Does anyone remember when HGV's were limited to 20 mph? I was chatting to a retired tanker driver yesterday and he reminded me of the limit but could not recall exactly when it was abolished.
I wonder why, with the abolition fo the 20 mph limit and the present limit of 56 mph, there has not been a huge rise in accidents, as predicted by those with power to abuse?
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>I wonder why, with the abolition fo the 20 mph limit and the present limit of >56 mph, there has not been a huge rise in accidents, as predicted by those >with power to abuse?
Better brakes, better tyres, better lighting, better long distance roads (this one's the key, I think), better driver training, people are more used to motor vehicles. On the other hand, when they do crash, they crash big time. Specious argument, Alwyn.
Chris
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They were usually doing a sight more than 20, fortunately for us stuck behind.
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Alwyn
Actual maxiumum speed limit on HGV's is 60MPH. Limiters cut in at 56mph as directed by the EU. Not all HGV's have to be fitted with limiters, it depends on age of vehicle, type of HGV, Gross weight etc.
I certainly remember the 20mph limit, but I don't know when it was lifted.
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It was 20mph in 1960 and by 1965 it had been lifted twice up to 40mph.
When the Mi was opened in 1959 I seem to recall that there was no speed limits but few HGVs could travel at more than 40 at the time due to governors cutting in and also the engine power was nothing compared to today.
The Gardner 150 engine fitted to most large HGVs was only 150bhp compared to 600 +turbos being common nowadays.
The fastest HGV at the time was a one off which was know across the industry.
It was built by Toff & Tomlinson at Darley Dale in Derbyshire a well known diesel specialist and was called the Nord.
It was a tractor unit with an American Cummings engine with an electric shift french gearbox. This motor used to absolutely fly down the M1.
At the time (early sixties) it was doing two Darley Dale to St Albans per day.
The trouble was that the noise of the beast was horrendous and apparently the drivers suffered fatigue from it.
I recall being overtaken down the M1 several times by the Nord and you could actually hear it before you saw it and it sounded like a jet engine.
I have often wondered what happened to this motor maybe someone will know. It was a legend among the transport fraternity at the time and the speeds it would actually attain was the subject of many drivers arguments at the time. I would suspect it did over 80mph on the motorway.
This was also the time when all HGVs were british made with famous names such as Foden, ERF. Scammel, Leyland, Sentinal, Guy, Commer, AEC, Seddon, Maudsley and others before we stopped making things and became a service economy.
Alvin
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Alvin,
You mentioned engine noise (Nord). The weirdest, and most fascinating engine noise I've ever heard was that of the Commer 2 stroke diesel on full song. What a racket they made !
The old Gardener engines were 'the best' and I'll bet that more than a few are still at work in old buses and boats worldwide.
Steve
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Steve,
Yes that engine certainly made a wonderful sound when it was on full song.
Its designation was TS3.
Some used to say the TS stood for two stroke but it actually meant Tiller Stevens who were a marine engine manufacturer somewhere around Portsmouth.
The other unique thing about this engine was it was a 3 cylinder with 6 pistons.
It was hoizontal and two pistons were opposed to each other in each cylinder all going down to a common crankshaft.
It also had a blower to get rid of the exhaust gases quickly.
I don't know if any other engines had this unique design but it certainly was unmistakeable with its sound. never heard one for years.
regards
Alvin
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In last weeks Motoring Telegraph there was an article about somebody who has a scrapyard near Peterborough. He has built a 'special' using this type of engine in a vintage Bentley style chassis (actually from a lorry). I met him at an autojumble last summer and the car sounded amazing when he started it up.
Jon
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