Trying to hide in a Northamptonshire field at Wakerley, the final resting place of an Atlas Express Carriers articulated wagon. 'Atlas', 'Express', two words turned by bucolic retirement into oxymorons; when once they were a familiar message on 'trunk' roads and in station yards. I have seen these fading green truck bodies elsewhere in the neighbourhood, obviously a job lot in the same way as old railway wagons, shorn of their wheels and distributed over the countryside in order to live again as hay stores and pony stables. I particularly like the way that inclement weather is slowly revealing the previous livery underneath. But what do we know about them? I've got a feeling they were one of the first hauliers to take to the roads after the deregulation of the business- the demise of BRS with their beautiful red or green lorries crested with the British Railways lion badge. Or I might be talking out of my roped-down tarpaulin.
I hope this isn`t too off-message to qualify as an oxymoron but I recently saw beautifully painted and amongst all the other stuff on the cab doors of a huge artic on the M25 the words "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND".....back on Friday .
I worked for Atlas for about 6 years and might well have hauled some of those trailers you saw around. Please see my Facebook page 'We worked for Atlas Express - The Carriers'
The shot of the Atlas Express trailer brings back lots of good childhood memories... My dad drove for them and I remember riding along in those green lorries. Thank you.
I am a designer, writer and photographer who spends all his time looking at England, particularly buildings and the countryside. But I have a leaning towards the slightly odd and neglected, the unsung elements that make England such an interesting place to live in. I am the author and photographer of over 25 books, in particular Unmitigated England (Adelphi 2006), More from Unmitigated England (Adelphi 2007), Cross Country (Wiley 2011), The Cigarette Papers (Frances Lincoln 2012), Preposterous Erections (Frances Lincoln 2012) and English Allsorts (Adelphi 2015)
"Open this book with reverence. It is a hymn to England". Clive Aslet
Preposterous Erections
"Enchanting...delightful". The Bookseller "Cheekily named" We Love This Book
The Cigarette Papers
"Unexpectedly pleasing and engrossing...beautifully illustrated". The Bookseller
Cross Country
"Until the happy advent of Peter Ashley's Cross Country it has, ironically, been foreigners who have been best at celebrating Englishness". Christina Hardyment / The Independent
More from Unmitigated England
"Give this book to someone you know- if not everyone you know." Simon Heffer, Country Life. "When it comes to spotting the small but telling details of Englishness, Peter Ashley has no equal." Michael Prodger, Sunday Telegraph
9 comments:
I'm sad enough to have looked up BRS on Wikipedia, there is no mention of Atlas Express.
I hope this isn`t too off-message to qualify as an oxymoron but I recently saw beautifully painted and amongst all the other stuff on the cab doors of a huge artic on the M25 the words "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND".....back on Friday .
I liked that.
Ah, Atlas. First he held up the heavens. Then he held up the traffic. Then he was held up in a farmyard.
Marvellous Wilko.
Looking beyond the logo... I am rather enamoured by the four types of corrugation on show - they make for a rather fabulous texture.
Oh yes. Unmitigated England has more than its fair share of the corrugated stuff.
At least it isn't advertising 'cheap laminate flooring' like most I seem to whizz past on the m62.
I worked for Atlas for about 6 years and might well have hauled some of those trailers you saw around. Please see my Facebook page 'We worked for Atlas Express - The Carriers'
The shot of the Atlas Express trailer brings back lots of good childhood memories... My dad drove for them and I remember riding along in those green lorries. Thank you.
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