Ron Johl has been as good as his word. "Hello Brian", he says, "...a few more pics from the Dorset fair 08 , Dave Weedon's 1956 R/Royce powered Atlantic hauling the ex- Pickfords Crane trailer built in 1950 to carry loads of up to 200-tons. This was the world's first hydraulic trailer capable of carrying such a load ,empty it weighs around 85-tons ,good old British engineering at its best! More information on the Rotinoffs here on this weblink http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/Rotinoff . And yes , more to follow.All the best , Ron."
Well one good turn deserves another Ron---I shot this at the 2008 Truckfest. I knowe nothing about it--maybe somebody else does? And does 'The Brochure King' have anything on Rotinoffs perhaps? Now click through here for the rest of Ron's photos--some absolute crackers in the set!
This shows the trailer off nicely...
I seem to recall Tom Llewellyn former boss of Econofreight speaking highly about Sunter Bros. when I once asked him which heavy haulage outfit he admired (apart from his own).
Great shot climbing the hill...super telephoto work Ron!
So how come the British Army didn't use them for tank transporters...if that's not a dumb question?
And to finish...thanks Ron great stuff.
I understand that Rotinoff closed in about 1960 following the death of George Rotinoff and after about 35 vehicles had been built (heavy haulage tractors and road trains for Australia). Atkinson bought the rights to the Rotinoff models and although they produced a brochure showing a Super Atlantic with a Circle A badge (a photographic effect), there is no evidence that any Atkinson Rotinoffs were built, however some of Rotinoff's technology may have been used in the Omega.
Incidentally the plate with the top corners cropped on the front of the white truck looks like the remains of a Swiss army number plate and the SA83750 may have been its army serial number.
I'm sure that the Brochure King will have something on this! I do have an original Rotinoff brochure (if I remember rightly, it's on the name of Lomount, or something similar) and I also have an Atkinson brochure from when they acquired the manufacturing rights for Rotinoff in the early 60s. It shows a Rotinoff with the Big A carefully applid by an artist, and describes it as an Atkinson Atlantic.
I'm not aware that Atkinson actually made any, nor indeed provided any support to Rotinoffs in service. This was after the era of Atkinson's competing Omega tractor.
The one shown, in Sunter's livery, replicates the original Sunter's machine, RPY 767, which has belonged to the Science Museum for many years.
Brian, I've been up to North East Scotland on assignment the last week and missed all the latest phase of great postings. Great to see the interest in Rotinoff and their Atlantic range of tractors. Who knows what might have happened if George Rotinoff hadn't died when he did.