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Unless it was seriously old, ie a preserved vehicle then it should have been limited to 90kph.
Modern 3 axle tractor units weigh more than 7.5 tons anyway, for most hgv restrictions the weights noted on the restriction almost always refer to GVW, which in the case of the tractor unit runing solo would typically be 24 tons, obviously much higher combination max weight if a trailer attached....this is what catches many out on weight restricted bridges, if the bridge lorry restriction is 18 tons and an empty artic weighs 15 tons it still can't cross because the GVW of the whole vehicle is way above 18t.
Its not just solo tractors, i see full sized artics in the outside lane of 3 lane motorways every day, (including narrow lanes with a max width limit of 6'6" in roadworks), most regular for this is the 50mph Newport Sth Wales section of M4....the reason is the same as for so much that makes driving unpleasant these days, no traffic police, however in mitigation when the middle lane hoggers in this section trundle along at 36mph in their little hatchback (it always is) oblivious to the rolling road block they are causing then you can see why some resort to the third lane.
Interesting thing about the legal 60mph speed limit for lorries, yes its still the case but if your vehicle is limited to 55/56 the chances are the tacho will trigger overspeed warnings if you let it run for half a mile downhill at say 58mph, whether the DVSA will take action if you trigger enough overspeeds is debatable (dare say much depends on the attitude test should you be pulled, same as the old bill) but many operators take overspeeds seriously and if you get more than the odd few you can expect disciplinary procedures, especially if you allow it to creep above 60.
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