Time Machine 80-84

A new series sees Peter Davies look back at trucks on the road from the 1980s to the 2000s. Kicking things off we take in 80-84

- Peter Davies

If you began truck driving in the 1970s you will no doubt remember the ‘80s and ‘90s as if they were yesterday, but anyone in their 30s or 40s might think of those last two decades of the 20th century as ancient history. One thing’s for sure; the haulage scene in the UK has changed a great deal since those days, many famous British makes have ceased to exist as have many of the firms that ran them.

This series takes a nostalgic look back at what the scene was like three or four decades ago. Most of the pictures seen here, in part one, were taken during the early to mid ‘80s. The last couple of shots were taken later but still show trucks of the early ‘80s. Of course, there were loads of earlier trucks still earning their keep including some dating from the late ‘60s.

Some familiar British makes had already ceased production like Atkinson, AEC and Guy but there were still loads of these to be seen at work. In the previous decade some of the light to medium weight manufacturers like Bedford, Ford and Dodge had moved up into the heavyweight sector with the likes of Ford’s Transcontinental and Bedford’s TM.

Few people thought at that time that both Ford and Bedford, two leading makes, would both be gone by the late ‘80s. Even the mighty Leyland Truck & Bus was on borrowed time having been in financial difficulties for some years, propped up by the British taxpayer.

However at the very dawn of the ‘80s things were looking quite positive with new models coming on stream like the Leyland Roadtrain and Constructor. Around the same time Ford launched its all-important Cargo range and Bedford its new tilt cab TL. The Cargo hit TL sales badly as it was such a well designed range. Consequently