atlas man:
I have heard of pace but never knew who they were but thought they were involved with Atlas in some way because all our printed material came from a company called pace
Hi Atlas Man, Herbert Pace was the name of the company and if I am correct owned by Atlas but for how long I dont know. Pace was a "Rootes" dealers and thats where the Dodge lorries came in to the fleet in the early 80`s and the company cars were Chrysler Alpines etc. Pace were also the company that made the van bodies as stated by “rastone” , a they were certainly fitted on the Dodges any way.
Here is a couple of pics of Gold Band lorries
Night Runner:
Here is a couple of pics of Gold Band lorries
I think you will find the Pace Freighht motors were brown
Tony
I have heard of pace as our printed stuff came from there, it is nice to see new pictures of the old place coming on here as it was a big company and a good place to work but I didn’t know they owned a Chrysler dealers which begs the question why did they always buy Fords, I would have quite liked one of them Spanish dodges instead of the new cargo I got, this was my first new motor, it was the first batch of cargos they got TUT 632X
atlas man:
I have heard of pace as our printed stuff came from there, it is nice to see new pictures of the old place coming on here as it was a big company and a good place to work but I didn’t know they owned a Chrysler dealers which begs the question why did they always buy Fords, I would have quite liked one of them Spanish dodges instead of the new cargo I got, this was my first new motor, it was the first batch of cargos they got TUT 632X
Another great picture Atlas man!!! I never actually saw a green Cargo the only ones I ever saw were in the new white livery.Its fleet number is similar to the S reg d series you posted. In respect of the Ford Units, I can only think they must have liked the V8 Perkins set up over anything else in that weight range. I never saw a Ford Cargo rigid for Atlas, did you? I am surprised you werent too keen on the Cargo though, I didn`t mind the ones I had or the D series either.
Hi we had a cargo rigid but it was a big one used for pulling a drawer bar trailer, we also had a dodge as well reg numbers were A95 MHK and A96 MHK, they also had demountable bodies on them as well, don’t were they originated from as we got them second hand at Leeds, regarding the cargo units the first batch we got had a steering fault, for no reason the whole steering column would start vibrating very badly and they were all sent back to be repaired. I did like the cargo esp the 28 ton versions we got they were fast and nice to drive but I thought the dodge was a nice looking unit and would have liked to have had one just for a change
And we even went out in the snow lol
Just wondering, as a lot of these Atlas lorries had Leicester reg’s, ie : AY RY JF & UT, were they from the markfield depot ?
gunnerheskey:
Just wondering, as a lot of these Atlas lorries had Leicester reg’s, ie : AY RY JF & UT, were they from the markfield depot ?
Yes probably.We dilivered some to Markfield and some to Nottingham.The four wheelers may have been registrered from Coalville but can’t be that sure but it was where the bodies were built.
Tony
I remember all our new vehicles were picked up from Leicester usually by the night trunk men
i’vs seen an old Atlas trailer parked up some time ago…trying to remember where.in a field by the side of the M42 possibly
Hi all. As a teenager I used to go with my dad who drove for Nottingham as a night trunker. Dad always let me shunt in the yards we went to, & I got hooked on lorries & Cargos in particular. Saturday mornings I’d cycle the 5 or so miles into the depot & take pics of the units. My dads first was TAY 866R, then NFP 163T, then KNR 980V then TAY 534X, all D series 2417’s. Then came his first new one, a Cargo VAY 927X, 2517. As the weights went up a batch of 2820 Cargos were sent in. These were real flying machines with the uprated Perkins V8 640’s & 8 speed range change box. Dad copped for A94 MHK, & was put on Cardiff trunk, which A94 ate up the miles. Off the clock was no problem at 28 tonnes, it was such a nice unit. Smooth powerful & sleek looking compared to all the other units. Funny how I can remember most of the unit reg numbers from back then, but couldn’t tell you my trucks reg number today!! Looking back it was a great company, with some real characters. Danny Tauer, Colin Reynolds, Tony Peace, Don McCubbin, Brian Weatherley, all the night trunk lads. Barry Watson who was a day man was such a funny bloke to be around. I’ve lots of pics, if anyone can tell me how to post them up! This site seems a little complicated.
Hi Cargo, I used to go Nottingham a lot, 1 of the last jobs I did before Atlas closed was to take some new drawbar trailers in there direct from York trailers and like you I can remember the registration numbers of most of the units we had at Leeds. as for putting pics on it took me some time to figure out but I did in the end just keep trying you will figure it out im sure
Hello there Atlas Man. Great name by the way for this topic!! Nottingham was the first depot to trial the wagon & drags. I remember all the photographers at the depot during the day taking pics of the new rig & then at strategic points down the motorway & a52 during its first Gold Band trip into Perivale. They were 1317’s & Notts wagon was A22 RNO. I never saw another one, but I’m sure there were more of them. I seem to remember they didn’t take off & this particular wagon went on to do Ipswich night trunk on its own without its drag.
As for reg numbers, I’ll have a go;-TAY866R KNR980V JJU138V KJU464V KAY18V PJU152W(a Leyland Super Mastiff from Cardiff depot)TAY534X TJF53X RJU415X TUT628X WUT784X WUT783X VAY927X A93MHK A94MHK A97 MHK A22RNO B205XVX. That what I can remember. A94 MHK got smashed up one night & had a brand new cab on it. It hit a barge on the motorway being transported on a low loader. The driver was called Fred Jones who was a fitter at Notts, but came out the garage to drive. A94 went on to be a driver training lorry in Leicestershire somewhere after United Carriers interfered with us! It was such a mint motor.
A selection of pics from Notts depot Woolsthorpe Close Aspley. I’ll have a dig out & get some more up
Hi was the barge being pulled by a landrover , I was just wondering if it was the one I just missed, I saw it in the distance, turned away for a couple of seconds to light a cigarette and when I looked again I was on top of him and had to pull round him very quickly, it was doing about 10 miles an hour, on way back I saw one of our motors had hit it but when I stopped police made me move on, I was on my to either Perivale or Dunstable carnt remember which, police just told me driver was okay and lectured me or stopping and trying to get across the carriageway
Blimey!! It’s really a small world sometimes isn’t it Atlas man! Yes, it was a land rover. Fred, the driver was ok- just a bit shaken. He said he couldn’t believe how slow this thing was going. He just had no chance. He’d slowed down quite a bit, but hit the thing about 20-30 mph. The cab was real caved in, but frames & engine etc were OK. A94 got a brand new cab put on by Hooleys garage up the road, but cab stripes, under bumper airdam weren’t put back on. After this though, she was a bit of a pet unit as she was really clean. One of her sister units, A97MHK was a real rotbox, in comparison.
What you think of the pics Atlas man?? Any good memories for you? I’ve loads more when I get time to do them.Take care mate.
Hi, Yes they are great pics esp the old shunt motor, I remember that one at Leeds and some of the old units, I had B207 XVX when it was brand new on nights down to Perivale, we also had B209 which I got when I went back on days but my first one was D series NJN 191P and that was a flyer, i never really bothered with taking photos of our wagons but i wish i had now but some great memories when i see others did
