RETRO TRUCK
(^84) July 2019 Truck & Driver
O
ne thing Les Baston
will miss is regularly
glorying in the beauty
of his local countryside.
We have the open
road to ourselves and we’re
heading west along what the
locals refer to as the ‘Military
Road’. The mid-morning clouds
are starting to break up and
we’re relishing the view through
the Seddon’s screen of his native
Northumberland. Despite the
mid-March chilliness, Les has his
window open to feel the fresh air
on his face and to allow the
distinctive sound of the 14-litre
Cummins 320 engine, via the
upright Eminox stack, to
reverberate around him.
National treasure
A contented Les is at the
well-worn wheel of his pride and
joy, a fee-earning load on the
1997 Weightlifter semi-trailer
behind him. His stunning,
much-modified Seddon Atkinson
400 tractor unit might have
covered more than three million
kilometres since it took to the
road on 1 April 1980, but during
that time the Baston/Sed Atki
combo is now reckoned by many
to have attained ‘national
treasure’ status.
What isn’t so good is the fact
that by the time you read these
words, Les will have stopped
trading. “I’m finishing at the end
of April,” he says. “I’ve never had
much time for holidays so I think
it’s time for my wife Ann and I to
enjoy some more of the sights
while we still have our health.”
At 75 years old, no one will
begrudge Les going for retirement
but before he goes, we felt we
should hear some of his thoughts.
This isn’t the first time that T&D
has ridden shotgun with the combo,
as we thought it newsworthy
enough (January 2003 T&D) to
report on how a 22-year-old Sed
Atki was still grafting away.
Obviously the fact that 16 years
later the same man and machine
are still at work just makes their
story even more newsworthy.
Our day starts at Amble, Les
having cycled from home to his
trading estate unit where the Sed
Atki is always garaged under
cover. Apart from his first 18
months, Les has spent his entire
life in this small Northumberland
coastal town, so no wonder his
day will also include time out to
chat to the locals. As we’ll
discover over the next eight
hours, lots of folk know Les.
Once he’s eased the 6x2
tag-axle unit under the semi-
trailer and gently confirmed they
are locked firmly together, Les
adds a few more straps before
the walk-round check. We admire
the motor and Les responds:
“Folk often send me pictures via
Facebook, lots of them having
been taken when they are
alongside. I tend to run at 50mph
to save on fuel, but I’m amazed
at how many other trucks come
past but then stop alongside just
to have a longer look – and
perhaps give me a thumbs-up.”
Fuller ’box
Like any other owner-driver’s
steed, the Sed Atki cab is full of
all sorts of tackle and spares. I
find my feet as Les smoothly
shifts us into motion via the
nine-speed Fuller. We take the
cross-country back roads to our
drop-off point about five miles
north of Hexham and, en route,
Les points out just a few of the
various farm buildings he has
delivered in knocked-down form;
indeed, there’s such a load on
the trailer behind us.
“I’ve been delivering buildings
like this for Northern Structures
in Amble for about 28 years,” he
says. “Over the last 10 years they
“I tend to run at 50mph to save
on fuel, but I’m amazed at how
many other trucks come past
but then stop alongside just
to have a longer look – and
perhaps give me a thumbs-up”
Although Les is to retire, he and the Sed
Atki will still be seen on the show circuit