This delightful period view was included with more recent material kindly provided from the Go North East archives by Keith Lee and David Slater and, as a bonus, it came with background information courtesy of Bob Kell.
Northern 491 (EF 4013) was a Macpherson-bodied AEC 426, one of several acquired with the business of Eastern Express Motors of West Hartlepool in 1930. New in December 1928, they came out of service between 1937 and 1939, with some being converted to wartime ambulances. 491 was converted to a breakdown tender during World War 2 and was replaced by an FWD in 1949, which was, in turn, replaced by an AEC Matador. The Chester-le-Street legal address is noteworthy (18-Feb-13).
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Tags: Recovery Vehicle Northern General AEC
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This is a digitally-coloured version of another fine monochrome original from the collection of Graham Newell. I have no information about the subject but am presuming it to be an AEC Mammoth Major Mk III, a model built between 1948 and 1960 (the early BTC lion-and-wheel emblem indicates that this is a pre-1956 example). The Mammoth Major in eight-wheel form was popular with tanker operators (05-Feb-21).
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Tags: digitally-coloured AEC Mammoth Major MK III Pickfords
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This AEC Matador is still on the books of Bezzina & Sons of Marsa, but restored to military condition and with a post-war steel body. It was photographed by Peter Skerry on a low loader at the 2008 Malta Commercial Bus & Truck Rally. I've removed the low loader and, for good measure, replaced the steel body with a traditional Maltese wooden body from Sammut Bros' Bedford S-Type. The palleted load - which may not be representative of Bezzina's business - came with the replacement body (17-Nov-14).
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Tags: Malta truckAEC Matador Salvu Bezzini
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This is an opportunist version using a base image that will appear later (without the plough) in other guises. The Matador itself should need no introduction, being possibly the most famous British wartime truck (see also the feature in my Malta Truck Photo Features album); but the body is something of a curiosity - possibly a post-war replacement. Whilst grit-spreading bodies would become the norm on snow ploughs, in earlier (pre-Health & Safety) days, this function was performed by a couple of men with shovels in the rear body (31-Oct-14).
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Tags: County Council of Durham snowplough AEC Matador
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The four wheel-drive AEC Matador probably had the longest after-service life of any British military vehicle. Designed primarily as a gun tractor, but also adapted for other specialised roles including an armoured command vehicle, the Matador was built from 1939 to 1945 and, again, from 1953 to 1959. Many lasted in military service well into the 1970s. Ironically, the first examples were released from service just as production resumed in 1953. They were eagerly snapped-up by civilian buyers, particularly those involved in the recovery and logging trades, with many seeing a further half a century of service. The Forestry Commission had many, although this fictional logging tractor is not intended to represent any specific example. Note the A-frame, which in this view has been folded forward into the travelling position; and the substantial rear spades, used to anchor the vehicle whilst used in a winching role (07-Oct-18).
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Tags: AEC Matador timber tractor Forestry Commission
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