I know that nostalgia isn't what it used to be---only Biglorryblog can't help feeling just a slight twinge of sadness when I read that Wincanton has placed a landmark, £6-million order for Mercedes-Benz tractors to run on its Air Products contract. A twinge because I'm old enough to remember when Seddon Atkinson 400 and 401s ruled the roost at Air Products...and that its livery wasn't green, white and orange, but red with white strobe stripes on the sides. And when you saw one of those tankers, you kept well away from it----so I guess it was a successful livery.
Anyway I digress, for I'm told that the new Merc tractors "....are the some of the most highly specialised tractor units yet seen on Britain’s roads." It seems that the 64 new Actros artics have replaced the ERF fleet used previously to undertake Air Products’ distribution in Britain, and are among 160 identical tractor units now in service with various operators across Air Products businesses in Germany, France and Poland.
According to Air Products, "....aligning the tractors across these different market areas produces a number of benefits, a main one being that it allows full utilisation of Daimler’s FleetBoard telematics management system." Meanwhile, click through here to read more...
Working from Air Products’ network of UK production facilities, the Actros will be double-shifted, operating at both 40 and 44-tones GCW, and used to supply cryogenic gases – primarily liquefied nitrogen and oxygen – to customers in the industrial and medical sectors. The majority of deliveries are made in bulk tankers, although cylinder gases are also handled on specialised platform trailers.
The Mercedes have Long Distance sleeper cabs, Euro 5 engines (which attract Reduced Pollution Certificates with £500 VED savings) PowerShift automated transmissions and more than 40 other factory options. They also meet ADR regs too. Although the new artics arrived in the UK as 4x2 Actros 1844s, Wheelbase Engineering then fitted additional, 'small', 17-in wheel pusher axles to 42 of them which offer a weight saving of around 200kg compared to the factory-built 6x2. The small-wheel mid axle also frees up additional space on the chassis for carrying ADR-related equipment such as wheel chocks and fire extinguishers.
Arthur Gillin, Wincanton’s Fleet Engineer with responsibility for its Air Products contract, tells BLB: “We’ve been running the seed vehicle for nearly 12 months now and it’s been a great success, as we’ve had virtually no downtime at all. Driver acceptance to the Actros is very good and so is the fuel economy, particularly since the manufacturer laid on some familiarisation training. The team at Mercedes-Benz have handled all of the conversion work and although we’ve had the odd teething problem, as you’ll always get with vehicles of this complexity, they have bent over backwards to help us. So we’re very reassured and happy to be moving forward with them.”
So pay no attention to an old softee like me..Seddon Atkinson indeed. But if anyone of BLB's anorak army has a shot of an old Air Products Atki please do send it to me.
I did the pix on this one Brian. There's no Atki's, but the depot network still uses ERFs, albeit as yard shunters. Arthur is your man for more background on the Atki's too, I guess. Ask him for a copy of the pic that's on his office wall - it's one of his trucks lashed down to a very violent-looking Scottish Ferry. I think it was taken by The Coastguard.
Tom
I too have very fond memories of the old Air Products fleet. They ran very nice examples of Seddon Atkinson 400, 401 and 411'S too, and many of them were in the green/orange/white livery. Before the Sed Atks they ran Ergomatic AEC's, which were also a treat for the enthusiast.
The fact that the company now runs "identical" trucks from here to Poland is a tremendous business development, but quite sad for old traditionalists and lorry spotters like me!