The Leyland Octopus (Commercial Vehicles Archive Series)

Product Information

Leyland Motors acquires Associated Commercial Vehicles (ACV), which incorporated AEC, Thornycroft, Park Royal Vehicles and Charles H Roe. In August 1962, the Routeman Mk1 was replaced by the Routeman Mk2 with its distinctive cab designed by Michelotti. This new cab was very striking, although it was non tilting, the Leyland group not having a tilting cab until the introduction of the Ergomatic in 1965. Engines for the Routeman Mk2 were Leyland 0.600 or 0.680, or Gardner 6LW or 6LX. The Routeman models were widely used as tankers, both for fuel and industrial liquids. In 1968 a double drive Routeman III was introduced using Albion Reiver hub reduction axles. One such contract customer was Keymarkets, a now-vanished supermarket chain, whose central distribution was based in Hainault, in the outer London suburbs. While doing a stint learning the ropes out there, my manager deputed me to go over to Tidd Trailers, near Enfield, to inspect a new vehicle destined for the Keymarkets contract, where it had been fitted with a box van body. Here it is, a Bedford TK, yet to be registered, and resplendent in the Southern BRS magenta and white livery. It was one of a batch of five. The Tidd foreman kindly posed for my photo recording the event.

The power unit is the Leyland L12 series developing 220bhp – in essence it’s the same prime mover fitted to the Marathon tractor unit, albeit without a turbocharger. This engine was originally an AEC design called the AV760 – AV denoting automotive vertical and 760 its size in cubic inches. Engine factoids…

He also agreed that 10 tippers on a B licence and a further five tippers on another B should be transferred, the radii of the normal users being calculated from Wythenshawe. Leyland Motors produced a film in 1977 entitled The Quality Connection showing the importance of quality control. It featured well known actors including Frank Windsor, George A Cooper, David Suchet, Michael Robbins, Madeline Smith and Trevor Bannister. [19] See also [ edit ] Initially, the new organisation appeared to flourish, and could even boast becoming UK market leader, but then DAF ran into financial problems following heavy investment in a new range, the 65, 75 and 85 series. In February 1993, the company collapsed and was rescued by the Dutch and Belgian governments. However, the UK assembly plant at Leyland was not part of the deal, and was the subject of a management buy-out, returning it to 100% British ownership. Foden 14-Ton Tanker ‘Regent’; made 1955 through 1957, when it was replaced by the Leyland Octopus Tanker ‘Esso’.

Mr. A. H. Jolliffe, the North Western Deputy Licensing Authority, granted the change of base in respect of these two vehicles but asked that Walker's should submit a list of all the trailers which they intended to use for low-loader work. The test vehicle was fitted with an optional hand-operated hydraulic tilt mechanism which saves struggling with the heavy cab. As the steering column and instruments stay with the floor when the cab is tilted, it is necessary to remove the driver's seat otherwise it would come up against the column and prevent full tilting. A souvenir from my original career as an aspiring road haulage manager. I joined British Road Services as a management trainee straight after graduation in September 1972, one of two dozen new recruits. Our arrival coincided with the break-up of BRS into autonomous regional companies. Thus I found myself drafted to Southern BRS. As well as traditional hire-and-reward haulage, the company had an extensive contract hire operation, providing vehicles for dedicated service to specific customers, the vehicles often being in that customer’s colours rather than standard fleet livery. A Power-Plus 0.600 140-b.h.p. diesel is employed, with the clutch and gearbox in unit with it. The light-alloy box has forward ratios of 7.24, 4.61, 2.75, 1.69 and 1 to 1, with reverse of 6.5 to 1, and the option of an additional overdrive ratio of 0.76 to I. The new double-drive bogie uses lighter versions of the Leyland double-reduction rear axle and has the usual Leyland non-reactive four-spring suspension. Ratios of 5.55, 6.13 and 7.71 are offered. Telescopic dampers are fitted to the front axles, and a steeringspecification change is the use of Burman recirculating-ball gear without servo instead of Marks cam and double roller with servo.Leyland Motors has a long history dating from 1896, when the Sumner and Spurrier families founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company in the town of Leyland in North West England. Their first products included steam powered lawn mowers. [1] The company's first vehicle was a 1.5-ton-capacity steam powered van. This was followed by a number of undertype steam wagons using a vertical fire-tube boiler. [2] By 1905 they had also begun to build petrol-engined wagons. The Lancashire Steam Motor Company was renamed Leyland Motors in 1907 when it took over Coulthards of Preston, who had been making steam wagons since 1897. [3] They also built a second factory in the neighbouring town of Chorley which still remains today as the headquarters of the Lex Autolease and parts company. A DISPUTE regarding the weight of L-1a trailer involved in low-loader work arose at Manchester last Tuesday during a series of applications by R. Walker (Haulage), Ltd., in respect of a change of base. Mr. I. Booth, for the company, said that they wanted their B licences to be renewed and wished to move from the Royal Oak Garage, Wythenshawe, to Hall Lane, Woodley, the two points being nine miles apart. The American production house gave Tony the go-ahead to organise his vehicles. The original need was for 15 running tippers but, after the various machines had been pooled together – some of which that had been parked up for two decades, the best he could cobble together was 12 plus two more earmarked for being blown up. Overall fuel consumption for the 1171.9km (728.2 miles) of the test route was 37.7 litre/ 100Iun (7,5mpg)—even better than the figure of 38.7 litre/ 100km (7.3mpg) obtained a year ago during CM's road test of the Leyland Buffalo, which was carrying only 300kg (6cwt) more than the Octopus. When it is realised that the Octopus completed the course 29min faster than the Buffalo, this fuel consumption is very good indeed. The First World War had a profound effect on Leyland Motors and the company concentrated on building 5,932 vehicles for the British forces. At the height of the war Leyland was employing over 3000 people. North Works and Farington had expanded, South Works had come into existence as had a factory in Chorley and a steel works with its own power plant was built.