Vehicle wish list

[allan downes]

Mine had the two and a quarter litre four pot that was later fitted into the Humber Hawk.

 

It also had a floor mounted shift - standard was column change and a pain in the axxe - and an electronic Norman DeVille overdrive. It did 120 mph and cornered like a whale but, and as you said, for the money, the ultimate bird puller excepting mine had a stripped reverse something or other and absolutely refused to go backwards unless you pushed it.

 

I wrote it off trying to make three lanes out of two over the Canning Town Bridge.

 

Then I bought a bike, gave up women (a temporary arrangement, very temporary ) and built a model railway.

[Keith George]

Yes Keith, either version would be handy, the main difference seems to be the 8 ton had twin rear wheels, often used for containers behind the likes of the Bedford OSS on the 'other' railways.  I had looked at a conversion from the Corgi drop frame van, the chassis is a separate part and could have a platform body built on it..

Merf.

The one drop frame I remember by number at Bristol was T89023W. This was because it had a winch fitted to the front raised portion of the trailer, the only one I seen so fitted.

There were plenty of drop frames in Bristol, but not enough, there was always a scrabble for one when you had a container job.

 

Keith.

[Michael Delamar]

invacar

[PhilJ W]

Some horse drawn vehicles? when I was a child in the 50's they were quite common, the usual ones were the United Dairies milk delivery floats and the totters (Steptoe) wagon. By that time most were fitted with pneumatic tyres on artillery spoked wheels.

[Keith George]

Some horse drawn vehicles? when I was a child in the 50's they were quite common, the usual ones were the United Dairies milk delivery floats and the totters (Steptoe) wagon. By that time most were fitted with pneumatic tyres on artillery spoked wheels.

Yes, that would be most welcome. I also remember the local coal merchant having a horse and cart. Also a baker delivering bread door to door with a small covered van and horse as late as 1958.

[allan downes]

I have a photo giving a very clear view of a coalman's horse and cart alongside the coal staithes, If any one is interested I can put it up on here.

 

Cheers.

Allan

[coachmann]

A pre-war Leyland bodied Leyland in 4mm is a no brainer......The 5-bay type  got all over the country as one would expect. The buses built for LT were made to resemble the AEC ST so even more scope for manufacturers who might live in fear of limited sales. It would run for years seeing as the variety of liveries is endless. They were still running in the mid 1950s and some probably lasted until the early 1960 before going to dealers for further service. I adapted mine from an EFE postwar Leyland...

 

[allan downes]

VERY nice !

 

I once drove AEC ten tonners for Wimpey on the M1 extension out of Crick in '62.

 

29mph flat out, unburstable, crash gear box -forget to 'double de clutch' and it would rip your arm off  -   could climb a wall in crawler, ratchet hand brake, brakes always failing due to a burst air diaphram, had to build up air before the brakes would release, wooden cab, no PAS, no heater, flip up indicators that never flipped, pathetic lights, but without 'em, we would never have built our motorways.

 

Also drove the Wimpey bus (AEC single decker) to pick up and drop off motorway workers in Leicester and was allowed to take it back to the digs up on the London Road every night and the odd week end - so me and the girl friend would go bowling in it, go to the cinema in it and use it to go shopping ! WHAT a bus, WHAT street cred !

 

Then I got the sack for swerving around some petrified old dear in a Morris series E and ploughing headlong into a police station in Ashby de la Zouch I think the place was called.