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Great story 6x6! This bit makes me giggle- "At this point Mr Vernon moved his Scammell a little further away"

Quite right- I would have done this rather than having a loco and crane plus part of a bridge land on top of it :-D:-D

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"At this point Mr Vernon moved his Scammell a little further away"

 

 

Me too !

 

I nearly became involved in a horrendous accident while assisting an "expert" who was unloading a lorry off a low loader trailer. I now do all my own checks even if it gets peoples back up.

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Me too !

 

I nearly became involved in a horrendous accident while assisting an "expert" who was unloading a lorry off a low loader trailer. I now do all my own checks even if it gets peoples back up.

 

Remember: "Ex" ("Has-been") , "(S)pert" ("A drip under pressure") :cool2:

Edited by daz76
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I was lucky I got to drive this Scammell at Beltring in 2000. I was very impressed by it's pulling power: with two Scammells on tow, driving it did not seem to make any difference!

 

Picture courtesy of Chris Shillito.

 

Regards,

Hanno

beltring14b.jpg

Edited by mcspool
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Someone posted a comment to one of my YouTube vids mentioning the 6x6 Pioneer and said it was called a Scammell Prospector, has any one heard of this name before? I haven't.

 

Called the Prospector because they're like gold dust.

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sc0003f7e0.jpg

 

 

Yes, they are the two types side by side, the recovery version having a fixed front mudwing on the nearside and a cycle type on the offside. I can find no sales or photo records for the early one with huge bulbous axle so it may only have existed as a prototype.:confused:

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If you include the Pioneer(s)? converted to 6x6 to test the Explorer concept then yes, although I assume you are thinking of the set forward axle type seen climbing the factory wall.

 

Just remembered there was also an experimental 6x6 gun tractor with the set forward axle; there is a picture somewhere with overall rear tracks fitted and towing a tank. Also JLR 80, a 6x6 with a Rolls B80 and yet another used for wading trials. 5 and counting:)

 

It would be interesting to know why the B80/81 was not chosen for Explorer in the interests of standardization.

Edited by radiomike7
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It would be interesting to know why the B80/81 was not chosen for Explorer in the interests of standardization.

 

Maybe it was down to engine speed being too high for the gearbox and axle, also the capacity about half that of the Meadows, which would have had more torque. Although the War Office intentions of using the B range as standardised power units, practicality came into play. The Leyland Martian recovery was a joke, being classed as a "heavy recovery", with a smaller engine than the Explorer "medium recovery". The Martian recovery having a job to pull it self along, let alone another on the hook.

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Couldn't agree with you more Richard, your comments on the Martian echo mine: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showpost.php?p=99276&postcount=38

 

Still seems strange that Scammell went to the trouble and cost of building at least 2 prototypes with a B80 knowing them to be unsuitable, unless they acted on ministry instructions. Obviously AEC put their foot down otherwise we may have had B80 powered Militants:shake:

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Couldn't agree with you more Richard, your comments on the Martian echo mine: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showpost.php?p=99276&postcount=38

 

Still seems strange that Scammell went to the trouble and cost of building at least 2 prototypes with a B80 knowing them to be unsuitable, unless they acted on ministry instructions. Obviously AEC put their foot down otherwise we may have had B80 powered Militants:shake:

 

Thanks Mike :)

 

I would think it was MoS or WO who instigated the prototypes, there was even a old Leyland Hippo converted. Thornycroft had some lighter 6-wheel trucks that were B80 powered, I do not think they made it in to service. They were later developed into the Nubian crash tenders, and finally the LMD trenching machine which was B81 powered on what was essentially a Nubian 4x4 chassis.

 

A B80, or even 81, Militant does not bear thinking about :-D. A good engine......but in the right application of course.

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The 6x6 gun tractor was a rebuild of an earlier 6x6 prototype. Probably one with the square body work. There was a very good article in wheels & tracks on the both the 6x6's and the one-off 4x4. Shame I can't find my copy of it!

 

Ed

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The 6x6 gun tractor was a rebuild of an earlier 6x6 prototype. Probably one with the square body work. There was a very good article in wheels & tracks on the both the 6x6's and the one-off 4x4. Shame I can't find my copy of it!

 

Ed

 

Found the photo I as thinking of - 'Breakdown' p 52. It seems to have the normal gun tractor bodywork but with a set forward front axle.

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There is some evidence that when AEC were trialling the AV1100 dump truck engine in a Antar, they rebuilt an existing vehicle, and this was later rebuilt again, but keeping the AV1100.

 

It Might be that Scammell had a similar approach, then unless anyone has a photo of five 6x6 Pioneers side by side, it may just be that one (or two) were rebuilt several times for differenet trials, incorporating the developing knowledge into each new re-incarnation.

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I've just found the wheels & tracks articles which helps fill in some of the info. There was one of the 4x4 pioneers built and this was last seen in use by the fairground family Roses in 1970. Of the 6x6's there is no definite number but the article seems to suggest a minimum of 3 of the early type and 1 off the explorer prototypes. The author suggests that either the one explorer prototype was rebuilt a number of times or there may have been 2 or 3. At one point fitted with a Gardener 8LW.

 

Of the earlier type it mentions photos of both civilian and military prototypes climbing up the factory wall. That would lead me to think that there were at least 2. Then it mentions would prototype for the Indian army in 1929 and then another one for the british army in 1930. The second one originally had the square bodywork. It was then rebodied to become the gun tractor 6x6 that is in Breakdown.

 

The 4x4 had a forerunner of the explorer front axle but the original 6x6 had a completely different axle.

 

I would love to know where either one of the 6x6's or the 4x4 is!

 

Ed

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