Ford also made there own trailers i belive under the fromco name and the contraption that frankydobo mentioned was a fifth wheel bed bolted on to the top of a Scammell coupling but you had to be careful when dropping a trailer .We also had a dolly made from an old S type Bedford that was used to turn a Scammell semi trailer into a drawbar.Buckleys had one also a company called Blamiers i think thats the right spelling both companys had depots on Millwall i would watch them going up at night on trunks.
Bewick:
Frankydobo:
From the Horses mouth Bewick this is what BTC say about the Four-in-line they manufactured, Four-in-line running gear makes up a large proportion of the output of the BTC range. This running gear can be found operating throughout the world and employs four spring suspension with the springs situated above and below each oscillating axle. The axles are carried on trunnion brackets and the centres of the axle stubs and the trunnion are on the same level, thus allowing universal movement without tyre scrub (hope your following this). Many types of trailers are made in the range from straight frames, through to step and drop-types to machinery carriers, pole carriers, skeletals, coil carriers, vans, tippers and bus body trailers (mainly for airport use to carry up to 100 people, these did not comply to highway operations regulations in the UK). Of course they also made other configurations and bogies and dolly types for indivisible loads as well as bodies and fifth wheels, one of the few trailer makers to do so. Hope this adds a bit of knowledge and interest.Just for fun who remembers these British Trailer makers, there were quite a few in the Sixties; Arrow (Blyth, N/land), Boden (Oldham), Brockhouse (W Brom), BTC (Trafford Pk), Carrimore (Stanley, Co Durham), Carter (Car transporters, Tamworth), Charrold (Huntingdon), Crane Fruehauf, of course (Norfolk), Dayson (Stourport), Dixon-Bate (Drawbars mainly, Chester), Duramin (Lydney, Glos), Dyson (Liverpool), Fox (Liverpool, these also made a unique type that could convert from Scammell coupling to Fifth Wheel or visa-versa by the driver), Fromant (Bognor Regis), Hands (Letchworth), Halson (Car and recovery types, Newhaven), Highway (Southampton), Hoynor (Essex), HWP (Doncaster), King (Market Harborough), M&G (Lye, Worcestershire), Merriworth (Dartford), Murfitt (Wisbech), Northern (Bishopbriggs), Peak (Stockport), Pitt (Winchester), Primrose (Burnley), Scammell (Watford), Seaway ( a new kid on the block in the late Sixties, Greenock), Taskers (Andover), Thompson Trailmobile (Gloucester), Walker (Stockton), Weeks (Hessle), Welford (Tippers mostly, Tipton), York (not from York but Corby!), there were one or two others but they were mainly special types the above built generally all the range, so if you didn’t pull most of these then your not a proper driver! Only kidding, now how many are left! Franky.
You are a star Franky!!Defo!! I can re-call a good number of those old names but the ones I was involved with were limited to Primrose,York (Corby and Northallerton),Boden,Crane Fruehauf( who took Boden over),Peak,Task (er) ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Tautliner bodies) and we had one Merryworth (I think it was!).Cheers Bewick.
Further to my previous post the Peak chassis we had was a tipper with Millmoor body and we didn’t have a Merryworth it was an Overlander shot here in the depot loaded with steel fleet no.43.I bought it at a time ('75) when there was a long waiting list for new trailers at Crane Fruehauf so you had to take what you could find (up to a point anyway!)The Ross/Youngs fridges we pulled at Bewick Transport were all Lamberet on Overlander chassis.
Bewick:
Bewick:
Frankydobo:
From the Horses mouth Bewick this is what BTC say about the Four-in-line they manufactured, Four-in-line running gear makes up a large proportion of the output of the BTC range. This running gear can be found operating throughout the world and employs four spring suspension with the springs situated above and below each oscillating axle. The axles are carried on trunnion brackets and the centres of the axle stubs and the trunnion are on the same level, thus allowing universal movement without tyre scrub (hope your following this). Many types of trailers are made in the range from straight frames, through to step and drop-types to machinery carriers, pole carriers, skeletals, coil carriers, vans, tippers and bus body trailers (mainly for airport use to carry up to 100 people, these did not comply to highway operations regulations in the UK). Of course they also made other configurations and bogies and dolly types for indivisible loads as well as bodies and fifth wheels, one of the few trailer makers to do so. Hope this adds a bit of knowledge and interest.Just for fun who remembers these British Trailer makers, there were quite a few in the Sixties; Arrow (Blyth, N/land), Boden (Oldham), Brockhouse (W Brom), BTC (Trafford Pk), Carrimore (Stanley, Co Durham), Carter (Car transporters, Tamworth), Charrold (Huntingdon), Crane Fruehauf, of course (Norfolk), Dayson (Stourport), Dixon-Bate (Drawbars mainly, Chester), Duramin (Lydney, Glos), Dyson (Liverpool), Fox (Liverpool, these also made a unique type that could convert from Scammell coupling to Fifth Wheel or visa-versa by the driver), Fromant (Bognor Regis), Hands (Letchworth), Halson (Car and recovery types, Newhaven), Highway (Southampton), Hoynor (Essex), HWP (Doncaster), King (Market Harborough), M&G (Lye, Worcestershire), Merriworth (Dartford), Murfitt (Wisbech), Northern (Bishopbriggs), Peak (Stockport), Pitt (Winchester), Primrose (Burnley), Scammell (Watford), Seaway ( a new kid on the block in the late Sixties, Greenock), Taskers (Andover), Thompson Trailmobile (Gloucester), Walker (Stockton), Weeks (Hessle), Welford (Tippers mostly, Tipton), York (not from York but Corby!), there were one or two others but they were mainly special types the above built generally all the range, so if you didn’t pull most of these then your not a proper driver! Only kidding, now how many are left! Franky.
You are a star Franky!!Defo!! I can re-call a good number of those old names but the ones I was involved with were limited to Primrose,York (Corby and Northallerton),Boden,Crane Fruehauf( who took Boden over),Peak,Task (er) ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Tautliner bodies) and we had one Merryworth (I think it was!).Cheers Bewick.
Further to my previous post the Peak chassis we had was a tipper with Millmoor body and we didn’t have a Merryworth it was an Overlander shot here in the depot loaded with steel fleet no.43.I bought it at a time ('75) when there was a long waiting list for new trailers at Crane Fruehauf so you had to take what you could find (up to a point anyway!)The Ross/Youngs fridges we pulled at Bewick Transport were all Lamberet on Overlander chassis.
I think we got your post Bewick.lol.
Think he’s fallen asleep on the submit button? 
Trev_H:
Think he’s fallen asleep on the submit button?
Honest lads the b****y thing wasn’t “submitting” at all and earlier I couldn’t even get into the sight!!! [zb] technology!!! Bewick.
The first word is ok even if fully written, but the second one defo isn’t ok even with asterisks!! dd 
I moved the other seven (7) [ 
] copies of your post into an off-forum storage area so that folks didn’t think their monitors were playing up!!!
That was better than simply deleting them. dd.
Three more 4 in line trailers
Looking at these 3 I think the Smiths trailer is an original 4 in line (note the spread on the wheels compared to the other two.) does anyone know if this is correct.
Stanfield:
Three more 4 in line trailers
Looking at these 3 I think the Smiths trailer is an original 4 in line (note the spread on the wheels compared to the other two.) does anyone know if this is correct.
I would argue that there is only one Four in Line in this post with two twin wheel single axle trailers in the other pictures
I agree with you Wheelnut,the others are single axle trailers,not 4 in line.we had 33ft @ Humber McVeigh’s in Salford,horrible thing,and with the axle being as far back as possible,tight turns were anything but!
Take it easy
David
The first 2 are just normal single axle trailers, the 4in line trailers had 2 axles side by side and as such were classed as tandem axle for a higher gross weight. Of course they were nowhere near as stable as a tamdem axle and were only designed as a dodge round the axle weight rules.
On Midlands BRS we ran a lot of 40 foot single axle trailers on car spares, with the axle right at the rear they were a nightmare about town delivering to garages.
BRS at corby had some 40’ single axles for the sealed air contract [ bubblewrap] REAL ‘toechoppers’ they were
Today’s drivers have got it easy with their triaxles that hardly cut in at all & reversing them is pretty simple as well . Who remembers the ‘spread’ axles- they used to catch a few out on tight loading bays 
tonyhogi:
BRS at corby had some 40’ single axles for the sealed air contract [ bubblewrap] REAL ‘toechoppers’ they were
Today’s drivers have got it easy with their triaxles that hardly cut in at all & reversing them is pretty simple as well . Who remembers the ‘spread’ axles- they used to catch a few out on tight loading bays
Right Lads were on about 4 IN-LINE trailers !!! Here’s a McGuffie “wide spread” stood at Crooklands loaded with Workington steel ,the trailer next to it is probably another McG. widespread loaded with new 45 gal.drums for Marchon at Whitehaven.The only proper 4-in-line in the previous post is coupled to the SOM Beaver so who thinks the single axle trailers qualify for this thread? maybe its because they have 4 wheels and tyres the same as a 4-in-line!!! Bewick.
Here’s a proper veiw of a 4 in line axle.
Stanfield:
Here’s a proper veiw of a 4 in line axle.
Who was the manufacturer ? Excellent shot though of the much maligned 4-in-line!!! Cheers Bewick.
Stanfield:
Here’s a proper veiw of a 4 in line axle.
When I was at “Pickfords” we had a semi low loader four in line and I think it was “Taskers” 12 ton payload used behind a TK Bedford but if you had tyre trouble it was a right pain as the size which I can’t remember was very difficult to get hold of and with the Bedford’s you only got the loads which were to awkward for general haulage wagons a lot of the work was plastic moulding machines out of “Cravens” which were top heavy and very heavy at one end and they would be mostly hand off load which was the case with 95% of the Bedford’s work
Hi Bewick.The trailer belongs to Tony Knowles and is a 1964 Scammell Fourtrack which at one time belonged to Turners of Soham who had a fleet of them apparently.Its the one in the earlier photo wheel-nut added.
John
Stanfield:
Hi Bewick.The trailer belongs to Tony Knowles and is a 1964 Scammell Fourtrack which at one time belonged to Turners of Soham who had a fleet of them apparently.Its the one in the earlier photo wheel-nut added.
John
Spot on John it does look a bit more substantialy built than the BTC 4-in-line.I wonder if the tyres were always as healthy looking as those four!!! and for the life of me I can’t understand why this configuration was un-stable was it bad driving or what? Cheers Bewick.
Hi Bewick.There dosent seem to be a lot of weight around the backend and I would imagine you would get a lot of bounce and lift with it dont know what it would be like when loaded though.Did you not have any of this configuration within your operation at all then.
John
For what it’s worth, BR/Freightliners were still using 20’ and 30’ four-in-line skeletals into the early 70s which were referred to as 16-tonners as that was the max payload. Quite possible they would have been used as coil-carriers too!
Pretty sure they were Yorks and detested because of their instability on corners and especially roundabouts…
The instability could have been down to the ‘Oscillating’ axles and the fact that there was another set of springs above as well as below this short axle, which the pics don’t show too well, which could have meant it was basically over sprung. Probably needed a little getting used to especially when loaded with the centre of gravity quite high. I can’t remember any technical details from my Apprentice days but just that we didn’t like working on them. Franky.