Bewick:
This shot was taken IIRC on an M1 services one Sunday (possibly Newport Pag.) It is the Bedford TK KE my brother drove as a teenager.Our second Mastiff artic is pulled up behind.The D1000,unfortunately is not in the shot doh!Cheers Dennis.
Did the Mastiff run at 32 tons i would imagine it would be a bit sad on the hills if it did? 
Dave the Renegade:
.
I drove this Dodge for S W Brisbane of Knighton on quarry work.It was less than three years old in 1969/70 when I got it.Used two gallons of oil on a hard day,as did another the same,they both had 6.354 Perkins engines.Brisbanes TM was quite happy for us to keep pouring the oil into the engine until one Saturday morning the conrod came out of the side of the sister motor to this one
Those were the days Dave eh! I assume that the driver is one “Dave the Renegade”,nobody else round that way in those days was that ugly!!! Anon.
ramone:
Bewick:
This shot was taken IIRC on an M1 services one Sunday (possibly Newport Pag.) It is the Bedford TK KE my brother drove as a teenager.Our second Mastiff artic is pulled up behind.The D1000,unfortunately is not in the shot doh!Cheers Dennis.Did the Mastiff run at 32 tons i would imagine it would be a bit sad on the hills if it did?
Howay there “ramone” we wern’t total cowboys in those days!! That was the 28 tonner the first one was a 26 tonner,we did put 20ton on the tandem axle trailers which put the gross at about 29 ton! The 26 tonner pulled a Primrose single wheeled tandem which would take an 18ton payload at 26 ton gross,now that was a bit hairy when the load was two pallets high.We didn’t flog them,just let them “gan canny” 50 mph steady,nee problem! Cheers Dennis.
Here is a photograph which the police and ( then ) Ministry man didnt see ! We were asked by a farmer near Sedbergh to collect some steel girders from Kirkby Stephen , and deliver to his farm. The farmer was known to be rather unreliable with the truth, but whwn he told us the steel lengths were " a bit too long for his tractor and trailer to transport , we didnt think he was s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the truth quite so much.
My Dad and I went to collect them with the Leyland Chieftain, which had a 19 flat, and plenty of ropes. On arrival we were shown the steel to be loaded , The old duffer of a farmer was correct about one thing - 2 of the lengths were 40 FEET LONG ! ! ! Others were 20 feet , even then too long for his farm trailer. We loaded them , roped them and set off , not knowing IF they would stay straight, never mind stay on ! We had to pass the police stations at BOTH Kirkby Stephen and Sedbergh on the journey to the farm. Luckilly I happened to have a camera in the cab , so I took this one photo , but my dad was more concerned about getting down the narrow 2 miles of farm lanes to reach the farm. On arrival , the farmer didnt even pass any comment about the overhang or ask us how we managed to reach his farm
without any mishap .
Maybe this story doesn`t qualify for " weight " , but it makes up on " length " .
Cheers, cattle wagon man
Here are a couple a workmate of mine used to drive before the company he used to work for was taken over and the 4 wheelers were sold off.
Wrigers is also a member on trucknet but hasn’t been on for a while.
And this one used to belong to my mate Tipits Dad hope he wont mind me adding it on this thread
A popular motor of its year the Bedford,I wonder what this one weighed out at. 
(photo by Chris Hodge)
Four wheeler’s certainly made up a large percent of the fleet in the companies I worked for in the Northeast, often berated because of their smaller engines and lack of ‘big wheel appeal’ they were more often the workhorses of the fleet. These Scania 82’s of Van Hee, although only having the day cab with rest bunk and a high unladen weight making 10 Tonne payloads illegal, the powerful engines ensured quick turn around and travel time, before the days of limiters, and quickly paid for themselves. Franky.
Some more from over the years from this area.
Sharples of Eardisley Atkinson.
Ivor Duggan Mastiff and Dodge
Mark Jones 310bhp Scania.
Mann-Abell Albions.
Burgoynes of Lyonshall,Herefordshire.
Dodge Kew.
An older one.
S W Brisbane of Knighton,Radorshire. Petrol engined S type Bedford driven by John Cross.
John Cross with a newer S type Bedford with a diesel perkins R6 engine.
Another Bedford TK of Brisbane’s.
Doug Dawe & Sons Daf four wheeler.
John Chamberlain of Orcop,Herefordshire Austin FFK140.
that bmc in the last shot is a bit of a half breed dave , upside down tk mirror arms on it . still they had to be a great improvement on the bmc ones . i was going down the a6 into manchester one morning and a pigeon flew full tilt into the mirror arm , i had the window down and the cab was full of blood , guts and feathers . it bent the mirror arm all shapes , the tk ones would have just swivelled back , cheers , dave
rigsby:
that bmc in the last shot is a bit of a half breed dave , upside down tk mirror arms on it . still they had to be a great improvement on the bmc ones . i was going down the a6 into manchester one morning and a pigeon flew full tilt into the mirror arm , i had the window down and the cab was full of blood , guts and feathers . it bent the mirror arm all shapes , the tk ones would have just swivelled back , cheers , dave
Hi Dave,
Knowing the bloke who owned it he modified it.I drove one the same,but can’t remember the mirrors,as far as I know they were OK.I drove it for about eight months. Also drove about three TK’s and a KM.
cheers Dave.
My 1972 AEC Mercury with home built sleeper pictured around 1977
ainacs:
My 1972 AEC Mercury with home built sleeper pictured around 1977
Hi Pat,was it a flyer that Mercury? I had one on a wholesale market job in 1969,AWA 322G just about run in 
,it would go all day and night at 65-70 mph and was a treat to drive.We had a Marshal and that was the same albeit a bit slower on hills with that AV505.
Chris Webb:
ainacs:
My 1972 AEC Mercury with home built sleeper pictured around 1977
Hi Pat,was it a flyer that Mercury? I had one on a wholesale market job in 1969,AWA 322G just about run in
Weren`t they regarded as the best 16 tonner of the the time, i remember a mercury unit on hire that my dad had which also did 75 mph ,that was a G reg too
ramone:
Chris Webb:
ainacs:
My 1972 AEC Mercury with home built sleeper pictured around 1977
Hi Pat,was it a flyer that Mercury? I had one on a wholesale market job in 1969,AWA 322G just about run in
Weren`t they regarded as the best 16 tonner of the the time, i remember a mercury unit on hire that my dad had which also did 75 mph ,that was a G reg too
IIRC from 40 years ago “ramone” the Mercury was indeed classed alongside the Atkis and ERF’s as a top of the range 4 wheeler,bit on the heavy side from memory and fairly expensive with it! It was more popular,I believe,in its guise as the Marshal 6 wheeler when it came into its own from an ulw/economical proposition especially the trailing axle long wheelbase model which could carry a 15 ton payload at 22 ton GVW which put it on a par with the 8 wheeler flats.The ergo cab had a nice driving position although the cabs suffered badly from tin worm which placed them at a disadvantage when compared directly to the fibre glass cabs of the Atki and ERF.Cheers Dennis.
I drove a lot of four wheelers in the late 60’s and 1970.Leyland Comet Ergo cab,Dodge K series,Bedfords,but the Commer Maxiload ranked the best that I drove,pulled like a train.A good well built lorry with good brakes.The Bedford KM with a 466 engine pulled well,but the Commer was my favourate.
some of mine.
the first truck i drove after passing my test. a fiat 159
the scania 81
scania 92
scania p310
I think the best 4 wheeler i have driven was a Scania 92 the worst an Iveco 13 tonner totally gutless
This was another tidy 4 wheeler we ran shot in the depot at Milnthorpe but based at the Rochdale depot.When it came out of service I sold it to an Agricultral engineers who put a beaver tail on it and it gave them reliable service for a good number of years afterwards.
Evening all, Dennis you have started a great thread! Do not want to bore you all, but here goes!. Anybody remember a certain lorry dealer in Oldbury who averted a cash crisis for Leyland by buying up all the municiple specification BMC Boxer chassis, selling them as 14.5ton tippers,( as the municiple chassis was rated at 14.5tons), but come the first test and the ministry derated them to 14.25tons, as per the standard Boxer. There were a lot of unhappy owner drivers, losing a quarter of a ton payload each trip!! Payload was always the critical requirement, 10tons minimum at 16tons, and that was gross, so the heavy body, bolsters etc had to be in with the unladen weight. Thats where the (Orrible) Seddon 6.354 Perkins scored. It was light allright, but thats all that in my memory I can say in its favour! I could never really summon great enthusiasm when bouncing along in a chassis cab to show to a prospective customer. Pull on the handbrake, with that sort of flat washer on the top, that had to be depressed to release the brake, it sort of summed up the “built to a price, not a specification” philosophy of Seddon. Still, they sold, and much to my surprise they worked well, and carried a good payload of steel! Gosh I can remember when Seddon put the V8 Perkins in the 16tonner, when you drove it , well the engine seemed to be trying to get away from the chassis, so loudly did it roar and vibrate!! Now ramone, and ainacs, the AEC Mercury, what a lovely lorry, I had quite a few of these through my hands. New ones I could source through Cliff Hardwick at Tillotsons of Newcastle under lyne, and used, well whenever they were available. What a confidence inspiring lorry, always felt unburstable, but personally I think that the better vehicle was the Big J, fitted with the 505, much better cooling, and if I remember correctly, just a tad lighter, and cheaper. I always did well with TS3 Commers, light, powerful, and very very economic, good distance motors. Never had much experience of the Scandanavian 4wheelers, but Hartshornes had great success in converting the “buy back” F86 tractors from Bass Charrington into rigids. I would think that they were a nice conversion, anybody any experience of them? Lots of experiences with the “lardy” French 19tonners, lovely 13tonne rear axles, sleeper cabs, heavy bodywork, (of some style and construction) and a payload similar to a Mercury!!! If I was to pick one out, it would be a Saviem SM 340 V8 16litre 340cv MAN V8, 10speed Saviem gearbox (column change) and factory fitted Telma retarder. My dear friends that lorry as a drawbar would “eat"all its competitors of its time, in terms of performance and economy. But my all time favourite four wheeler, it has to be the S20 cab, 4LK Gardner Foden that I made my first lorry journey to Paris, and then Marsailles, back in 1965. I was” King of the Road", even at 42mph! Was I proud of that lorry! Very happy memories, Im going to have a nice chilled Bollinger, (and think about 4wheelers) Cheerio for now.
