Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

TESTING TIMES We present a selection of photos taken inside Goods Vehicle Testing Stations… We recently received a selection of photos which are reproduced here, from Wiltshire-based Pam Lucas. She wrote as follows: “My late husband wished you to have the enclosed photos and hoped they may be of interest to you. He worked for the Vehicle Inspectorate in Bristol from 1975 but he did not know when the photos were taken. Also, he did not know which testing stations are captured in the photos.” So there we are – internally of course one Goods Vehicle Testing Station looked much like another, but there may be a clue or two for the eagle-eyed among you. Most look to us like official photos of one kind or another, though the TK…

MODEL CORNER LEYLAND/ALBION LAD VISTA-VUES Mike Neale looks at some models of different makes sharing the same cab… In 1958, Leyland Motors adopted a new truck cab shared with Dodge. The Motor Panels LAD cab (so called due to its use by Leyland, Albion and Dodge, Albion having been acquired by Leyland in 1951) was standardised across most of the Leyland and Albion ranges until the arrival of the Ergomatic tilt-cab in the mid-1960s, though some products retained LAD cabs into the 1970s. The LAD cabbed Albions and Leylands were hard to tell apart beyond badge-reading distance, with a lower grille design which had three horizontal bars, although there were two variants, long-door and short-door versions, the latter with the front ridge extending round the side being used on some Leyland…

ARRAN IN LOCKDOWN Pt3: Nick Baldwin concludes the fascinating story… Nothing more was heard until 6th August when it was announced that William Hurlock Junior of 55 Effra Road, Brixton had purchased the entire business of Arran Motors and that it would henceforth be called HAC standing for Hurlock’s Arran Commercials, as one family member recalled. It also signifies that in 1930 Hurlock had bought AC Cars at Thames Ditton, the famous old firm previously controlled by pioneer motorist SF Edge, who also had a hand in Napier commercials. Great grandfather Hurlock had been a tailor in St Albans (not far from Welwyn) who had been elected its mayor. His son Will had established “the working man’s tailor” in London’s Elephant and Castle and his son Will Junior started a…

JCB’S ERF FINALI! Back in 2006, JCB decided to bring its inter-factory transport operation, which at that time was being handled by outside contractors, in-house. They were, though, keen that the lorries operated by a firm so famously British as JCB should also be British-built. ERFs were the natural choice, and the company had been very impressed by EC11s they had operated in the past. And apart from 1971-77 when Atkinson and then Volvo were favoured, JCB had operated ERFs continuously since 1965. There was, though, a slight snag – EC11 production had finished six years earlier and ERF itself had been owned by MAN since 2002. The main consideration, however, was that the lorries that had effectively replaced the EC11 were felt to be unnecessarily complex and sophisticated compared…

LCVS AT ACA You’ll need to move quickly if you’re interested, but a couple of days after this issue goes on sale, Anglia Car Auctions at Kings Lynn are holding their August classic car sale (over the weekend of August 28-29) and the entry includes a few interesting and unusual light commercials. One such is a 1947 Jowett Bradford pickup which was, apparently, new to Derby Corporation’s cleansing and transport department. Originally registered RC9710, it was given some restoration in 1992, but has had little use since. Pre-sale estimate is £6-8000, and the Jowett is now on a non-transferable replacement registration. Also on offer with the same (and tempting) £6-8k estimate is a 1968 Austin ‘Minor’ 6cwt van. Restored by a Minor specialist in the early 1990s, the van is…

BIGGAR BRAVEHEART Biggar is Albion’s spiritual home and headquarters of the Biggar Albion Foundation and Albion Vehicle Preservation Trust. Clansman ESJ336 has lived in the area for many years and is very much a family heirloom, as Bob Weir discovered. James Dods is married to Jennifer Murray and the couple inherited the Albion Clansman featured here from Jennifer’s father and well-known enthusiast, the late Tom Murray. “Our family have lived here for generations,” Jennifer explained. “My father Tom could even claim distant kinship with Albion’s co-founder, Thomas Blackwood Murray, whose portrait takes pride of place in the Albion Foundation collection.” The early twentieth century was an exciting time for budding entrepreneurs, looking to get involved in the new motor vehicle industry. Thomas Blackwood Murray and Norman Osbourne Fulton were both…

FAMILY AFFAIR Des Hill begins a two-part story, told mainly via his photo album, of his family’s Nottinghamshire-based road haulage business. The story starts in the 1920s with the end of the WW1, and my grandfather (William George Hill – affectionately known as Dick), having been demobbed from the Guards. He established a general haulage company with his brother in law, Lance Sherwood. The company worked with various customers, including the local coal industry at a time when new mines were being sunk in North Nottinghamshire, and presumably with the local farms also (his parents were farmers), and businesses. The local mining village (Langold, population 2500 ish) possessed two cinemas – and one job would be to deposit and pick up film canisters from a local railway station, for the…

YORKSHIRE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL The first Yorkshire Motor Sport Festival weekend took place near Holmfirth over the weekend of June 25/26/27. For many, the main attraction will have been the number of sports cars that were on site, indeed there was even a timed hill climb event on a closed public road to enjoy. But it’s the commercials that are of interest in these columns, and there were some quality vehicles in attendance too… June 25/26/27…

Next month Coming up in the October 2021 issue of Classic & Vintage Commercials OUT in the shops, Friday September 24 Plus: Full report from the Classic & Vintage Commercials Show at Gaydon, Bedford S-Type models, more from Nick Baldwin on Oilfield Exploration lorries, all our usual features and a few surprises… These features are all planned at the time of going to press. We reserve the right to make changes and amendments if necessary.…

CLOSE-UP on Classics Bedford TL PART 2: Peter Davies concludes the story, and with it, the sad end of the once-mighty Bedford brand. In the 1980s sales of TLs and, for that matter, Bedfords in general, were lagging behind Ford’s who had scored another coup by announcing their impressive new Cargo range in 1981. Eager to stay competitive, Bedford came up with a package of improvements for the TL range in 1984 including a wider choice of wheelbases and new heavy-duty tractors and six-wheelers all powered by turbocharged diesels. A ‘turbo’ badge was added to the front grille while, inside, the seating and trim were upgraded to provide a pleasing, one might even say sumptuous, level of comfort with subtle tones of Mocca Brown and Buff. In addition to the…

WORKINGS CLASSICS A PAIR OF PROPER LEYLANDS A few years ago, every haulage company and their dog operated Leylands. Now, working examples are incredibly thin on the ground, but Pip Dunn tracked down a pair in South Yorkshire. The world was a different place when the Leyland marque quietly faded out of business, morphing into DAFs and slowly, but eventually, being dropped. A great name was gone, Well, that’s not strictly true because Leyland Trucks still exists…. It just builds DAFs. But at least it does build them in, er, Leyland. But working examples of Leyland lorries - and I mean ‘proper’ Leylands with little or no Dutch DNA in them, are few and far between. And I’m not really including horseboxes or showmen’s trucks. Nope, it’s a sad fact of…

Carrying on We welcome photos of older lorries (15 years and older) 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 Bob Dickson; Cathy Dickson John Podgorski John Podgorski John Podgorskix Chris Newsome Chris Newsome…

FYLDE STEAM AND FARM SHOW By David Reed July 3 & 4 The 12th Fylde Steam and Farm Show took place over the weekend of July 3rd/4th and attracted a good number of visitors on both days despite unpredictable weather. This is a traditional event where rural themes prevail. Here are a few of the commercial vehicles in attendance……