AEC was Britain’s first transport vehicle manufacturer with a high-throughput assembly line, and later became a key arm of the Leyland Motors Group.
When AEC (the Associated Equipment Company) was established in 1912, it was not the intention of its parent group to enter the goods vehicle business. But two years later it began producing what finally accounted for around 10,000 of the 25,000 British manufactured trucks delivered to the army during World War One.
AEC did not become a stand-alone business until 1933. Prior to that, it operated as the bus and truck building side of an amalgamated group of London bus operators. What became ‘the AEC’ grew out of a venture initiated in 1908-09 by London General Omnibus to manufacture its own buses. The build-it-ourselves decision was a response to the mechanical unreliability plaguing the Wolseleys, Daimlers and buses of other makes it was running. The problem was so fundamental that, to guarantee dependable passenger services, at the time the in-house project was initiated, the bulk of London’s General Omnibus fleet remained horse-drawn.
Horsing about
In 1909, London General had the staggering total of 11,000 horses. Never mind today’s cries of ‘dirty diesel.’ Imagine the health risks – never mind watching your step crossing the road – of the daily tonnage of road apples dropped by thousands of horses clip-clopping along London’s streets.
In 1910, within two years of the motor bus project’s commencement, an initial batch had been built and the design refined to create the legendary B-type. This was followed by investment in what was probably among the world’s first moving track assembly lines. By 1913, some 2500 B-types were in service and London had said goodbye to its last horsedrawn bus.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Trucking.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Trucking.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Economic Certainty
DAF’s HVO-sipping lightweight FTP chassis goes all-out for payload and fuel frugality.
Gold For J Mould
The life of the eight-wheeler can be harsh. Trucking went to hear how one Reading operator switched to Renault after a long and tough market-wide evaluation.
Step In The Right Direction
How switching to alternative liquid fuels can help operators put the brakes on HGV emissions.
Leading By Example
Flogas drives forward carbon reduction with new Bio-LNG powered truck duo.
Dearborn To Dagenham
Ford used to be a mainstay of the UK light/medium truck market – and in the 1930s offered three-tonners powered by the legendary Flathead V8.
Cost of traffic to UK business approaches £1bn
Cost of traffic to UK business approaches £1bn
Motward Marks Anniversary With Top-Spec Tribute Truck
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire based Motward has celebrated 40 years in business with the purchase of a new Volvo FH16-750 tractor unit, which has become a lasting tribute to the company’s much-loved boss, Jason Tolhurst.
The New Hotel Entrance
Slippery slope for this driver after his initiative is rewarded with a dose of the white stuff
Trucker Of The Year 2018
In association with Staveley Head, Trucking magazine needs your nominations as we look to crown the country’s best truck driver!
Cat-Astrophe!
Feline shenanigans with clandestine stowaway of the furry variety