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This vehicle is not currently on display at the Museum
The need for more working space inside machinery trucks, especially when long bed lathes were installed, led to the use of 10 ton six wheeled truck chassis in place of the more common 3 ton chassis.
Albion Motors of Scotstown had provided a variety of military vehicles during and immediately after World War 2 and in the late 1950s two specially designed variants of a 10 ton machinery truck were produced, one for REME and one for RE use.
Whereas most of the contemporary civilian large capacity trucks were by then using diesel engines, both Albion and Thornycroft 10 tonners provided for the Army had petrol engines. The Albion carried a house type body, ie rigid box rather than canvas covered. This made insulation and the security of the contents much easier. Canvas side shelters could be attached to the body to provide additional working space at ground level. These became a common attachment for machinery, stores, office trucks and trailers. However, the need to vacate field locations at a few minutes notice of a threatened enemy attack, meant that the side shelters were an embarrassment. They were sometimes disconnected and abandoned on exercises making a return trip necessary to collect them. A rear door gave access to the body and a set of steps was carried.
The 10 ton Albion carried a lathe across the front of the body, and benches on each side with powered drilling and grinding machines. The machinery depended on an external 220/240 V AC power source from either mains or a generator and carried transformers to step up power for the lathe to 400/440 V. Various portable power tools were also carried.
A second example of this type of vehicle was restored by civilian apprentices at a REME Base Workshop.
Length |
8.28 m (27 ft 2 in) |
Width |
2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) |
Height |
3.45 m (11 ft 4 in) |
Wheelbase |
4.87 m (16 ft) |
Engine |
Albion 6 cylinder 10.4 litre petrol |
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Page produced by Peter Eldred - Last updated 24 July 2004