Image: An Austin-Western Pacer 300, the motor grader on which Aveling-Barford’s highly successful model 99-H was based. Over 60 years old, this example is having a rest in the woods, awaiting its next job. PHOTO: INTERNET
Aveling-Barford was formed in 1934 through the merger of two long-established British companies: Aveling & Porter (1862) and Barford & Perkins (1860). The new company manufactured a wide range of contractor’s equipment, including road rollers, site and quarry dump trucks, and – the subject of this article – self propelled motor graders, writes Richard Campbell.
It may come as somewhat of a surprise to you to discover that the original Aveling-Barford motor grader was, in fact, of American design.
Through Aveling-Barford’s association with American equipment manufacturer Austin-Western, Aveling-Barford secured the UK license rights to manufacture some of the Austin-Western range of motor graders in the United Kingdom.
Starting in 1947, the first units manufactured were the model ‘Super-88’, the all-wheel-drive model 99-H, and the smaller model LG (light grader).
Two of these machines were originally badged ‘Aveling-Austin’ in the UK, but this nomenclature was not carried on for very long before the now familiar Aveling-Barford name and ‘Invicta’ shield logo was substituted.
These machines were equivalent to the American Super-88 (later Super 500), and model 99-H (later Pacer 200), while the model LG was basically of Aveling-Barford’s own design.
The machines were all manufactured at Aveling-Barford’s Invicta works in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
Let’s keep it British!
Rather than fit the Cummins and GM diesels that had powered the American-manufactured Austin-Western machines, Aveling-Barford chose to use British-built diesel engines, including Leyland (a favourite), Rolls-Royce, Perkins (another favourite), Dorman, and AEC.
This gave the UK-manufactured machines the required level of local content and made them more “acceptable” to the company’s traditional export markets.
It just would not be British to supply a machine with an American engine now, would it?
The practice of using British diesel engines also saved the company unnecessary expenditure of scarce overseas funds which were in short supply following WWII.
A sales boom
Sales of the Super-88 and 99-H domestically and for export were very high, with a large proportion of the exported machines coming here and also going to Australia, India, Greece, and South Africa.
Aveling-Barford did exceptionally well to achieve the level of market penetration that it did.
To put things in perspective, it must be remembered that during the 1950s competition was quite fierce with about as many equipment manufacturers offering motor graders as there are hydraulic excavator manufacturers today.
In the UK, strong competition was encountered from Caterpillar, Allis-Chalmers, Wakefield, and Blaw-Knox, all of whom were trying to sell their products.
Down a new road
Over the course of the 1960s, Aveling-Barford began to develop motor graders of its own design, and the agreement with Austin-Western (which was by now a subsidiary of Clark Equipment), was terminated in 1973.
Aveling-Barford’s indigenously designed machines included the MT, MG and MGH, as well as an ambitious articulated-frame motor grader, the TG2, which was intended to compete with Caterpillar’s recently introduced G series of motor graders.
There was also the ASG series and the TSG series in several variants.
The TG2 was moderately successful when introduced but suffered from a few reliability issues while the other models sold in moderate numbers and were quite well regarded.
Star of the show – the model 99-H
From 1950, the Aveling-Barford model 99-H was manufactured at Grantham.
As it transpired, this was to be the most successful Aveling-Barford motor grader of them all, so we will take a closer look as to what made it so successful.
As mentioned earlier, there was a choice of engine that could be fitted, and while AEC (very rare), Rolls-Royce and Perkins diesels could be installed, by far and away the most common powerplant was the 100-horsepower, six-cylinder, Leyland AU450 (later variants of the machine were fitted with the Leyland AU600/14 and Leyland AU600/37).
Initially, a 16-inch Borg and Beck dry plate clutch was installed. This was later replaced by a 16.25-inch Leyland clutch.
A three-speed manual gearbox with a high-low range splitter gave the 99-H an effective six speeds up to about 20 mph.
As both front and rear axles were driven, a drop box transmitted power evenly to both front & rear axles via long extension shafts.
Additionally, both axles could be steered if required, which gave the 99-H a distinct advantage in ditching and slope work and when there was a drifting load against the blade – as the machine could be “crabbed” along much like the articulated steer graders of today.
The entire power train was supported by a very sturdy welded arched steel frame which provided good ground clearance for the blade and circle assembly.
Stopping, steering and sitting
Hydraulically activated expanding shoe brakes were fitted to all four wheels.
Early machines had a tiller type steering bar in place of a steering wheel.
For novice operators, this took a little getting used to, especially when roading the machine between jobs. The tiller was later replaced by a more conventional steering wheel.
For the operator, the 99-H was a typical product of British engineering: austere, with reasonable visibility, a comfortable bench-type seat, easy-to-operate controls, and many built-in oil leaks!
All machines imported here were fitted with the optional cab that resonated at a frequency designed to impart permanent hearing loss in a very short period.
To this end, most grading operations were done with the cab doors open!
Basic instrumentation was provided on a sloped panel to the operator’s right-hand side.
Working tools
All blade functions were hydraulically operated, which was a little unusual at the time, as most contemporary graders of the period still relied on mechanical controls for blade operation.
Aveling-Barford offered a host of optional attachments to equip the 99-H for a range of duties. These options included snow ploughs & wings, blade extensions, a bulldozer blade, scarifier, and an elevating grader conveyor.
A sad end
The 1970s and 1980s were hard times for Aveling-Barford. The British economy was anything but stable and many industries were feeling the pinch.
Aveling-Barford faced stiff competition from international giants who could produce similar machinery at a fraction of the cost. The company tried to innovate, introducing new products and technologies, but it was too little, too late. The market had moved on, and Aveling-Barford was left behind.
Once a proud symbol of British industry, Aveling-Barford found itself struggling to survive. In 1994, the inevitable happened: Aveling-Barford went into receivership.
It was a sad end for a company that had played such a crucial role in shaping the modern world.
For the model collector
Unfortunately, there are hardly any models of Aveling-Barford equipment available.
There is a model of the Austin-Western Pacer 500 to 1:50th scale by EMD, but this is not readily available and is quite expensive.
There is also a white metal kitset model of the model 99-H to 1:76 scale produced by Rosencombe Replicas in the UK but, it too, is scarce.
It is to be hoped some manufacturer will produce something from this once-famous British company.
What we can control in times of instability