Longridge Depot Garage
From the early days W & J Riding built up their own extensive workshops within the depot at Longridge where their vehicles, along with all their trailers and tankers, were serviced and repaired by the company’s own experienced mechanics and tyre fitters.
In just one year in 1995 the fleet of vehicles mileage totaled a staggering 8 million miles..
Also should a vehicle have been involved in an accident it would have been repaired and repainted on site and in more serious cases vehicles would be totally rebuilt on the premises at Longridge.
Seen here working on a Leyland Octopus are the late Harold Bristo and the late Frank Archer.
Harold is stood on the steps and apart from a short time away from the company worked for W & J Riding all his life.
He was originally a driver for many years but later went onto permanent nights in the garage servicing and changing oil etc.
Frank, stood on the right hand side, was a fitter who had also been with the company for what seemed like an eternity and worked nights for many many years.
Photograph courtesy of the late Jack Draper.
Tony Adamson is seen here replacing the brake shoes on a L.A.D. Beaver he joined Riding’s as a fitter after doing his national service in the Army.
Tony eventually got married and went to live at Leyland where he then got a job with Leyland Motors.
Note the AEC 50 gallon fuel tank that Riding’s had fitted to replace the original smaller Leyland 33 gallon fuel tank which was standard at the time.
Photograph courtesy of the late Jack Draper.
Atkinson Borderer 4X2 tractor unit Reg No MVD 432L Fleet No 21 ‘Couragous’ is seen here parked in the garage at Longridge.
Note the abundance of spare leaf springs against the wall, which were just a fraction of the spare parts Riding’s had on hand at any one time.
Photograph courtesy of Geoff Milne.
Atkinson Borderer 4×2 tractor unit Reg No PTJ 120M Fleet No 83 ‘Forceful’, powered by a Gardner 240 eight cylinder engine, stands in the garage at Longridge in 1981.
To the right, with it’s door open, is Pandoro’s Atkinson Venturer Reg No LCK 480N undergoing a sleeper cab conversion.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Gardner.
Standing outside the garage, placed on two forty gallon drums, is the cab of Atkinson Borderer 4X2 tractor unit Reg No UTC 900M Fleet No 48 ‘Dominant’ (Chassis No FC 27320).
Originally purchased new from Atkinson Vehicles Ltd on the 7th of March 1974, at a cost of £8,051 plus vat and registered for road use on the 1st of April 1974, the cab is seen here in April 1983 after the vehicle was scrapped and it’s Gardner 8LXB engine removed and sold on to Hartwood Exports for the sum of £2,750.
Seddon Atkinson 400 Series day cabbed 4×2 tractor unit Reg No WFR 370V Fleet No 96 ‘Novelty’ is pictured here in the workshops at Longridge depot.
WFR 370V entered service with W & J Riding on the 7th of November 1979 and was fitted with the prototype Gardner 6LXC Tturbocharged Gardner engine that Gardner were developing at that time.
Taken off the road in November 1987 it is seen here towards the end of its working life in 1996 when at the time it was being utilised as the yard shunter within Longridge depot after being used as the shunt vehicle at the Timax/Bainbridge exhaust factory at Squires Gate Blackpool for the previous five years.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
A rear view of Seddon Atkinson 400 Series day cabbed 4×2 tractor unit Reg No WFR 370V Fleet No 96 ‘Novelty’.
Parked in the garage while undergoing some work note the high air intake and exhaust stack, fitted when it became the yard shunter for five years at the Timax/Bainbridge exhaust factory at Squires Gate Blackpool.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
On the 13th of January 1993 this was all that remained of Seddon Atkinson 401 4×2 tractor unit Reg No C980 JCK Fleet No 30 ‘Patriot’ after it was scrapped.
The remains are seen in front of the garage after it’s Gardner 6LYT 320 engine was sold on to Hartwood Exports for a customer in Honk Kong while the cab was sold on to Longton Coach Craft.
C980 JCK is pictured here back in the day during happier times when just a couple of years old coupled to a 2000 cubic foot non tipping Carmichael tanker.
Main photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
Seddon Atkinson 4-11 4×2 tractor unit Reg No F780 SFR Fleet No 76 ‘Helvelyn’, registered new on the 1st of August 1988 and driven by the late Vic Mason, is pictured here in the garage while undergoing major surgery after being involved in an accident in 1991.
Photograph courtesy of Geoff Milne
A Gardner 6LXDT engine sits on the garage floor after being removed for repair.
Most of these engines gave a good account of themselves but some were a real problem.
This one would appear to have been a problem child.
Pictured in the garage for a routine service is Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor unit Reg No F997 RCK Fleet No 78 ‘Sir Galahad’.
Originally registered new on the 1st of October 1988 F997 RCK was purchased second-hand when three years old in 1991.
This was one of the five Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor units that Tom Riding bought second hand from Dick Wells whose company originally had them on hire to British Nuclear Fuels at the local Springfield’s site on a three year contract from 1988 until 1991.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
Seen here parked outside the garage at Longridge is ‘E’ Series ERF 4×2 tractor unit Reg No G310 HFR Fleet No 50 ‘Alfred the Great’.
Costing £30,951 plus vat when it was first registered for road use on the 1st of September 1989 it was powered by a Cummins L10 325 engine G310 HFR and was driven from new by Neil Jackson who lived in Great Harwood.
G310 HFR was eventually sold on to D G Taylor of Driffield on the 19th of July 1998 for an unrecorded amount.
On the left of the picture is Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor unit Reg No G881 GFV Fleet No 95 ‘Morning Star’, in the contract livery of EVC,
Running a large fleet such as Riding’s required a lot of maintenance which necessitated in plenty of spare parts being available at any given time.
In this photograph we some of the brand new brake linings which were fitted to the vehicles as and when required.
Day cabbed Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor unit Reg No G914 UYV Fleet No 15 ‘Conqueror’ is seen here in the garage undergoing some repair work.
Registered new on the 1st of November 1989 it was assigned to the EVC contract running on a daily basis between European Vinyl’s Corporation’s Helsby and Wrexham factories.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor unit Reg No G881 GFV Fleet No 95 ‘Morning Star’, in the contract livery of EVC, is pictured here after reversing one of Riding’s flat trailer’s in to the tyre bay.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
Seddon Atkinson Strato 4×2 tractor unit Reg No H860 VFV Fleet No 9 ‘Dreadnought’ was registered new on the 17th of August 1990.
Assigned to the EVC contract it was powered by a Perkins TX engine and driven from new by Ian Smith.
H860 VFV generally worked out of the ICI Runcorn works but is pictured here while over in Longridge for a routine service in 1991.
Photograph courtesy of Geoff Milne.
‘E’ Series ERF 4×2 tractor unit Reg No K350 EEO Fleet No 23 ‘Auld Reekie’ is seen here in the garage undergoing a routine service.
Registered new on the 1st of February 1993 K350 EEO was powered by a Perkins E12TX 325 engine.
ERF EC10 4X2 tractor unit Reg No K160 YCK Fleet No 90 ‘Cock o’ the North’, powered by a Cummins L10 325 engine, was one of the very first batch of EC series tractor units produced by ERF at Sandbach in May 1993.
It is pictured here when two years old in 1995 while undergoing a routine service at Longridge.
Foden 4335 4×2 tractor unit Reg No M430 URN Fleet No 11 ‘Coeur-de-Lion’ is seen here while in the garage undergoing a routine service.
Powered by a Perkins 335TX engine, and registered new on the 1st of February 1995, it was one of a batch of 10 Foden 4335 4X2 tractor units introduced into to the fleet in 1994/5.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards.
Vehicle Tyres.
In his own words the late Tom Riding gave an insight into the care, maintenance and replacement of tyres at W & J Riding…….
This photograph shows the vast collection of foreign bodies that had been pulled out of the tyres over a forty year period, a collection that Dick’s son Michael has kept to this very day, hence the photo.
Originally Michael came in to the tyre bay when he was around 13 years old helping to paint the wheels and on reaching the age of 16 years in 1977 he joined his father in the garage on full time employment maintaining the tyres.
When Dick retired in 1986 Michael took over responsibility for the care and maintenance of the tyres and continued in this capacity until 2003 at which time the group, in it’s infinite wisdom, entered into mileage contract agreements with national tyre companies.
This latter father and son combination amounted to 40 years of a dedicated faultless service to the company.
The tyre bay at Longridge depot were tyres and rims were maintained to the highest possible standard and rims repainted every time a new tyre was fitted.
