As a “newbie” on this forum I was looking through the various topics when in bubblemans excellent posts of photos from the past I noticed the pics of Foden half cabs, both in mixer and artic form. I noticed that there were some comments about the reason behind the design and also the distances that some of them travelled. I would like to add some info on the vehicles, I have various photos of the vehicles but as they are mainly by Peter Davies I cannot show them here, hence the pic of my Lone Star model!
I worked for Tilcon as a fitter and later as a driver from 1975 until 1997 at their Ballidon Quarry near Ashbourne, Derbys,and when I joined the company they ran about 20 of these 8 leggers in both tipper and powder tanker form. A few were 24 ton SWB models but mostly they were 30 tonners. They replaced AEC Marshals on the fleet. They were all equipped with Gardner 180 LXB engines and Foden 12 speed gearboxes, and of course the parking brake was the hopeless single drum on the rear of the 1st diff!
The reasons for purchase was partly because of the reduced insurance cost (no passengers) and also the light weight (21 ton payload at 30 ton gross). They were pleasant to drive but noisy, the downside was the poor cab structure which soon started to crack around the windscreen and also on the n/s front. I drove most of them up to North Riding Garages at Middleton St George nr Darlington where they were recabbed with the Motor panels based S40 cab which was a good cab, this gave them a further few years use.
Regarding distances, the tankers ran to places like Crediton, Devon and around the London area, also Ipswich which were nightouts in the '70’s. The tippers ran with Limestone to Felstead in Essex (British Sugar), also to Cornwall, the Isle of Wight, etc so they got around a bit! I recall taking one of the tankers (ORA 310J) to be recabbed in the late '70’s, the original speedo read 600,400 miles plus all the blowing time, it was later sold to an operator in the Potteries who converted it to a tipper and ran from Croxden Gravel with it for several years!
They were replaced with S80 and S83 models and also some Sed Aks when Fodens were hard to come by.
Hope that this gives a little more insight into one of Fodens less known models and yes, I rode passenger in one once to the West Midlands and it was a bit of a squeeze crouched at the side of the driver against the cab door!
amalgamated roadstone (ARC) ran a few half cabbed fodens in the mid seventies…as far as I remember they were not that successful as soon replaced by conventionally cabed units…they were on eight wheel tipper work this is from whitwick quarry in leicestershire.
Remember the ARC ones, actually quite a lot of firms used them including St Ives sand and gravel, French’s, Ivonbrook Quarries and some specialist companys. They certainly went well, especially the 24 tonners with the Gardner 180 and the superb Foden 12 speed with air change but the S50 cabs were nowhere near as strong as the dumper based cab I’m afraid, though a bit lighter in weight. The bumper arrangement was miles better than the S 80’s, they were always getting bent on sites as they were that low to the ground. Propshaft breakage was a regular event though because the clutch was air assisted and you could stand by the cab door and depress the clutch pedal with one hand, you therefore couldn’t “feel” the clutch gripping and tended to let it out too quickly!
my farther drove a foden half cab for amey roadstone in the 70s, and apart from the cab warming up nice n quick(ish!), the only other thing he could remember clearly is that every time he hit a biggish bump in the quarry his head used to whack the angled steel brace on the roof with his head!!!
Ron Barraclough, of Peel Place, Barnsley, had a two-axle S50 half-cab tractor registration number THE 201 H which was lettered up for continental work when new. Later in life, it was repainted and lettered without reference to “continental”, still in the crimson and ivory colours. It seemed to do a lot of work on the Redfearns Glass contract. I have no idea what happened to it eventually, but an old workmate of mine thinks it was sold on, then re-cabbed with something more conventional. Can anybody else remember or confirm?
fodenway:
Ron Barraclough, of Peel Place, Barnsley, had a two-axle S50 half-cab tractor registration number THE 201 H which was lettered up for continental work when new. Later in life, it was repainted and lettered without reference to “continental”,
You wouldn’t be able to get far away enough from the steering wheel for the continent.
A firm from Stocton on Tees ran a number of S50 Half Cabs on general haulage called F&F Robinson. I can remember our bloke asking my opinion on them when he was considering buying Fodens. The answer I gave him was unprintable and I was eventually given an S80, not a bad motor in the 70’s, but often had nightmares of what might have been.
Regards to all, Haddy Gt. Yarmouth.
haddy:
A firm from Stocton on Tees ran a number of S50 Half Cabs on general haulage called F&F Robinson. I can remember our bloke asking my opinion on them when he was considering buying Fodens. The answer I gave him was unprintable and I was eventually given an S80, not a bad motor in the 70’s, but often had nightmares of what might have been.
Regards to all, Haddy Gt. Yarmouth.
Robinsons operated 14 of them in artic form on general haulage, but they were soon dropped because of image, and were phased out when tilt cabs came along.
This photo is from a collection of Arthur Ingram photos I have
hi . i just thought i would throw my bit in im currently restoring an s50 half cab 8x4 tipper ex tilcon DLM 320J . if i can sus out how to get pics on ere i will post some . i bought it of a farm in the midlands an it had been run by a local skip company and worked to death . bent chassis . dead engine rotton cab etc its took 3 yrs to weld the cab but will be well worth the effort when its done . fodenway i have a picture of barracloughs half cab .
fodenway:
Ron Barraclough, of Peel Place, Barnsley, had a two-axle S50 half-cab tractor registration number THE 201 H which was lettered up for continental work when new. Later in life, it was repainted and lettered without reference to “continental”,
You wouldn’t be able to get far away enough from the steering wheel for the continent.
You wouldn’t be able to get far away enough from the steering wheel for the continent. 
