Leyland Beaver Petrol Tanker 1936 - World Of Classic Cars -

Leyland Beaver Petrol Tanker 1936

The origin of truck-building in Leyland can be traced back to two men, James Sumner and Henry Spurrier, who together formed 'The Lancashire Steam Motor Company' in 1896 to exploit their original product, a 1.5 tonne capacity steam van. Their first petrol-engined vehicle, nicknamed 'the Pig', was produced in 1904. In 1907 the company absorbed the steam wagon builder Coulthards of Preston, adopting the name of Leyland Motors Limited. With the late 1920s came some legendary Leyland models which put the company at the forefront of bus and truck design, starting the ""Leyland Zoo"" with animal names for Leyland models such as the 'Lion', 'Lioness', 'Llama', 'Leveret', 'Tiger', 'Terrier', 'Badger', 'Beaver', 'Bull', 'Bison' and 'Buffalo' along with the non-animal 'Leviathon', 'Titan' and 'Titanic' which brought the company back to prosperity after the crisis of the early 1920's. The 1930's continued the development of this well received range as 'Hippo', 'Rhino', and 'Octopus' were added to the 'heavy' range of vehicles and the 'lightweight' 'Cub' replaced the Trojan. A leap forward during this period was the introduction of Leyland's own diesel engine, after which the days of the petrol engine were numbered in civilian use Leyland vehicles. The end of World War II saw Leyland poised to expand as they supplied vehicles during a period many enthusiasts consider to be a 'Golden Age' of road transport. The new optimism was exemplified by the new Comet truck and bus range.

Leyland Beaver Petrol Tanker 1936

The 1950's saw a massive expansion of Leyland Motors as the famous UK makes of Scammell Lorries and Albion Motors were acquired. The truck operation had been drastically rationalised by the early 1980's and the bus and truck sides were separated ready for their sell off in 1987 when Leyland Trucks was merged with DAF of the Netherlands to form Leyland DAF, with the Dutch holding the majority stake and exercising the day-to-day management control.
This 1936 Leyland Beaver Petrol Tanker was purchased by the vendor in the early 1980's to promote the family fuel business. After taking nearly four years to restore it, this tanker was seen at many rallies including the Historic Festivals at Silverstone motor racing circuit in the 1990's. As good as when it was restored 25 years ago this Beaver has been fitted with the correct Leyland Diesel E102 engine and is finished in the company's livery of dark green cab and tank with black wings and red wheels. The fuel tank has four compartments and is fitted with all the period accessories including two pales mounted by the four brass outlet taps, a wooden tool box fitted to the rear of the tank and the metal ladder to the wooden walkway along the top of the tank.