Seddon (vehicle manufacturer)
Seddon was a British vehicle manufacturer. The company, founded after the end of the First World War, manufactured buses and trucks . In 1970 it became part of the Seddon Atkinson company .
Company history
Foster and Seddon Ltd , founded in Salford in 1919 , was originally engaged in the sale and repair of motor vehicles. Only in 1937, a truck with 6-ton payload was developed by a Perkins - diesel engine was driven. The production of the vehicle started the following year. Various trucks were produced up to the end of World War II. From 1944 the company operated under the name Seddon Lorries .
After the end of the Second World War, a smaller truck, the Seddon Twenty Five , with a payload of 3 tons was introduced in 1950 , which was produced until 1963. This vehicle was also powered by a Perkins diesel engine. Constructively building on the pre-war models, medium-weight trucks were still produced. With the Mk 4 Seddon Lorries presented its first bus model as early as 1946. In 1951 the company was converted to a public limited company. With two branches, the company, now located in Oldham , employed a total of 450 people in 1961.
In 1970 the meanwhile in Seddon Diesel Vehicles Ltd. The company renamed its competitor Atkinson Vehicles Ltd. The combination of the two companies resulted in Seddon Atkinson Vehicles Limited . Up until 1982, however, both production lines were largely run separately and the vehicles were sold under their respective brand names. In 1974 Seddon brought out a new series of heavy trucks as flatbed vehicles or tractors. In the same year, the Pennine VII, the manufacturer's last bus model, appeared.
vehicles
buses
The first bus model developed by Seddon Lorries was the Mk. 4 presented in 1946 . After the end of the Second World War, the market for buses in Europe grew strongly. In some cases, as in Great Britain, for example, bus production was severely restricted during the war in favor of the production of armaments, in some cases losses caused by the war had to be compensated. The Mk. 4 was a conventionally constructed bus according to the understanding of the time. The engine sat on a conventional ladder frame at the front. The P6, a six-cylinder diesel engine from Perkins, was used . The design dates back to before the Second World War and was used on the company's first truck model. The engine was combined with a manually shiftable five-speed gearbox. With a wheelbase of 14 feet 10 inches, the chassis was a total of 24 feet 10 inches long and could support bodies with a length of 27 feet, which corresponded to the length restriction for buses in force in the United Kingdom at the time. Traditionally, chassis and superstructures for buses have been supplied by various manufacturers in Great Britain. This enabled a more flexible adaptation of the design of the bus to the requirements of the various operators. The superstructures for the Mk. 4 were designed as forward control vehicles, which enabled a higher passenger capacity for the given length of the superstructure compared to the long and short-nosed cars that were still widespread at the time.
Released in 1950, the Mk 6 was an elongated version of the Mk. 4. While the mechanical components - including the engine and power transmission - remained unchanged, the wheelbase grew to 15 feet 4 inches, the length of the chassis to 25 feet 11 inches and the Length over all to 30 feet. This complied with the new length restrictions for buses in the UK. Superstructures for the bus came from, among others, HJ Mulliner & Co. The buses were mostly bodied as a line bus and had two doors, the front of which was located between the axles. This meant that the bus was only partially suitable for one-man operation. The permissible total weight was 9524 kg. With the Mk. 6 Seddon Lorries was also able to gain market share in New Zealand .
Like other British manufacturers, Seddon developed the Mk. 11 , a chassis with an underfloor engine, in the mid-1950s. The advantage was the further increased passenger capacity for the given length and the possibility of being able to arrange the entrance door far in front next to the driver, as well as the better accessibility of the power transmission and motor assemblies, disadvantage was the high floor height due to the tall motors. A six-cylinder diesel engine, again from Perkins , with a displacement of 4.73 liters, which was arranged between the axles, was used with the R6 . An AEC motor was offered as an option. The wheelbase was 16 feet 6 inches (5050 mm), the gross vehicle weight between 9907 and 10886 kg, depending on the version. The entrance door was located in the front overhang right next to the driver, which made the bus suitable for one-man operation, where the driver also took over the collecting of the passengers.
The Mk. 19 from 1959 was based on the same design principles, but got a horizontal AEC 410 diesel engine with a displacement of 6.75 l. Various wheelbases between 16 feet 4 inches and 17 feet 2 inches were available, the maximum permissible weight was 11,177 kg. The chassis were usually built as coaches.
With the Pennine V and Pennine RU , a chassis with an engine in the rear appeared in 1969. The underfloor drive was not completely convincing in practice, which is why most British manufacturers turned away from it again in the 1960s. Due to the engine placed in the rear, part of the length of the bus was not available for passengers or only to a limited extent, but because of the length restrictions that have now been lifted, this disadvantage is no longer too serious. The further improved accessibility, the better cooling and dissipation of the engine heat as well as the lower floor were advantageous. The Pennine RU was available with different wheelbases for bodies of 10, 11 and 12 m in length. It was powered by Perkins diesel engines, either the six-cylinder diesel engine with 6.354 l displacement or the V8 diesel engine with 8.840 l displacement. A total of 273 buses were built up to 1973, mainly for the domestic market. The superstructures came from Seddon himself, Charles H. Roe and Plaxton . The chassis were built either as a bus with 40 to 47 seats, depending on the version, or as a multi-purpose vehicle (dual purpose) with 42 to 44 seats, and some examples also as a coach with 39 seats. The multi-purpose vehicles were quite popular in the United Kingdom at the time, as they could be used for regular services on weekdays, on weekends and for excursions and special trips at times of low demand.
The Mk. 4 and Mk. 6 remained in the production program and were now sold as Seddon Pennine IV and Seddon Pennine VI , respectively . Since the size restrictions had become obsolete, the chassis came in different lengths with different wheelbases. The Pennine IV , like the Mk VI, was available for bodies 9, 10 and 11 m in length. There were differences in the motorization. While the Seddon Pennine IV could be supplied with the six-cylinder Perkins diesel engine with 6.354 l displacement or with the Perkins V8 diesel engine with 8.840 l displacement, the supercharged Perkins T6.354 was reserved for the Seddon Pennine VI .
With the Seddon Pennine IV-236 , the company derived a smaller and narrower variant of the Mk. 4 , which practically represented a forerunner of today's midibus . The buses were mainly used in the Greater Manchester area . One of the vehicles was equipped with an electric drive that was powered by batteries that were carried along.
In 1974, the Pennine VII, the last bus model from the company now known as Seddon Atkinson , appeared. The bus was specially designed to meet the requirements of the Scottish Bus Group . Leyland initially steadfastly refused to equip the Leyland Leopard with a Gardner diesel engine , which however was preferred by the Scottish Bus Group . This created a niche in the market that Seddon took advantage of with the Pennine VII . A few years later, Leyland repeated this policy with the Leyland Tiger , which led to the development of the Dennis Dorchester . Seddon removed the rear engine on this bus and placed the engine under the floor between the axles. The Gardner 6HLXB, a horizontal six-cylinder diesel engine, was used. Outside of Scotland, however, the bus was hardly sold, 514 of the 527 buses built were delivered to the Scottish Bus Group . The bodies came from Walter Alexander Coachbuilders , who practically had a monopoly for bus bodies on the Scottish and Northern Irish markets. Body variants were the M-type, the T-type and the Y-type. A total of 68 buses were delivered as coaches with the Plaxton Supreme body. The few buses delivered to other operators were fitted with bodies from Plaxton , Seddon and Willowbrook . The chassis was available with two different wheelbases for bodies 11 and 12 m in length.
The Pennine VII represented the end point of bus production at Seddon . The limited market and the structural change of the British bus line operators resulting from the deregulation of the Transport Act 1980 and Transport Act 1985 led to a serious crisis in the British bus industry due to the emerging competition from continental Europe was tightened. Seddon Atkinson was also affected by this situation and was able to avert serious consequences by stopping bus production.
truck
The company's first vehicle was the Seddon Mk. 5 . The company promised itself good sales opportunities if it succeeded in constructing a vehicle with a very low empty weight and an acceptable payload. With the Motor Car Act 1903 , which was in effect practically until 1930, the maximum speed limit for vehicles with a curb weight of less than 2 tons was set at 20 mph. For heavier vehicles, the Heavy Motor Car Order 1904 applied , which limited the maximum speed to values between 5 and a maximum of 12 mph depending on the curb and total weight, tires and trailer load. In order to be approved for a maximum speed of 20 mph, the empty weight of the vehicle was not allowed to exceed 2 tons with a payload of 6 tons. The vehicle, powered by a Perkins P6 diesel engine, proved to be a great success. The necessary expansion of production capacities led the company to move to Oldham.
The Seddon Mk.5 and Seddon Mk.7 , which were continued after the Second World War, corresponded to the construction principles customary at the time. The engine was arranged at the front on a classic ladder frame. Since hooded vehicles were never very popular in Great Britain, both designs were designed as front control vehicles.
The Seddon Twenty Five , also Seddon 25 , built from 1950 onwards , was designed as a smaller vehicle with a long-nosed car. The Perkins P3 diesel engine was used with a payload of around 3 tons .
While the two-part windshield of the Seddon Mk.5 and Seddon Mk.7 was initially inclined in only one plane, the bodies were subjected to a facelift in 1955/56. In keeping with the spirit of the times, the vehicles were given cabs with panoramic windshields and were now referred to as Mk. 14 and Mk. 15 . The production range was supplemented by a number of heavy four-axle trucks under the designation SD and DD . Overall, production was expanded to include commercial vehicles of all sizes, but in 1964 the production of four-axle trucks, which were very common in Great Britain until the 1970s due to size and weight restrictions, was discontinued. The company focused on the development and production of heavy trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 32 to 34 tons. Primarily semitrailer tractors were produced. Seddon was a pioneer in the use of plastics and used fiberglass-reinforced plastics in the construction of cabs from an early stage. The cabs were built by a supplier, Pennine Coach Craft . This company also manufactured superstructures for the Seddon bus chassis and gave its name to the bus models built in the mid-1960s. At the end of the 1960s, the two-part windshield was replaced by a one-piece, the vehicles were given the type designation Seddon 30: Four .
In 1974 Seddon renewed its heavy truck production range. The Seddon 32: Four , also Seddon 32/4 and the Seddon 34: Four , also Seddon 34/4 were in their box-shaped cabs from their predecessors easy to distinguish. The two-axle vehicles were delivered as semi-trailer or heavy-duty tractors. Cummins , Gardner , Rolls-Royce, and Perkins engines were available. The structurally similarly designed platform vehicles were sold as Seddon 13: Four and Seddon 16: Four , the Seddon 16: Four was also available as a tractor unit. With the Seddon: Four , the number indicates the permissible total weight of the vehicle or articulated truck.
For the trucks sold under the brand name Seddon Atkinson , see there.
Model overview
buses
- Seddon Mk. 4
- Seddon Mk. 6
- Seddon Mk. 11
- Seddon Mk. 19
- Seddon Pennine V / Pennine RU
- Seddon Pennine IV
- Seddon Pennine VI
- Seddon Pennine VII
truck
- Seddon Mk.5
- Seddon Mk.7
- Seddon Twenty Five
- Seddon Mk.14
- Seddon Mk.15/10
- Seddon SD8
- Seddon DD8
- Seddon 13: Four
- Seddon 16: Four
- Seddon 30: Four
- Seddon 32: Four
- Seddon 34: Four
