Today, there are not many truck manufacturers in Europe. In addition to the seven giants we are familiar with, there are also companies such as Taitra and Xisu who have survived through unique strengths. And turning the clock back to the last century, there are many commercial vehicle companies of all kinds in Europe. Although, after the baptism of market and time, they have not been able to extend their lives into the new century, their stories are well worth seeing. In today's article, we set our sights on this British company called Scammerell.
Scammell is a pure truck manufacturer that was born in 1921 and was later acquired by DUF and closed the factory. This company basically builds any truck. Whether it's civilian tractors, military tractors, tank carriers, heavy trailers, or long-haul trucks transported across continents, the company has a lot to do. Of course, the company is best known not for this heavy-duty truck, but for an extremely special three-wheeled truck, probably one of the smallest in the world.
The 20th century Britain blew a tricycle wind, and viewers who have seen Top Gear must have known about it. Three-wheeled passenger cars such as Robin, Peel P50, Morgan 3 Wheeler and others are all products of that era. The purchase and manufacturing cost of three-wheeled vehicles is low, it is more convenient to drive, and the mechanical structure has been simplified a lot. Although there are many disadvantages in driving stability, but so cheap, what else do you want? The three-wheeled wave not only swept the passenger car market in the United Kingdom, but even the commercial vehicle market gradually shook.
The time came around the 1920s. At that time, the price of trucks was very expensive, at the same time the size was very large, the mechanical structure was complex, and it was not a means of transportation that could be widely promoted, and many British transport companies used traditional horse-drawn carriages to transport goods. This mode of transport, while inefficient, is cheap and large bowls, which is more than enough for short-haul transport. In 1929, Colt released a "truck" called the Karrier, which had only three wheels, with the front wheels responsible for steering and the rear two wheels for carrying goods. The cab is like a sheet welded to the wire, simply placed on the frame, all kinds of features make it small, simple, cheap, and occupy the British freight market in an instant. Interestingly, the British don't call it "Truck", but "Mechanical Horse", which is still very interesting.
Of course, the advantages of simplicity and cheapness are bound to bring many disadvantages. Speed, comfort, stability, these vital words do not match it at all, and the simple appearance is like a moving tin box. But profit-oriented shipping companies don't care about this, as long as the cost is low enough and maintenance is easy enough. As a result, Colt Karrier was hugely popular. Colt tasted the sweetness and introduced an upgraded version of Karrier Cob in 1930. Other companies were also very popular, and Napier & Son, also from the United Kingdom, also designed a three-wheeled truck and sold the design to Scammell.
Scammell bought the design and put it into mass production in 1934, called the Scammell Mechanical Horse. Initially, this particular truck was used only in the postal industry, but it was later popularized throughout the industry with many advantages, and even boarded the British aircraft carriers. Compared to the Colt Karrier, it features a fully enclosed cab, which is more modern and has a greater load carrying capacity. Two petrol engines were available at the time, with displacements of 1.125 litres and 2.043 litres. The maximum load carrying capacity is also distinguished, which can carry 3 tons or 6 tons respectively.
The engine is mounted on the left front of the engine compartment, making the already poor driving stability worse, but its speed is not very high, up to 32 km / h. Its fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is about 24 liters, which is already a very good level at that time. Of course, its advantage lies in unmatched mobility. When it is connected to a 6-foot standard trailer, the turning radius is less than 6 meters, and the vehicle is also equipped with a relatively early saddle system, which does not require the driver to get out of the car for a complicated trailer connection. In 1937, the French company FAR purchased a production license for the car and integrated it with the Citroën Avant engine. The French version of it was called Poney Mécanique and was produced until 1970.
After the war, European society ushered in rapid development, and the demand for trucks became higher and higher. To address the disadvantages of driving stability, Scammell released the Scarab series of trucks. It features a cab inspired by a beetle shell that's sleek and made of all-metal materials for added durability.
The vehicle's engine is a new 2.09-liter displacement gasoline engine, placed in the middle of the rear cab, which significantly improves the vehicle's driving stability and is more convenient to maintain. Later, the vehicle also integrated Perkins diesel engines, bringing greater transport capacity. Scarab inherits the excellent maneuverability of its predecessor, the Mechanical Horse, and the front wheels can even rotate 360 degrees.
The Scarab model was produced until 1967, and with the economic recovery, the demand for this simple three-wheeled truck gradually decreased, and it was no longer a delicacy of the market. The Scarab was replaced by a new model called the Townsman, which featured a cab made of fiberglass, a more futuristic exterior design, and some key equipment needed for transportation. Examples include double-sided rearview mirrors, full wipers, and headlights with significantly improved performance. In terms of comfort configuration, the vehicle also adds equipment such as mist eliminators, heaters, cab visors, and adopts an integrated windshield to further adapt it to the newer transportation environment.
The vehicle is fitted with a more powerful Leyland OE160 engine, capable of raising the vehicle's speed to 80 km/h. Due to the shrinking market, the Townsman model is only available in the 3-ton payload model, with the larger load being borne by the rest of the multi-wheel truck products. Unfortunately, the era of three-wheeled trucks is over, and Townsman has few other sales than procurement by the UK's railway and postal departments. As a result, after one year of production, Townsman was hastily discontinued in 1968.
Throughout Scammell's history, they have produced more than 30,000 three-wheeled trucks. In Europe at the time, the figure was staggering. The vast majority of these are Scarab models. To date, only about 30 Mechanical Horses, 60 Townsmans and 30 Scarab trucks have survived.
In addition to three-wheeled trucks, Scammell has also experimented with making low-cost four-wheeled trucks, such as the Scarab-4 (Scarab-4) pictured above, which was developed from the Scarab model, with four tires and a cab from the Atlas truck. Scammell hopes the truck will continue to succeed in the Scarab model and continue to dominate the truck market with excellent maneuverability. Unfortunately, the market did not buy it, and only more than 100 Scarab-4 models were produced, and none of them survived to this day. Since then, Scammell has become mediocre and eventually acquired by Duff.
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Text: Heseaotter