SCAMMELL

MECHANICAL HORSE FLATBED

LNER 76MH020

This is a great 00 scale (9.9cm in length) release for our period model railway enthusiasts taking us back to the days when Scammell vehicles in railway goods yards were an integral part of the scene.  This latest Oxford release is painted in early LNER livery of dark blue, white lettering and red trim, registered BGF 195.

It was LNER in fact who had approached the Napier & Sons Company in the early 1930s when they were looking for a mechanical replacement for horses for local haulage purposes. At the same time, they valued the flexibility of changing the wagons and the physical versatility associated with horses.  Napier came up with a tractor unit with an easily detached articulated trailer. It had one central front wheel to the cab with a double set behind on the cab chassis.  The trailer in turn featured a further double set towards the rear. In 1933, Scammell Lorries Ltd bought the three-wheeled tractor design from Napier and developed the famous Mechanical Horse.  The concept lasted until 1968 and included the equally famous Scammell Scarab. The Mechanical Horse came either as 3 ton or 6 ton, depending on the load required and was able to turn through 360 degrees in under 20 ft with a 16ft trailer. It was powered by a 1125cc Scammell  side-valve petrol engine; the vehicle  had an average speed of about 20mph and a fuel consumption of 10-20 mpg.

The Scammell Mechanical Horse proved invaluable to railway companies in particular but it found favour with other hauliers and even the Armed Forces. When it ceased production in 1968, nearly 30,000 had been made in its 35 year history but only around 120 across its three variants are thought to exist today.