Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Heritage Commercials

January 2022, marks the month in which Heritage Commercials has been running for 20 years and is still going strong. The magazine started in the mid 1980s and was then bought by Paul Appleton along with Brian Gooding at CMS Publishing (circa 1997/8) from the widow of the former owner/editor (Steve Stevens-Stratten), when it was called Vintage Commercial Vehicles. Mortons of Horncastle bought it as part of a package with Heritage Railway and Old Glory magazines in 2000/1 and Paul Appleton re-launched it for Mortons in 2002 as Heritage Commercials. I was working for Mortons as a proof-reader when Stephen Pullen became editor (so I was already familiar with the magazine and had got to know Stephen quite well). I was then made redundant from Mortons in 2015 and it…

The General Post Office (GPO) and later the Post Office (PO) were by far the largest fleet user of the Minor van taking delivery of more than 50,000 units. Starting from the autumn of 1953, the GPO took delivery of their first vans, their last being registered as late as 1973. The GPO and PO vans had many special features fitted to them compared to the standard civilian vans, these differences as well as the regional variations are beyond the scope of this article. However, worth noting is that unlike the rest of the commercial range, the GPO Minors never used the 948cc engine and they were still taking delivery of series II split windscreen models until 1958, two years after the series III was introduced. GPO/PO Minor vans are…

My early days were spent in and around the sites for building homes, with my father Eric and his brother Bob who were small house-building contractors. An old pal of father’s was ‘Bunny’ Barlow, a nickname given to him when he was a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War, he got shot down in flames over the English Channel. In 1946, he returned to his position quite high up in the management of Tarmac Ltd, he suggested to father that I should apply to Tarmac Construction to be a trainee civil engineer, which I did in 1956. I started working for Tarmac Ltd in the Civil Engineering department in 1956, as a junior in the drawing office. I had to go quite regularly to a large drawing office for…

As always, the Minor LCV Register were out in force with a nice display of standard and modified items, the vans on display were a recently refurbished Austin van and the genuine ‘PJ Evans’ service van now owned by Brian Lee. A new chassis was on display manufactured by a club member, a repaired ‘work in progress’ GPO cab plus a wooden backed pick-up. I walked the halls that were packed with classic cars in search of classic commercials, as always, I was not disappointed. There were some fantastic and unusual vehicles on display. The stars of the show for me were the Austin A30 ice-cream van resplendent in pink and cream owned by Richard Dracup, plus an extremely rare Austin A35 pick-up carrying a superb livery. I noted some…

By the early sixties, well-known Sydney transport identity Laurie O’Neil had acquired a lot of experience operating trucks through his family’s various businesses which included Australian Blue Metal (ABM). The O’Neil family had built up an extremely successful quarrying business, with interests in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Laurie also had extensive experience in selling trucks through the ABM subsidiary company, Diesel Motors, which for many years was the Australian factory representative for Foden vehicles. While the Fodens were generally reliable and economical to run with their 112bhp and 150bhp Gardner engines governed to 1700rpm, their weak point was the worm drive differential which couldn’t cope with heavy loads when scaling the many big hills found on Australian roads. The…

The chances are if you see a working oldie these days, it’ll be a Scania. Maybe an ERF, even a Foden or possibly an old Volvo or Merc, but the chances are it’ll be a Scania. And then the odds are it’s an R143 V8. On the rigids it’ll probably be a P93 but there are very few working P113 tractor units. But this P113.340 4x2 tractor unit featured here is something of a nearly man. It was bought by Richard Thomas, as featured in HC a couple of issues ago, with the intention of putting it back to work with his Rich Developments business. And it would be earning him a corn were it not for a last minute change of plan when a Version 1 FH12.420 came his…

An article in an earlier edition this year of HC triggered off memories from 1963, when I was stationed at 6 site, 16 MU, RAF Stafford. I was on the stores staff of the radio vehicle storage unit there. We had hangers full of wagons with various bits of kit fitted, ranging from very old Austin K 6’s with generator sets, to Leyland Hippos with electronic gear to do with blind landing systems being tested at Heathrow any time it was closed by fog etc. But tucked away in one of these big sheds were two very large step-framed van trailers (ex USAF I think) where a small group of Post Office Telephone Engineers were trying to build a telephone exchange in miniature. The idea was I am told, that…

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In 1899, three years after the world’s first motor truck – Gottlieb Daimler’s converted horse-drawn wagon – Autocar produced America’s first internal combustion engined goods carrying vehicle. The company was led by Louis Semple Clarke, a successful and highly inventive Pennsylvania mechanical engineer. In setting up the business, he was joined by two of his brothers, his father, and two friends. The van-bodied, cycle-wheeled prototype was powered by a horizontally opposed two cylinder, installed under the seat. Progressing from its first motorised tricycle in 1896, for the next dozen or so years, Autocar specialised in passenger vehicles. As well as being the first in the US with prop-shaft transmission, the cars also had a double-reduction drive axle, patented by Clarke in 1901. The business grew quickly. During 1902-03, just a…

It is all too easy to think of the British Leyland era as being the downfall of many a UK truck marque, although of course in many cases it was. However, the basic plan in those days had huge potential, to bring together the best of both worlds, use developments from its various companies to pull together and utilise commonality of components to cut costs. To some extent that worked in the car side of the business, but in commercial vehicles the foreign makes were already making headway and while Leylands, AECs and Albions were re-badged and duplicated, Scania and Mercedes-Benz innovated. Scammell as a marque was trading on former glories, its stock-in-trade was split three ways between oversees oilfield and mining trucks, UK heavy haulage and military transport, both…

Anotable selection of classic commercials were on show at the 2021 Truckfest South West event at the Royal Bath & West Showground on 4-5 September writes Joseph Lewis. There was an enjoyable selection in the main show entries and among those trucks powering the funfair. One of the highlights was the newly restored R. T. Keedwell livery Scania 142M on the Scania UK Stand.…

Nick and Pat Bryne and their sons Thomas and Matthew from Shepton Mallet have been life-long members of the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club with a keen interest in Ford and Fordson lorries and tractors. The bride expressly asked to arrive in Nick’s 1956 Ford Thames 4D lorry and Nick and Pat were only too keen to oblige. Matthew and Veronica then drove together as husband and wife on to Babcary where the Bryne Family Fordson tractors and a special marquee were waiting to greet their guests. The reception field was provided courtesy of Matt’s best man, Rob Harrison. The Ford Thames 4D lorry with four cylinder diesel engine and four-speed non synchro gearbox was originally owned by Banbury’s of Yeovil and used to deliver fruit and vegetables. Nick and…

Please find attached photos of an ex-Wynns AEC Matador spotted at Barry Island funfair earlier this year. It looks like it is now owned by Danter’s Funfair and seems to have been fitted with a dropside body from a more recent military Bedford (pic 1). Sadly, it looks a bit worse for wear and could do with some TLC to bring it back to its former glory. It’s a shame to see this vehicle deteriorate. By coincidence, the vehicle appears in the book ‘The Wynns Fleet’ by Paul Heaton, being registered to them in 1971 after doing its stint with the armed forces (pic 2). Another coincidence, I found a photo of the same vehicle at Llandudno Transport Festival in 2014 (pic 3). What a shame it’s been neglected since.…

On reading September’s article on the unusual Volvo FS7 (Pic a), I recalled taking a photo of one while on holiday in August 1993, though I can’t remember where it was. Perhaps someone out there will recognise where. This use of the unit was probably more suited to it. I also include a photo of an FL6 to compare (pic b). I think this is the only one I’ve seen in Aberdeen though the breweries had the smaller wheeled versions. This was at the LDOY in July 1989 in Aberdeen. I also came across an unusual F89 from August 1988 at AR Gray, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen (pic c). It was far from new at the time and the extra axle on the unit plus a tri-axle trailer caught my…

As a follow-up to my ‘Midlands Medley’ feature in the November issue of Heritage Commercials, I thought it would be nice to have a second look (or a Slight Return in Jimi Hendrix terminology) at lorries from the West Midlands/Black Country area. Included in this feature are: T & S Element Ltd who originally started-out as a canal carrying business founded as a partnership between brothers Thomas (born 1881) and Samuel Element (born 1889) from Halesowen Street, Oldbury. The brothers traded as general carriers initially based at Springfields, Rowley Regis, where their main traffics were road stone and coal. They also transported coke, coal slack, concrete aggregates, sand, gravel, tubes, manure, ashes, blast furnace slag, phosphorus waste liquor and rubbish. In 1920, a branch of the business was established at…

For many, 2020 was the year that time stood still and even for the most die-hard truck enthusiasts the cancellation of most events and road runs meant that most fans had to capture what photos they could while out on their daily exercise. Thankfully, in 2021, many restrictions slowly eased and even some events rescheduled, so to kick off, this is the first of a two part feature showcasing some of the trucks that are still working hard in 2021 in a variety of different roles from everyday haulage to Fairground work. Chris Newton has put together this selection of his top 21 of 21 which he hopes will whet the appetites of Heritage Commercial readers.…

Napron had another type of fire appliance alongside the Mark 6 as it was a complimentary piece of equipment to it. This was known as the DP, there being two types, the four-wheel DP1 and the six-wheel DP2, introduced in 1956, of which an estimated 99 were produced. This dual-purpose (DP) machine was ‘on the run’ from 1957 and once again was built on the Nubian 4 x 4 chassis (FV 13403) with a Rolls Royce B80 power-plant, bodywork by Tecalemit with equipment supplied by Foamite. They were classified as DP due to their ability to fight aircraft-related fires with foam, but also had the facilities to tackle a ‘standard’ domestic fire or industrial building conflagration too. The DP1, with a crew of five including the driver, would also work…

Cheffins Auctioneers held their latest Vintage Sale at the sale ground, Cambridgeshire, on Saturday 23 October writes Joseph Lewis. Five sale areas included literature, models, tractors and commercial vehicles. Commercials ranged from a c1920’s Leyland c three-tonne four-cylinder petrol chassis cab for £5,300 to a 1992 6174cc Renault Manager MG200 Box Van converted into a three birth living accommodation for £2,800. Top sellers also spanned more than 30 years from a ‘rally regular’ 1950 Atkinson L1586 eight wheel at £17,500 to a 1984 ERF 40G2TR 4x2 tractor unit with Jennings Sleeper cab at £10,400. Gratitude to Cheffins Auctioneers…

Truck photography is far more varied than just the different models of vehicles, and the great mix of trailers and bodies make all hobby all the more interesting. Add in the plethora of nice liveries that can add to a picture as well, and the combinations are almost endless! For this issue of HC, I’ve raided my archives to present a selection of fridge trailers and rigids in use. Most are from the mid to late noughties with the odd older image. I make no apologies for many being shot in my locality of Spalding, Pinchbeck and Peterborough, as this is an area rich in agriculture which generates much produce that needs chilled transport!…

The recent articles about Brent’s Transport were some of the best written and published in your magazine, I was born in Denholme which is only a couple of miles from their base, I therefore saw a lot of their lorries over many years. I was working as an apprentice mechanic at Oswald Tillotson in Bradford when the ‘Shell Rhodesian’ AEC Mk 5’s were delivered to us. They were all tractor units but with deeper, heavier chassis and upgraded induction systems, they arrived in packing cases and I was privileged to work with Fred Emsley in assembling them. Fred was one of the best mechanics I worked with, and was an excellent teacher. One of the units was supplied broken down into constituent parts and we believed this was done to…

I was delighted to see your feature I ‘VEHICLE PROFILE’, page 36 of an earlier issue, and the photos of the Gowland’s Transport, Atkinson, FOP 816. This is a vehicle I noted among my ex-BRS vehicle ‘spottings’ during the 1950s, and you may like a little more background. In those days, ‘Special A’ or ‘S’ licences were required to operate BRS vehicles, and grants of ‘S’ licenses were summarised in the transport press. In August 1954, Gowland’s were reported to have been granted ‘S’ licenses for four vehicles, and a contemporary news item told us they were from two separate BRS Disposal Units of two vehicles each, one from Birmingham and one from Derby, following nationalisation. Gowland’s address was given as Poplars, Long Bank, Birtley, presumably his registered office as…