THE UBIQUITOUS TIPPER WAGON
Robert Hudson is perhaps best known for its tipper wagons, or V-skips or U-skips. There are more than 12 examples in the museum collection (the actual number is unclear because several consist of just a chassis or body). Apart from two wagons that have been restored, they are all in poor condition, and there are several duplicates. These were the wagons that were the basic vehicles for moving materials from surface sites such as quarries, gravel pits, sewage works and construction sites, as well as shallow drift mines. They have even featured in a James Bond movie. An early patent (1875) led to the development of the "Rugga" skip waggon.

Specification drawing of Hudson V-skip "Rugga" wagon.

Hudson V-skip wagon outside Leeds Industrial Museum.
Last updated 22nd November 2019

Hudson "tip wagon" from 1904 catalogue

Double tipper wagons at Armley Mills

Hudson wagons on a London construction site, early twentieth century.