My favourite was always the Atkinson but the ERF’s I ran were, I will freely admit, just as reliable and cost effective however although the ratio in the Bewick fleet was about 2 Atkys to 1 ERF. The Atky Borderer cab was far more roomier than the “A” Series ERF for a start. Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
My favourite was always the Atkinson but the ERF’s I ran were, I will freely admit, just as reliable and cost effective however although the ratio in the Bewick fleet was about 2 Atkys to 1 ERF. The Atky Borderer cab was far more roomier than the “A” Series ERF for a start. Cheers Bewick.
A matter of personal taste, I suspect, Dennis. The running gear was pretty much the same, wasn’t it? Marque loyalty, dealer proximity and chassis availability would all be relevant, perhaps?
240 Gardner:
Bewick:
My favourite was always the Atkinson but the ERF’s I ran were, I will freely admit, just as reliable and cost effective however although the ratio in the Bewick fleet was about 2 Atkys to 1 ERF. The Atky Borderer cab was far more roomier than the “A” Series ERF for a start. Cheers Bewick.A matter of personal taste, I suspect, Dennis. The running gear was pretty much the same, wasn’t it? Marque loyalty, dealer proximity and chassis availability would all be relevant, perhaps?
It was chassis availability mainly Chris not withstanding a bias toward Atkinson 
! But I always recall much to the chagrin of ERF’s that they were sometimes referred to as ERFKINSONS ! But I can say that both marques gave us Sterling service ! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
Bewick:
My favourite was always the Atkinson but the ERF’s I ran were, I will freely admit, just as reliable and cost effective however although the ratio in the Bewick fleet was about 2 Atkys to 1 ERF. The Atky Borderer cab was far more roomier than the “A” Series ERF for a start. Cheers Bewick.A matter of personal taste, I suspect, Dennis. The running gear was pretty much the same, wasn’t it? Marque loyalty, dealer proximity and chassis availability would all be relevant, perhaps?
It was chassis availability mainly Chris not withstanding a bias toward Atkinson
What did your drivers think Dennis , what was their preference, i remember my dad getting a brand new Atkinson in the early 70s and wasn`t impressed whereas he went to Harold Woods and eventually got a new A Series and liked that. Maybe down to personal taste like Chris said because it was basically a different cab
Not much to choose between either of them, I’d happily take either (and I did, for many years
Out of 10 ■■
Atki 10…ERF 9.5
I drove B-series ERFs alongside a Seddon-Atkinson 400 of similar age and I found the ERFs more comfortable and the gearbox installation (Fuller-9s in both cases) better. Ro
ramone:
Bewick:
240 Gardner:
Bewick:
My favourite was always the Atkinson but the ERF’s I ran were, I will freely admit, just as reliable and cost effective however although the ratio in the Bewick fleet was about 2 Atkys to 1 ERF. The Atky Borderer cab was far more roomier than the “A” Series ERF for a start. Cheers Bewick.A matter of personal taste, I suspect, Dennis. The running gear was pretty much the same, wasn’t it? Marque loyalty, dealer proximity and chassis availability would all be relevant, perhaps?
It was chassis availability mainly Chris not withstanding a bias toward Atkinson
What did your drivers think Dennis , what was their preference, i remember my dad getting a brand new Atkinson in the early 70s and wasn`t impressed whereas he went to Harold Woods and eventually got a new A Series and liked that. Maybe down to personal taste like Chris said because it was basically a different cab
Hiya “ramone” well I can’t really say that the Drivers said much about which unit they preferred but as we run more Atkinsons they were the backbone of the fleet for a few years. Personally I always believed that the 220 ■■■■■■■ was more lively in the Atky as it had the 10 speed Fuller box( 610) as opposed to the 8speed and crawler( 609 ) in the 220 "A"Series. But there wasn’t much to choose between the two as they were both the Premier UK motors for many years. Just my opinion others may disagree. Cheers Dennis.
My opinion, although the first artic I drove was an ERF (LV 180■■■■■■■■ and I was part owner of a Castrol ERF(LV 205■■■■■■■■■ my favourite motor of that era was definitely an Atkinson Borderer, 220 ■■■■■■■ 10speed roadranger box. Regards Kev.
Morning Dennis, 2 quesions for you chap.
1.Was there much difference in weight between the two ? If one for instance was half a ton heavier than the other then
thats alot more payload over a year.
2.Which motor depreciated the most with regard to re sale values ?
After writing the above had a look in the archives and heres some details on both.
Click on twice to read.
Atkinson.
ERF.
Never drove an Atkinson enough to make an informed choice, Sed Acks yes 400 was ok 401 was brilliant but you probably arn’t asking about the later models.
Drove most Fodens, A A+ and B series ERF’s. which is probably a similar comparison.
From a driver’s perspective i’d rate them according to engine gearbox and axles, and whether they had the all important power steering.
Didn’t rate the S39 or S40 Fodens because they had 180 Gardners and no power steering and geared to about 50mph max, S40 i seem to recall having air assisted clutch so was a little better plus much improved ride and noise suppression, liked the S80 because it had a 220 ■■■■■■■ and power steering and a proper park brake.
I appreciate the Fodens though for the 12 speed box, once you mastered that there wasn’t much that would trouble you gearbox wise again.
Didn’t like the A series again because 180 and no power steering, plus being on nights the draughts through holes in the cab caused real discomfort, B series with 180 gained power steering and much better ride, then got to use a new B series with XLC 201 Gardner which was a little better, mostly though i preferred the odd times using an A+, again cos 220 ■■■■■■■ plus power steering Fuller box and higher gearing it was a really nice drive.
As time went by so long as it had a turbocharged ■■■■■■■ Eaton/Fuller gearbox and Rockwell axle i was happy enough.
That’s a drivers perspective which is probably somewhat different to what the operator might prefer.
DEANB:
Morning Dennis, 2 quesions for you chap.1.Was there much difference in weight between the two ? If one for instance was half a ton heavier than the other then
thats alot more payload over a year.2.Which motor depreciated the most with regard to re sale values ?
After writing the above had a look in the archives and heres some details on both.
Click on twice to read.
Atkinson.
3
2
ERF.
1
0
Hi Dean, Bit of good info those two spec sheets as I note that the ERF must be the earliest one produced for the "A"Series because it is quoting the Kirkstall BDR axle and the Fuller RTO610 but the standard spec became the Kirkstall D85 HR axle and the Fuller 609 box. My first new Borderer in’71 was ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ BDR and was one of the last Borderers built with the old Kirkstall BDR axle. I specc’d the next Borderers with the Eaton axle. As for comparing the two Marques well they were very similar weightwise as all ours had twin tanks ( 2 x 62 gal ) One thing that use to ■■■■ me off was Power Steering wasn’t standard on the Borderer whereas it was on the “A” Series .Happy Days ! Cheers Dennis.
kevmac47:
My opinion, although the first artic I drove was an ERF (LV 180■■■■■■■■ and I was part owner of a Castrol ERF(LV 205■■■■■■■■■ my favourite motor of that era was definitely an Atkinson Borderer, 220 ■■■■■■■ 10speed roadranger box. Regards Kev.
You know a decent motor when you see one wor Kev ! Cheers Dennis. 
These motors were long before my time obviously, as I’m the whippersnapper of the Oldtimer section, but was there a big difference in price? As the price difference between the “premium” makes and what’s been branded as B-list stuff is quite remarkable in this day and age…?
Bewick:
DEANB:
Morning Dennis, 2 quesions for you chap.1.Was there much difference in weight between the two ? If one for instance was half a ton heavier than the other then
thats alot more payload over a year.2.Which motor depreciated the most with regard to re sale values ?
After writing the above had a look in the archives and heres some details on both.
Click on twice to read.
Atkinson.
3
2
ERF.
1
0
Hi Dean, Bit of good info those two spec sheets as I note that the ERF must be the earliest one produced for the "A"Series because it is quoting the Kirkstall BDR axle and the Fuller RTO610 but the standard spec became the Kirkstall D85 HR axle and the Fuller 609 box. My first new Borderer in’71 was ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ BDR and was one of the last Borderers built with the old Kirkstall BDR axle. I specc’d the next Borderers with the Eaton axle. As for comparing the two Marques well they were very similar weightwise as all ours had twin tanks ( 2 x 62 gal ) One thing that use to ■■■■ me off was Power Steering wasn’t standard on the Borderer whereas it was on the “A” Series .Happy Days ! Cheers Dennis.
Which one held its value better when you sold them on Dennis ?
DEANB:
Bewick:
DEANB:
Morning Dennis, 2 quesions for you chap.1.Was there much difference in weight between the two ? If one for instance was half a ton heavier than the other then
thats alot more payload over a year.2.Which motor depreciated the most with regard to re sale values ?
After writing the above had a look in the archives and heres some details on both.
Click on twice to read.
Atkinson.
3
2
ERF.
1
0
Hi Dean, Bit of good info those two spec sheets as I note that the ERF must be the earliest one produced for the "A"Series because it is quoting the Kirkstall BDR axle and the Fuller RTO610 but the standard spec became the Kirkstall D85 HR axle and the Fuller 609 box. My first new Borderer in’71 was ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ BDR and was one of the last Borderers built with the old Kirkstall BDR axle. I specc’d the next Borderers with the Eaton axle. As for comparing the two Marques well they were very similar weightwise as all ours had twin tanks ( 2 x 62 gal ) One thing that use to ■■■■ me off was Power Steering wasn’t standard on the Borderer whereas it was on the “A” Series .Happy Days ! Cheers Dennis.
Which one held its value better when you sold them on Dennis ?
As long as they were well maintained and of similar spec they brought similar money Dean ! Cheers Dennis.
On reflection I would say that the ERF spec sheet is not for an “A” Series and is for the preceding model just before the “A” Series was announced Cheers Dennis.
> ERF-NGC-European:
> I drove B-series ERFs alongside a Seddon-Atkinson 400 of similar age and I found the ERFs more comfortable and the gearbox installation (Fuller-9s in both cases) better. Ro
Have to agree with you there Ro, plus the ERF handled better (very precise) on the rather winding roads of Somerset, Dorset, Devon & Cornwall
How about the Atkinson fork truck? 
Kempston:
How about the Atkinson fork truck?0
Now there’s a lorry with a few stories to tell!! I once followed it around the Blackburn Ring road, when it was dragging a 6x4 Seddon Atkinson tractor and empty tri-axle curtainsider - my nearly new ■■■■■■ Diesel was busting a gut just to keep up!
When it was new, it was operated on Middle East work by ‘Taffy’ Davies from Sunderland, along with other Borderers. Here’s a more recent photo of it:
Atkinson borderer tbr737r by richfergi.t21, on Flickr
Well I only ran one Sedatki,& one ERF They both had R R Eagles in, The ERF IMO Had the edge on the SedAtki, Because it had an Eaton 12 Speed Twin Splitter Box in, Which gave opptimum performance at all times, Plus the brakes were far better than the SedAtki, , But the SedAtki was a good motor too, Regards Larry.