!!!
Oh such happy days, Cheerio for now.
Retired Old ■■■■:
So your first sale was to Teddy Smith, then? A couple of my mates ran two of Ted’s eight-wheelers on changeover from Hereford to South Wales, load and back to Hereford. I never found out in the dark of a winter’s night, if the colour of the vehicles was Royal Blueish or if that was just the result of oil & road muck that had caked on.
I presume that Parkfield Garage and Transport Ltd is yet another of our old firms to be consigned to the “gone but not forgotten” file?Evening all, hello ROF, Royal Blue, red chassis and wheels, (if you were lucky)!! The yard was a real “hell hole”, mostly covered, pitch dark, (even in the summer), misty with Gardner fumes, and full of half dead lorries being worked on for the next day!!
The son Nick, ran a rather smart E type, and the family lived in a rather nice pile in lower Penn, (Wolverhamptons up market suberb).
Yes they are long gone, along with most of Wolverhamptons Industrial past, the yard is now a Pork slaughter house and product producer.
When Hugh Porter, (4times World Cycle Pursuit Champion), was training along the A449, he used to belt past the old Atki 8wheelers of EA Smith, and Craddocks, as they set out for Liverpool!! Happy days, long gone, Cheerio for now.
Hiya “Saviem”,just a little aside to my post on the “20 geared” Atki.I had,by the time I started to buy(could afford!) Atkis,developed a great liking for Eaton axles so when I got the 3rd new one I decided to convert the single drive to two speed,I hasten to add that the driver of this motor was very capable of handling such a spec!!I also fancied that I could as-well ! Anyway,the supplying dealer did as I asked and installed said two speed motor(the actual two speed flick-over switch was installed on the rear cab panel where you used your left hand to effect a change just behind the seat.) onto the axle,big mistake,this gave the motor a top speed so fast that your “bottle” went before it had reached its full “trajectory” ! I recall changing up into “20th” at circa 70MPH !!! What should have happened,and did PDQ,was a lower ratio Crown Wheel and Pinion should have been fitted at the time of the conversion ! I’m just a bit hazzy now on the actual ratios but IIR,would it have been 5.57 to 6.■■ or maybe it was 6.01 down to 6.67 or similar.We were running another single speed Eaton axled Borderer(2nd one) at the same time which had a top speed of circa 57/58 MPH,so it was on this units performance that I decided to “experiment” on the 3rd unit.The main advantage of this two speed spec was whereas a normal 10speed Fuller dropped a gear when the ■■■■■■■ dropped 500 revs this 20 geared unit dropped a ratio when the revs dropped by 250.I realise my grasp of the pure technical realities are somewhat sketchy but I was a Haulier not a Fleet Engineer !!Happy Days never-the-less.Cheers Dennis.
Teddy Smiths eh? they may have been royal blue one day ! they had a gold oblong on the door outline with the name and address IIRC. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near those motors after they had been carrying carbon black for Goodyears 
I remember watching those filthy Atki 8 leggers reversing into his yard, with the tiny quarter steering lock they had it seemed to take an age to shunt them.
An old bloke near me drove a Seddon 4 wheeler for them, think it had a P.6 in it, I often thought he was trying to set fire to it in a morning but of course it needed a good flame down the manifold to get it going 
The good old days eh ? that lot frightened the life out of me, Thomas Ingles up the road was an easier option for me.
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
road-ranger:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
Aye Roadranger that would be me but I’m at a loss to re-call either Tim or Broadbents,sorry,a bit more info might help to jog the old Brain cell though! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
road-ranger:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
Aye Roadranger that would be me but I’m at a loss to re-call either Tim or Broadbents,sorry,a bit more info might help to jog the old Brain cell though! Cheers Dennis. PS has that 8LXB actually been unused since '76?
Ah, could this be an 8xlb big j being constructed to support a certain argument!!!1
E.W.
EW car truck & bus:
Ah, could this be an 8xlb big j being constructed to support a certain argument!!!1E.W.
Thats blown it !! We thought no-body had noticed !! Anon 1.
Bewick:
Bewick:
road-ranger:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
Aye Roadranger that would be me but I’m at a loss to re-call either Tim or Broadbents,sorry,a bit more info might help to jog the old Brain cell though! Cheers Dennis. PS has that 8LXB actually been unused since '76?
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out. the engine in TBR was not in good form, so it was a trip to a famous yard in sheffield to pick up a brand new enigne, he has a few fo them at this yard, so this is a band new engine, the gardener works build sheet was still on it when tim picked it up, so i can not wait for the first start up, and tim is hoping when finished to do a load or two with the truck. it seems a shame to put a cab on it to cover up all that engine.
I suppose a plexiglass cab is out of the question?
road-ranger:
Bewick:
Bewick:
road-ranger:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
Aye Roadranger that would be me but I’m at a loss to re-call either Tim or Broadbents,sorry,a bit more info might help to jog the old Brain cell though! Cheers Dennis. PS has that 8LXB actually been unused since '76?
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out. the engine in TBR was not in good form, so it was a trip to a famous yard in sheffield to pick up a brand new enigne, he has a few fo them at this yard, so this is a band new engine, the gardener works build sheet was still on it when tim picked it up, so i can not wait for the first start up, and tim is hoping when finished to do a load or two with the truck. it seems a shame to put a cab on it to cover up all that engine.
flickr.com/photos/16688859@N05/5455612490/
this is one of tims later trucks. i carnt bloody make the photo come on. grr
road-ranger:
road-ranger:
Bewick:
Bewick:
road-ranger:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
marky:
It is indeed ex-Davies and if the pictures I’ve seen on Flickr are anything to go by, this should be an exceptional restoration. I’ve only seen one other Atkinson finished better, which is Malcolm Chapman’s Mk1.
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on FlickrNot to dispute the fact but an R reg Borderer seems a bit implausable,unless someone tucked it away un-reg’d for 18 months,I re-call we bought a couple of brand new Borderers in late '75 after the Sed Atk was in build,we also ran a late '75 Sed Atk.Cracking restoration all the same the quality of which I can only liken to that “new” Steam loco “Tornado” that was built !!Can’t wait to see shots of the Borderer when it’s finished,well done Dennis.
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out.
i was on the phone to tim last night, and he thanks you for your comments, she now has the wings a fuel tank on, the rad has just come back, so she is getting ready for the first start of the 240 since it was on the test bed at Gardener in 1976. i told him some one to do with Bewicks had commented, tim said that he used to get some work from bewicks, and one of the chaps there was called Dennis? is that you? if so do you remember tim moorhouse of EB broadbent LTD? thanks
Aye Roadranger that would be me but I’m at a loss to re-call either Tim or Broadbents,sorry,a bit more info might help to jog the old Brain cell though! Cheers Dennis. PS has that 8LXB actually been unused since '76?
he was saying that they used to get back loads from you? i will be seeing tim in a few weeks so i will find more out. the engine in TBR was not in good form, so it was a trip to a famous yard in sheffield to pick up a brand new enigne, he has a few fo them at this yard, so this is a band new engine, the gardener works build sheet was still on it when tim picked it up, so i can not wait for the first start up, and tim is hoping when finished to do a load or two with the truck. it seems a shame to put a cab on it to cover up all that engine.
flickr.com/photos/16688859@N05/5455612490/
this is one of tims later trucks. i carnt bloody make the photo come on. grr
seddon atkinson by richfergi.t21, on Flickr
Trev_H:
Teddy Smiths eh? they may have been royal blue one day ! they had a gold oblong on the door outline with the name and address IIRC. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near those motors after they had been carrying carbon black for Goodyears
An old bloke near me drove a Seddon 4 wheeler for them, think it had a P.6 in it, I often thought he was trying to set fire to it in a morning but of course it needed a good flame down the manifold to get it going
Evening all, Trev, you had sense!! Didnt Ingles do all the Thompsons chassis, along with Brian Meridith, (Fordhouse Transport)? Good clean work, and both with tidy fleets. When did Chris, (Kelly), buy Ingles), was it about the time he bought Alans, (Cartwrights at Wolverhampton), they had a real mint Krupp/Rolls, in the yard. When Chris rang me to offer it to me I was away in the land of “Le Frog”, and missed buying it, I`ve always regretted it!!! Lost opportunity hey ho!!
Now Teddys, having sold one to them, you keep on trying!
Our company was owned by Bill Whales Ryland Garages, from Ryland St Birmingham. Thus we got…no “desirable” new stock, and all the “dogs” that they could not sell!! Great fun! But we had an answer.
I got to know a young lady in their sales administration. Remember Ryland owned, and handled all of Fleet Hire, of Coleshills, petrol reg used units, plus all the Bass Contract hire Mk2 Atkinsons, oh what delectable stock!! So when anything desirable was in stock…we, (I), got a discreet telephone call! To alert us to the fact that , such a chassis/vehicle was stored in the old waterworks site at the bottom of Ryland Street. Before the printed stock sheet was on the desk of Gordon Cox, Rylands Sales Director!!
Now Stan , being the Senior Salesman, had as a company car, (I as the junior had no such thing, if at the end of the day there was something with “road tax” in stock then I could use it!! boy, you have no idea how exciting that was, everything from a JU van, to a Black Knight tipper, oh the extra income potential!!!
Now Stans company car was a Vauxhall Viva HA, but in the boot were 4 12volt HD Batteries, plus assorted jump leads, battery terminals, door/ignition keys, (remember the pressed Seddon ones)) Plus our “toolkit”, enough to remove Atkinson door locks at the very least!! Plus, of course “our” trade plates."The Sorcerer and his Apprentice, were at work!!
That is why, one dark, and cold November morning, at "silly oclock", Stan and I were standing alongside a very desirable AEC Mamouth Major platform. A freak to have such a "modern " lorry in stock, but I was destined for Cardiff Cattle Market, and a meeting with Stan Ross, at 10 oclock. Her batterys were sound, that crisp AEC bark, and I was away…what a dream to drive…smooth comfortable…heater worked…why are Atkinsons not like this■■?
Those of you that knew Stan Ross`s office, stark,…apart from the bottle of Malt, (and Gentlemen, Wales was colder than Birmingham that day)!! Two large glasses later, Stan put the cheque book on his desk,…my heart beat quickened!! Then part exchanges were mentioned…plural, more than one…but outside I went.
Oh, what a sad sight, old Atkinsons, leaning to left, and right, tired, oh so tired. But full of Malt, (and an 0300start), I chose two,…two■■?..yes two!!
Back in the office, more Malt, “you have chosen the best two”, …some hope… but the Malt warmed my heart!! And the figures, (seemed to add up)!
An hour later they were loaded, a worn out Mk1, on the back of a worn out Mk 1, but I had one rope, and over the back it went! and orf I went, at 38mph, no time to waste, Teddy Smith was expecting me at 1800hrs!!! (oh the optimism of youth)!
Now progress was slow, and despite the Alcohol I realised that these “dogs” were not Greyhounds!! So I stopped at a Garage, and purchased two Ever Ready Bicycle rear lights, plus batterys, and fixed them to the rear of the “mounted lady”. Now Gentlemen, those of you that have done such things, is there nothing more sad looking, than the “drooping” rear axle of an 8wheeler being carried on a lorry that is too short to accomodate its length??
It must have been so, for the uniformed Constable, who having overtaken me just short of Hirwaun, (on that steep, and nasty bit), in his pastel blue and white Minivan stopped me!
Oh, b…, I pulled onto the rough pull in, wound the ratchet handbrake on full,…realised I was moving slowly backwards, and pressed hard on the footbrake!! We stopped!!
“Turn off driver,” so said the 7ft giant, in immaculate uniform, that sort of poured out of the minivan. “I cant, the battery is flat", said I,"she wont start”. He began to walk round…oh s…t, my leg was cramping, the handbrake was vertical, my foot was flat on the foot brake!
He re-appeared under the windscreen, I remember night was falling, “where are you going driver”? Dudley, I gasped, “better be on your way, its a long way”, he said. "Youve only one rope, but dont worry, I see that you`ve put the front wheels through the hole in the deck, so she is secure"Oh my heart sank, but he got into his minivan and drove away! Me I let go of that footbrake, and got going, and only about 10miles further on realised that the useless handbrake was still vertical!!!
The following day, rather careworn, and a little scruffy, there I was on Ettingshall Rd, when “young Nick” swung his E type in, and an hour later Stan collected me, with cheque,and another deal was done, before the “silk suits” in Birmingham had realised that they had a Mamouth Major in stock!! Let alone that Ross Garages had it on sale.
Mamouth Major…two Mk 1 Atkinson part exchanges, one days, (hard), labour, £ooo.oo profit, and 10% commision split 2ways, what a super way to make a living, And a great learning curve, but I enjoyed every minute of it!!!
And that was not the only deal like that, I shall away to the Bollinger to remember some of the others,…would it bore you?? Cheerio for now.
Saviem:
But then of course came the Mk2, and real progress, great pipework, comfy cab, superb instruments, great mirrors, “proper” brakes, a lorry to be proud of. Then , perfection, the Borderer, 10ft 8in wb, Kirkstall, and Mr Fullers 10speed
And just to show that the Mk.2 cab really was quite a bit bigger than the Mk.1, despite the similar appearance:
GBV 759E & JTB 885P, ‘Silver Knight’ T3046XB & ‘Borderer’ T3448XB by Gardner 8LXB, on Flickr
Evening all, Mk1 Atkinsons.
Anyone remember the ultra lightweight 4x2 16ton tanker, run, (and designed ), by Dobson of Edinburgh, (part of Ryland Garages of Birmingham). I think about 1967. Powered by a Detroit, (General Motors), 3.5litre 4cylinder, @ 140hp, Alison auto, with retarder. Net weight 4.5tons, and capable of carrying 3000litres of petrol. Almost as much as the old 8wheelers carried!!
Or the 8x4s operated by Bulwark, fitted with fluid flywheels, and Self Changing Gears semi auto boxes. Gave the driver the ability, (with modest hp, LX Gardners), to “hot shift”, (grab an extra gear when climbing at full revs),impossible with the traditional constant mesh Brown box). Also improved fuel consumption by about .5mpg.
But of course as more torque capacity engines arrived, then the lack of Torque capacity rendered the SCG box obsolete. Interesting to look back, nothing much is really new, is it? Cheerio for now.