Truck Photographs

Well, its transport aint it

Below is a Breakdown truck ready to take you away, I remember when this was a modern Truck. A nice purring Bedford petrol engine, straight 8 if I remember correctly, smooth, very fast indeed, I have delivered Tetley Teabags around kent and south London in the van version, it would have made a good get away truck.

More info on this truck from Tony Dibbens, read as follows...

The Bedford breakdown truck was powered by a 28 horsepower straight six, (not straight eight as you suggest), petrol engine. Many of these were produced in short wheel base (as in the photo) tipper form, and used for the bulk movement of sand and gravel etc. This version was used with high sideboards usually 5 cubic yard capacity and could be driven by anyone with a driving licence below the age of 21. No HGV test then of course!
When loaded with wet gravel your load could come up to about 7.5 tons, which made them extremely tail heavy. As you know Melksham you may know Blunsdon Hill just outside Swindon, on the A 419 Cirencester/Gloucester road, at one time sign-posted as an accident Blackspot.
I was bringing one of the old girls up the old hill (much changed now!) around 1964/5, loaded with wet gravel. I'd managed to wind her up to about 40mph on the approach to the hill (national speed limit at the time on lorries was 30mph), the revs dropped rapidly and I started to go down through the box, by the time I was about a quarter of the way up I needed to go from second into bottom and was almost stopped by the time I engaged 1st,and when I let the clutch out the steepness of the hill combined with the tail heavy wet gravel lifted the front wheels about 18" of the road!! Scared the shit out of me I'll tell you!
That engine/gearbox was used on the famous Bedford OB Duple coaches, and the engine was also used in the Vauxhall (model J)Velox of that era. The engine to the best of my knowledge continued in almost unchanged form right through into the early seventies in passenger cars. Not bad for an engine first seen during the war powering the old Q type four wheel drive Bedfords much beloved of the Armed forces and seen in many different forms from the Q type down to the slab fronted 1 toners.
Hope that you find this information interesting Kind regards, and keep up the good work
Tony Dibbens

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