The Scammell Mechanical Horse was a three-wheeled tractor unit with an easily detached articulated trailer, conceived in the early 1930s by Napier and Son for the London and North Eastern Railway as a replacement for horses on local haulage. Scammell bought the design in 1933, Oliver Danson North refined it, and production began in 1934. It had a single front wheel steerable through 360 degrees and automatic trailer coupling, on a steel channel frame with a wooden cab. It came in 3-ton and 6-ton versions with Scammell side-valve petrol engines of 1,125 cc and 2,043 cc. After a run of 14,000 it was superseded in the late 1940s by the Scammell Scarab. The round hood earned it the name snub-nose lorry.
Facts
Engine Class Connections
Exemplifies
Source Scammell Mechanical Horse (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Scammell Mechanical Horse (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Scammell Mechanical Horse (Wikipedia)
Mechanical Horse
Production of the 3-wheeled Mechanical Horse commenced in 1934.
Scammell Scarab
In the late 1940s, after a production run of 14,000, the Mechanical Horse was superseded by the Scammell Scarab.
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The concept of the Mechanical Horse tractor unit with an easily detached articulated trailer was conceived in the early 1930s by Napier & Son.
Mechanical Horse, engine class
The tractor units were powered by Scammell's own side valve petrol engine of 1125cc in the 3 ton version and 2043cc in the larger 6 tonner.
Mechanical Horse, manufacturer
In 1933 Scammell Lorries Ltd purchased the three wheeled tractor unit design from the Napier Company and promptly turned it into the famous Mechanical Horse.
View the SourceScammell (Wikipedia)
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Scammell Lorries Limited was a British manufacturer of lorries, particularly specialist and military off-road vehicles, between 1921 and 1988.
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