harry_gill:
240 Gardner:
harry_gill:
Hiya,
A little story I put on Trucknet many moons ago was concerning the Scania 80 and the story was rubbished by one or two Trucknetters,It concerns when Bowkers were based in Blackburn and I’d just been allocated their first Scania 80 I parked in the yard uncoupled and getting ready to couple up to a loaded trailer ready for the next day. When Mr B himself told me to put my motor out of the way tilt the cab and go and get a cuppa for half an hour, as I moved away some guys one of them I knew swarmed round the motor looking at and taking photo’s (The guy I knew was a test driver for Atkinson’s)
the only information I ever got was that at the time the Sed/Ak was on the stocks and the cab layout and tilt mechanism was being looked at, I personally thought the Sed/Ak was similar in appearance to a Scania 80 when it became available, All hush hush at the time. I was told at the time If I spoke about anything i’d seen I would have to be shot, something to do with the official secrets act, LOL.
Was that when the Scania was new, Harry? In which case that wold have been 1969/70? The 400 Series prototype wasn’t first shown until 1974, although Atkinson were supposed to have been doing at least preliminary design work on a new steel tilt cab prior to the Seddon takeover in late 1970. Was the Atkinson driver Pete Brooks?
Hiya,
Yes Chris the 80 wouldn’t have been very old and the Atki driver was
indeed Pete Brooks an at the time fellow Darrener and have enjoyed
many a pint with the same lad, maybe with your timescale the lads
looking at the Scania were interested in ideas for the Atki prototype.
PS Chris the cup of tea would have been taken in the Hamilton.