Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

BOOK Reviews Next year, we’re hoping to reinstate the popular CVC Book Reviews page which disappeared some years ago; we’re not quite sure how or why, but feel it’s time for it to return. We know that a number of publishers are planning significant new titles for 2021; send us a copy and we’ll be delighted to review them… Unusually, the Gateside Commercials Diamond Reo Raider, a short history, is an entire book about a single lorry, albeit a rather special one. Thought to be unique in Europe, it was imported into the UK from America in 1970 by Bill Jackson, to help found his Wreckers International UK franchise. It was a demonstrator until the mid 1970s, when it was bought by Dumfries based Gateside Commercials for 24/7 breakdown and…

ESSEX BEDFORD From livestock transporter to exhibit in a unique transport museum a 1952 Bedford O-Type has spent nearly 70 years in a five-mile area of rural Essex. NICK LARKIN profiles the vehicle and the family firm that ran it. It’s no wonder that a certain 1952 Bedford OLBC looks so at home meandering the lanes in an idyllic area of rural Essex. You see, it’s just about as ‘local’ as it’s possible to imagine, having always been based within a five-mile radius of its first home. It’s been a cattle truck, a sugar beet lorry and latterly a lovingly restored museum exhibit. Before we go further, you must understand that Essex is a contrasting and unfairly maligned county and the part we are visiting is a world away from…

SOUTH WALES COLLECTION GOODS INWARD ONLY Peter Simpson has a rare invitation to look round a massive but little-known South Wales collection… Photos: Martyn Barnwell When it comes to his vehicle collection, Ian Davies has a simple rule: “Goods inward only.” In other words, once something arrives here, it’s unlikely to go anywhere else. Around Neath, Swansea and the former mining valleys to the north of them, Ian is fairly well-known as the proprietor of Ian Davies Plant Hire, a business whose cranes, dumpers and other equipment are a common sight on construction sites. With 25 staff on their books and a similar number of ‘as needed’ casual employees, the business is a significant part of the local economy. As well as plant hire they’re heavily involved in local civil…

Remembering the Nineties Mike Forbes previews the latest title in the Vintage Roadscene Archive series… The subject of this issue of the Vintage Roadscene Archive series comes about as a result of the continuing effects of the current global pandemic from which we are all suffering to some extent. We can’t produce the publication which should be appearing now, and we can’t enjoy seeing preserved vehicles at rallies, but we have a lot of great pictures of lorries at rallies in the past in the archive, so here they are. We will have to wait a little while for the issue on Wrekin Roadways, as it involves visiting and interviewing the man who was latterly responsible for running the company, the vehicles of which we have many excellent pictures, but…

FANCY FODENS Nick Baldwin looks at a little known range of baby Fodens Can you believe that Foden ever made anything as small as a one and a half tonner? The year was 1933 and Foden was desperate, having incurred three years of losses culminating in a £73,000 deficit for its 1932/3 tax year. ER Foden had headed out to make rival products, steam was on its last legs and maybe a one and a half tonner for £275 chassis price was the answer. Posterity shows this to have been unlikely in view of the new Bedford 30cwt costing £175. In July 1933, Foden had unveiled 2-3 tonners and 3-4 tonners powered by petrol Meadows or diesel Dorman Ricardo engines developing 46 and 58bhp respectively. Both had worm axles, unlike…

Next month Coming up in the January 2021 issue of Classic & Vintage Commercials OUT Wednesday December 23 Plus Two-part models feature on Minis starts, an unusual ex Fire Service Bedford TK, Part Two of our Renault Magnum in-depth analysis, all our usual features plus, as Christmas is coming, a few surprises!!…

Seventeen Years in the making! Semi-retired engineer David Batty’s Atkinson Viewline has taken a long time to come good, but it was well worth the wait! Peter Simpson tells the story… It’s not exactly hard to see the ‘Unique Selling Point’ of an Atkinson Viewline. Then, if the appearance doesn’t give the game away, then the name will surely do so! It was all about visibility, and as well as much-improved forward vision, increased area of glass low down at the sides was intended to eliminate the customary blind spots each side of the cab. Clearly, all-round visibility is an important factor for heavy-haulage work. It’s also probably fair to say that a stateowned operation might attach more importance to a safety-related factor than a private profit-led concern; safety is…

CLOSE-UP on Classics RENAULT MAGNUM at 30 It’s now 30 years since Renault’s Revoutionary AE range, with its separate engine and cab modules, first appeared. Peter Davies begins an in-depth analysis… From time to time a new lorry is launched that is a complete departure from the norm. Thirty years ago such a vehicle appeared in the form of the Magnum. It was in 1990 that Renault announced its revolutionary ‘AE’ range in which the driver’s cab was essentially a separate ‘module’, mounted above the engine or ‘technical module’ (to use Renault’s term). There was nothing else quite like it on the market and, not surprisingly, it well and truly made headlines by virtue of its innovative design. Five years earlier, in 1985, Renault had displayed a concept vehicle under the…

WORKING CLASSICS 1986 Leyland Cruiser Quarry Cruiser Unless anyone knows any better, there is just one working Leyland Cruiser tractor unit in the UK still in regular use. Pip Dunn just had to go and see it…. Let’s face it, you don’t expect to find a 34 year old, 32-ton artic still on the road and working for a living, but last year, I found just that. As always, I’m happy to be corrected – politely, of course – but I am fairly certain Jeff Sproston’s Leyland Cruiser tractor is the last of its kind still earning a crust. Ok, so it’s not out every single day; it is owned by Jeff to support his business, but the truck is definitely working and if you are ever in the Frodsham area,…

MODEL PROFILE Commer FC/PA/PB & Dodge Spacevan Peter Simpson tells the story of the Rootes Group’s well-known and long-lived mid-sized van. Somewhat uncharacteristically, the Rootes Group was somewhat behind the curve when its 15cwt ‘FC’ (forward control) van range arrived in February 1960. The other big-four makes were already there; Ford had the Thames, BMC the J2 and Bedford its market-leading and extremely innovative CA. Even still-just-about-independent Standard-Triumph had its Standard Atlas. However, when Rootes did enter the market they did so with an excellent product, and one which stayed in production for a full 23 years and changed little in that time. To be fair, that long life was in part down to big problems elsewhere in the group following Lord (Billy) Rootes’ death in 1964 and, of course…

INSIDE GUY Regular CVC reader George Luke thought we might find these two photos interesting and worthy of publication. He was right… I have been enjoying reading Nick Baldwins latest series of articles Making Lorries and, reading you latest editorial, October issue, thought you may be interested in the attached photos. They were taken in the winter of 1980/81 at Guy Motors at the end of the moving track, although I don’t think it were continuously moving as in places like Longbridge, and shows an almost complete Victory 2 double decker chassis with its front mounted Gardner engine. The lorries in the background are Leyland Landtrains with a modified version of the old BMC/Bathgate cab to suit the Landtrain’s bonnet and normal control layout. As you can see the Victory…

NEWS CAPEL MANOR GARDENS CLASSIC CAR SHOW If you have a News story, e-mail cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to The Editor, Classic and Vintage Commercials, 5 Yalding Hill, Downs Court, Yalding ME18 6AL Sunday September 6 saw the 22nd annual Capel Manor Gardens Classic Car Show at Enfield, North London, writes Mike Neale. It was refreshing to be at a popular event on a pleasant, (mostly) sunny day with ample space for social distancing. Indeed, this almost seemed like a model for how car shows can proceed in the current situation. This was achieved by the organisers reducing the number of vehicles by approximately one third compared to previous years, allowing more space between them, and by limiting the number of advance tickets sold slightly. A few tickets were available on…

Home from Home The Albion Chieftain was a highlight of the Scottish commercial vehicle industry and is still a favourite with collectors and enthusiasts. Bob Weir went to Glasgow’s East End to meet Alex Morrison and 20FVT. Glasgow has enjoyed a new lease of life since the XX Commonwealth Games held in 2014, with the East End in particular benefiting from a number of new facilities. These included the athletes’ village and the state-of-the-art Emirates Arena velodrome opposite Parkhead stadium, home of Celtic football club. All this is relevant to this story, as besides running a haulage business, Alex’s Morrison is also one of Scotland’s top boxing promoters and manages several fighters. “I’m an ex-amateur fighter myself and have been involved in boxing from an early age,” he explained. “I…

Carrying on We welcome photos of older lorries that are still in service for publication in this section. We can accept contributions by email – cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk, or by post to The Editor, Classic & Vintage Commercials, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding ME18 6AL. Please provide as much (or as little) information about a vehicle as you are able and, before entering or taking photos on private property, please ensure that you have all the permissions that you need to be there, and to be taking photographs. Bill Florey Bill Florey Bill Florey Mike Sowinski Bill Florey Chris Miles Mike Sowinski Chris Miles Garey Goddard Mike Sowinski…

Abandoned Arran Austin Mike Neale spotted this amazingly original 1935 Austin 12/4 Pick-up at the end of last year’s HCVS Brighton Run, and felt obliged to find out more… Born in November 1866, Herbert Austin first set up his car plant in Longbridge in 1905, with vehicle production commencing the following year. During WW1, the factory was turned over to the production of armaments for the war effort, but there were not enough houses to accommodate the workers needed, whose numbers swelled from 2500 employees in 1914 to 22,000 by 1918. Herbert Austin thus imported and had assembled prefabricated Cedar wood bungalows from Michigan in the USA in 1916 to create Austin Village. Initially these buildings only had a licence for 15 years, but this kept being renewed and indeed…

Club DIRECTORY EVERY care has been taken in compiling this list of clubs and organizations, however, if you would like to alter any details then contact us at cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to Classic and Vintage Commercials, Kelsey Media, PO Box 978, Peterborough PE1 9FL. If your club has not been listed then, once again, please get in touch and we will make sure it is included. AEC SOCIETY Website aecsociety.com, membership secretary Howard Berry, 7 Donaldson Drive, Cheswardine, Shropshire TF9 2NY, e-mail membership@aecsociety.com THE ALBION CLUB Website www.albionclub.org.uk, address 7 John Street, Biggar, Lanarkshire, ML12 6AX, telephone 01899 220708. staffed part-time, e-mail info@albionclub.org.uk ATKINSON, SEDDON AND SEDDON ATKINSON LORRY FORUM – http://seddonatkinsonclub.proboards.com/index.cgi AYRSHIRE VINTAGE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE GROUP AVCVG President:- Ross Rae. Email:-rothsaybay44@gmail.com Telephone number 07815573926 BEDFORD OWNERS’ AND ENTHUSIASTS’ CLUB…