Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Heritage Commercials

BUSES OF WILTSHIRE AND DORSET PAST AND PRESENT By Richard Stubbings Two more books kindly sent in by Amberley Publishing, starting with this one, Buses of Wiltshire and Dorset, Past and Present. This book offers the readers a nostalgic look back at buses seen and used around the Wiltshire and Dorset area from back in the 1970s up to the present day. You can witness the development in vehicles over that period and enjoy a variety of previously unpublished photographs. The author Richard Stubbings, charts the buses he saw during his childhood up to the current scene even revisiting many of the same locations. Another very nice book, perfect for the coffee-table from Amberley books. I must admit, I do like the half-cab designs. Ed ISBN 978-1-3981-1736-5 BUSESINGREATER LONDON By…

John was born and raised in Herefordshire and is a retired lorry driver to trade. He is a frequent visitor to rallies during the summer months, and both his Dodge lorries have won several trophies. “I was brought up on a farm, but always wanted to be a mechanic,” he recalls. “I had to cycle eight miles to the village of Kingsland to work for my apprenticeship, whereas the local Forestry Commission was only a couple of miles away. The Forestry Commission agreed to pay me 53 shillings a week, whereas the apprenticeship was only offering 33 shillings, so guess where I ended up!” John was put to work in the woods chopping down trees, but soon graduated to drivers’ mate. “I was still only 16, but it was a…

Meanwhile, the Trader just had to go, she was very tired, and dad was also getting tired of the constant repairs that were a result of running seven ton motors carrying 10 ton loads. Spring leaf breakage was almost a weekly occurrence and as long as it wasn’t the main leaf, or second then wasn’t seen as particularly serious (If the main leaf broke in front of the ‘U’ bolts, then the axle would run out of line, giving an appearance of the motor ‘crabbing’ sideways down the road). Similarly, the odd wheel stud breakage would always manage until weekend, albeit with constant checking that the other seven were still tight and ok. Chassis rivets had a habit of working loose, and when time allowed would be replaced with bolts.…

When I was with Harry Douglas in Thatcham, Berkshire, snapping his splendid A35 pick-up that we featured last time. I also took the opportunity to shoot some pics of his equally stunning Austin A35 van (AV5). Harry is a true Austin A35 enthusiast but that enthusiasm stems from spending time with his uncle when he was a young boy. He recalled to me during my visit, as far back as he could remember he had been a fan of Austin A35 vans. During the 1960s, as a small boy Harry had ridden in one with his uncle Jim, who was a bit of an odd job man and would drive the van to local destinations collecting whatever was needed as well as making deliveries. Harry says he can always remember…

In 1993, some local authorities purchased the Elite chassis and requested Dennis Eagle to free issue them to Lacre PDE, a Llantrisant based waste collection vehicle bodybuilder. Lacre PDE offered the GPM II series waste collection unit, which they imported from Geesink B.V. of Emmeloord, Netherlands. It was branded as the Vulture across the UK and achieved wide acclaim for its durability and reduced whole life costs since its introduction to the market in the early ‘80s. Public sector operators liked the Vulture compaction unit for a number of reasons. One was its large capacity hopper which could receive a wide range of domestic, commercial and bulky wastes. Another advantage was that its packer blade was of a swing link design. This reduced maintenance costs compared to other units, which…

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION ORDER TODAY! MARCH 2024 COVER: SCAMMELL CRUSADER INSIDE: Austin Twinshaft Commercial, Recovery Lorries and Iveco FEBRUARY 2024 COVER: TWO AUSTIN SEVEN VANS INSIDE: Dennis Eagle Elite chassis, the Bedford Story and a DAF collection JANUARY 2024 COVER: IVOR OWEN & SONS INSIDE: Shropshire lorries, the Bedford story and Citroen vans DECEMBER 2023 COVER: FODEN FLEETMASTER INSIDE: 1936 Commer van, the Bedford story and a Century of Kenworths NOVEMBER 2023 COVER: LEYLAND DAF INSIDE: Swiss trucks, lorries from Shropshire and the Bedford story OCTOBER 2023 COVER: ATKINSON BORDERER INSIDE: Bedford PC van, Swiss trucks and Renault 5 vans SEPTEMBER 2023 COVER: AEC MANDATOR INSIDE: Thames Trader, The ATHS Show and US West Coast Trucks AUGUST 2023 COVER: Ford 11Y truck INSIDE: A35 pick-up, Recovery lorries, Leyland Beaver JULY…

A week before writing this piece I was back in the Scottish Highlands with a whistle stop visit to Inverness. On the way as I headed north on the train travelling along the Highland Mainline, there’s a small farm near Culloden where there are still a couple of ERFs – including an EC11 rigid which I think is still worked. I’ve never got close enough to snap them but they do bring back memories of my visits in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s when ERFs, and others, would have been commonplace on the Highland roads. This issue’s selection of images stretches from Oban, Callander, Ullapool, Mallaig, Kyle of Lochalsh and Strathcarron… plus many places in between. There is a nice mix of Foden, Volvo, MAN, Scania, DAF and Leyland models.…

Terry Ainger, owner-driver, was one such purchaser using his acquisition for general haulage work including continental travels. He rebuilt his ex-Army Crusader in salute to his father Mick, who worked in times past, for Coombe Valley Transport of Dover in Kent. Terry changed the axles, after being unimpressed with standard axle speeds and swopped them, firstly for Crusader recovery diffs, then to non standard axles which gave it a top speed of 70mph. The Rolls-Royce Eagle engine was tweaked from its standard power output of 305 to 350bhp. He often ran it down to Spain and was also a rally entrant at the ‘La Locomotion en Fête’ vintage commercial vehicle show in France in 2014 and again at the new event location in 2017 at the airfield in Villeroche at…

In 1975, MAN and Volkswagen agreed to work on a joint venture for trucks below 12 tonnes. The MT range would start at 6½ tonnes, encompass the popular 7½-tonner and then would include a new 10-tonner. The cab was the LT design from Volkswagen, it was the stylish raked front cab used on its transporter vans and the badges on the front were a small MAN badge above a small VW badge. This cab was compact but that meant it was light, and ideal for this weight category without forcing MAN to invest heavily in designing a new cab from scratch or trying to scale down an F8 cab from its heavy truck range. It could also be tilted by hand to gain access to the engine. These trucks were…