Seddon Atkinson Borderer Vintage Truck Review

We have a blast road testing a genuine veteran of the haulage industry, the Seddon Atkinson Borderer.

iTruck has never tested a vintage truck before so we jumped at the chance to have a drive down memory lane. Matthew Eisenegger had a blast in a genuine veteran of the haulage industry, the Atkinson Borderer.

Atkinson first started heavy truck production in 1907 at Frenchwood Avenue in Preston, and as the range’s popularity grew, the need for larger production facilities were needed. The company finally chose a location nearby in Walton-le-Dale on the outskirts of Preston.

In its day, the Borderer was one of the most popular tractor units on the road, mostly powered by the ever popular Gardner 180 6LXB, although Atkinson also offered Cummins and in some instances, Rolls Royce and even AEC engines.

From the outside

The vehicle I drove was made available by avid ‘Atki’ fan Paul Morris who has carried out a partial restoration and putting the Borderer in his old family livery of R.W Morris of Tarleton. Tarleton is roughly equidistant between Preston and Southport so it could be said, she has finally come home.

WVO 961H, according to the plate, was built in 1969 and first registered in 1970. From the outside the Borderer has the unmistakeable ‘Atki’ look and standing proud on the grille is the unmistakeable ‘A’.

The cab is fibre glass formed over a wooden frame while the classical tapered windscreen layout also makes the Atkinson immediately identifiable.

A step on the back of the mud guard and the step ring on the wheel aids entry to the while the grab handle is needed to pull yourself inside. The forward view is outstanding, as the curved screen eliminates virtually all blind spots. Even 50 or so years ago it shows the designers got the basics right.

Once inside, you can’t get away from the fact that life on board was very spartan with the cab offering little more than a dry place for the driver to work. The seats bear no comparison to current offerings!  In fact, I was reminded of a regular complaint. When a driver asked if he could have a cab heater, his boss would invariably reply: “Put your donkey Jacket on then.”

As for the steering wheel, it is the size of a European principality.

On The Road

Even at 40 years young the Borderer ‘cracked’ straight off and the surrounding yard disappeared in a blue fog of fumes in traditional Gardner style. (Remember, they all used to be like that) and thaunsteady, drumming tickover brought a big smile to yours truly.

Crikey, the noise in the cab is unbelievable!

You can’t hear any conversation, and the front exit exhaust only compounds the problem. As much as Paul was trying to explain the necessary techniques required to master the 6 speed David Brown crash ‘box all attempts at conversation were soon abandoned.

Using the small door mirror, I chose my gap in the traffic and started to let out the heaviest clutch pedal I’ve ever had under my left foot, and we were off. Each change up meant a full double de-clutch change, and with a slight grind between each up shift, I felt that I had tamed the beast.

Then I had to start thinking about down changing as we approached a roundabout. This is where my problems started. The down shift was again a full double de-clutch job. The ‘neutral’ bit then required a big blast of revs to try match the engine speed with the right ‘cog’ relative to the slowing road speed.

This whole process undertaken by a proper driver would have been accomplished with smoothness, precision and silence. For my part, it sounded as though the local brass band had just fallen over a cliff.

In the right hands, the Borderer is driven with ease and although we were pulling an empty Fruehauf bulker trailer of a similar vintage, Paul made light work of it and made good speed. It brings it home to you the amount of skill needed to master trucks of this age and 40 years ago the Borderer was regarded as a ‘state of the art’ wagon.

Conclusion

I take my hat off to any driver who worked trucks in this era. There was absolutely no escape from the loud, incessant engine noise. And imagine the short wiper blades trying to cope with driving rain going over Shap Fell while worrying that you didn’t screw up the next gear change.

On most occasions, when I jump into a new truck, it’s normally to appraise the just-launched, ‘all singing all dancing’ latest comfortably padded offering bristling with the latest technology. It really is easy to forget how it all started, and in particular the additional demands placed on the driver.

It could be easy to be critical of truck design in the 60’s, but unfair - Atkinson had a lot going for them. The forward view from the cab is unsurpassable and would be the envy of truck designers of not just today, but the future. Legend also has it that the Gardner 6LXB was capable of well over 10 mpg at the legally permitted GCW of 32 tonnes.

Also, a quick look at a recent weigh ticket showed an unladen weight, including the trailer, of just over 11 tonnes. A rough calculation gives a tractor weight of around 6 tonnes which is impressive to say the least.

It was indeed a privilege to be allowed to drive the ‘Atki’ and it gave me a reminder of how it used to be and what it is that makes a ‘real truck driver.

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