moomooland:
1 Atkinson Mk I Silver Knight 4x2 tractor unit Reg No CTB 260E Fleet No 52 was purchased direct from the nearby Atkinson factory at Walton le Dale on the 18th of March 1967 at a cost of £3,461.
Baring chassis No FC 14193 it was registered for road use on the 1st of April 1967 and was the second Atkinson powered by a Gardner 6LXB engine to enter service with the fleet in 1967.
The picture above was taken on the 1st of April 1967 when Tom Riding took the brand new Atki on the road for the first time to take some pictures on the moors at Longridge Fell.
After eight years service it was sold on in March 1975 to a Mr Rooke of Crossens Southport for £1,200 plus vat.
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A superb shot taken by The Great man himself ! I used to do the same thing occasionally with both new units and refurb’d secondhand ones when they were ready to go to work ! One observation of Tom’s shot is the trailer which doesn’t bear the manufactures name but it doesn’t have an underrun bar which many trailers didn’t have at that time but IIRC they did start to figure as I recall Brady’s took delivery of some new Bodens around the date of the W & J R shot and they had the under run bar at the backend. I’m not just certain whether the Brady Bodens were 30ft or 33ft platform length but they didn’t have very much over hang so they were most likely 30 ft tandems. I wonder if underrun bars became mandatory around this time ? Cheers Bewick.
Rear Under-Run bars surprisingly did not become part of the C&U Regs until 1st May 1983: This is from the Testing Manual
REAR UNDER-RUN DEVICES Rear under-run devices are applicable for motor vehicles with a gross design weight exceeding 3,500kg and first used from 1 April 1984; or Trailers manufactured from 1 May 1983 with an unladen weight exceeding 1,020kg.
Manufacturers started to fit them as a matter of course from the mid 60’s but there was no regulation for height from ground, width etc until the 83 regs along with the fitting of sideguards. This doesn’t mean the Testing Stations would have disregarded them and just as from 83 would have inspected for loose, cracked or damaged bars. I recall the trailers my Father pulled mid 60’s with rear bars fitted, had the rear of the trailer painted with red and white chevron style stripes like many other companies did purely as a safety aspect. The rear marker boards also came in Jan 1971 also a while after rear bars were being fitted from new. There is also exemptions from the rear under runs depending what the Trailer was built and used for. Franky.
Thinking about under run bars I always thought that those flimsy tubular ones that were used on those extremely lightweight Highway tandems were just a “apology” for one ! And also the ones on the rear of Northern trailers, which Robsons of Carlisle were big users were also flimsy !
Cheers Bewick.
A rare shot of Atkinson Mk 1 Silver Knight ‘Rear Steer’ 6x2 tractor unit Reg No KTF 280F Fleet No 24 (Chassis No 16053) which was one of a pair purchased new from Atkinson Vehicles Ltd on the 18th of March 1968 at a cost of £4,564 each, the other being LTD 780F Fleet No 25 (Chassis No FC 16054) both of which were powered by Gardner 180 6LXB engines.
Pictured here in January 1969, with long time serving driver Anthony Freeman, it is pictured parked on the M6 Charnock Richard service area in Lancashire loaded with 22 tons of copper sulfate loaded at Widnes and destined for ICI at Wilton.
After a couple of years both of Riding’s Rear Steer 6x2 tractor units were later cut down into 4x2 tractors.
The reason being when the legislation came in to permit 32 tons much more easily on 4 axles, even with a 30/33’ foot trailer, the 32 ton 6x2 tractor unit became obsolete literally overnight with many converted into a 4x2.
After being cut down in 1970 KTF 280F remained in the fleet for a further five years as a 4x2 tractor unit it was sold on to a Mr W.B. Barnes of St Helens on the 7th of April 1975 for the sum of £1,200.
I am indebted to Anthony Freeman who worked for Riding’s for 39 years, both as driver and foreman, for supplying what is thought to be the only picture of KTF 280F to exist.
moomooland:
0A rare shot of Atkinson Mk 1 Silver Knight ‘Rear Steer’ 6x2 tractor unit Reg No KTF 280F Fleet No 24 (Chassis No 16053) which was one of a pair purchased new from Atkinson Vehicles Ltd on the 18th of March 1968 at a cost of £4,564 each, the other being LTD 780F Fleet No 25 (Chassis No FC 16054) both of which were powered by Gardner 180 6LXB engines.
Pictured here in January 1969, with long time serving driver Anthony Freeman, it is pictured parked on the M6 Charnock Richard service area in Lancashire loaded with 22 tons of copper sulfate loaded at Widnes and destined for ICI at Wilton.
After a couple of years both of Riding’s Rear Steer 6x2 tractor units were later cut down into 4x2 tractors.
The reason being when the legislation came in to permit 32 tons much more easily on 4 axles, even with a 30/33’ foot trailer, the 32 ton 6x2 tractor unit became obsolete literally overnight with many converted into a 4x2.
After being cut down in 1970 KTF 280F remained in the fleet for a further five years as a 4x2 tractor unit it was sold on to a Mr W.B. Barnes of St Helens on the 7th of April 1975 for the sum of £1,200.
I am indebted to Anthony Freeman who worked for Riding’s for 39 years, both as driver and foreman, for supplying what is thought to be the only picture of KTF 280F to exist.
Thanks for another great photo, always interesting if complete with driver.
This one takes me straight back to 1969,especially the clogs !! The only difference being, here in Halifax we wore green boiler suits with ours
This L.A.D. cabbed Leyland Beaver 4x2 tractor unit, Reg No MTJ 440C Fleet No 5, was right on the cusp of the change from L.A.D. cabbed to Ergomatic tilt cabbed ranges in 1965.
Being the last L.A.D. Leyland to enter service with Riding’s it was purchased from Leyland agents Gibraiths on the 6th of April 1965 at a discounted cost of £2,810 and registered for road use on the 11th of May 1965,
Following an accident in 1968 it was rebuilt and turned out to be the only L.A.D. cabbed Leyland Beaver in the fleet to be painted in this experimental livery which, after much deliberation, Riding’s decided not to adopt.
Seen here coupled up to a Crane-Fruehauf 1450 cubic foot non tipping powder tanker in 1969 it was sold on two years later to a Mr Rudge of Bamford Rochdale for the sum of £750 on the 12th of June 1971.
moomooland:
0This L.A.D. cabbed Leyland Beaver 4x2 tractor unit, Reg No MTJ 440C Fleet No 5, was right on the cusp of the change from L.A.D. cabbed to Ergomatic tilt cabbed ranges in 1965.
Being the last L.A.D. Leyland to enter service with Riding’s it was purchased from Leyland agents Gibraiths on the 6th of April 1965 at a discounted cost of £2,810 and registered for road use on the 11th of May 1965,
Following an accident in 1968 it was rebuilt and turned out to be the only L.A.D. cabbed Leyland Beaver in the fleet to be painted in this experimental livery which, after much deliberation, Riding’s decided not to adopt.
Seen here coupled up to a Crane-Fruehauf 1450 cubic foot non tipping powder tanker in 1969 it was sold on two years later to a Mr Rudge of Bamford Rochdale for the sum of £750 on the 12th of June 1971.
Tidy looking motor Paul. How come Tom sold it at only 4 years old as he seemed to run them alot longer than that before
he sold them normally ? Was it due to being involved in the accident ?
Hi Dean, It was actually six years old and by that time it was sold in 1971 and was the last L.A.D in the fleet, the others having being replaced by the Ergomatic Cabbed Leyland’s after which time began the onset of the Atkinson’s.
Bill Coolican, pictured roping up, was the regular driver of Ergomatic cabbed Leyland Beaver 4x2 tractor unit Reg No TTC 900D Fleet No 48, one of a batch of Leyland’s introduced into fleet in 1966.
This particular photograph was one of a number of publicity shots, for what was at the time, the new ICI terylene tarpaulins which were light and durable.
It seems odd now seeing the back end of a trailer like this as we’re so used to the under run, it wasn’t too much of a problem until the Mini was released and reports of them running under trailer back ends became more frequent in newspaper articles. Franky.
In this photograph we see one of Riding’s original 26 foot Crane built trailing arm tandem axle trailers in a spot of bother on the quayside at Preston Docks.
When the trailer was disembarking off the ferry, and the angle of the ships drop down ramp to the landing floor was beyond a certain angle, the suspension on the trailer could flick over as can be seen in this instance above.
Loaded with 16 tons of Plas Bins the only way to put it right was the removal of one set of wheels and then flick the suspension back over.
moomooland:
1In this photograph we see one of Riding’s original 26 foot Crane built trailing arm tandem axle trailers in a spot of bother on the quayside at Preston Docks.
When the trailer was disembarking off the ferry, and the angle of the ships drop down ramp to the landing floor was beyond a certain angle, the suspension on the trailer could flick over as can be seen in this instance above.
Loaded with 16 tons of Plas Bins the only way to put it right was the removal of one set of wheels and then flick the suspension back over.
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Intresting pics Paul. Did Tom take them or a driver ?
Cant believe how short the wheel base is on the Leyland beaver pic you posted further up the page,although i suppose it
was standard at the time.
DEANB:
Interesting pics Paul. Did Tom take them or a driver ?
Cant believe how short the wheel base is on the Leyland beaver pic you posted further up the page,although i suppose it
was standard at the time.
Happy New Year chap.
Hi Dean,
Yes Tom took the pictures on Preston Dock, only half hour drive from Longridge.
Tractor units back then did look very short unlike those today due to the increases in trailer length over the years.
DEANB:
Interesting pics Paul. Did Tom take them or a driver ?
Cant believe how short the wheel base is on the Leyland beaver pic you posted further up the page,although i suppose it
was standard at the time.
Happy New Year chap.
Hi Dean,
Yes Tom took the pictures on Preston Dock, only half hour drive from Longridge.
Tractor units back then did look very short unlike those today due to the increases in trailer length over the years.
All the best to you and yours for the New Year.
0 Here’s Longridge depot shot from 55 years ago taken in 1965 before it really started to expand.
Thanks for that Dean have a copy of that test somewhere.
Below is another shot taken during the fuel and performance exorcise i remember Tom Riding telling me he went up to Carlisle on the old A6 and came back down the motorway and forget the results but said it was a good day out.
The gentleman on the left is Mike Listbrain from the Atkinson publicity department while on the right is Denton Winter Atkinson’s development engineer (ex Leyland)".
moomooland:
Thanks for that Dean have a copy of that test somewhere.
Below is another shot taken during the fuel and performance exorcise i remember Tom Riding telling me he went up to Carlisle on the old A6 and came back down the motorway and forget the results but said it was a good day out.
0The gentleman on the left is Mike Listbrain from the Atkinson publicity department while on the right is Denton Winter Atkinson’s development engineer (ex Leyland)".
