Model Railway Forum

A road vehicle this time - Oxford diecast model of an Atkinson 8 wheel flatbed lorry.

Fabulous critter. Must have been the devil to steer.

Chops wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 4:48 am Fabulous critter. Must have been the devil to steer.

The front four wheels steer Chops, by varying amounts, which can look odd to a by-stander. In those days it was manual steering, no power assistance on most lorries.

See here for Atkinson 8-wheeler cranked into a turn...
https://images.app.goo.gl/ZYH7y2cCA8mCG3P37

Here is another picture of the real thing, lovely vehicle in immaculate order.
https://images.app.goo.gl/YNYcPTXDPaEWRSNE8

Photo credits as seen on each picture.

A most interesting design. Used to drive a lorry for a living in my younger days. No power steering on
those old units, had to about stand up to turn the wheel at a stop. Noisy to the point of hearing
failure, and diesel fumes a constant companion, coming up through the floor boards. Old Mack type,
it was. Not much for suspension, either! Send it by TRAIN!

I would surmise the remarkable front wheel arrangement was to allow it to turn into exceedingly sharp
spaces, both forward and reverse, and distribute the weight of a very heavy load.

Sam's Trains review of this locomotive had some issues first time around, and
he retested a replaced version with much better results. I put mine on the
rails of Henley for the first time, and she ran like a Swiss Watch; I am most
delighted with this superb model of one of my favorite British steamers.

Sorry, moved this post over here, I do want Oxford Rails to get some well
deserved promotion.

Chops wrote: ↑Sun Aug 30, 2020 6:03 am A most interesting design. Used to drive a lorry for a living in my younger days. No power steering on
those old units, had to about stand up to turn the wheel at a stop. Noisy to the point of hearing
failure, and diesel fumes a constant companion, coming up through the floor boards. Old Mack type,
it was. Not much for suspension, either! Send it by TRAIN!

I would surmise the remarkable front wheel arrangement was to allow it to turn into exceedingly sharp
spaces, both forward and reverse, and distribute the weight of a very heavy load.

mack truck.jpg

Did it have a "Jake Brake" on it Chops?... they sound awesome

The one's I drove did not have the compression brake, which are banned by ordinance by many municipalities for
their extreme noisiness. Additionally, the company installed a teeny tiny electric horn that could be barely
heard over the engine, at idle; this I suspect so that annoyed drivers could not get their jollies by blowing offending
motorists off the road, with an air horn.

Like all tractors of its type, it did have a independent trailer brake, which one could intermittently apply whilst
sliding down snow covered mountain sides, which somewhat resulted in the ability to avoid jack knifing. In the event
that the air lines to the trailer severed, the trailer brakes automatically applied, like a railroad brake, into full stop.

This I discovered one snowy Vermont night dribbling down out of the Green Mountains. The frozen brake line cracked and
the trailer wheels locked up solid on the iced asphalt. The anemic low pressure alarm in the cab did not catch my attention
over the deafening roar of the motor in low gear, and I was more than a little surprised to glance in the rear view mirror
and see the company logo on the side of the trailer filling my view, as it jackknifed inexorably towards the cab. A slow motion
horror, I was now captain of a 40 ton toboggan. Not one of my finer moments.

Grappling with the non-powered steering, I only managed to wrest the entire assemblage perpendicular to the four lane highway,
and slip helplessly sideways, upon the ice, to the bottom of the mountain, completely unable to move an inch, and completely
blocking the southbound lanes.

What occurred next was a cavalcade of automobiles and lorries coming down the mountain, directly for me, and unable to stop on
the black ice, began a monstrous pileup capped off by a gentleman getting out of his car, slipping on the ice, and slamming his
skull to the ground in the middle of the road.

Thinking I was going to go to prison the rest of my life, I glumly reported to the officer who eventually arrived on scene. He merely
asked if my lorry had been struck, and I replied it had not (by some miracle of the Heavens). He shrugged and told me I was free, then,
to leave, as Vermont was a "no fault" state in regards to these matters, regardless that I had single handedly wracked up tens of
thousands of dollars in damage.

A couple of scoops of salted sand under the drive tires, and I dragged the protesting, squealing, smoking, trailer off to the next pay phone,
some distance away, and had a temporary repair done to the brake lines. Send it by rail.

New kids on the block.

Very good - I see what you did there

I have my moments Mr B.