Scammell Townsman

The Scammell Townsman was a three-wheeled articulated tractor unit that replaced the Scarab in the Scammell Mechanical Horse family when Scarab production ceased in 1967. It kept the automatic coupling that made the Mechanical Horse popular with railways and delivery fleets, but the coupling release now worked by vacuum instead of the hand lever used on earlier models, and the brakes were vacuum-assisted hydraulic. Its most visible change was a fibreglass cab designed by Giovanni Michelotti, who also styled the cabs of the heavier Trunker, Handyman and Routeman. Despite numerous improvements it sold mainly to British Rail and the Royal Mail. Production ended in 1968 because forthcoming construction and use regulations required dual-line brakes on articulated combinations, which the design could not meet, and the formation of British Leyland also played a part. About thirty Townsmen are known to survive.