British Commercial Vehicles

In the early 1950s there were well over twenty commercial vehicle manufacturers in Britain, all of which were thriving - most of which exported to countries around the world.  Who would have thought that by the the year 2000, many of these famous names would have gone forever, but of course , not forgotten.

Not all manufacturers built their own engines but purchased engines from companies who specialised in producing high quality diesel engines.  The famous Gardner engines were supplied in their thousands and were renowned for superb engineering, build quality and a frugrality which could not be matched by others.  Perkins was also a major supplier together with Leyland and A.E.C. who manufactured high quality diesel engines for both British and overseas markets.

It would not be inappropriate to suggest that the most famous and by far the most ubiquitous vehicle was the Bedford, and one could always recognise the distinctive whine of the gearbox: in fact, one knew a Bedford was approching long before they came into sight!  They were not built in the E.R.F. tradition but they were extremely robust and reliable and served their operators well: they served their country equally well during the 1939-45 war during which time many thousands were built for military purposes.

Other lorry (UK) truck (US)! paintings will be added during the next few months.