What a lovely old Bedford! Would be amazing to see this old girl at a show!

What was this model Tom?, its a `tractor unit` version of the TK, great old beasts!

Indeed Rich! There were still a number of these old wagons on the road when I was a kid. Cab looks rather cramped by today's standards!

These were `mens` trucks! , no power steering, no air con, crash box, clutch like a rock, and a basic sprung drivers seat! , I bet most of todays younger class 1 drivers couldn`t even get one of these in gear!, love how theres no crash rails along the trailer too!, although I didn`t realise those HIAB cranes were that old?

Yes true hardcore trucking Rich! I must confess tho, I've never driven a crash box! There's a chap where I work did all his training, both class 2 and one on an auto! Would you believe that?? Yes automatics are bloody lovely, especially around town but come on! Yes I didn't know HiAb had been around that long either, I would've guessed late 70s-early 80s! Yep, no crash rails or I doubt even side marker lights, which just so happened to be a Thorn innovation!

Yes it did take a long, long time to get an auto box on larger commercial vehicles and bigger diesel engines, but you only have to feel how smooth and powerful the ones are on most buses today, to know they got them right :woohoo: