marky:
The chap you’re referring to is almost certainly the late John Hemelryk and the wagon he was in would undoubtedly be fleet number 47, or as John would have it named, his ‘Old Friend’.
John lived in Paddington on his narrowboat, not Chorley, and 47 was one of the first Atkinsons to be fitted with the (then) new Gardner 180 6LXB.
Other than those minor details, the rest is true - John did take 47 home with him and did all the regular maintenance himself. 47 actually went home with John for good when he retired, but returned again on light duties. It is a tribute to John’s care that 47 still retains the original Hardy-Spicer UJs in the prop-shaft, such was his careful handling of the vehicle during it’s working life under his stewardship.
After John died, 47 was refurbished (cab and paint) and now resides in the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in King Street, Leyland. I was there looking over her on Sunday, and sadly some small-brained scumbag had tried to pull the polished Gardner plate off the tap rack behind the cab - even in a museum nothing appears to be sacred any more…
Dafdave
Thanks v/much for the info i got one or two details wrong but you must have the right man.Thanks again
Regards Dave
marky:
The chap you’re referring to is almost certainly the late John Hemelryk and the wagon he was in would undoubtedly be fleet number 47, or as John would have it named, his ‘Old Friend’.
John lived in Paddington on his narrowboat, not Chorley, and 47 was one of the first Atkinsons to be fitted with the (then) new Gardner 180 6LXB.
Other than those minor details, the rest is true - John did take 47 home with him and did all the regular maintenance himself. 47 actually went home with John for good when he retired, but returned again on light duties. It is a tribute to John’s care that 47 still retains the original Hardy-Spicer UJs in the prop-shaft, such was his careful handling of the vehicle during it’s working life under his stewardship.
After John died, 47 was refurbished (cab and paint) and now resides in the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in King Street, Leyland. I was there looking over her on Sunday, and sadly some small-brained scumbag had tried to pull the polished Gardner plate off the tap rack behind the cab - even in a museum nothing appears to be sacred any more…
Dafdave
Thanks v/much for the info i got one or two details wrong but you must have the right man.Thanks again
Regards Dave
Marky is absolutely right. 47 is actually a Mk.1. ‘Silver Knight’ and not a Borderer by the way. And, in fact, John was given a choice of having a modern vehicle or retiring when the tacho laws came in at the end of 1980: he was then 66 and chose to retire. By then, this Mk.1 Atki had actually outlived all the Mk.2s and Borderers on the fleet, apart from garage shunters.
John came back up to Blackburn with “Friend” in January 1983, and worked on shunting and yard duties until December 1985 - that’s when he finally went home to Paddington without the lorry.
Not only did he look after the motor by driving it so carefully, but he also used to service it himself on the wharf at Paddington at weekends.
As he said himself: “I knew it was inevitable” - he’d been working long days so that no-one could ever point the finger and say that he and “Friend” were doing any less than anyone else - tachos would have made it rather difficult to carry on, and 38 tonne legislation wasn’t that far away either.
Having said that, skilfully driven across country, 47 could hold its own very well indeed against more modern machines, especially if the other drivers were less skilled - there are tales of it leaving Volvos behind and I’ve seen it driven very well up the A5 in the middle of the night by a very good driver and leaving an FL10 behind - I know it’s true: I was in the passenger seat! Where it came unstuck was its 45 mph cruising speed on motorways.
47’s cab was first rebuilt in 1986/7 after John finally retired, and made its first appearance at the London to Brighton Run that year, via Paddington in both directions of course! Mechanically, it has only ever been maintained and repaired as necessary, and never rebuilt.
Its exploits both before and after retirement could fill a small book, I think!!
marky:
The chap you’re referring to is almost certainly the late John Hemelryk and the wagon he was in would undoubtedly be fleet number 47, or as John would have it named, his ‘Old Friend’.
John lived in Paddington on his narrowboat, not Chorley, and 47 was one of the first Atkinsons to be fitted with the (then) new Gardner 180 6LXB.
Other than those minor details, the rest is true - John did take 47 home with him and did all the regular maintenance himself. 47 actually went home with John for good when he retired, but returned again on light duties. It is a tribute to John’s care that 47 still retains the original Hardy-Spicer UJs in the prop-shaft, such was his careful handling of the vehicle during it’s working life under his stewardship.
After John died, 47 was refurbished (cab and paint) and now resides in the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in King Street, Leyland. I was there looking over her on Sunday, and sadly some small-brained scumbag had tried to pull the polished Gardner plate off the tap rack behind the cab - even in a museum nothing appears to be sacred any more…
Dafdave
Thanks v/much for the info i got one or two details wrong but you must have the right man.Thanks again
Regards Dave
Marky is absolutely right. 47 is actually a Mk.1. ‘Silver Knight’ and not a Borderer by the way. And, in fact, John was given a choice of having a modern vehicle or retiring when the tacho laws came in at the end of 1980: he was then 66 and chose to retire. By then, this Mk.1 Atki had actually outlived all the Mk.2s and Borderers on the fleet, apart from garage shunters.
John came back up to Blackburn with “Friend” in January 1983, and worked on shunting and yard duties until December 1985 - that’s when he finally went home to Paddington without the lorry.
Not only did he look after the motor by driving it so carefully, but he also used to service it himself on the wharf at Paddington at weekends.
As he said himself: “I knew it was inevitable” - he’d been working long days so that no-one could ever point the finger and say that he and “Friend” were doing any less than anyone else - tachos would have made it rather difficult to carry on, and 38 tonne legislation wasn’t that far away either.
Having said that, skilfully driven across country, 47 could hold its own very well indeed against more modern machines, especially if the other drivers were less skilled - there are tales of it leaving Volvos behind and I’ve seen it driven very well up the A5 in the middle of the night by a very good driver and leaving an FL10 behind - I know it’s true: I was in the passenger seat! Where it came unstuck was its 45 mph cruising speed on motorways.
47’s cab was first rebuilt in 1986/7 after John finally retired, and made its first appearance at the London to Brighton Run that year, via Paddington in both directions of course! Mechanically, it has only ever been maintained and repaired as necessary, and never rebuilt.
Its exploits both before and after retirement could fill a small book, I think!!
Dafdave
Thanks for the great info.Its a very interesting history on a great character I cant see many drivers with his calibre today,the pace of the job just would not allow it.
240 Gardner:
Its exploits both before and after retirement could fill a small book, I think!!
Dafdave
Thanks for the great info.Its a very interesting history on a great character I cant see many drivers with his calibre today,the pace of the job just would not allow it.
Not just the pace of the job - there are not many of his calibre in the job today - full stop!! Before I get lynched, that’s not to say that I haven’t worked with some excellent and very professional drivers over the last 30 years!! Mind you, I was always VERY picky about selecting them.
240 & Marky,
Thanks for that great insight into a world that is now gone, and a driver who would be hard to find today but wasn’t that uncommon in his day.
Any chance of a picture of 47? I don’t think I have much chance to get to Leyland before more bits disappear
Spardo:
240 & Marky,
Thanks for that great insight into a world that is now gone, and a driver who would be hard to find today but wasn’t that uncommon in his day.
Any chance of a picture of 47? I don’t think I have much chance to get to Leyland before more bits disappear
David, I have a whole album just of no.47! I haven’t learned how to post them on here yet…
240 Gardner:
David, I have a whole album just of no.47! I haven’t learned how to post them on here yet…
Thanks for the PM, I have replied. If the pics come through ok I’ll see if I can get some on here. I do know how to do it (seems to be different from everyone else’s method) just don’t know how to describe it .
marky:
Have just caught up with this thread and thought 240 was hinting that I should post some pictures of 47 - here are a few from various sources:
I wasn’t hinting actually, but thank you very much!! I recognise one or two there that came out of my own camera!
The shot at Keele was taken in 1979, when the motor was already 12-and-a half years old. The one with the 33’ trailer was taken at Brighouse, with a trailer we’d just bought to go with no.47 for rallying in 1985 - we never did do anything with it and, about 15 years ago, John Killingbeck swapped a 1964 26’ Scammell trailer for it - I suspect that Scammell is still in the back of Bowker’s yard.
That was my second attempt at having a dedicated rally trailer - I’d previously bob-tailed up to Hull to collect a redundant 20’ skelly, did one rally with it and then the fleet engineer sold it! Incidentally, the skelly was the same trailer that recently appeared in C&VC as a 10 metre tilt (not 12m, as captioned) on the back of a Scania 80!
How about the shots with the dolly? That is genuine period accessory! It’s a 7’6" wide Dyson dolly that was actually used on the back of no.47, and was used for pulling a 4-in-line low-loader when the tractor was operated under contract to MAT at Barking - it spent the first few years of its life operated on that contract under a B Licence. The dolly was made roadworthy so that it could be moved from Blackburn to Preston when the old yard was finally cleared out in 1990. I took the opportunity to take it to a BCVM rally at Leyland whilst it was hanging on the back of the unit. As far as I know, it’s still lying in the yard with the Scammell trailer. After being used with 47, the dolly was slightly modified to fit in the back of an 8LXB Borderer, no.58
The differences in signwriting were to reinstate the original period phone numbers, but the brothers Bowker weren’t prepared (and understandably!) to reinstate the MAT logo. Instead, the current Bowker globe was used. At the last repaint in 1999, the globes were removed.
I see Mark beat me to the punch, Chris , but let me see if I can put up my
favourite from those you sent me.
As I said in my email to you:
My own favourite is the one leaving Hollin Bridge Street depot in 1990 because
it shows her in a real working environment and further demonstrates that not
all sheets were pristine (see the Foden wagon & drag posted somewhere
else for contrast) and not all loads were easily and prettily covered and
secured. I have carried many such loads and, while I may have cursed them at
the time, look back with much nostalgia.
One sad note post restoration, what happened to the chrome bumper
bar? I was very proud of my brightly shining example at Midland Storage (I
will find those photos one day from the back of the shed ) as well as the
red and white striped crash bar, touched up regularly by me ,
probably at my own expense.
I think I’m right in saying that was the last load out of Hollin Bridge Street before the company’s transition to Holme Road, Bamber Bridge - is that correct 240?
marky:
I think I’m right in saying that was the last load out of Hollin Bridge Street before the company’s transition to Holme Road, Bamber Bridge - is that correct 240?
If so, that’d be OMT at the wheel.
Absolutely correct, and OMT it was! May Day Bank Holiday weekend, 1990 - operations moved to Bamber Bridge in August 1989, but the fitters stayed on in Blackburn until we could find a home for them in Bamber Bridge.
Spardo:
I see Mark beat me to the punch, Chris , but let me see if I can put up my
favourite from those you sent me.
My own favourite is the one leaving Hollin Bridge Street depot in 1990 because
it shows her in a real working environment and further demonstrates that not
all sheets were pristine (see the Foden wagon & drag posted somewhere
else for contrast) and not all loads were easily and prettily covered and
secured. I have carried many such loads and, while I may have cursed them at
the time, look back with much nostalgia.
One sad note post restoration, what happened to the chrome bumper
bar? I was very proud of my brightly shining example at Midland Storage (I
will find those photos one day from the back of the shed ) as well as the
red and white striped crash bar, touched up regularly by me ,
probably at my own expense.
No, the sheets certainly weren’t pristine! Mind you, the trailer was long out of MOT (it was actually a cut-down Middle East tilt), and it was only some old, spare sheets that had been chucked over the Thornycroft. As soon as I’d delivered the Thorny to the restorers (a few months later) the trailer was cut up.
The chrome bumper was always a “discussion point”! It was left off because Bowker’s Mk.1 Atkis did not, as a rule, have them fitted. 47 was the first exception, because of John Hemelryk, and a couple of later Mk.1s also had them.
The one on the wagon was rather past its best and, because another wasn’t readily available and also because most Bowker Atkis didn’t have them, it was left off. Likewise, the brass fittings and copper pipes weren’t polished post- restoration.
The absence of the bumper led John to refer to the wagon as “the remains of my Friend”!
Not exactly long gone companies, but a sign of the times: I was taking my daily bicycle constitutional around Greenham Common yesterday, and took a detour round by one of the hangars. Hill Hire have a depot there, and prominent by the fence were trailers in MAT, McFarlane and, now, T & T Thompson liveries. Like many of today’s failing operators: few owned assets, and leased equipment being reclaimed by hire companies.
boden:
Smiths of Bury ( I presume Fred Smith ) are still going with Tauts and flats, walking distance from where I live.
Picups heavey haulage
Halls of Bury sold out to Nuttall’s of Cliffton M/C
Wm Gees Bolton Rd Bury sold out to Nuttall’s of Cliffton M/C,
Sheldons of Bury
Hinchcliffes of Bury
Nuttalls of Heywood sold out to TDG
Wardells Warington
Swindals of Swinton M’c
Smiths & Robinsons Trafford park (Tankers)
James Hemphills Traffoord Park (Tankers)
London Carriers (Heywood)
Jamesons International (Heywood)
Smiths of Eccles
Finneys of Worsley
Wilkinson Transport (Rochdale)
Shackeltons (Rochdale)
British Road Service known as BRS
Smiths of Madison
Jepsons (Middleton)
There are several more that I can’t bring to mind at the moment
What about the old transport cafes that have gone by the ways side along with these companies, there are as many cafes closed as there are companies
boden:
Smiths of Bury ( I presume Fred Smith ) are still going with Tauts and flats, walking distance from where I live.
Picups heavey haulage
Halls of Bury sold out to Nuttall’s of Cliffton M/C
Wm Gees Bolton Rd Bury sold out to Nuttall’s of Cliffton M/C,
Sheldons of Bury
Hinchcliffes of Bury
Nuttalls of Heywood sold out to TDG
Wardells Warington
Swindals of Swinton M’c
Smiths & Robinsons Trafford park (Tankers)
James Hemphills Traffoord Park (Tankers)
London Carriers (Heywood)
Jamesons International (Heywood)
Smiths of Eccles
Finneys of Worsley
Wilkinson Transport (Rochdale)
Shackeltons (Rochdale)
British Road Service known as BRS
Smiths of Madison
Jepsons (Middleton)
There are several more that I can’t bring to mind at the moment
What about the old transport cafes that have gone by the ways side along with these companies, there are as many cafes closed as there are companies
Schofield of Oswadtwistle
Holdens of Blackburn
Scott’s of Preston
Killingbeck of Blackburn…
.
, but let me see if I can put up my
