dave:
right , i have a book called the world encyclopedia of trucks and here are some facts mentioned in it.
1.1909, knox fifth wheel patented.
2.1909, first air suspension tried on commercial vehicles.
3.1919, ■■■■■■■ begins engine production.
4.1924,first rigid six wheelers announced.
5.1924,man announce worlds first direct injection diesel engine.
6.1928, hydraulic brakes introduced on trucks.
7.1929, air brakes for trucks.
8.1929, first british built diesel truck, the kerr stuart.
9.1930, first rigid eight wheeler from sentinel.
10.1933,kenworth offer sleeper cab.
11.1937,sterling introduces tilt cab
12.1954, volvo introduces turbocharged diesel engines.
13.1960, syncromesh gearboxes appear on heavy trucks.
14.1962,first uk truck with tilt cab, the foden s24.
15.1986,abs introduced on trucks
16.1998, volvo introduces drivers airbag.
there is a picture of a 1973 volvo f88 which appears to have a tag axle
the frist twin steer was i think a scammel we called it a chinise six what year i don,t know egg on legs
truckyboy:
What about the chinese 6…Tate& Lyle had them specially built on a TK Bedford chassis…i dont believe they were twin steer but was like a floating axle just to conform to the weight regulations…similar to the pusher…but nonetheless 2 axles on the front…seemed a bit weird in their day…cos they were unique
have a nice day
ERF introuduced their first Chinese 6 about 1935, and the Leyland Steer was probably within a year or two of that. They were not uncommon in the 1940s-60s as rigids, but became obsolete with the arrival of 16T rigids in 1964.
There were quite a few Chinese 6 tractors about in the mid 60s when 32T required (in practical terms) 5 axles. Many were cut down from 8-leggers, although AEC, Leyland, Atkinson Foden and ERF had production models
boden:
Regent/Texaco operated some Guy and AEC rigids in the 60’s which were called rear-steers though I dont know whether they were castor or positively steered and looked like a mid-lift of today and Foden had an experimental disc-braked 8 wheeler in the very early 60’s which as far as I know also remains intact.
The Regent vehicles were, I think, all conversions by The Primrose Third Axle Company of Blackburn.
The disc-braked Foden YAX 527 is very much alive inpreservation. ERF also built one or two disc-braked 8-leggers about 1960. Certainly BP had one, and I think that S&N may have had one too.
dave:
“world encyclopedia of trucks” author peter j davies.
its around £14.00.
275 odd pages, lots of pictures and facts and recommended by me.
ideal for all them hours on loading docks, which i dont do
ps. i dont know the author
Pete Davies must be THE authority on the history of road haulage in the U.K. He has literally tens of thousands of photos of lorries that he has taken himself in the last 50+ years. Also, he is no mean artist, and has done some beautiful lorry paintings. His own vehicle restorations are stunning too. PLus he’s a nice bloke. And all round good guy!
dave:
“world encyclopedia of trucks” author peter j davies.
its around £14.00.
275 odd pages, lots of pictures and facts and recommended by me.
ideal for all them hours on loading docks, which i dont do
ps. i dont know the author
Pete Davies must be THE authority on the history of road haulage in the U.K. He has literally tens of thousands of photos of lorries that he has taken himself in the last 50+ years. Also, he is no mean artist, and has done some beautifuil lorry paintings. His own vehicle restorations are stunning too. PLus he’s a nice bloke. And all round good guy!
Lets hope he got some commissions for some of his works eh?
dave:
“world encyclopedia of trucks” author peter j davies.
its around £14.00.
275 odd pages, lots of pictures and facts and recommended by me.
ideal for all them hours on loading docks, which i dont do
ps. i dont know the author
Pete Davies must be THE authority on the history of road haulage in the U.K. He has literally tens of thousands of photos of lorries that he has taken himself in the last 50+ years. Also, he is no mean artist, and has done some beautifuil lorry paintings. His own vehicle restorations are stunning too. PLus he’s a nice bloke. And all round good guy!
Lets hope he got some commissions for some of his works eh?
He did the 1982 BRS calendar, with an original painting for every month and another for the cover - this is quite sought after now, and I believe that people part with a quite a few quid to get one
240 Gardner:
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Pete Davies must be THE authority on the history of road haulage in the U.K. He has literally tens of thousands of photos of lorries that he has taken himself in the last 50+ years. Also, he is no mean artist, and has done some beautiful lorry paintings. His own vehicle restorations are stunning too. PLus he’s a nice bloke. And all round good guy!
I’ll second that 240, I have an interesting book by him ‘Trucks in Britain - Drawbar Outfits’, which covers these combinations from the earliest days. Very interesting, all ‘traditionnels’, as the French call them, no ‘caravans’ here - well, maybe two . Three, just spotted Stobberts on the back cover!
I can stil remember being astounded when first seeing trucks with three windscreen wipers on them, but which was the first. In my mind I have it as a three way tie between the Transconti, B Series and Bedford TM.
First lift axles I recall seeing were on the F86 and the “York Hobo” offerings.
Out of the 90-odd Commercial Vehicle-related books in my collection, my favourites are ‘British Lorries of the Forties and Fifties’ and ‘British Lorries at work in the Sixties’.
Both are Peter Davies books.
The quantum leap in technology was probably around the middle sixties with the introduction of the Scania Vabis LB76 and the Volvo Tip-Top/F88.
Once they were off the blocks and the British operators (and just as importantly, drivers) saw what was available, it was the beginning of the end for the sterotypical British ‘gaffers wagons’
My first magnum had disc brakes and i got 600,000 miles out of them…but it was off the road more than it was on…but i`m lying anyway…just winding you up
Remembering some of the trucks I worked with and on, an 86 was the first truck with a factory fitted lift axle although it was on a 6 wheel tipper.
The F88 had some decent mirrors but I dont think they were heated. I remember having to fit spafax mirrors to a truck because the driver kept knocking the originals off, he complained they were too big The Spafax were as big but almost unbreakable.
J Holt and Son from Newport had a six wheel 110 with a lift axle but it worked with a large airbag, like the later Volvos.
Scania 80s were built as a long distance cab and had a drop down bunk behind the seats. I dont think the Vabis had this.
We had some trailers from Holland which had air operated landing legs, they were a right pain though, they would freeze up in cold weather and sometimes they dropped to the road as you were travelling.
Although I love my Ford Transcontinentals they were fairly primitive compared to the Swedish Marques. they had very basic braking systems and even more basic electrical systems.
I think for most (short arsed drivers) a TK was probably their first sleeper cab
can you remember
the first truck to have a lift axle,
or twin steer,
disc brakes,
heated mirrors,
air suspension,
night heater,
a proper sleeper cab
a syncro box.
Although I cant think of exact items on models who can remember when the volvo F10 first came out. For me nothing had made such an impresion since the Ford Transcontinental years before. It had some of the things you list. I was still at school [honest] when the firm my Dad worked at got some of the original 240bhp ones with the flat roof and the splitter seperate from the gear lever on the dash. I think the first ones were S or T reg and I really wished for my Dad to be given one but he got a B series ERF instead. Doh!
The only truck to seem so radical since would have to be the Magnum and I am hopefully getting a new one my self in the new year. [cant wait!]
P.S. my Dad still drives for same firm and now has a FH Globetrotter.
I would hazard a guess that a lot of the stuff might have been on a Swede of one type or another, I seem to remember reading an AEC Mercury had a synchro box, though I never drove one! I’ll be very interested to see what the answers are, and I’ll bet theres a surprise or two!
Was it a Leyland Comet by any chance,(only kidd`in!!) u needed heated mirrors going over shap fell Not that i ever went over shap i am only 38!! cheers Tone…
I guess a Volvo F10 would be the one that you could tick almost all the boxes against, although it didn’t have disc brakes. The first heavy truck with discs was the Renault Magnum, or AE as I think it was called at the time. It only had them on the front axle, and I seem to remember they weren’t the most reliable of items - now that’ll prompt someone to come on here and tell us they had 500k out of their original set of discs!
The Spafax were as big but almost unbreakable.
Not that i ever went over shap i am only 38!! cheers Tone… 