BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Page 47
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BY THE HAWK
11 The first ERF rolled off the Line in September 1933, the chassis number 63 was the age of the company's founder at the time, and the roof was made of fabric, supported by wooden spars.
Nowadays, MJ 2711 lives in Sandbach in semi-retirement. Still owned by ERF, she is in lovely condition, and will top 48km/h (30mph) on a good day, although the driver adds a cautionary, "that depends upon what sort of ride you want". It took a leisurely 31/4 hours to get to the Classic Commercial Motor Show at Wellesbourne near Stratford last Sunday.
The show, run by the Commercial Vehicle and Road Transport Club (CVRTC), has been going since 1978, and this year attracted around 200 entrants and 5,000 visitors during the day. First impressions were of a faintly disreputable air about the aerodrome annex on which the show was held. A straw bale arena was sited next to a builder's skip filled with smouldering rubber tyres, and through smarting eyes one could just discern some toilets that would do justice to the most neglected French conveniences.
Bric-a-brac stalls sold everything from a silencer box from an early Leyland Leopard to Dinky die-cast models from the pre-war era. The organisers, including the hardworking Tom Caren, defended the show by saying that "it is the lorry show for lorry Above: F B Atkins won the Commercial Motor bottle of Bell's, and the CVRTC tankard for its 1935 Foden C-type, which was voted best in show.
Above right: RO 1917, an Austin 1214, was used to deliver motor spares until 1969.
Right: You could drive to hell and back in a breakdown truck like this. D Wallsgrove's Ward La France is a 1943 MI.
enthusiasts" (note the use of the word lorry).
While it would be hard to believe this from the entrance's burger caravans with their garish bunting, jostling for position, the real atmosphere of the show became clear.
The CVRTC has a large membership among operators who own and maintain vintage examples of commercial vehicles. Many of these vehicles date from the 1950s to the present day, and at the back of the parked commercial vehicles, picknicking families in the golden corn fields relived the age of their vehicles. Wickerwork hampers filled with
hard-boiled eggs, and glass bottles of Tizer. Tough-looking men in faded cotton overalls; polka dot frocks bedecking their wives and girlfriends.
The low-key feel to the show, and the obvious enthusiasm of the entrants, meant that visitors could stop and chat at almost every exhibit. The Giltspur Bullens Ford Model T van was originally produced in Ireland, and in dropside form it went to work hauling lemonade. The reproduction furniture van body on the vehicle created lots of interest, added to by the drivers in their smart green overalls and bowler hats.
Modern fleet vehicles made up part of the exhibits, and at the far side of the show was the Volvo FL10 4x 2 artic hydrogen carrier. Weighing 37.5-tonnes unladen, the payload of the combination is just 254kg of liquid gas. Neil Bartlett, who had lent us a vehicle for the Commercial Motor stand, won the modern class award with his fleet of tippers. Our other exhibit was the Gardener-engined Foden
FG615 owned by John Pearson. He explained that although the vehicle had looked fairly sound when he first acquired it, the restoration took a surprising amount of work. The ash-framed cab had to be virtually remade, and the chassis was so bad it also had to be renewed.
Robert Chicken, resplendent in Foden jersey, waxed lyrical about the Robson's "Border" vehicles with their I-1H registration plates of years gone by. He now owns a sizeable fleet of ex-Robson Fodens, despite having no connections with the haulage industry at all.
Packed into a crowded tent for the prize giving with more than 200 aficionados, and the smell of recently departed sheep, the friendliness of the show became evident.
One old gent had asked the driver of the C G Holtonowned Comtner TS3 to start the two-stroke diesel engine up for him. As they savoured the glorious engine note, he said, "Thank you — I won't mind going home now."