Anyone else like old lorries?

[BruceV8]

While trawling through my photos for the War pics thread I came across this pic:



which is my old boss dealing with a big dodgy bomb on a truck in Northern Ireland in 1980. However, my first thought was: "Oooh nice ERF B Series and Leyland Marathon".

Anyone else share this sad interest I have in old lorries?

[BruceV8]

Olf said:

I've got a thing for old Scammels.

Edited by Olf on Saturday 1st November 22:17

Is that a Pioneer? I quite fancy a Crusader recovery truck. Plus thats about the most manly name for any vehicle ever - Scammell Crusader. (Or is it Thorneycroft Nubian?)

[BruceV8]

Vipers said:

Went from a bike to an HGV3 in the Navy, (which gave me a car licence), then qualified in HGV1 before I left, the initial HGV3 was in a Bedford RL, but the best one I ever drove must be the AEC Merurcy

I learnt to drive in a HGV too. The day after I passed my test, they gave me a metro to drive and I kept hitting all three pedals at once. When I got to my first working unit in 1988 (before I joined my current trade) they still had these:



AEC Militant Mk 1, dating from the late 40s and early 50s. 11 litre engine in the cab, with just a metal cover between you and it, loud and hot; 6 gears - all crash; No power ANYTHING - sometimes took two people to get one round a tight roundabout; Top speed 32 mph; but could slog its way through anything. I never once saw one get stuck off road. Lovely!

They were replaced by these, Bedford 14 tonners (relating to the payload, not the gross vehicle weight). They were a revelation to us at the time but would probably be considered classics now:



And of course we had the workhorse of the army, the Bedford MJ 4 tonner:



Everyone loved to hate the old Bedfords but I developed a real soft spot for them, driving one most days between the ages of 17 and 21 (as well as Land Rovers, which I also love). In the early 90s the army began to supplant the Bedfords with Leyland DAFs which were faster and more comfortable, but nowhere near as rugged. Funnily enough the DAFs are now being sold off and the Bedfords remain in service.

[BruceV8]

tankerman24 said:

BruceV8 said:

While trawling through my photos for the War pics thread I came across this pic:



which is my old boss dealing with a big dodgy bomb on a truck in Northern Ireland in 1980. However, my first thought was: "Oooh nice ERF B Series and Leyland Marathon".

Anyone else share this sad interest I have in old lorries?

Whats in the tank ? its a Suttons 20' iso tank isnt it? what was he carrying? strange place to have the manlid open !

Don't know tbh, but you can see UN labels on the front of the tank, so it must have been some hazardous substance. Never really paid much attention to the trailer before, but its quite odd actually. Looks like a stepframe plant trailer with the tank plonked on top. And the tractor has a full sleeper cab, which must have been a rarity in 1980.

[BruceV8]

tankerman24 said:

I used to drive these things in the nineties, its a swan neck trailer with a 20' container tank, horrible things as most of them had no baffles (treacle was the worst thing I carried as up to full weight only half filled the tank) when you stopped you felt sea sick with it slopping about,
Like I said the photo shows them looking in the top whih is a strange place to do it parked there lol, would be interested if you could find out what was going on

IIRC both lorries were hijacked and abandoned on a bridge near the border crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic - in effect stopping all Belfast to Dublin traffic. The tanker had a device placed on it somewhere - probably inside the tank. This was at a time and place when the IRA were particularly cunning so it took some time to clear. In situations like this where there is one bomb there is often another and I think that was indeed the case here. If memory serves there was another command initiated device buried alongside the tankers. It had been placed before the lorries were stolen and they were really there to lure the security forces onto the bigger buried device. I'll check on Monday. I should state that I had nothing to do with this task - I was 10 years old at the time!

[BruceV8]

unclegrouch said:

Yep, I'm fairly keen on old trucks, not the vintage stuff but more those i grew up with (Dad had a haulage business). Would particularly like a 60's Trader, Commer TS3 2-stroke, or a S39 Foden, but they all make too much money now :-(

One of the best fleets of classic trucks is less than half a mile from my house, Knowles Transport, fantastic collection although I have yet to see them in his "showroom" - will catch him one day & ask to look ;-)

Here's one i had for a year or so as a "toy" & race transporter for my Son's car. Great fun converting the ex supermarket trailer into a massive camper / transporter :-)



Now THAT is as impressive as a big bag of impressive things!
I have an ERF EC11 wagon & drag and I'm doing something similar. Doubt it will look as good as that though!

[BruceV8]

unclegrouch said:

EC11 - bullet proof technology there :-) Cummings hooked to a twin-splitter ?

Indeed. 11 litre Cummins turbo & 12 speed Eaton twin splitter. Absolute bd gearbox to get used to, but once you do, what a joy to use!

Must have been hard turning down a Foden 4400. I love Fodens (and Scammells and AECs etc). But I remember seeing a prototype Magnum (although I didn't know what it was at the time) in the High Wycombe area in 1990. It was painted olive green to look military and perhaps deflect some attention, but to a young bloke used to Bedfords and AECs it looked like the Martians had arrived in HGV form. Never been in one, but I'm told they are great trucks, even now.

[BruceV8]

BLUETHUNDER said:

That tractor unit looks like a Unipower.

I think you are right. The army (Royal Engineers) have them as part of the BR90 mobile modular bridging system.

Edited by BruceV8 on Thursday 6th November 08:06

[BruceV8]

Great selection there, John:

M3John said:

Early steam powered Sentinel.

About the only thing my trade insurance excludes is steam driven vehicles. Cos we have a lot of them around here.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

Foden S21, often referred to as a 'Mickey Mouse'. The modern looking gearbox above is from one of these.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

An 'ergomatic' cabbed AEC, possibly a Merury or a Mandator, but I wait to be corrected. If its a Mandator it would have had a V8 engine. AEC model names always began with an 'M'.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

.

AEC Mammoth Major Mk V (I think). The immediate forerunner to the ergo cabbed AE above. See what I mean about the M words?

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

BM FG (again I think). Also badged as Morris and Austin. This was specifically designed for urban deliveries. The doors are narrow and mounted at 45 degrees towards the rear of the cab so that they can be opened without getting in the way of traffic, or so that the truck ccould be driven with the doors open,allowing the driver or crew to jump on and off easily.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

ERF KV. Last of the traditional ERFs before the LV an A series. ERF stands for Edwin Richard Foden. Young Edward left the family firm of Foden in 1934 and set up on his own - also in Sandbach - after failing to persuade the old firm that diesel lorries were the way ahead and that steam lorries were on the way out. Foden started making diesel engined lorries soon afterwards anyway.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

[/footnote]

Ford Transcontinental. Introdued by Ford in the 70s to compete with Swedish offerings on the then burgeoning international heavy hauage market (mainy for the middle eastern routes). It has a Berliet cab and ots of proprietary components (a lot of manufacturer's used proprietary cabs) and was very advanced in terms of power and driver comfort. When they were introduced, Atkinson Borderers and Guy Big Js were more the norm in the UK. Until fairly recently an old transconti was still considered to be a poor man's Magnum.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

This is a Guy Big J. Guy was owned by Jaguar and guess what Big J stands for?

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

.

Marathon! This was Leyland's offering into the international heavy market in the 70s. Despite the badging it was really an AEC - hence the M name. It used a turbocharged version of the AEC AV760 engine, athough other engines were offered later on. This provided the underpinnings for the later Roadtrain series. A much under-rated lorry IMO.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

[/footnote]

Scammell Commander tank transporter. These replaced the legendary Mighty Antars in the 1980s. They have a semi-auto gearbox and the engine is a detuned version of the CV12 tank engine - power is down from 1200 bhp to 650 bhp. I'm told by tank people that the tank engine was taken from that used in the Inter City 125 trains!

These are out of service with the British army now, but sadly the chances of them appearing on the civilian market or preservation scene are very slim. When the MOD sold its Challenger 1 tanks to Jordan they threw in the tank transporters as a nice little bonus. Cocktards! I'm told that the American made HET vehicles that replaced the Commanders are rubbish!

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

Atkinson Borderer. This perhaps the very definition of a traditional British lorry. Although it looks very dated these remained in production until 1975, which goes some way to explaining how Sania and Volvo were abe to walk all over the UK truck market. Lovely old thing though.

[BruceV8]

M3John said:

This is an ex military Scammell Crusader. In my mind there are trucks, which are modern or foreign, and there are lorries. Lorries are British and have upright grilles and usually split screens. To me the Crusader is King of the Lorries. I want one!