One truck that has always, and indeed continues, to fascinate Biglorryblog is the Atkinson Viewline with its tall cab and massive front windscreen. And my interst has been re-kindled by these pictures which have been very kindly provided by Mike Ponsonby BA...it also seems there was a Viewline and 'THE' Viewline--insofar as there were only six made with the radiator fitted inside a flatter-fronted grille as you can see see below---as opposed to the tradtional Atki radiator sticking through thee front of the grille which was used on other Viewlines like the one above provided by Mike...
And thanks to an earlier comment from Richard Stanier I now know the Viewline was unveiled as a modern alternative to the existing cab at the (I think) 1966 Motor Show as it's pictured here." Now click through here for more from Mike P and Chris Gardner 'Mr Atki' himself!
And speaking of Chris G here's one of his pictures showing a Viewline with and without a cab but with the conventional radiator position... I reckon the Viewline WAS ahead of its time, just look at modern trucks like the MAN TGX XXL and how deep its front windscreen is....
Mike sent me this shot too and says: "Brian, poor quality image of me driving
Now how about this for a real curio? Naturally it's from 'The Brochure King' Richard S and also has the hidden grille....quite what the connection was between Atkinson and a cowboy escapes me....
And here's another with the radiator 'without'...and I certainly recall seeing the old High Ercall IRTE driver training vehicle many years ago whilst doing a job for Commercial Motor -- and BLB's thanks to all who have contributed to the Viewline trip down memory lane (where you get an exceedingly good view from the cab along the way...) So the question is when did they stop making it,...and how many are still left around?
There was also another Atkinson called, I think, Guardsman, which had a completely different cab with a front panel similar to the show Viewline. These were extremely rare but I think that Bulwark had at least one.
Hi Brian, I think the answer to your antepenultimate(!) question is shown by the branding iron held by the cowboy. Didn't their Stand No.78 feature the Circle A Ranch?
Still unsure of the relevance, tho'!!
Regards
John O
I drove a Viewline for a time in about '71 for K&M Hauliers of Bulwell pulling a bulk powder trailer. It was a lovely motor particularly as far as the view was concerned and the power steering with that little Morris Minopr sized steering wheel was excellent for most of us who had had only 'armstrong' steering beforehand.
BUT. The heater was traditional Atki, useless, although not needed on a sunny day behind that greenhouse screen. Sadly that was also another problem, the driver was well cooked after a southbound journey in the summer!!
I think that would have been a problem anywhere warm but that big screen would not have lasted long on a gravel road over here. Atkinson Australia, with a little help from the clever people at Reinforced Plastics, had developed their own method of making a sturdy fibreglass tilt cab of one piece construction.
I was told by people at the factory that my Viewline, BVB 457H, was probably the last one built. However, 5 more 6x4 tractors were built for Pickfords with later registration and chassis numbers. But... the chassis number was allocated at the time of order, not build.
No-one seems to know how many were built, but guesses vary between 50 and 200. I think that 50 is nearer the mark!
The red one on the photo above IS the old High Ercall machine, by the way. I last heard of it in Northern Ireland several years.
The one with the wide grille was the 1966 Show machine, not 1968. The white 6x4 tractor appeared on the 1968 stand, along with a 4x2 tractor. Factory info was that only 2 were built with the wide grille. Most of the panels were different too - even the roof. I see from photos that GTB 616F had the production roof when it was sold on.
As David says, a southbound jourmey on a sunny day was quite a sweaty experience! But it really was a lovely machine to drive - comfortable, roomy and relatively quiet.
Survivors, without counting, perhaps a dozen?
Predictably, I have lots of Viewline pics.....
The Guardsman was a different animal, and only one was completed. AFter appearing on the 1964 Show stand, it entered service with Bulwark. Apparently, a second cab was built, but was used only as a static mock-up for filming on the Z Cars set.
Actually, just looking again at the photo of Sutherlands' Viewline, I wonder if it was new to ICI?
It has the ICI spec of a Mk.2 top bumper mounted upside down to clear the headlights, and Mk.2 back windows ratehr than the larger Viewline ones.