Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

SANKEY FODEN Please find enclosed a photograph of an old Foden FG and trailer of Joseph Sankey, Hadley Castle Works, Wellington in Shropshire, which I thought readers might find interesting. Having shown the photo to some of the old Sankey drivers we can name the driver as Frank Shenton while his trailer mate was George Worral. The location of the photo is unknown but the load can be described as tractor wheels for Ford of Dagenham. The Fordson tractor wheels are believed to date from before 1958 when a change was made in the design of the wheel centre. Can anyone recognise the location? Ray Stevens EASY START ADDICTION With reference to the letter “Easystart Addiction” in September’s issue, I remember two drivers I worked with as a youth discussing…

After its launch in August 1965 the Ford Transit became an icon in the van world. Sixty years on, after several updates, it is still market leader. Some 3.5 million have rolled off the production line over the years. This 1979 Mk.2 ‘350’ pickup of ARC is just one of many variants to serve in tough industrial work. It was only a few months old when I took this shot at an Essex quarry 45 years ago. The Transit’s 400E predecessor appears in the background. Note the absence of ‘hi-viz’ clothing and hard hats – this was at least a decade before they became compulsory.…

As usual, there was a massive preserved commercial vehicle section at this year’s Kelsall Steam Rally in Cheshire, over the weekend of June 21-22. This is an all-vehicle event which always attracts lots of cars, motorcycles, tractors, steam vehicles and everything else from right across the preservation spectrum. However, the lorry support is so big as to almost form a separate show within a show. REVS, the Register of ERF Vehicles Society, use Kelsall as the venue for their annual rally/get-together, and this year there were, according to the organisers, no fewer than 275 ERFs on site. On top of that, there were also at least as many lorries of other makes. All this is, clearly, too much for one report, so we’re splitting it; this month we’re looking at…

It’s common these days to find big logistics companies and established hauliers with a restored classic tucked away somewhat, brought out for the occasional PR event or local lorry show. Often, they will be examples of the vehicles which either launched their businesses many years ago, or maybe something that helped them progress from being a small outfit into a well-known name on the roads. It might be an old Leyland Comet or Bedford TK, or more commonly these days, something a little bit more ‘modern’, like a Volvo F88 or Scania 111. But for Tony Head and his brother Bill and Tony’s son Brian, of W F Head & Sons based in Alveley, near Bridgnorth in Shropshire, the lorry they wanted was a Guy Bug J4T. You may well…

With the availability of Cummins power Bedford had finally got the right choice of engines and models but it came rather late in the day as the company’s long-term future was already in doubt. In 1983 the truck design and manufacturing operations, that had been part of Vauxhall Motors Ltd since inception in 1931, were separated to become an autonomous part of the General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation. At first the future looked bright for Bedford with a promise of a £70 million investment. However most of this was ploughed into a joint project with Isuzu to set up a new van production facility at Luton. In its first year under GMOCVC, Bedford made a huge £52.2 million loss, much of which was blamed on the global recession. There…

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The annual Trans Pennine Run took to the roads in early August, again starting from Birch Services on the M62. Again organised by the HCVS in conjunction with The White Rose Bus Group, the event followed its more or less traditional route across ‘the backbone of England’ towards Leeds before heading north towards Wetherby and then east to the finishing point at Tockwith Airfield that was previously known as RAF Marston Moor. It was a rather wet start from Manchester, although that didn’t put off those attending, with several vehicles joining in along the route. But by the time the vehicles arrived at Tockwith, the sun was shining, with a good crowd attending the site to have a look at the vehicles as they arrived. This year’s event was the…

Much has been said about our hobby needing to attract younger enthusiasts and that that younger people are not interested in prewar vehicles or even those from the 1950s and ‘60s. These issues are real, but fortunately not universal, as evidenced by 24-year-old Sam Cullum from West Sussex. His first ever vehicle, bought when he was 23 as his daily driver, is a 1963 Austin A35 Van. Not only that, but having obviously caught the bug for classic light commercials, he has since bought a 1936 Fordson Model Y 5cwt Van. “I’d always wanted an A35 Van. I had considered buying one about five years ago at auction, but then didn’t go. I slightly regretted it and kept looking at them online,” Sam explains. “Then in April 2023 I was…

ERF was founded in Sandbach, Cheshire in 1933, by Edwin R. Foden, along with his son Dennis and two other former Foden employees, having left Foden Trucks as he was convinced that diesel engines were the future, whereas the rest of the Foden family wished to continue with steam lorries. The first ERF lorry was 6-tonner with a Gardner 4LW engine, the CI.4.4, indicating Compression Ignition, four cylinders and four wheels. The grille badge read “E.R. Foden & Son Diesel,” but this was soon changed to “ERF” to avoid confusion with the family firm down the road. The cab was designed and built by coachbuilder John Henry Jennings of Sandbach. The Gardner 5LW five-cylinder engine was also offered from late 1933, in the CI.5.4. 4-wheel tippers arrived in 1935, then…

BEDFORD M Held over from this month due to the Editor not spotting that it would have meant two Bedford features in one issue, now definitely happening in November! It’s a fabulous new restoration however, and well worth waiting for! YORKSHIRE DIESEL WK It may have lasted only four years in production, but its significance endured far longer. Peter Davies tells the story… 60 YEARS OF THE FORD D SERIES Our tribute to this long-lived and superb lorry range.. ALFA-ROMEO PICK-UP Yes, Alfa did make commercial vehicles, and yes, they had the twin-cam engine! Mike Neale tells the story.. PLUS: Non-ERFs at Kelsall, another selection of Kent and Sussex images from Les Freathy, looking forward to Newark 2025, more from the Papworth archives, all out usual features and a few…