Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i Heritage Commercials

I am very pleased to say that things seem to be returning to some sort of normality, that is, if the amount of show reports coming in is anything to go by, which is fantastic news for the Heritage Commercial scene and the country as a whole. We have reports from two Truckfest events, one from the South of England Showground at Ardingly and another from Peterborough, then we have an event at Astle Park in Cheshire, plus a Classic and Vintage Commercial Show from The British Heritage Motoring Museum Gaydon in Warwickshire and adding to those, we have the Headcorn Fire Show in Kent and last but by no means least, we have the Weald of Kent Steam Rally. It would also seem that as the country starts to…

Before I begin, I should tell readers that Ron Johnston was the managing director of A, Fletcher & Co. Ltd. of Station Road Ibstock, Leics, my boss, mentor and friend for more than 50 years. Everyone knew Ron by the name ‘Jonno’ from his days as captain of Belle Vue ‘Aces’ Speedway team. I use this version here with respect When I arrived at Fletcher’s in 1964, the firm ran a mixed fleet consisting of eight and six-wheeler TVW and Guy lorries. After Sentinel ceased production, Ron Mason acquired a Guy Motor’s dealership which was centred at Mayfair Garage, Fazeley, near Tamworth, Staffs. At one time, Fletcher’s had several Guy Warrior Mk.1 ‘Chinese Sixes’. These were reportedly converted at Mayfair, the wheelbases extended and the second steer axle fitted. Arthur…

Finally unlocked and unmasked, the mid-August Astle Park Traction Engine Rally attracted the pentup appetites of both crowds and conservators. Living up to the event’s billing, traction engines were there in numbers seldom seen in the same place at the same time. Among them, satisfying Heritage Commercial’s remit, were three steam wagons (or waggons – double-g, in Sentinel parlance – in respect of a 1917 ‘Standard’ sixtonner and a 1933 three-axle S6). Making its debut among the hundred trucks on show was what is probably the highest gross load capacity road vehicle in a UK private collection – Graham Booth’s late-1980s Faun ‘Goliath’ 8x8, powered by a 650bhp Cummins KTA. Traction engine rally? It has sufficient grunt to move a gross combined mass of 900 tonnes – equivalent to more…

A mong the huge bulky powerful rigs of today were several noteworthy historic vehicles and a couple stars of the small and even big screens on display. Thousands of people came to the two-day show and witnessed a variety of demonstrations of trucks old and new. For the historic enthusiast there was plenty to see from a 1959 Bedford C Type truck that has carved out a show business career with starring roles in ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock and Chips’ and in the 100th episode of Midsomer Murders where it played a crucial role in a murder at Calder’s Biscuit Factory to a GPO Morris Commercial lc.3 van that spent 34 years hidden in a barn before a hugely successful 45-month restoration brought it back to glory. All around were…

Five sale areas included literature, models, tractors and commercial vehicles. Top price commercial went to a rare 1968 Atkinson TRS 3666C 5th wheel tractor unit. Chassis No FC16687 is believed to be the only surviving Mk1 on the road with a planned new design to incorporate an extra steering axle for an increase in gross vehicle weight rules, which never happened. A more recent use as a recovery vehicle saved this significant example from being returned to standard specification and in restored Robinsons Haulage livery was sold for £23,500. Other notable lots included a 1945 Dodge 101B Kew 5/6-ton tipper lorry Reg. No. GV 9658 Chassis No. 101B 13722. Purchased new by G J C Ince of Stanstead, Suffolk, this petrol engined tipper had been in the current Suffolk based…

Just what the heck is that." Gary Waterfield smiles at the mention of the words that so many people have uttered on first seeing his Claymore. Yes of course if you look hard enough you will see the distinctive Albion 'Sunrise’ badge proudly displayed front and centre, but in fairness, it’s not something which immediately catches your eye – and just what sort of cab is this. Yes, even though it’s more than 20 years since I first saw it, I too am still taken aback as to how striking this stunning vision of Scotstoun’s finest actually is. "I've been told from someone at the Albion Archive," says Gary, "that only three of these particular Claymores were ever built so it’s something of a rarity." You betcha, it most certainly…

I mpatience is a virtue – certainly for Ray and Ken Walsh. Little more than three months after delivering Brian Owen’s 1948 Thornycroft Sturdy featured in the September issue of Heritage Commercials, they followed up with Brian’s 1955 Seddon Mk5L. It would have been weeks sooner if a problem hadn’t been identified during a final precautionary engine run. With third man Chris Kershaw at the wheel of their slide-and-tilt bodied – and Cummins re-engined – 1967 Morris FJ ‘restomod’, at the end of the second week in August the Seddon was offloaded next to the Owen’s next project, a 1955 Atkinson eight-legger. The year 1955 is no coincidence. It’s when the Owen family haulage business was founded by Brian’s late father, Ivor. The Seddon is a 1955 – although the…

Derby-based Trent Motor Traction Co. was another company to buy an ex-Army Militant, creating a recovery truck, fleet number A16, almost unrecognisable as the original AEC product after a radical make-over. The all-white Militant had been created using bus bodywork and was professionally styled, by the workshop team, under the ‘National’ bus company logo and livery. It still retained some of the heavyweight, no-nonsense look of the Militant chassis. It is now preserved in red and cream livery and rallied regularly, towing a showman’s living wagon. One of the more unusual examples of bus recovery tractors was the AEC Majestic, a three-axle chassis mainly built for the export market, along with the Mogul; names borrowed from the Maudslay marque. Derby Passenger Transport Executive used an AEC Majestic six-wheel recovery tractor…

Once inside they were presented with a wealth of commercial vehicles, steam traction engines and military hardware. The show organisers were keenly aware of the sensitivity of staging an event such as this one following the pandemic and at 10.15am on the Sunday of the two-day show a short congregational service and memorial was staged in the arena area to reflect and remember those who have been lost to the virus.…

Finally, after some 18 months of the pandemic and its numerous lockdowns, in late August, I finally managed to get away to enjoy a family holiday. We headed to my favourite part of the world, the Scottish Highlands, where I planned to do some walking…. And shoot some trucks! After a long drive to Nairn, once we’d dumped our cases in the holiday cottage, it was time to walk the dog on the beach which was just a few minutes’ walk away. On the way, we noticed there was a fairground in town, and my daughter was, understandably, desperate to go. Now, I hate fairground rides; many make me feel sick just looking at them and the thought of being flung into the air for no obvious reason just doesn’t…

Gary Elms, brought to Viridor a wealth of experience from his previous roles working within the UK transport sector. Some of this has been demonstrated from the purchases of the Volvo FM Euro 5 specification rigid and tractor unit vehicles during the period 2010-2012. The Volvo chassis were purchased from Andy Button, Sales Executive of Volvo (Truck and Bus Wales and West). The rigid Volvo FM chassis were a mixture of both 6x2 rear steer and 6x4 26-tonne chassis while the 32 8x4’s were 32-tonne chassis. During 2010, a Volvo FM 330 6x2 rear steer 26-tonne chassis was purchased for Viridor’s Plympton commercial waste collection operation. This unit was fitted with a Heil Europe 22m3 Powerlink rear loading unit, complete with the universal trade lift (UTL) and was used to…

Wing-walkers filled the Kentish skies over the weekend of 14/15 August while the fields surrounding Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent were filled with 50 year’s-worth of fire engine memories. Headcorn Fire Show returned to its usual August dates after being cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic and the sunshine attracted a healthy crowd to the event to see both the attending machines and live demonstrations of fire-fighting skills and techniques. One of the organisers of the event James Wiggly said: “We are members of the Fire Preservation Group who have been going for 52 years now. We were going to do a show last year, but Covid-19 struck, and we had to cancel everything. We are a passionate group of enthusiasts who buy old fire engines from fire services or…

Following on from the history and story of the Citroën Acadiane last time, in this instalment we focus in on a survivor, this Acadiane ATO 769Y is owned by Paul Bryce from Monmouthshire. I met up with Paul for a photoshoot at his property nr Monmouth and he was able to relate the history to this extremely agile vehicle that you see before you. Paul is a true Citroën aficionado, enthusiast and extremely knowledgeable chap on all things Citroën especially the Citroën Mehari, he has a couple of those. Note the one that can be seen in the background of one of the photos was used by the French Military! Paul became the owner of this nice example back in March 2015, it was around his birthday when he was…

Edward Beecroft sent these images of Harrisons’ AEC, as he worked for Harrisons in the late 1950s at their London depot as a trailer mate. He remembers a Marsdon truck coming to London from Yorkshire in their colours. In the morning, it was unloaded and then re-loaded ready to be sent back to Yorkshire. The next time he saw it, it was as seen here in Harrisons colours with a trailer on the back. Edward Beecroft SENIOR MOMENT! I seem to have had a senior moment last month and totally forgot to check that the images went with the copy – obviously they didn’t, as was kindly pointed out by several readers. So here’s the corrected version, with sincere apologies to those concerned. P.S. I have changed the way I…