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 and a cuppa in this scene from the 1960s.
Edward Beck was based in Greg Street, Reddish,near Stockport and had three Commer TS3s at one time, the TS stood for two-stroke and the 3 for three cylinders. Three cylinders seems small for a lorry engine but there were six horizontally-opposed pistons with a Rootes supercharger which boosted the diesel two-stroke unit and gave it a distinctive exhaust note like no other. The two oversized silencers did little to muffle the noise and you could hear a “stroker” coming a mile off.
I love this painting, it’s excellent.