(first posted 5/9/2014) I love car museums. They are great places to see some of the most interesting engineering creations of the last 120 years in the flesh, properly preserved and curated in an appropriate environment. And if the museum overtly caters to enthusiasts, that’s even better.
Likewise, a good car show is something to enjoy, maybe to an even greater extent: with a wide and varied selection of cars, usually arriving under their power with (sometimes) quietly proud owners and admirers in tow (extra points for bugs on the windscreen).
A combination of both, however, is ideal and makes a great day out for everyone. It is how I spent the 27th of April, with a trip to the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, near London. As it coincided with the annual Drive It Day for the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, many places, including Brooklands, hosted events of one sort or another.
Finished in 1907, Brooklands was the first purpose built motor racing site in the world, and was also the site of the country’s largest aircraft manufacturing facility by 1918. I’ll save you the long story, but suffice it to say that motor racing finished in 1939, with aircraft manufacture (both subassemblies and main structures), ceasing around twenty-five years ago. It is therefore one of the more unique museums you’ll see, with its combination of large sections of the historic banked circuit along with aircraft manufacturing buildings, amongst which is the one where Sir Barnes Wallis worked for many years. Aircraft ranging from the Sopwith Camel to Concorde have substantial links to the design and manufacturing work that happened at Brooklands for nearly eighty years.
Some of the banked circuit remains, but the site is now partly used for various industrial purposes. There is a large Mercedes-Benz test and demonstration centre on site, as well as a museum of motor racing and aviation centred around the original race circuit buildings and associated sheds, many of which are subject to building conservation orders. And it was at this area that the vehicle at the top of the page was presented, beneath the wing of an ex-BOAC, ex-Omani Royal Flight VC10 (built at Brooklands in 1964, it was the last large aircraft to land there in 1987, when it was donated for preservation).
To give a little contemporary context, this is a shot of London Heathrow around 1970, showing an Air France Sud-Aviation Caravelle, with two Ford Transits, a Bedford TK and two Karrier baggage holds or galley serving trucks in the foreground.
The collection shown here had been assembled under the wing of the VC10, effectively recalling what it would have been like on the airport ramp at a British airport it the early 1970s, complete with the branding of airlines that are no longer around. Neither are the van builders….
First up is the Bedford CA crew van belonging to BOAC, British Overseas Airways Corporation, the (then) nationally-owned, long haul international carrier, operating such aircraft as the VC10, the Boeing 707, the Boeing 747 and, of course, Concorde to New York and Washington. BOAC is now part of British Airways, of course.
This example was built in 1961 at Bedford’s Luton factory, and based on the regular CA van but equipped with windows and some rather basic looking seats. It would have been used for shuttling aircraft crew and engineers around, possibly spending most of its life airside.
Today it is permanently exhibited at the museum, but also working in its retirement around the museum site on various maintenance tasks.
This crew bus is obviously based on the same van as the ice cream van I saw recently–I think I have now seen more Bedford CAs this year than in the last five!
Sitting alongside the CA is a Bedford HA; in this case, a 1978 example decked out in the colours of BEA, British European Airways and now the part of British Airways that provides European services. The 1978 van’s paint scheme is actually a recreation, as BEA merged with BOAC in 1974 to create BA, but we’ll let that pass for today.
The Bedford HA was the commercial version of the Vauxhall Viva HA series, originally shown in 1963 with a 1057cc engine. This later version has the familiar 1256cc version of the Vauxhall OHV engine, and lasted until 1983, when it was replaced by the Bedford Chevanne, based very closely on the estate version of the Vauxhall Chevette (T car).
The HA van was one of the three dominant products in its market place for most of the 1960s and 1970s, along with the Ford Escort vans and the Morris Minor. After the Minor was discontinued in 1971, the HA was the preferred choice of British Telecommunications (now BT Group)–the national telephone infrastructure provider–and was one of the most familiar shapes in the British townscape of the 1970s. There may be fewer than 100 left in Britain today.
And the other two? The Morris Minor is perhaps the most fondly remembered British car, more so than the Mini in some ways. Every family will have a Morris Minor story to share, and the commercial versions were always there as well.
Here we have a 1958 Minor pickup, being used by DAN-AIR, a small, independent charter airline operating from London Gatwick airport on some scheduled, and many chartered, operations. The pickup was always less common than the van (Europe has never really gone for pickups in the way North America has) but you can see the appeal of the (cheaper) pickup when running back and forth from the hangar to the gate, quickly putting the lost baggage and critical spares in the load bay.
The Minor, at this time, had a 1.0 litre OHV engine (actually an Austin unit, not a Morris one) and was already ten years old as a design. Updates also included the replacement of the split screen with a larger single piece item.
This Minor van is a 1970 example, painted in the colours of British Caledonian Airways, which was another independent airline, flying charter operations with DC-10s at the time. By now the Minor had an 1100 cc engine, but received precious few changes otherwise. It was, after all, a product of the British motor industry.
This van was a staple of Britain for thirty years, and is without doubt the most recognisable and best remembered of this group.
And finally, proof I was at Brooklands–well, you can’t do this anywhere else in the UK, or Europe! Go here to help do something for perhaps the most important piece of combined car and aviation heritage in the world.
Nice writeup , thank you .
-Nate
Roger, thank you for hitting, and combining, two sweet spots – British and commercial vehicles. The links to other items of note, such as the Sopwith Camel, are appreciated for their giving more texture to your article.
The Minor pickup looks like it would be a lot of fun in which to bounce around town.
Very interesting piece; most of us here in the U.S. do not have much familiarity with the “working” vehicles from Great Britain, or Europe in general for that matter. It is an article like this that helps us realize that every vehicle in England was not a Jaguar or an MG. The interior shot of the Bedford HA shows just how utilitarian a working vehicle of that period would be.
The interior is exactly the same as the Viva sedan Ive owned and driven all these including the bigger Commer and Bedford TK in the first shot great to see these now seldom seen commercials gathered together.
Love that Bedford van; always have, since I had a Dinky Toy of one as kid in Austria. It’s got a face only a mother (or kid) could love. Which makes you wonder how GM ever allowed Bedford to come up with it.
And the VC-10…another Brit aviation heart breaker of the period to go along with the cars. I remember seeing these in NY when we flew to Europe in 1969. Beautiful lines, and those quad engines in the back, which gave it such sleek wings.
The RAF just retired their last two VC10 tankers (no hyphen is correct) this past September. They were the last airworthy ones left. One of them landed at an airport near Brooklands and will be transported in sections by
trucklorry to the museum for reassembly. The other one (which made the final flight) may or may not be scrapped. It went to Bruntingthorpe Airfield, former home of The Stig and British aviation’s version of Mojave, CA or Marana, AZ.The RAF VC10s were frequent visitors to the US. For many years there was a weekly shuttle that ran from their home base at RAF Brize Norton to Andrews AFB and on to the Falkland Islands. The tanker versions accompanied RAF fighter squadrons to the US for Red Flag and other exercises.
I’ve had the pleasure of watching one take off on several occasions. It was a glorious assault on the senses – all of them!
Way too many years ago, when I was in the US Air Force, there was an SAC Aerial Refueling Squadron on the base. They were flying some version of the KC-135 which was based on the Boeing 707; even in the mid-seventies these were not state of the art aircraft. You could always tell when a KC-135 was taking off; they were louder by several degrees than the C-141’s and C-5’s that were the norm at Travis AFB and the engines emitted copious amounts of black smoke at full throttle. Travis has, or at least had, 11,000 feet runways and the KC-135’s used nearly all of it to get off the ground. Belated kudos to everyone who was willing to get into an airplane that was essentially a flying fuel tank.
The KC-135 is alive and well (though in fewer numbers) nearly 50 years after the last one left Seattle. They were all re-engined in the ’80s and early ’90s (they’re now Stage III noise compliant and put out little if any smoke) and in recent years have had their cockpits upgraded with digital displays. Even with the KC-46 (a heavily modified Boeing 767) in the works, some of the 135s could be with us until 2040.
Oddly enough, every one I’ve ever been in still has a 50’s-’60s vintage crank pencil sharpener at the former navigator’s position. GPS was part of the cockpit upgrades which eliminated the need for the nav.
Exactly how old are the KC-135’s though? The 707 was made by Boeing until 1978, and there were several air frames completed by Boeing for the military between 1979 and 1991 believe it or not. The last ones were E6 Mercury planes, part of Operation Looking Glass and the E3 Sentry planes.
Russian navigators on Tu-95’s were still using slide rules not too long ago. May still be doing it.
VC10 – no hyphen is correct.
Whoops, corrected, thanks!
This is to answer Carmine’s question since the system wouldn’t let me reply directly to his post….
The KC-135 and its seemingly endless derivatives aren’t really 707s. They’re the original Boeing Model 717, not to be confused with the renamed McDonnell Douglas MD-95 of the late’90s. Among other differences, the 717/C-135 series has a fuselage diameter that falls in between that of the 367-80 prototype (now in the Smithsonian) and the production model commercial 707.
The last standard model KC-135 tanker (tail number 64-14840, currently in service with the Ohio ANG) was built in 1965. The last 717/C-135 series airframes were a handful of weather recon birds (later converted back to tankers) delivered in 1966.
The E-3, E-6, and C-137 (the old Air Force Ones) were all based on the commercial 707 airframe.
I think I watched something not too long ago about the last VC10 being brought to Brooklands – if it’s what I’m thinking of the runway was nowhere near long enough as they would have liked, but the pilots thought they could juuuuuuust squeeze it in. Turns out they first touched down across the adjacent highway and dragged it over to the runway, narrowly missing tree trunks that had been chopped down specifically for the purpose… but thankfully no cars or people were in the way!!
I might be wrong, though, so apologies in advance if I’ve mixed up the VC with something else.
NEVERMIND – I looked it up and it was a Vanguard… but I found the video and it’s cool as hell nonetheless, so I’m putting it here:
Great video, and what a close call!
That aircraft is still at Brooklands too
Now that’s scary as hell.
Not filling up those tree holes is culpable negligence, to put it mildly.
That the pilot laughs about it, doesn’t make it any better.
Trans Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada) used Vickers Vanguards and Viscounts for their medium and short haul routes in the 1950’s. The whine of turbo-prop engines is unforgettable.
Another person here who enjoyed this piece. There is something endearing about the Morris Minor, just from its looks.
Brooklands is certainly a fascinating track, as well. I have done some reading on the wild and wooly days of early motor racing (say, before 1920) and that was quite and exciting time with some really raw, untamed beast-like machines. I had not realized until I looked it up that the Brooklands track was all poured concrete.
The track at Indianapolis is not much newer, opening in 1909, and appears to have been influenced by Brooklands. There have been a few times it looked like that one would close as well, but it has somehow managed to remain relevant to racing. The shot of your car on a portion of the Brooklands track is a great one.
+1 Pre-war Grand Prix and the early days of auto racing are endlessly fascinating stuff. Steam cars, aero engines, opposed pistons, the “Silver Arrows”… lots of really wild approaches to making a car go fast back then, nothing like what we’re familiar with from after the war. And the heroics that it took to keep these things on the track were unbelievable. I’d give anything to go back in time and watch the early races at Indy or the first years of the Vanderbilt Cup, and anything at Brooklands or Tripoli!
Carl Fisher was publicly promoting a track for testing and racing in Indianapolis before Hugh Locke King began construction of Brooklands. The layout and engineering of IMS and Brooklands are different in almost every possible way.
I used to teach some about Brooklands in a couple of my technology classes. The “speed” series of instructional movies show it several times.
Owned a VW van with a 36 hp engine and these british vans seem to be cut from the same cloth. It would be hard not to choose one over a more modern vehicle for my little 5 acre hobby farm. Once about every two months I move a round bale of hay and that seems to be the only thing they wouldn’t do. You can get that delivered. One working today might be anachronistic but I probably am too. Love it. Keep em coming.
Very impressive history, Roger. I love passenger jets almost as much as I love cars and Brooklands sounds like a real treat. ’60s and ’70s UK is my idea of a good time, aesthetically and culturally.
Is that your MX5?
It was good on the whole to be a kid in 60s & 70s Britain though there were British Leyland cars in drab colours,Findus crispy pancakes, 3 day weeks,power cuts and ********* it in case the Russians or the IRA blew you up
It just adds to the charm.
I went to school in Britain for two years in the mid-1960’s and the first film I saw there was the documentary ‘The War Game’. Absolutely terrifying.
Different times…
Hi Perry,
yes it is my car, as featured on CC previously
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1990-mazda-mx-5-miata-nothing-complicated-done-properly/
And here’s the view from it!
Brooklands has such a mystique to it – great to read about its current state.
I love the poster as well. There have been media stories recently on the upcoming 100th anniversary of the London Underground’s adoption of the iconic ‘Johnston’ typeface. It was so successful as a branding exercise that the typeface was adopted by many other concerns – Brooklands appears to have borrowed it for their poster headline as well. There could be an argument that the Morris Minor and the Johnston typeface are the two best-loved British design products of the 20th century.
You’re forgetting the Routemaster bus…
Gosh, you’re starting something with that question.
Yes, the Minor and the Routemaster but also the Spitfire, the Dyson vacuum cleaner (don’t laugh – look at one and see how it works), Concorde (I worked for the company that built the nose) the original angelpoise desklamp, the JCB excavator, the Mini, the Mallard steam loco, the Airbus A380’s wings (so effective, so graceful and of cutting edge material), the list goes on, without mentioning Norman Foster’s or Edwin Lutyens architecture, or Harry Beck’s tube map………
I think we’ll have to agree to disagree about the A380. (aka L’Edsel) There’s nothing graceful about that thing. I’ve always joked that it’s the only aircraft where the pushback crew consists of the tug driver, two wing walkers and a tuba player!
I do agree with you about the Dyson vac. It’s a marvel to watch one work. The various bagless imitators I’ve tried have all been pure crap. Here in the US, Dysons have become one of the most stolen items in the retail industry. Some stores that sell them won’t even put them out on display. You have to ask to see one.
Airbus 380
We are talking about emotional response though. I’ll admit my second choice is more arguable. If it comes down to just one, I’d still vote for the Minor.
the original angelpoise desklamp
Great write-up–vintage aircraft fascinate me almost as much as do vintage automobiles, and seeing these classic commercial vehicles from the other side of the pond is a treat as well.
Good to see that Brooklands, or what’s left of it, is under preservation also. When I was a youngster I was given a few volumes of a British “car encyclopedia” from the mid 70’s called “World of Automobiles”, one of which had a lengthy article on Brooklands, and its derelict condition and uncertain future. I found it so interesting even as an 8 year-old…need to see if I can find the rest of that set of books someday.
Great to such activity at Brooklands. I visited a few decades ago and there only seemed to be bits left of the track next to a shopping centre. Of course maybe that was the only bit my father wanted to show me so he didn’t get delayed.
That HA van is charming. While the steering wheel and column is rather ugly the dashboard and gearshift knob is almost the same as my old ’65 Envoy Epic (Canadian spec Vauxhall Viva).
The steering wheel is typical 70s Vauxhall, but the dash is still 60s
Yes your right I forgot my HA sedan had a HC steering wheel harvested from the same wreck the engine and gearbox came from. that van has the HC control pod on the column too mine didnt.
Prefer the Morris actually they were still being assembled here in 74/5 I drove a new Austin Minor van in 73 same van but with crinkled grille bars and Austin on the horn press.
This is a great write up as it brings back fond memories. I grew up in the early 70s making many trips to Scotland to visit my grand parents. The airport vehicles were the first signs of a knowing you had arrived in a different country. Many of these featured trucks I remember. There was also a stairway Dodge truck that was common at Edinburgh airport, but not here in the US. I have a Matchbox version of it too, but have never seen one since. Was it was a UK spec cab over of some sort perhaps?
All of these look GREAT and being at Brooklands is a mega-bonus. I love the picture of the MX-5 on the banked curve.
Let’s see… I’m having a very tough time picking a favorite van. Tough to beat a pug-face Bedford in BOAC livery but I think I’m even more drawn to the neat colors on the ’70 Morris and the overwhelming redness of the BAE Bedford. And I think this may be the first “real” picture of a Minor pickup I’ve come across, too. I’ve seen drawings in ads and books, but I don’t know that I’ve ever looked at a real one. Between not being that common to begin with and nearly all of them living pretty hard lives, I’d guess these probably haven’t survived much better than the Bedford HA vans?
On second thought, give me the Bedford CA. I’m sure all of them would have great stories to tell, but I can just picture it… a rainy afternoon at London Airport, crew packed in tight, somebody’s just waking up from a hangover, stewardess sitting on somebody else’s lap, totally inappropriate jokes being made, cigarette smoke swirling, maybe a stiff drink for courage as the Bedford rumbles out to the waiting 707…
Really wish I had been born early enough to fly on BOAC and/or the Concorde back in the glory days. I could have done the latter, but I was always too broke right up until the point they retired them. I still miss having them wake me up each morning departing JFK!
Nice Roger. That Brooklands bank reminds me of one of my favourite automotive photographs. Enjoyed the planes as well, are there any Comets still left in the metal anywhere?
Comets have been preserved as follows in the UK
RAF Museum Cosford
The de Havilland Centre, north of London
Imperial War Museum Duxford (probably the best aviation museum in Europe, may be the World)
the National Museum of Flight near Edinburgh
The last Comet to fly, Comet 4C Canopus (XS235) is kept in running condition at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, where fast taxi runs are regularly conducted
Thanks Roger. It’s a beautiful, if flawed, piece of aeronautics.
There’s a Comet IV north of Seattle, I’ve forgotten the museums name.
Anything BOAC reminds me of the opening line of “Back in the USSR”, by The Beatles.
I’ve always wondered if it was actually possible to go from Miami to (Moscow? Leningrad?) on BOAC, or if that particular carrier just fit the lyric.