Commer walk-thru vans

[shipbadger]

Hi all,

 

Over the last few evenings I've started to clean up the bodies of several resin kits from Road Transport Images.  Amongst these is a Commer walk-thru van.  I'm familiar with these vans in the yellow and blue'white colour schemes they operated in for BR in the second part of the sixities.  My question is; as the prototype was launched during the period when crimson/cream was still the colour for BR road vehicles did BR have any of these vans during that period or did they not buy until the yellow colour scheme had been launched?

 

Tony Comber

[PhilJ W]

Hi all,

 

Over the last few evenings I've started to clean up the bodies of several resin kits from Road Transport Images.  Amongst these is a Commer walk-thru van.  I'm familiar with these vans in the yellow and blue'white colour schemes they operated in for BR in the second part of the sixities.  My question is; as the prototype was launched during the period when crimson/cream was still the colour for BR road vehicles did BR have any of these vans during that period or did they not buy until the yellow colour scheme had been launched?

 

Tony Comber

The 'blood and custard' livery was replaced from 1961 with a grey-cream colour described as 'light stone' which was replaced by yellow about 1968. The Commer Walk-Thru van was introduced in 1962 so its highly unlikely that any had the crimson/cream livery.

[Merfyn Jones]

The 'blood and custard' livery was replaced from 1961 with a grey-cream colour described as 'light stone' which was replaced by yellow about 1968. The Commer Walk-Thru van was introduced in 1962 so its highly unlikely that any had the crimson/cream livery.

 

My research shows that blood and custard was replaced in mid 1963 by green for engineers vehicles (yellow from 1970) and yellow for parcels and goods.

The grey colour appears an un-successful, short lived replacement which went on very few vehicles.

I have found no evidence (yet) of Commer Walkthrus in red/cream, but a few of them on the Southern at least got green, before most regions had yellow ones. These were the type as the RTI model.

The parcels versions were mainly with roller shutter doors, an easy conversion to the resin kit. Many had larger coach built bodies.

 

 

[shipbadger]

Thank you for the responses.  Yellow then if I decide to finish it as a BR vehicle otherwise any colour I like for a 'civilian'.  I remember the greyish colour scheme being announced, accompanied by the 'flying crate' symbol I think.  Never saw one, even on my trips into London.  It must have fallen out of favour very quickly.

 

Tony Comber

[Merfyn Jones]

Thank you for the responses.  Yellow then if I decide to finish it as a BR vehicle otherwise any colour I like for a 'civilian'.  I remember the greyish colour scheme being announced, accompanied by the 'flying crate' symbol I think.  Never saw one, even on my trips into London.  It must have fallen out of favour very quickly.

 

Tony Comber

 

I think 'never gained favour in the first place'  I have seen photos of only 3, being 2 Scarabs and a Bantam van.

[mikeharvey22]

Rather than being 1960s, the blue and white with large arrow was a 1972/73 innovation. I know only because I had an input to the scheme at the time.

[mikeharvey22]

The Walkthru is a new casting coming from Oxford Diecast, with option of roller shutter or hinged rear doors, both on the low height van. Castings on show at the London Toyfair tomorrow.

[fodenway]

It will be interesting to compare this with the old EFSI model, which was good in its day (except for the wheels).

[Merfyn Jones]

It will be interesting to compare this with the old EFSI model, which was good in its day (except for the wheels).

 

Above is the EFSI in white / blue and the RTI in yellow.

Below the Oxfords.

 

[BernardTPM]

So the Oxford is the more common diesel version.

[Merfyn Jones]

So the Oxford is the more common diesel version.

 

Yes Bernard, with the extended bonnet that the EFSI did not have.

[Silver Sidelines]

Perhaps this the beast? 

 

 

Grandad with his new(to him) Commer van in 1960.

 

Ray

Edited January 24, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[BernardTPM]

Ah, now that one's the flat fronted, petrol engined version, like the EFSI model. Nice to see a non-company owned one.

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Bernard

I think the Commer must have been built like a tank.

You might have liked the Austin three way van that it replaced. I used to have to ride on the engine cover. I seem to recall an overpowering smell of exhaust fumes - maybe oil fumes from an engine breather?



Grandad's old van - Austin K8 Threeway 25cwt van

Edited January 24, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[Fat Controller]

Perhaps this the beast? 

 

 

Grandad with his new(to him) Commer van in 1960.

 

Ray

A bit later than 1960, surely? Perhaps a decade later?

[Silver Sidelines]

Hello Brian

A bit later than 1960, surely? Perhaps a decade later?

I scanned three slides to Flickr and I have labelled them 1960.  There are other slides in the series dated 1963.

 

I will try and find the originals and see what the date stamp says.

 

Ray

[Keith George]

Perhaps this the beast? 

 

 

Grandad with his new(to him) Commer van in 1960.

 

Ray

 

The Commer  Walkthro was not introduced until 1961/62. I started driving one in 1962

 

Passed my driving test on it as well.!  Woud not be allowed today for a 17 year old.

 

Keith.

[Robert Searle]

The Commer  Walkthro was not introduced until 1961/62. I started driving one in 1962

 

Passed my driving test on it as well.!  Woud not be allowed today for a 17 year old.

 

Keith.

Looks like the 30cwt version. Seem to remember the handbrake was on the steering column? Did a night run from Tunbridge Wells to Bristol and back in 1973.

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Keith

The Commer  Walkthro was not introduced until 1961/62. I started driving one in 1962.

I cannot find the slides that I have posted on Flickr but I did spy the Walkthru in another of my Aunts slides date stamped 1963 which agrees with your dates.

 

Regards

 

Ray

Edited January 25, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[it's-er]

It is funny how you completely forget about something, then see a photo or two .... and memories come flooding back. I'd forgotten about the Commer walk thru till I saw Oxford Diecast's photos of their first casting. But we saw plenty of them around Edinburgh, I think quite a number in BRS green - must have been in the 60s.

 

This thread here is lovely, and Merfyn's photos of his painted models are really good to see. As for Silver Sdeline's photos of Grandad - delightful!

 

John Storey

[it's-er]

Since writing above, it has struck me how similar the UPS delivery vans currently on our roads are to the Commer Walk thru. Presumably there is no connection? One comment on the Internet suggests UPS's vans are made by Mercedes. The likeness is interestting, though.

 

John

[BernardTPM]

There's a resemblance to the old BRS 'Noddy' van too, but given they're all for delivering parcels in largely urban environments it's not surprising. Similar parcel van bodies were made for other chassis too, e.g. Bedford. They're all big square boxes with sliding doors and easy access to the load.

[RANGERS]

Since writing above, it has struck me how similar the UPS delivery vans currently on our roads are to the Commer Walk thru. Presumably there is no connection? One comment on the Internet suggests UPS's vans are made by Mercedes. The likeness is interestting, though.

John

The UPS delivery van is based on the Merc 814 7.5t truck chassis, the bodies are coachbuilt to UPS own spec'. The layout is identical to the Commer, front engine, semi- forward control driver position and wide doors with ease of access to the loadspace direct from the cab to avoid having to access via the rear or side doors.

 

The layout wasn't unique to the Commer but they were perhaps one of the few to offer it as a factory built package as opposed to it being supplied as a chassis cowl to a third party body builder.

[shipbadger]

Wasn't the Bedford with the Hawson 'Easy Access' body available through Bedford dealers?  As Noddy vans have been mentioned Gloucester BRS had one of the comparatively rare Bedford versions.  At first when I saw it I thought some wag in the depot had put a Bedford badge on a BMC truck.

 

Tony Comber

[BernardTPM]

Before the Mercedes chassis became pretty much universal, UPS did have some other parcels vans that looked even more like the Walk-thru/BRS 'Noddy' vans.