< View previous picture - View next picture > Photographer / Copyright Malcolm Conway collection Images should not be reused without permission. View vehicle details 1223F 203CXK YT19  Location Link/s Date added to site 28/07/2021 Printer-friendly version of this page

Details: Before the 1960s, articulated lorries were quite rare in the London Transport fleet. The only examples were a couple of specialised low-loaders and of course the 10 Bedford mobile canteens. From late-1959, London Transport started buying artic tractors and trailers for more general-purpose duties, most of the early prime movers being Ford Thames Traders. 1223F was from a batch of six delivered in late 1961. It was photographed in July 1962 paired with YT19, one of three slightly unusual trailers delivered at about the same time. While most trailers were dropside opens or low-loader flatbeds, YT17-YT19 had fixed sides and full length tilt covers, making them effectively vans. The trio were apparently used for the movement of bus tyres, and official documents state that they were acquired to replace AEC Regal lorries including 445W and 451W. The YT19 fleetnumber is visible painted on the full-height headboard, while the number on the tractor unit includes the PM suffix, this standing for Prime Mover. Non-articulated Ford lorries from this era had their tonnage as the suffix. The covered trailers, and the Ford Thames tractor units, were withdrawn in the early 1970s.

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