Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

By the late eighties Seddon Atkinson’s product range was becoming decidedly dated and, along with certain other factors, this was showing in the company’s sales performance. While the once-popular 400-Series had undergone a couple of major upgrades during the previous decade, first as the 401 and then as the 4-11, the basic design was at least 13 years old. What Seddon Atkinson needed was a completely new range to compete on a level footing with the likes of MAN, Volvo and Scania. That range appeared in 1988 as the all-new Strato. In the run up to the launch a lot had been happening in Oldham and one has to look at the wider picture to understand the radical changes that occurred as the company underwent two changes of ownership, first…

As we have mentioned once or twice before in these pages, East Anglia in general, and the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire fens in particular are the nation’s foodproducing capital. It’s been claimed – though not universally accepted - that the 300sq miles around Spalding is responsible for either producing or processing 20% of the food consumed annually in Britain. But irrespective of that claim’s truth, there’s no doubt that the huge, highly mechanised and extremely efficient farms across the region produce a truly massive quantity of food. It’s a year-round business too, with another crop being planted as soon as the last one has been lifted. Getting this food from field to market requires, of course a huge amount of road transport, so as well as being a hot-spot for food…

The annual Buxton Boys Run took place back in June, with over 20 vehicles taking to the roads of Derbyshire. As in past years, the run started and finished in Buxton, but drivers have the freedom to join, or leave, anywhere along the route. As ever though, it was an enjoyable event, with a couple of vehicles making their ‘Buxton Boys’ debut.…

Last month I looked at models of early mechanical horses, plus a couple of more unusual types. Scammell’s original Mechanical Horse was replaced by probably the most familiar type, the Scammell Scarab, in 1948. Like its predecessor, there were 3-ton and 6-ton variants. The name combined Scammell and Arab, the breed of horse. It had a steel cab built by Willenhall Motor and Radiator Company, and a four-cylinder sidevalve 2094cc petrol engine, with a Perkins diesel offered later. The 3-tonner was built until 1964 and the 6-tonner until 1968. By the early 1960s, Scammell were part of Leyland, who developed a fourwheel tractor unit using the cab, chassis and diesel engine of the Leyland 20, evolved from the Standard Atlas. The Scarab Four found few buyers in Britain, although South…

In somewhat stark contrast to our other street scene on pages 62-63, this idyllic image dating from 1961 shows the bridge at Eynsford in Kent. The four Commers QXs operated by William Lillico & Son are, apparently, taking “spring wheat seed” to France; Lillico were and are grain, feed and seed merchants. That, though, is not the only Kentish product on the move here, as all four QXs are powered by the Rootes/Commer TS3 two-stroke diesel engine, manufactured a few miles down the road at the former Tilling-Stevens factory in Maidstone. Just two other vehicles are visible in this typical rural scene; a Mini van parked up behind a Land- Rover. The bridge, a Grade 2 listed structure dates from at least the 17th century, and still carries light road traffic today,…

Based in Shropshire, Andrew Davies’ fleet of restored vehicles have been admired for many years at shows and on road runs in the of Albert Davies Transport Ltd. Now there is a new vehicle in the collection, namely a 1978 Leyland Octopus. This one certainly turned a few heads at events in 2025. As for the Leyland’s history, it was initially an un-registered chassis cab used as a demonstrator, until made redundant by the Octopus being replaced in production by the Constructor. The Octopus was then donated by Leyland to a college in Stoke-on-Trent area where, still unregistered, it was used for training purposes, before passing to an enthusiast in the same area. Eventually it came up for sale on eBay in 2011, and was spotted by Andrew. “It was…

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Late October saw the roads of West Cornwall home to the county’s Vintage Vehicle Road Run, a oneday event that takes the entrants on a scenic route around the county. It is an event that welcomes classic cars, vans and commercials travelling across Carn Brea to Helston, before travelling along the coast road to Penzance. From there the route moved north to Geevor tin mine museum for a welcome refreshment stop. From there the route proceeded along the north coast to St Ives, then onto Hayle, returning to the starting point via the A30. With good weather prevailing, it was a very successful run, with Sam Folds again at the helm of the organising team. Here are some of the commercials that made the trip around this picturesque county.…

Our first street scene from days past takes us back to 1969 and central Sheffield. You can almost hear the distinctive sound of the Perkins diesel that’s probably powering the Commer V-series tipper as it overtakes Sheffield Corporation AEC Regent V XWJ782. We suspect, though, that this is a pretty slow-motion ascent for both vehicles! Assuming the 1969 date is accurate, the H-registered Commer cannot have been more than a few months old. The bus, by contrast, dated from 1957 so was already 12 years old. It had another four to go before withdrawal in 1973 and the usual old-bus one-way trip just down the road to one of the many Barnsley bus breakers. This kindof makes the ‘all roads lead to Barnsley’ on the poster board on the left…

The Leyland Society have announced that their 2026 gathering will be taking place within the grounds of the Leyland Trucks Assembly plant in, er, Leyland, on Sunday June 28. It will form part of a Family Day that is being organised by Leyland Trucks for employees, their families and invited guests and will, we imagine, include opportunities to see some of the inner workings of the current plant. As the gathering is taking place within a working factory environment, entry will be strictly by pre-booked ticket only. Entry forms and ticket applications should be sent, including a self-addressed stamped envelope please, to Bill Pitcher, 17 The Oaks, Walton le Dale, Preston. PR5 4LT. Alternatively, for further details, email: bill.pitcher@sky.com or visit http://www.leylandsociety.co.uk/…

The pre-war Morris Minor car was designed by Percy Rose, the Chief Designer at Morris Commercial Cars Ltd., appearing in June 1928 as an 8hp car with an 847cc overhead cam engine to challenge the popular Austin Seven. The 5cwt van followed in 1929, initially using the same overhead cam engine, but from 1931 this was replaced by a cheaper and simpler 8hp, 847cc sidevalve engine. The GPO purchased over 7300 Morris Minor 5cwt vans between 1932 and 1940, just over 3700 of which were for the Post Office Telephones fleet. Although the Minor van was replaced by the Morris Eight van in September 1934, the GPO did not wish to purchase these and insisted that the Minor van continue to be supplied to them. Morris were no doubt encouraged…

The annual Autumn Leaves Run took place in mid-October, and started at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland. From there the route initially headed south through Chorley and Horwich, before heading east to Belmont. Participants then headed north via the A675, climbing up over the scenic route across the West Pennine Moors before joining the A59 to Gisburn before heading north again to Long Preston. From here it was north east to Kirkby Lonsdale before heading down to the finishing point at Carnforth Truckstop, a total distance of just under 100 miles. As ever there was a good selection of vehicles taking part, with the regulars mixing with those that were making the trip for the first time. Here are some of the vehicles that took part on this…

Since July 2024, Classic & Vintage Commercials has been privileged to have been given exclusive public access to the archive collection of photographs from Cambridgeshirebased Papworth Coachworks. When the business finally closed these were about to be thrown out when Alan Robinson, who spent almost his whole working life at Papworth, stepped in to save them. As we explained at the start of this series, though Papworth was always a fully-commercial operation, it began as a means of providing worthwhile employment for tuberculosis sufferers. In the days before vaccines, TB was a major killer with very limited cures. Anyway, in 1916 when Dr Pendrill Varrier-Jones, Cambridgeshire’s county tuberculosis officer, had the idea of a self-supporting ‘colony’ where TB sufferers could live with the disease under medical supervision but also do…

ERF C SERIES David Reed tells the story of Keiran Mulligan’s fabulous new three-year restoration. SCANIA SHUNTERS Following this month’s piece on Mason Brothers restored Volvo F89, this time attention turns to a pair of owned-from-new 1999 Scanias which are still working hard. FORD A SERIES This one’s on Bermuda! Mike Neale went over and found out more. No, we did not pay his travel expenses! TIPPERS A fascinating workinglorry archive images selection, courtesy of Carl Johnson. PLUS: Pt2 of Peter Davies’s in-depth Spanish Seddon analysis, more shelf-sized Scammells courtesy of Mike Neale, more fabulous working-lorry images from back in the day, all our usual features and, of course, as few surprises… These features are all planned at the time of going to press. We reserve the right to make…