windrush:
My Foden’s and Sed Ak had the “high crawler”, very useful at times. You could also change into high reverse while moving (not supposed to though!) let the revs drop right off before engaging high which was handy when reversing about 1/2 a mile down a motorway to reach the paving machine.Pete.
Ithink a lot of us knew the trick, need to know if anyone exploded a box doing it!!!
Harry Monk:
I believe they were called a" Fuller Roadranger"
Thats the one harry,i was rackin my brains trying to remember the name.
regards dave.
JFC999:
windrush:
My Foden’s and Sed Ak had the “high crawler”, very useful at times. You could also change into high reverse while moving (not supposed to though!) let the revs drop right off before engaging high which was handy when reversing about 1/2 a mile down a motorway to reach the paving machine.Pete.
Ithink a lot of us knew the trick, need to know if anyone exploded a box doing it!!!
I’ve got an 18spd so I have 4 reverse gears, it is possible to start in low range low split and change up going backwards, but you’re jogging on a bit in high range, wouldn’t fancy doing it with a trailer on 
High range crawler is also possible, both as a starting gear (solo only) or on the move, I don’t use it now, but I had an 8 wheeler MAN 321 with a 13spd and used to use it all the time in that to pull away empty, it never did any damage as far as I know 
8LXBV8BRIAN:
Numbum:
I drove a Mk 2 Borderer in the mid seventies and sometimes it would be taken away for a service during the night and another one was left in its place.
They never had the gear diagram in the cab which was a pain as it was straight out of the depot and up a steep hill. When I managed to suss out where the gears were I used to write it on my logbook so that I could remind myself. Sadly I still have the logbooks from 1978 and below is the gear diagrams that I wrote on one of them. Anybody know what these gearboxes were its about time I found out 32 years later.
The first one David Brown 8-speed, second one as 240 Gardner says a fuller 10-speed.
and if the little u/j`s on the shift rod had worn badly it was a Woolworth’s sweat counter gearbox.
hi phil,
that first shift pattern is the same as i had in my a series erf.that had a 9509 fuller.the second one,i wouldn’t know about.
regards andrew
As I said previously, the first looks like the Fuller RTO-9509 Roadranger and the second looks like the Fuller RT-610.
dafdave:
Harry Monk:
I believe they were called a" Fuller Roadranger"Thats the one harry,i was rackin my brains trying to remember the name.
regards dave.
IIRC Fuller was a brand name of the Eaton Corporation,same firm that built the Eaton Axles! Great outfit,finest driveline to be specced on British built motors(IMO).Bewick.
Numbum:
I drove a Mk 2 Borderer in the mid seventies and sometimes it would be taken away for a service during the night and another one was left in its place.
They never had the gear diagram in the cab which was a pain as it was straight out of the depot and up a steep hill. When I managed to suss out where the gears were I used to write it on my logbook so that I could remind myself. Sadly I still have the logbooks from 1978 and below is the gear diagrams that I wrote on one of them. Anybody know what these gearboxes were its about time I found out 32 years later.
I never had a prang in a borderer but have seen a couple like these below.
Continental ferry trailers.
United Biscuits. This one had hit a car and jacknifed, it was the trailer that demolished the cab.Cheers Phil.
As bad as these smashes look it was a recorded statistict that the drivers of Atkinsons had a greater survival rate than those in steel cabs.Apparently the cab disintergrated and fell away,therebye not mangling the driver in with the wreckage.When there was minor cab damage you always got the driver to bring the bits back then they could be incorperated into the re-build!!! Bewick.
Don`t know about the 8 speed Davey Brown box ours were 5+reverse, if it was worn you floated the stick to were you thought the gear was and went for it.
Well remember an 8 wheeler Atki we had at Chapmans of Bradford, what a beast, reg started PYG and it what a pig it was. It was on night trunk, lads tried allsorts to kill it, running no oil showing on stick, oilfiller cap left off and a few atempts at the electrics. In the end while parked in a layby a can of easystart lobbed behind the passenger seat onto the battery seemed to deliver the coup-de-grace. The wreck was dragged back to Bradford and everyone who looked upon it thought no way would it rise again. The cab was just a memory, the top of the engine was a lump of metal, end of chassis looked distorted and all that was left of the steering was a lump of metal with about 3in of shaft sticking up. But 2-3 months later there she was in all her glory and still a PIG to drive. 
Bewick:
As bad as these smashes look it was a recorded statistict that the drivers of Atkinsons had a greater survival rate than those in steel cabs.Apparently the cab disintergrated and fell away,therebye not mangling the driver in with the wreckage.When there was minor cab damage you always got the driver to bring the bits back then they could be incorperated into the re-build!!! Bewick.
ddrbsn:
Don`t know about the 8 speed Davey Brown box ours were 5+reverse, if it was worn you floated the stick to were you thought the gear was and went for it.
Well remember an 8 wheeler Atki we had at Chapmans of Bradford, what a beast, reg started PYG and it what a pig it was. It was on night trunk, lads tried allsorts to kill it, running no oil showing on stick, oilfiller cap left off and a few atempts at the electrics. In the end while parked in a layby a can of easystart lobbed behind the passenger seat onto the battery seemed to deliver the coup-de-grace. The wreck was dragged back to Bradford and everyone who looked upon it thought no way would it rise again. The cab was just a memory, the top of the engine was a lump of metal, end of chassis looked distorted and all that was left of the steering was a lump of metal with about 3in of shaft sticking up. But 2-3 months later there she was in all her glory and still a PIG to drive.
I remember E A Smith of Wolverhampton running 8 wheeler Atki’s and you’re right they were a right pig to drive, It took superman to turn the wheel and with only a quarter steering lock you could be easily embarrased at taking a shunt to turn at traffic lights.
I have nothing but admiration for guys who had to pull a trailer behind those 8 leggers.
Trev_H:
ddrbsn:
Don`t know about the 8 speed Davey Brown box ours were 5+reverse, if it was worn you floated the stick to were you thought the gear was and went for it.
Well remember an 8 wheeler Atki we had at Chapmans of Bradford, what a beast, reg started PYG and it what a pig it was. It was on night trunk, lads tried allsorts to kill it, running no oil showing on stick, oilfiller cap left off and a few atempts at the electrics. In the end while parked in a layby a can of easystart lobbed behind the passenger seat onto the battery seemed to deliver the coup-de-grace. The wreck was dragged back to Bradford and everyone who looked upon it thought no way would it rise again. The cab was just a memory, the top of the engine was a lump of metal, end of chassis looked distorted and all that was left of the steering was a lump of metal with about 3in of shaft sticking up. But 2-3 months later there she was in all her glory and still a PIG to drive.I remember E A Smith of Wolverhampton running 8 wheeler Atki’s and you’re right they were a right pig to drive, It took superman to turn the wheel and with only a quarter steering lock you could be easily embarrased at taking a shunt to turn at traffic lights.
I have nothing but admiration for guys who had to pull a trailer behind those 8 leggers.
LOL…back to the original question …What was so good about Atkinsons?
ramone:
I remember E A Smith of Wolverhampton running 8 wheeler Atki’s and you’re right they were a right pig to drive, It took superman to turn the wheel and with only a quarter steering lock you could be easily embarrased at taking a shunt to turn at traffic lights.
I have nothing but admiration for guys who had to pull a trailer behind those 8 leggers.
LOL…back to the original question …What was so good about Atkinsons?
[/quote]
Ah, but if you had an LAD-cabbed Octopus of the same era, not only would you struggle to turn the wheel, but also it could trap your hand against the wheel as well!
.
stravaiger:
Trev_H:
ddrbsn:
Don`t know about the 8 speed Davey Brown box ours were 5+reverse, if it was worn you floated the stick to were you thought the gear was and went for it.
Well remember an 8 wheeler Atki we had at Chapmans of Bradford, what a beast, reg started PYG and it what a pig it was. It was on night trunk, lads tried allsorts to kill it, running no oil showing on stick, oilfiller cap left off and a few atempts at the electrics. In the end while parked in a layby a can of easystart lobbed behind the passenger seat onto the battery seemed to deliver the coup-de-grace. The wreck was dragged back to Bradford and everyone who looked upon it thought no way would it rise again. The cab was just a memory, the top of the engine was a lump of metal, end of chassis looked distorted and all that was left of the steering was a lump of metal with about 3in of shaft sticking up. But 2-3 months later there she was in all her glory and still a PIG to drive.I remember E A Smith of Wolverhampton running 8 wheeler Atki’s and you’re right they were a right pig to drive, It took superman to turn the wheel and with only a quarter steering lock you could be easily embarrased at taking a shunt to turn at traffic lights.
I have nothing but admiration for guys who had to pull a trailer behind those 8 leggers.
Ah the 8 wheelers. Here’s one I had on before and possibly fresh eyes will remember it. NDA 203E. Began life in the midlands, purchased by Tom from a dealer in Blackpool then went on to double shift. Canada Dry, ■■■■■■■■■■■ to Morley and back on nights, then steelworks etc for day hire. It was by no means a regular wagon of mine but I did my turn at both those jobs and can go along with the sentiments above. Real good fun was had when trying to access farm yards on Crendon Concrete building jobs. The poor steering, the wheelbase, guaranteed 9 point turns 
But back to the original question, and depending on what side of the operators licence you stood. Longevity. You couldn’t kill the buggers in a terrorist attack or as we’ve just read by foul deeds 
They just plodded on. Years after others went to graze the old Lancs girders were to be seen about.In human terms they did make old bones…jim
With Quinton and Sheeba
Thats a Wolverhampton reg. on that 8 legger, looks like its one of E A Smiths old ones, they took bags of carbon black into Goodyears.
.
The MK2 Atkinson was as good as it was going to get for Atkinson in my view any way.
The cab was at the end of its life required a new more modern tilt cab and with the seddon tie up
came the dreaded SEDDON/ATKINSON 400 series, from then on it was all down hill .
but the damage was allready done with the introduction of the group axle into the Atkinson line up
the poor build quality of the product and the problems it caused in service showed how it was going to be in the future
The true ATKINSON was dead 
this new ------/Atkinson was an inferior product in so many ways.
and to bring back the BIG A for the 401 etc was just a joke 
They didnt have the same strong design of the older Atkinson’s so for me i would have rather had the name
die with the TRUE ATKINSON .
8LXBV8BRIAN:
The MK2 Atkinson
The cab was at the end of its life required a new more modern tilt cab and with the seddon tie up
came the dreaded SEDDON/ATKINSON 400 series, from then on it was all down hill .
but the damage was allready done with the introduction of the group axle into the Atkinson line up
the poor build quality of the product and the problems it caused in service showed how it was going to be in the future
The true ATKINSON was dead
and to bring back the BIG A for the 401 etc was just a joke
They didnt have the same strong design of the older Atkinson’s so for me i would have rather had the name
die with the TRUE ATKINSON .
hiya,
May have posted this before, i’ts an age thing, but remember a team of Atkinson boffins turning up at Bowkers when still at Blackburn and going over my Scania 80 which was brand new at the time had the cab tipped up and the amount of photo’s that was taken was unbelievable and quite soon the Sed Ak was born with a striking resemblance to the Scania 80, say what you like about the Sed Ak 400 series i’d gladly have swapped the 80 crap for one in the blink of an eye and would have thrown my sandwich box in to swing the deal.
thanks harry long retired.
striking resemblance in what way ? should they not have went to somebody with a 141 if they were going to copy anything ?
glenman:
striking resemblance in what way ? should they not have went to somebody with a 141 if they were going to copy anything ?
hiya,
Similar in appearance only, just look and compare, the 141 was a long way off in those days we had the 110 out working and the Vabis o’er the wateri think but there was a very similar look to the cab and the interior layout, we are talking the mid 60s here.
thanks harry long retired.
was it the scania 80/110/140 era ? same cab as the 141 really. if it is i’m not really getting the striking resemblance.
