Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Heritage Commercials

Welcome to the September 2023 issue of Heritage Commercials. And if you wondered why 1958 was a good year, it’s because I was born in that year, so although it being a good year may be disputable for some, it was good for me! On to the magazine, and Alan Dale starts the month off with a feature on the Ford Thames Trader, which is then followed by Timothy Byrne’s piece on the Public and private waste sector and Tim Prince. A feature on an AEC Mandator is next, written by Ian Shaw which is followed by Ed Burrows who writes about Trucks of the American West. After that, we have Mike and Julie Blenkinsop and their final part on the Humber, while Peter Langdon sent us a write-up and…

In 1996, Tim was employed as Municipal Sales Manager at Hartshorne Motor Services Ltd. This was the Volvo truck distributor for Cheshire, Derbyshire, Here ford shire, North Wales, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire. The objective of Tim’s appointment was that Hartshorne’s could get a foot hold in selling Volvo chassis to the public and private waste management sectors. Tim achieved his first sale to Worcester City Council in 1997 consisting of two Volvo FL6.26 6x4 26-tonne chassis. The cabs were converted into crew cabs by Frank Guy and the chassis were fitted with the Allison World Series MD3560P five speed automatic transmissions. Partek Cargotec mounted 22m3 Norba RL35/22 rear loading units onto the chassis in open back form. One of the vehicles was exhibited on Volvo Group…

The mountain ranges of the American West – and likewise the Swiss Alps and the hills of Cornwall – each produced their own distinctive breeds of truck. In Switzerland, to cope with alpine conditions, in 1904, Saurer set the pattern with an almost unimaginably inventive vehicle braking mechanism. The flick of a lever switched the engine to two-stroke air-compressor mode, inverting the action of the exhaust valves. Supplementing the wheel brakes, it could operate continuously without wear and tear on long mountain descents. In England, between 1954 and1962, Rowe Hillmaster, Liskeard, built trucks designed to suit the narrow winding lanes criss-crossing its native Cornish landscape. In a variety of wheelbases, typically with Meadows diesels installed under the chassis, payloads ranged from six-tons to 15-tons in artic spec. Orders of magnitude…

Prior to this new introduction, their load carrier range ended with the ‘Costcutter’ which was only specified by Ford as a five tonner, although the Sussex six wheeler had been around for a few years, it didn’t really compete head on with the other mass produced British vehicles. Ford was entering the four wheeler big league! It seems a strange world when looking back today to realise that manufacturers designated design maximum gross weights were taken by many hauliers as a guide only, and totally ignored by other operators completely. Of course, any such overloading of a makers’ vehicles would automatically void the guarantee the manufacturer had originally offered with the sale. That said, a hard pressed haulier who was working on low rates, which they normally were, was much…

When the Humbers came onto the second-hand market in 1964/65, they were advertised as ‘virtually new’ vehicles with four-wheel drive, independent suspension all round, a pick-up body equipped with a winch and yet there wasn’t a queue of farmers, land developers or utilities beating a path to the dealer’s door. At £250, they were the bargain of the century, but aside from the independent garages buying-in to the small car recovery crane market, there wasn’t a lot of takers. L. W. Vass of Ampthill in Bedfordshire was the main supplier for off-the-shelf breakdown trucks. They offered the 30-cwt, twin-lift crane fitted onto the back of the Humber pick-up body at only £660 all-in, which gave instant access to the breakdown business. We found a few images of Humbers bought by…

I am writing in connection with your letter page in Heritage Commercials, which I receive second-hand from a friend. While going through some old photos, I came across the ones enclosed, which prompted me to write this letter, since I will have reached the age of 88. I think I will call this, The Birth of Russell of Bathgate, founded by William Russell who started in road haulage before nationalisation, based in a yard in the village of Blackburn about three miles from Bathgate. At the start of nationalisation, any existing private hauliers became BRS (British Road Services). William Russell became an executive in one of the branches of BRS. Although I am not sure of the relevant dates, it was on the government of the day, that denationalising the…

AEC’s history is way marked by seemingly contrasting classes, from passenger transport, to heavy-duty military applications and then the very core of general haulage – particularly with eight wheelers – and the move into artics, before being swallowed up by British Leyland. The London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) which had been founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the horse-drawn omnibus began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1909 with the X-type. In 1912, LGOC was taken over by the Underground Group of companies, and as part of the reorganisation a separate concern was set up for the bus manufacturing elements, and was named Associated Equipment Company. AEC’s first commercial vehicle was a Y-type lorry, based on the X-type bus chassis. With the outbreak of World War I,…

The route from our home in northern California, (800 ft. elevation) took us up over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Reno. The first 60 miles or so is on two lane roads then we merge onto Interstate 80. Shortly after getting onto 80, we crest the summit at the famous Donner Summit, (elevation 7,700 ft.). Driving the Autocar without pulling a loaded trailer over Donner is easy. But with a loaded truck it can be a challenge to the driver’s skill even with having engine, (Jacobs), brakes and a multi lane Interstate to drive on. This is particularly true in the winter when heavy snow is common. Once past Donner Summit and the town of Truckee, we eventually dropped down into the Truckee Meadows and the ‘Biggest Little City in…

Another great Heritage Commercials show at the British Motor Museum was held on June 10/11 and as always there was plenty to see. For this selection of images, I’ve mostly, but not exclusively, concentrated on some of the 1970s and 1980s motors, with a leaning towards British trucks, which many readers will no doubt have had much experience of. But one truck really stood out and attracted a lot of attention. Not because it was there – it is a regular attendee at Gaydon shows – but because of the ‘For Sale’ notice in the window! I am, of course, talking about Bob Carmichael’s famous Volvo F88. New in 1973, Bob has owned it for about 40 years and he’s worked it pretty much every day ever since. It’s truly…