Commer at May’s Cafe
An old railway carriage serves as the basis for a transport cafe as the crew of the 1959 Commer artic check the chains on the low-loader trailer before heading for a fry-up
52nd Lowland at the Docks
In the dark days of the summer of 1940 and the mass evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk it is often forgotten that other British units stranded elsewhere by the
Austin Transporter
Before the development of the Carrimore car transporter trailer the loading and un-loading of cars was a long and complicated affair, but the rams that allowed the top deck to raise
Bristol K’s at Weymouth
Loading at King’s Statue, Weymouth these two Bristol K types of Southern National might appear to be the same because the bodies are both by Eastern Coach Works but the bus
Midland Railway’s Derby
Arguably one of the most graceful locomotives ever to have run on rails this class of 4-2-2 express engine designed by Johnson and built at the Midland Railway’s
Two Daimler COG5’s
Two Daimler COG5s pass Birmingham’s classic noe-Grecian Town Hall sometime in the late forties while in the background a Midland Red decker turns out of Victoria
Tram Glasgow
Bringing a little colour to a rainy day in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street Standard tram makes its way East closely pursued by an Albion eight-wheeled tanker Guinness a brew
Timpsons Leyland Tiger
On an English summer’s day a coach-load of culture seekers leave Stratford-upon-Avon for a day tour of the Cotswolds in the comfort of a Weymann bodied Leyland of Timpsons
The Flying Scotsman
This is a sight that could not have been seen in steam days on Britain’s railways, an Eastern Region Gresley A1 Pacific on the hallowed metals of the Western Region…
Southern Region
Speeding through Brookwood on the Southern region’s West of England main line rebuilt Merchant Navy 4.6.2 No 35022 “Holland America Line” is at the head of a
Scammell Routeman II
Before the development of the motorway network in Great Britain most trunk roads went right though the towns and cities they served and Gloucester was no exception.
Scammell Routeman I
Back in the days when Britain still had a car industry a Scammell Routeman I of Lucas is unloaded at the Lode Lane Rover works. The Routeman I only lasted about two years
Scammell Highwayman
The bonneted Scammell Highwayman always presented an impressive sight especially coupled to a tanker with the characteristic balloon tyres. Shell/BP ran quite a fleet of
Scammell Explorer
The Scammell Explorer 6×6 was used mainly for recovery of soft-skin vehicles but was also used as a ballast tractor for the transport of tanks to and from REME workshops but as
Round Timber Leyland Octopus
An unusual role for a Leyland Octopus is in the round timber business but nevertheless Arthur Green employed this beast on this demanding work back in the 1960s
Old Seddon
As well as the big boys on the roads of Britain in the golden years the majority of lorries would fall into the category of middle-weight being four-wheelers of perhaps 10/12
Midland Red M1 Express
When the Birmingham – London section of the M1, one of Britain’s first motorways, opened in 1959 the forward looking, dynamic Midland Red company lost no time in
Midland Railway
Arguably one of the most graceful locomotives ever to have run on rails this class of 4-2-2 express engine designed by Johnson and built at the Midland Railway’s
Mickey Mouse
A lorry dear to my heart from my time when I worked as an HGV driver in my youth, the early version of the famous Mickey Mouse cab on the short-wheelbase eight-wheeler
Leyland PD3
A Leyland PD3 of Edinburgh pulls away from a bus stop on the famous Golden Mile while a Rover “Cylops” saloon races pass. This painting was produced for a transport
Leyland Octopus
The post-war Leyland Octopus cab was treated to a face-lift in the early fifties with the introduction of the “mouth-organ” cab built on similar lines to its predecessor but with subtle
Leyland Marathon
Some say that the Leyland Marathon, developed on a shoestring budget to compete with rising foreign imports, should have been badged as an AEC. It did after all
Leyland Beaver
A grimy Leyland Beaver of Dixon Bool unloads steel rod at a factory in Birmingham sometime in the 1960s when Britain still was a serious trading nation and made things
Jaguar XK120
When Jaguar cars introduced their XK120 range of sports cars in 1948 the effect was electric, all previous cars immediately looked very dated and it set new standards for the
Guy Big J Blue Cement
Although a most successful company with record sales of its heavy lorry Invincible range Guy Motors, Wolverhampton got into financial difficulties because of its South
Green Fleet Matador
This strange machine one of a small number produced for the GPO Green Fleet post-war was based on the 4×4 Matador chassis but with a dead front axle and shortened to make
Green Fleet Foden DG
The Engineering and Supplies departments of the GPO, respectively the Green Fleet and the Red Fleet, comprised mostly of heavily modified ex-MOD vehicles. Their appearance
Great Western Railway King
The King class steam locomotives introduced in 1927 by the Great Western Railway for their heaviest express passenger trains were, in terms of tractive effort, the most powerful
Great Western Railway Castle
The Castle class of the Great Western Railway were the most successful and efficient passenger express locomotives of any railway in Britain and perhaps the World.
Ford Bedford
Knowles can trace their origins in transport back to 1932 when 17 year old Gerald scraped together £75 to buy a second-hand Ford model T. A year later he traded it in for
Ford Austin Leyland
A selection of typical lorries of the 1950s are assembled in the streets around Digbeth, Birmingham’s fruit and vegetable wholesale market where wheeling and dealing were the
Foden S21 Mickey Mouse
Imperial Chemical Industries had a huge fleet of tankers for the transport of their sometimes highly dangerous chemicals and many were Foden’s like this S21 “Mickey
Foden S21
In the late fifties Foden, a well established and respected lorry manufacturer, realised that they had to offer new improved models if they were to maintain their independence in
Foden S20 and S40
In their yard at Rochester, Kent two Foden tankers await their next duty, on the left is an S20 with the special bodywork so typical of Albion’s vehicles of the fifties while on the
Foden S20
This Foden S20 of Robson’s of Carlisle is seen at the famous Jungle cafe situated on the notorious incline of Shap where weather conditions like this were not uncommon.
Foden FG
Taken from a contemporary photograph I couldn’t resist including this magnificent fork-lift truck seen loading an eight-wheeler Foden FG with pallets of paper at a Reed
Foden DG Laing
The Foden DG was a quality lorry built to last and ideal for the rough and tumble conditions of the construction industry and in post-war Britain there was a great boom as
Flavel’s Sentinel DV44
The Sentinel lorry was a very well engineered vehicle with an unconventional horizontal engine mounted in an under-slung position behind the cab produced in four-wheeled
Ex-LMS Jubilee
Ex-LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 45670 “Howard of Effingham” waits impatiently at Liverpool, Lime Street station with an express for London, Euston sometime in the late 1950s.
Ex-GWR Castle
Ex-GWR 4.6.0 Castle 5031 “Totnes Castle” has steam to spare as she awaits the “right away” with the Up Torbay Express while the fireman hurries to the footplate with the all
ERF Eight-wheeler
Fighting it’s way up Telegraph hill on the old A38 this ERF eight-wheeled tipper of Exeter based haulier Frank Tucker sports the first type of LV Jennings cab while in the
Eggbeer AEC Mammoth Major MkIII
Eggbeer’s Transport based in Devon had quite a fleet of AEC’s of which this fine lorry was an example seen here far from home
Craven A Dennis
Better known for their municipal vehicles like dustcart’s and for fire engines Dennis entered the heavy end of the market in 1948 with their Jubilant range of six and
Covent Garden
Today Covent Garden in central London is an area of fashionable cafes, wine bars and high- end luxury goods shops but at one time it was the home of the wholesale fruit and
Corona Delivery Man
Local delivery never had the status and “glamour” of long-distance work in the lorry driving world but nevertheless could be harder work and more stressful fighting one’s
BRS Bristol
When Great Britain was the workshop of the World a lot of that work was produced in the area roughly between Birmingham and Wolverhampton known as the Black Country
Bowaters AEC Mammoth Major MkIII
Bowater’s of Sittingbourne, Kent had a fine fleet of vehicles for the haulage of newsprint rolls and most of them were A.E.C’s like this
Bedford Tipper
In the late sixties the articulated tipper became an option in the construction industry and enjoyed brief popularity for a time. The KM was Bedford’s entry into the
Bedford KHA14
This Bedford KHA14 of the well known haulier James Kemp of Leslie burdened with a heavy load of waste paper has the advantage of a Leyland 0.400 diesel under its bonnet as it
Atkinson Pre-war
Atkinson a long established firm involved in the manufacture of steam lorries marketed a quality diesel engined range of heavy vehicles using proprietry components in the
Atkinson London Scottish
This very British Atkinson is seen here coupled to a four-wheeled trailer which when fully loaded would give the whole outfit a gross weight of 32 tons. As such the law at
Atkins URB822
Atkinson built lorries to last and used tried and tested components like Gardner oil engines, David Brown gearboxes and Eaton axles in a robust ladder frame chassis. They
AEC MkV Mandator
This 1960 AEC Mk.V Mandator of Henry Long Ltd. of Manningham, Yorkshire battles though the snow on the old A45 trunk road in the mid-sixties. In those relatively traffic free
AEC MkV Eight-wheeler
At the 1958 Commercial Motor Show AEC debuted their new Mk V eight-wheeler to replace their market leader Mk III [for some unknown reason there was never a Mk IV].
AEC Mammoth Major MkIII Anderson
As well as operating lorries on long distance work Sam Anderson also ran a sizable fleet of tippers on local work especially bulk coal
AEC Mammoth Major MkII – Auxiliary Axle
In 1934 AEC added an “auxiliary axle” to their six-wheeler goods model to increase the lorry’s payload and the archetypal British
AEC Mammoth Major MkII
Hudsons Coal had quite a fleet of lorries in the 1930s among which was this AEC Mammoth Major Mk II eight-wheeler tipper seen here being loaded at a London
AEC Mammoth Major ABC
Those of you who are au fait with AECs will know that the six-wheeler shared the same name as its eight-wheeled stable mate, the Mammoth Major and this example turning on
AEC Eight-Wheeler
Bowling along the old A38 at a heady 32mph this AEC eight-wheeler is typical of many long distance fleets of the immediate post-war years. Already over ten years old the vehicle
AEC Artic
Before the opening of the M6 motorway there was a notorious climb just North of Kendal on the old A6 to Scotland which taxed many a lorry to the limit and here we see an AEC
AEC Air Products
In 1964 the maximum gross lorry weight was increased to 32 tons on four-axle arctic’s but carried a risk of overloading the tractor unit’s rear axle. One answer was the layout