Paxit Ejector and Bulkmaster By the late 1960's, the modernization had arrived in the form of the Paxit 50/70 series, which offered Dennis customers the traditional Paxit tailgate with modern ejection discharge. It is interesting to note that the firm did not cancel the Paxit tippers, at least initially, selling both versions side by side. Pictured above is a Paxit 70 from the late 1960's or early 1970's. Around the same time, and perhaps to compete with the similar Jack Allen/Heil Colectomatics, the Bulkmaster appeared with its moveable hopper and pivoting sweep panel. Like the Paxit 50/70, it also was equipped with ejection discharge. Shown at left is an early example from about 1970. By 1972, Dennis Brothers had been absorbed by the Hestair group, which had previously bought Eagle Engineering. Shown below is a narrow-bodied Mini-Bulkmaster from the the early 1970's. Production under the Dennis Eagle name is currently consolidated at Heathcote, Warwick, with the modern Phoenix rear-load packer (an Eagle slide-sweep design from the late 1970's) a top-seller combined with the Dennis Elite chassis. They remain one of the few manufacturers to offer complete vehicles for the refuse industry, carrying on a proud Dennis tradition. Sincere thanks go to Roy Parker at Londonderry Garage for the photo of the Tippax refuse collector used in this article. An article about Tom Tillson may be viewed by clicking here, which links to the Unofficial Shelvoke & Drewry site. For further information on Dennis equipment, Jaap Mikkers has suggested two titles which have been added to the CRT Books list: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF DENNIS BUSES AND TRUCKS (by Nick Baldwin) WORLD TRUCKS #6: DENNIS (by Pat Kennett) See also MUNICIPAL REFUSE COLLECTION VEHICLES (by Barrie Woods) which has a section devoted to Dennis with several photos 6/4/05 © 2005 Eric Voytko All rights reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers