Tony Davis Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I've been given some 00 gauge builders skips and wondered if I could use them on my "sometime in the late 60's" layout? I was born in 1958 and I don't recall seeing them as a child. Thanks, Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted February 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 23, 2020 This seems to indicate the answer is yes: https://www.expertskiphire.co.uk/who-invented-skip-origin-and-name 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharris Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) https://www.expertskiphire.co.uk/who-invented-skip-origin-and-name ... fascinating. You may want to skip to the section about the UK (see what I did there)... they claim the modern skip was a 1960s German invention - I'm too young to remember much of the 60s, but I'd guess late 60s would be less of a novelty than earlier. Apparently 6 cubic yards is classed as a small builder's skip these days. Edit: Nile - you just beat me to it! Edited February 23, 2020 by sharris 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philden Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I had a toy truck with skip in the mid to late 60s, so they must have been around. I can't remember what make it was. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00m Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 8 hours ago, philden said: I had a toy truck with skip in the mid to late 60s, so they must have been around. I can't remember what make it was. Dinky and matchbox both did them late 60's early 70's...I still have them, (unfortunately not boxed and well worn)! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 I would think that the 1916 reference to a 'builder's skip' is probably a large steel bucket, used in conjunction with a block and tackle for moving material in, and spoil out of buildings. An early version of the 'muck-bucket' , these days in hard plastic, rather than steel. My father used to tell me that it was someone in a British Steel wagon shop came up with a similar device. This might have been to deliver smaller quantities of material to blast furnaces or steel-making furnaces. Skips on mainland Europe seem generally to be a bit like the module used in the DROPS system; they are hauled onto lorries using a hook that moves along the chassis. They seem to be lower, and easier to load from a wheelbarrow or site dumper. They can't be loaded as high as a UK -type skip, as pulling them on to the lorry involves inclining them at a steep angle. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted February 24, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2020 I worked for Hall & Co.Ltd, a large builders merchant mainly in London and the South East. We had our own skip lorries from 1966. The normal charge for a 6 cu.yds skip was £6 and large trade customers got them for as little as £4.50. We also supplied 8yd skips and "sealed" containers that were used for smelly stuff. They were just a ridged container with a lid either side. One of the customers was the Hackbridge Dog Kennels and the aroma from those was diabolical. In those days the skips (apart from the sealed ones) were tipped in our yard at Mitcham Junction and the rubbish was then reloaded onto tipper lorries and transported to waste tips in the Thames Valley with the lorries then bringing back return loads of sand & ballast etc. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 The earliest memory of a classically shaped skip I can pinpoint is 1972. However, I remember them as rusty and battered, and so it's reasonable to assume that they must have been at least a year or two old at that point. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Radford Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 The Dinky model came out 1961 ish - I bought one after saving up 10s 9d! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Davis Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 7 hours ago, grandadbob said: One of the customers was the Hackbridge Dog Kennels and the aroma from those was diabolical. That made me laugh! I always put my dog's "doings" in the council provided "poo bin" and, when the lid is lifted up, the stench can be tasted! I can't what a skip-full must be like! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Davis Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Thanks everyone, that is all very useful stuff. I always find this side of railway modelling to be interesting, not sure what you call it, but the history of things like skips, telephone boxes, etc that are all around us, but tend to blur into the background. To me, they contribute to make a layout "believable", if they are missing the layout looks wrong, but the viewer may not immediately realise why. If they are anachronistic, they jar the eye and make the layout look "wrong", to me anyway. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Davis Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 8 hours ago, Lantavian said: I searched for the term on the British Newspaper Archive. (Mainly local papers.) That is a very useful resource, didn't know it existed until you pointed it out, so thanks for the info, and thanks for pointing out the newspaper archive Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SP Steve Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 (edited) The modern day skip as we know it has its genesis in railways via way of the "Bulkrane" experimental road/rail transfer system, undertaken as a joint venture between British Railways and Fodens Ltd in the early 1960s. This saw the creation of a specialist "hoist" vehicle capable of loading/unloading two specialist containers (think Thunderbird 2 and its pods!) which catered for a variety of traffic types: MA (Dia 3/722) - Open Steel Bucket MB (Dia 3/723) - Open Steel with end door discharge MC (Dia 3/721) - Open Steel, drop side MD (Dia 3/727) - Open Steel, automatic stacking MJ (Dia 3/720) - Container top load / bottom discharge MP (Dia 3/729) - Mild Steel Tank MR (Dia 3/728) - Stainless Steel Insulated Tank MU (Dia 3/724) - Steel Pneumatic Discharge MV (Dia 3/725) - Steel Pneumatic Discharge MW (Dia 7/726) - Light Alloy Pneumatic Discharge From descriptions the MA type is what we would recognise as the modern day skip but with additional steel framing (a number of Conflat A's were modified slightly as part of the experiment with the simple addition of chain eyelets to the ends). The experiment came to nothing but did yield the familiar swing arm method of loading that we see today. In the course of trying to find further details for the project I found fodenway of this parish has successfully tackled the road element: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/95704-gary’s-road-vehicles/page/3/ The article, from the November 1961 edition of "Trains Illustrated" shows the principals behind the experiment. Edited March 31, 2022 by SP Steve 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 If the date of this is correct the Dinky toy version dated from 1960. Fits in with the battered one I received from my much older cousin. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DINKY-TOYS-966-ALBION-MARREL-MULTI-BUCKET-UNIT-DIECAST-SKIP-TRUCK-LORRY-1960/153703640605?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160323102634%26meid%3D53c0d1e4d3964abc9555188049f0c1ed%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D293175127894%26itm%3D153703640605%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWeb&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1 This one has the skip. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-dinky-LEYLAND-COMET-MARREL-MULTI-BUCKET-SKIP-LORRY-966-/293175127894 Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 I found the dates 1960-4 for Dinky no.966, but not having the Dinky Toy 'bible' I can't be sure. Skips were certainly a new and rare thing in the sixties. I can't remember them until later. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Radford Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 That's the one! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-dinky-LEYLAND-COMET-MARREL-MULTI-BUCKET-SKIP-LORRY-966-/293175127894 Wish I still had mine! That's good return on 10/9! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 All Dinkies show a good return on the initial investment. Even a common one is around £50 in mint condition with its box. A poor example is 'worth' more than it was new. The real value is in the sheer play value however. I spent hours playing with mine. Idiotically I passed them on to my brother.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Davis Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 20 hours ago, Steamport Southport said: This one has the skip. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-dinky-LEYLAND-COMET-MARREL-MULTI-BUCKET-SKIP-LORRY-966-/293175127894 Jason The skip in that example is grey, would that be representative of skips of that time, or just Dinky's interpretation? I quite like the idea of a battered, weathered grey skip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Tony Davis said: The skip in that example is grey, would that be representative of skips of that time, or just Dinky's interpretation? I quite like the idea of a battered, weathered grey skip. Whatever colour they were painted (yellow seems to have been popular) there should be contact details for the owner, and 'Do Not Light Fires in This Skip' painted on the sides. The 'Fire' notice should be largely blistered.... Edited February 25, 2020 by Fat Controller 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted February 25, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2020 22 hours ago, SP Steve said: The modern day skip as we know it has its genesis in railways via way of the "Bulkrane" experimental road/rail transfer system, undertaken as a joint venture between British Railways and Fodens Ltd in the early 1960s. This saw the creation of a specialist "hoist" vehicle capable of loading/unloading two specialist containers (think Thunderbird 2 and its pods!) which catered for a variety of traffic types: MA (Dia 3/722) - Open Steel Bucket MB (Dia 3/723) - Open Steel with end door discharge MC (Dia 3/721) - Open Steel, drop side MD (Dia 3/727) - Open Steel, automatic stacking MJ (Dia 3/720) - Container top load / bottom discharge MP (Dia 3/729) - Mild Steel Tank MR (Dia 3/728) - Stainless Steel Insulated Tank MU (Dia 3/724) - Steel Pneumatic Discharge MV (Dia 3/725) - Steel Pneumatic Discharge MW (Dia 7/726) - Light Alloy Pneumatic Discharge From descriptions the MA type is what we would recognise as the modern day skip but with additional steel framing (a number of Conflat A's were modified slightly as part of the experiment with the simple addition of chain eyelets to the ends). The experiment came to nothing but did yield the familiar swing arm method of loading that we see today. In the course of trying to find further details for the project I found fodenway of this parish has successfully tackled the road element: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/95704-gary’s-road-vehicles/page/3/ The article, from the November 1961 edition of "Trains Illustrated" shows the principals behind the experiment. Seems like such a good idea to have a vehicle that can be used to carry multiple types of container. And yet it has not happened with skips for rubble being about the only variant that has succeeded. In the early 80s, I worked for an engineering firm which made trailers which could be used for small skips, bowsers and some other uses that I have forgotten. Should be ideal for a small farm or building company. But they did not sell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Does anyone know of any die cast, or kits for UK OO (not HO) skip lorries that would suit the 1970s/80s? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted February 27, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 25/02/2020 at 18:13, Fat Controller said: Whatever colour they were painted (yellow seems to have been popular) there should be contact details for the owner, and 'Do Not Light Fires in This Skip' painted on the sides. The 'Fire' notice should be largely blistered.... Also 'Fill level only' the most ignored notice ever! Many years ago my then boss's son had a skip business, lorry came into the yard with a 4 yard skip, full, with doors vertical as greedy boards and piled high above them, it was tipped out and put in an 8 yard to try and see how much there was, it was still well over the sides of that. The customer was charged for 2 4 yard when an 8 would have been cheaper... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Langley do a kit (G170) using a Leyland Freighter cab; not a type I associate with skips. The earlier ones I remember were BMC family (Albion, Leyland) with 'LAD' cabs, then Bedford TKs and Ford D-series. On the subject of overloading skips; I once packed so much into one that the front wheels lifted off the ground. The driver didn't notice/care. What he did notice was the bulldozer that had to drag him out of the tip. Fortunately, I wasn't around when he came back... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted February 27, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2020 17 minutes ago, Fat Controller said: Langley do a kit (G170) using a Leyland Freighter cab; not a type I associate with skips. The earlier ones I remember were BMC family (Albion, Leyland) with 'LAD' cabs, then Bedford TKs and Ford D-series. On the subject of overloading skips; I once packed so much into one that the front wheels lifted off the ground. The driver didn't notice/care. What he did notice was the bulldozer that had to drag him out of the tip. Fortunately, I wasn't around when he came back... The ones I remember (above) were Leyland freighters, I remember B, E and F reg, they were painted red and black cab with a red rear body, the skips were also red. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted February 27, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2020 3 hours ago, Ruston said: Does anyone know of any die cast, or kits for UK OO (not HO) skip lorries that would suit the 1970s/80s? RTI do a skip back. the advantage being that there is a selection of cabs to suit, due to the mix and match nature of the kits. Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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