I thought I was right about Sproston Marky but I can’t remember any more in there unless Harris Road Services was one of them.
To answer some of the questions regarding the works, I started my apprenticeship in '76 when it was a fully integrated steel works employing 13000 men.The heavy end went in 1980, the cold mill, and one of the electro galv lines went in 2001, and the second electro galv went in 2003.
All the substrate comes in from south wales by rail, all finished material leaves by road.The transport fleet was out sourced in the mid 90’s, and is currently provided by Multiserve.The fleet is mainly MAN/ERF.
British Steel became Corus following merger with Hoogavens of Holland, and more recently we were taken over by Tata steel of India, who have also just bought Jaguar/Landrover.
In recent years things have picked up a little with the development of the modular building line (Corus living solutions), and the construction of a new composite panel line.The coating section consists of two hot dipped galv lines, and two colorcoat lines.The site currently employs around 6-700 people.
Cheers,
Phil.
Nice to know Shotton is still active Phil.
Like I said before,best of luck with the 401 restoration and as Trubrit says take photos as you restore. 
philt:
Hello,
I recently purchased an "85 401 tractor unit powered by a RR 300Li. I intend to restore this truck, possibly to show standardsWhy would you want to do that its a bit of junk and it was never a good lorry and never will be
As mentioned above Ernie Thorpe still have a load of the Sudden Accidents.
To be honest they were not a bad truck but ERF were better.
Both could be classed as gaffers motors.
Air Products and BOC used them as did Econofreight on the General
Thanks for the contribution davey68…
Why would you want to do that its a bit of junk and it was never a good lorry and never will be
As has been mentioned by several people on this thread, the 401 was not the best truck on the road in the mid eighties, but was it that bad?The truck is in a reasonable state so should not cost the earth to bring back to presentable condition.As I said previously, this is the last surviving unit from a fleet of 25+ vehicles so there is a bit of history attached.Worth preserving in my opinion.
Phil.
Have a BBQ with it and yes it was a bad lorry it was down there with ERF, Foden…
Leave it as it is mate, lorries are meant to work hard, just get an old spread axle 40’ flat with a pretend coil in the middle, it’ll look a lot better than a concours spec IMO, you’ll save a fortune too! Just get them lights off the front quarters & the back of the cab & put on the stalks like they were originally.
Did this restoration keep going would be intrested to know was one of the first wagons i worked on in my apprentice years we had about 6 of these in are fleet at the time
Its a shame this guy was repeatedly being put off restoring this wagon, I assume this was coming from the S and V brigade who seem to take every chance to slag British motors off. The unit itself didn’t have a lot wrong with it and would be a good first time restoration, the 401’s weren’t an ugly looking machine and the twin rear steer I had got my vote for the most comfortable bed, the Scania’s and Volvo’s of different marques I’d kipped in at different times were no where near as good, I quite liked my old Seddon. I’d like to see how this one got on too. Franky.
Frankydobo:
got my vote for the most comfortable bed, the Scania’s and Volvo’s of different marques I’d kipped in at different times were no where near as good, I quite liked my old Seddon. I’d like to see how this one got on too. Franky.
I never drove a 401 but back in the mid 80’s I drove a 400 sleeper cab with a ■■■■■■■ engine, I still remember it as one of the most comfortable beds, I thought the high level bunk in the 401 & 301 was a backwards step as I always liked the low level of the 400 (bottom) bunk.
Ross.
Frankydobo:
Its a shame this guy was repeatedly being put off restoring this wagon, I assume this was coming from the S and V brigade who seem to take every chance to slag British motors off. The unit itself didn’t have a lot wrong with it and would be a good first time restoration, the 401’s weren’t an ugly looking machine and the twin rear steer I had got my vote for the most comfortable bed, the Scania’s and Volvo’s of different marques I’d kipped in at different times were no where near as good, I quite liked my old Seddon. I’d like to see how this one got on too. Franky.
Franky, i think alot of these people just don’t get it , the old Seddon has got character- to you & me, but to others it was a shed 
. V & S are still here & Seddon are not -proves that they are far better/superior machines but what gave you better satisfaction to drive? Hearing the Rolls on song & mastering fuller shifts beats autopiloting euroboxes anyday in my book 
i had a seddon 400 6x4 to drive on bulk work not the greatest ride i’ve ever had , but would go anywhere in a straight line 
Good luck with your project .It looks in quite good nick ,This is what the rally circuit needs Check out Pauls site .Northwest trucks for Ridings Livery.
Franky, i think alot of these people just don’t get it , the old Seddon has got character- to you & me, but to others it was a shed . V & S are still here & Seddon are not -proves that they are far better/superior machines but what gave you better satisfaction to drive? Hearing the Rolls on song & mastering fuller shifts beats autopiloting euroboxes anyday in my book tonyhogi
Tony I was going to say the same about having a more Macho engine and proper gearbox but thought I might have sounded too bitter about the ‘Vikings’ which to my mind have been overhyped, yes the original invaders were a kick in the pants for British makers but today they are no better and in some ways have taken a step back, it would have been nice to have had at least two British maufacturers still going to see how they compared today, my choice would be AEC and either Atkinson or Seddon, the last two mainly to keep some of the work further North. Leyland would be a no though, I blame them for most of the mess British Commercial production got itself into and allowed the foreigners to step in so easily. Cheers Franky.
Frankydobo:
Franky, i think alot of these people just don’t get it , the old Seddon has got character- to you & me, but to others it was a shed . V & S are still here & Seddon are not -proves that they are far better/superior machines but what gave you better satisfaction to drive? Hearing the Rolls on song & mastering fuller shifts beats autopiloting euroboxes anyday in my book tonyhogiTony I was going to say the same about having a more Macho engine and proper gearbox but thought I might have sounded too bitter about the ‘Vikings’ which to my mind have been overhyped, yes the original invaders were a kick in the pants for British makers but today they are no better and in some ways have taken a step back, it would have been nice to have had at least two British maufacturers still going to see how they compared today, my choice would be AEC and either Atkinson or Seddon, the last two mainly to keep some of the work further North. Leyland would be a no though, I blame them for most of the mess British Commercial production got itself into and allowed the foreigners to step in so easily. Cheers Franky.
HERE HERE!
Just thought I would give an update due to the renewed interest in this thread.Shortly after buying the 401 I lost my the storage/workshop I was renting, so the truck is presently at a friends farm.I have been accumulating bits and pieces as they appear, including a 325Tx motor to replace the rather smokey 300Li,and earlier this year aquired another 401 for spares (see pic).I have a fairly large workshop at home but not quite high enough to fit the 401,so would prefer to rent a suitable workshop locally, this is the hold up at the moment.
Regarding the S & V brigade, I have to admit I was disappointed by the negative comments about SA, and British trucks in general.I suppose everyone is entitled to an opinion, and it has not deterred me in the least.We would all like a 142 or an F16, but they are well beyond my reach.Thanks for the interest.
Phil.
I had a “SA Strato” for a week with the DAF space cab, ■■■■■■■ jake and twin splitter and that was one of the nicest wagons I have ever driven and it was on par with the continental wagons at the time. I preferred it to the DAF 95 which is what I usually had.
philt:
Just thought I would give an update due to the renewed interest in this thread.Shortly after buying the 401 I lost my the storage/workshop I was renting, so the truck is presently at a friends farm.I have been accumulating bits and pieces as they appear, including a 325Tx motor to replace the rather smokey 300Li,and earlier this year aquired another 401 for spares (see pic).I have a fairly large workshop at home but not quite high enough to fit the 401,so would prefer to rent a suitable workshop locally, this is the hold up at the moment.Regarding the S & V brigade, I have to admit I was disappointed by the negative comments about SA, and British trucks in general.I suppose everyone is entitled to an opinion, and it has not deterred me in the least.We would all like a 142 or an F16, but they are well beyond my reach.Thanks for the interest.
Phil.
Having had to part with one cherished motor for the very same reason, I can sympathise with your storage difficulties
Actually, apart from the fact that such a rust-prone motor would be the last choice for a gritter(!), that cab it looks very tidy! Good luck with the restoration, and I hope you’ll be able to keep it under cover.
We ran 3 eight wheeler 401,s all with gardners in,they were good in there day,nice to drive and easy to work on,cabs did rust bad towards the end but we did run them right into the late 90,s ,we even fitted a perkins rolls tx325 into one,when the gardner gave up. There is a few photos of them on johnslorryphotos site for any any sed atki nuts.