Brockway Motor Company was a builder of custom heavy-duty trucks in Cortland, New York, from 1912 to 1977. It was founded as Brockway Carriage Works in 1875 by William Brockway. His son George Brockway later turned the carriages into a truck manufacturer in 1909.
During World War II Brockway manufactured the B666 heavy truck, including the B666 Daybrook M-II-A bridge erector and C666 Quick Way crane, as well as G547 and G690 6-ton 6×6 bridging trucks, part of a standard design series also built by Corbitt and White. G547 “Treadway” trucks had a large hoist on the rear for self-unloading, while the G690 chassis were fitted with “Quickway” cranes, also used in bridging operations.
The company was purchased by Mack Trucks Inc. in August 1956 and remained a division of Mack until its closing in June 1977. Mack cited “union troubles” for the closure.
All 6-ton military trucks (of all manufacturers) had Hercules HXD 855 cu in (14.0 L) I6 gasoline engines, developing 202 hp (151 kW) at 2150 rpm and 642 lbf⋅ft (870 N⋅m) of torque at 900 rpm.
Brockway commercial trucks primarily used Cummins engines, though many were powered by Detroit Diesels. Some Brockway trucks were equipped with inline six engines fitted with Rochester2G (DualJet) carburetors.
There is a Brockway Truck show in Cortland each year with many events occurring at the official Brockway Museum located in Homer, NY at the Central New York Living History Center.
The hood ornament used by Brockway was a husky dog with pulling harness, thus giving Cortland the nickname of “Huskie Town USA”.
A documentary about the trucks and the Brockway company is available from Wiffle Ball Productions in Cortland, New York.
Jump up^Wren, James A.; Wren, Genevieve (1979). Motor Trucks of America. Ann Arbor MI: The University of Michigan Press. pp. 215, 313. ISBN0-472-06313-8.
GINAF Heavy Duty Special Trucks 1948-present, but now in Chinese Hands sinds 2011
History
The story behind GINAF
In 1933, Evert van Ginkel Senior started a car dealership in Ederveen, the Netherlands. Right after the war the company branched out into dump truck services and conversion of A-Fords into agricultural tractors.
Evert van Ginkel’s sons Adrie and Wulfert established a partnership on 1 November 1948 to continue in their father’s footsteps
and further expand his business.
Their activities focused on army surplus trade and the conversion of lorries.
Throughout the 1950s the Van Ginkel family mainly sold unconverted REOs, which they obtained from surplus American army stock. The original petrol engine could, if required, be replaced by a new Leyland DAF diesel engine.
The floods of 1953 caused a huge increase in the need for dump trucks.
The purchase of an enormous batch of army surplus material from the US army in 1959, led to the Van Ginkel brothers, who had in the meantime been joined by the third brother, Evert-Jan, deciding to assume a more professional approach to their business and start building new trucks. These new trucks were the REOs with a cabin.
It was up to client to decide what kind of engine he wanted to have put in. But the best results were attained with DAF components.
In 1967, the Netherlands Centre for Vehicle Technology and Information recognized and registered Van Ginkel as a certified truck builder. From that moment on, their products were sold under the trade name GINAF. GINAF occupied a strong position in the dump truck segment.
From a technical point of view, the trucks were still made of components with an armed forces background. After thorough revisions, the axles, gearboxes, steering mechanisms etc. turned out to be indestructible. The use of these components ensures a low purchase price, which was the deciding factor leading many to buy a GINAF. The annual production grew to about 150 trucks. The 1970s saw an increase in the use of new components (such as cabins), mainly manufactured by DAF.
In 1976, GINAF introduced its own four-axle vehicle, the KFS 16 8×8. This was only the second 8×8 on the Dutch market. At the end of 1978, GINAF moved to new premises in Veenendaal. The spares warehouse and the service department remained in Ederveen. As of 1 January 1992, the old and the new branches were split up into separate companies.
The company continued to produce vehicles with army surplus components up to 1987. The year 1980 saw the introduction of the F 480 8×8, the first GINAF completely made up of new parts. The company signed a contract with DAF on 1 February 1982, which laid down that the latter would be taking care of the sales and service of GINAF products.
GINAF is still an independent family business. GINAF has been closely cooperating with DAF since the 1970s. GINAF has taken on a great deal of conversion work for DAF throughout the years. The 1980s heralded a time that saw a strong drive towards increasing the loading capacity of lorries. At the Dutch car industry trade fair of 1984, GINAF was ahead of the competition once more with the introduction of the first five-axle vehicles. The arrival of new, heavier components enabled a considerable upgrade of the product line.
Even greater tonnages turned out to be possible with the Hydropneumatic Suspension System (HPSS), which was introduced in 1986.
GINAF has been working on the basis of the modular construction principle since 1988. The company buys standard components from DAF, and builds its trucks in modules. This allows more flexible working methods and greater diversity in the models GINAF offers.
From 1990, all models could be supplied with the new DAF 95 (the G series). The type designation of GINAF trucks was changed when the new series was introduced. A numeric code indicates how many axles the truck has in total, how many of these axles are driven, and its registered gross vehicle weight.
GINAF presented the EVS (Electronic Vehicle Steering System) in 1991. This system was custom developed to enable steering of the rear straight axle in widespread tandems. This leads to a 4-tonne increase in the legal loading capacity. In 1993, GINAF introduced the M series with a DAF F75 or 85 cabin. After the introduction of the Tridem series (with triple rear axle arrangement) the present day X series followed.
GINAF has, throughout the years, also built a range of smaller series or single trucks. These “specials” are the result of the greater flexibility that GINAF has been displaying.
GINAF X3331 truck with a crane
GINAF X3331 Dakar rally service truck
GINAF is a truck manufacturer which produces trucks mainly for heavy duty off-road transport, construction and agricultural work. About 250 trucks are made each year in the company’s factory in Veenendaal in the Netherlands. The company also has a service center for their trucks in the small Dutch town Ederveen.
History
The company was founded in 1948 by Wuf and Adrie van Ginkel and started out as a truck dealer. Modifications to trucks left over from the US Army such as the GMC Diamond were also done and these trucks were then sold. In the early 1960s the company became a true truck manufacturer and changed name to Van Ginkels Automobiel Fabriek, or GINAF for short. The company started producing their own trucks using mainly DAF components. Because of this GINAF trucks often look similar to DAF trucks as the cabin used is usually the same as the ones used by DAF.
Since 1986 GINAF uses a hydropneumaticsuspension system for many of its trucks, which functions better under heavy loads and rough terrain compared to conventional suspension systems and also has a longer lifespan.
GINAF was declared bankrupt in December 2011; it was then taken over by Chinese Hi-Tech Group Corporation (CHTGC).
Special trucks
Special custom made trucks include firetrucks, riot control trucks, military trucks, garbage trucks and airportfuel bowsers. Several GINAF trucks also participate in the annual Dakar Rally as both rally and service trucks, having done so since 1987, though the first GINAF to participate in the rally was labelled as being a DAF for marketing purposes. The amount of GINAF trucks participating in the rally has been on the rise since Dutch driver Hans Bekx entered a newly constructed GINAF truck in 2000.
De Ginaf TF 10 & TF 12 wachten geduldig op restauratie.
Thank you for all the beautiful pictures you photographers made in the last years. I can’t ask you all for permission and hope you enjoy the result of a collector about GINAF
The REO Motor Car Company was a Lansing, Michigan based company that produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms.
Originally the company was to be called “R. E. Olds Motor Car Company,” but the owner of Olds’ previous company, then called Olds Motor Works, objected and threatened legal action on the grounds of likely confusion of names by consumers. Olds then changed the name to his initials. Olds Motor Works soon adopted the popular name of its vehicles, Oldsmobile (which, along with Buick and Cadillac, became founding divisions of General Motors Corporation).
The company’s name was spelled alternately in all capitals REO or with only an initial capital as Reo, and the company’s own literature was inconsistent in this regard, with early advertising using all capitals and later advertising using the “Reo” capitalization. The pronunciation, however, was as a single word. Lansing is home to the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum.
Early REO production
By 1907, REO had gross sales of $4.5 million and the company was one of the four wealthiest automobile manufacturers in the U.S. After 1908 however, despite the introduction of improved cars designed by Olds, REO’s share of the automobile market decreased due in part to competition from emerging companies like Ford and General Motors.
REO added a truck manufacturing division and a Canadian plant in St. Catharines, Ontario in 1910. Two years later, Olds claimed he had built the best car he could, a tourer able to seat two, four, or five, with a 30–35 hp (22–26 kW) engine, 112 in (2845 mm) wheelbase, and 32 inch (81 cm) wheels, for US$ 1055 (not including top, windshield, or gas tank, which were US$100 extra); self-starter was US$25 on top of that. By comparison, the Cole 30 and Colt Runabout were priced at US$1500, Kirk‘s Yale side-entrance US$1,000, the high-volume OldsmobileRunabout went for US$650, Western‘s Gale Model A was US$500, a Brush Runabout US$485, the Black started at $375, and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250.
In 1915, Olds relinquished the title of general manager to his protégé Richard H. Scott and eight years later he ended his tenure as the company’s presidency as well, retaining the position of chairman of the board.
1912 REO advertisement – R. M. Owens & Co.
Perhaps the most famous REO episode was the 1912 Trans-Canada journey. Traveling 4,176 miles (6,720 km) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, toVancouver, British Columbia, in a 1912 REO special touring car, mechanic/driver Fonce V. (Jack) Haney and journalist Thomas W. Wilby made the first trip by automobile across Canada (including one short jaunt into northeastern Washington State when the Canadian roads were virtually impassable.)
From 1915 to 1925, under Scott’s direction REO remained profitable. In 1923, the company sold an early recreational vehicle, called the “Motor Pullman Car.” Designed by Battle Creek, Michigan newspaper editor, J.H. Brown, the automobile included a drop-down sleeping extension, a built-in gas range and a refrigerator. During 1925, however, Scott, like many of his contemporaries/competitors, began an ambitious expansion program designed to make the company more competitive with other automobile manufacturers by offering cars in different price ranges. The failure of this program and the effects of the Depression caused such losses that Olds ended his retirement during 1933 and assumed control of REO again, but resigned in 1934. During 1936, REO abandoned the manufacture of automobiles to concentrate on trucks.
The Flying Cloud was the first car to use Lockheed’s new hydraulic internal expanding brake system and featured styling by Fabio Segardi. While Ned Jordan is credited with changing the way advertising was written with his “Somewhere West of Laramie” ads for his Jordan Playboy, Reo’s Flying Cloud—a name that provoked evocative images of speed and lightness—changed the way automobiles would be named in the future. It has a 115″ wheelbase. The final REO model of 1936 was a Flying Cloud.
In April 1927, Reo introduced the Wolverine brand of cars as a companion model to the Flying Cloud. With a Continental engine, artillery wheels, and a different pattern of horizontal radiator louvers from the Flying Cloud, the Wolverine was made until 1928.
The 1931 Reo Royale was a trendsetting design, introducing design elements that were a precedent for true automotive streamlining in the American market. The model was vended until 1935. Beverly Kimes, editor of the Standard Catalog of American Cars, terms the Royale “the most fabulous Reo of all”. In addition to its coachwork by Murray designed by their Amos Northup, the Royale also provided buyers with a 125 hp (93 kW) straight-eight with a nine bearing crankshaft, one shot lubrication, and thermostatically controlled radiator shutters. The Royale rode upon factory wheelbases of 131 and 135 inches (3,400 mm); a 1932 custom version rode upon a 152-inch (3,900 mm) wheelbase. Beginning in 1933, the Royale also featured REO’s semi-automatic transmission, the Self-Shifter.
REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck at Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee
Reo Flying Cloud 4.7 litre
1931 Reo Royale Victoria Eight
Car emblem for a Reo Flying Cloud (1930 model)
After passenger cars
c.1946 REO truck
Although truck orders during World War II enabled it to revive somewhat, the company remained unstable in the postwar era, resulting in a bankruptcy reorganization. In 1954, the company was still underperforming, and sold vehicle manufacturing operations (the primary asset of the company) to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation of Detroit. Three years later, in 1957, it became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. White then merged REO with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc. In 1975, this company filed for bankruptcy in the Western District of Michigan and most of its assets were liquidated. Volvo later took over White and thus currently owns the rights to the REO brandname.
Meanwhile, the corporation remained nominally after the 1954 Bohn sale. Management began liquidating the organization, but due to shareholder issues, instead acquired Nuclear Consultants, Inc., a nuclear medicine or nuclear industry services organization (unclear), and renamed the combined company “Nuclear Corporation of America, Inc.” The company diversified, and purchased other companies, to become a conglomerate, including nuclear, prefabricated housing, and steel joist businesses. Most of these business were failures, except for the latter, and the company was bankrupted once again in 1965. Upon reorganizing, only the successful steel joist business remained; that company started producing recycled steel, leading to today’s steel company, Nucor.
An REO is mentioned in a humorous 1933 short story by James Thurber entitled, The Car We Had to Push. It tells the story of Thurber’s family car, which would only start if pushed a long way. After several odd adventures, the car is destroyed by a trolley car.
In the John Wayne movie Big Jake, the Texas Rangers were traveling in REOs, which were later destroyed by the bandits. (The cars destroyed were replicas, rather than the actual vehicles).
The AmericanCountry Music band Diamond Rio took their name from Diamond Reo trucks. The bands leader Marty Roe settled on the name Diamond Rio, taking the name from a member of the truck model line that had previously inspired the name of the rock group REO Speed-wagon. Roe misspelled “Reo” as “Rio,” but decided to make a virtue out of his mistake. “I like it like that. It has a country-Southwestern flavor,” he told the Chicago Tribune’s Jack Hurst.
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1906 REO advertisement
A 1919 REO Motor Car Company Advertisement – The Syracuse Herald, June 8, 1919
REO advertisement in 1953 (back cover of the October 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics)
During World War II, Diamond T produced a classic heavy truck in the 980/981, a prime mover which was quickly acquired by the British Purchasing Commission for duty as a tank transportertractor. Coupled with a Rogers trailer, the truck gave sterling service with the British Army in North Africa Campaign, where its power and rugged construction allowed the rescue of damaged tanks in the most demanding of conditions. In addition Diamond T built the entire range of the G509 series 4 ton 6X6s, including cargo, dump, semi tractor, and wrecker trucks, as well as some lighter trucks, and even G7102 half tracks. Diamond T ranked 47th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.
Diamond T manufactured two pickup trucks: the Model 80 and the Model 201. Both pickups were powered by the Hercules QX-series 6-cylinder engines. The Model 201 was produced from 1938 to 1949.
Advertisement for the White Sewing Machine Company’s 1905 model
About 1898, Thomas H. White purchased a Locomobilesteam car and found its boiler unreliable. His son, Rollin, set out to improve its design. Rollin White developed a form of water tube steam generator which consisted of a series of stacked coils with two novel features: the first was that the coils were all joined at the top of the unit, which allowed water to flow only when pumped, allowing control of the steam generation; the second was pulling steam from the lowest coil, closest to the fire, which allowed control of steam temperature. This second point was critical because the White steamer operated with superheated steam to take advantage of steam’s properties at higher temperatures. Rollin White patented his steam generator, US patent 659,837 of 1900.[1]
Rollin H. White patented his new design and offered it to, among others, Locomobile. Finally, he persuaded his father, founder of the White Sewing Machine Company, to allow the use of a corner in one of his buildings to build an automobile.
White’s brother Windsor, who was a management talent, joined the business venture, followed by their brother Walter, who became instrumental in the sales, promotion and distribution of the product. The first group of fifty cars were completed in October 1900, but none were offered to the public until April 1901 so the design could be thoroughly tested. Since the cars were being offered by the automobile department of the sewing machine company, White could not afford to diminish the reputation of the parent company by the introduction of an untested product.
It became necessary in 1905 to separate the automobile department from its parent company to accommodate the growth of the business and to physically separate them, as a fire in one could ruin both operations. On July 4, 1905, a racing steam car named “Whistling Billy” and driven by Webb Jay set a record of 73.75 mph (118.69 km/h) on the Morris Park Racecourse.
A 1907 White steamer was one of the early vehicles in the White House when Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, allowed the Secret Service to use the car behind his horse-drawn carriage. In 1909, president William Howard Taft converted the White House stables into a garage and purchased four automobiles: two Pierce-Arrows, a Baker Electric, and a 1911 White. This $4,000 car was one of the last steam cars produced and proved a favorite of the President who used bursts of steam against “pesky” press photographers. The 40 hp (30 kW) White Model M 7-seat tourer generated favorable press for the newly formed White Motor Company.
The last steam car was built in January 1911 as the company made a transition to gasoline-powered vehicles. The company continued to show them in their catalogues as late as 1912. About 10,000 White steam-powered cars were built, more than the better known Stanley.
Gasoline models
White companies’ manufacturing facility expanded. The White steamer used unique technology, and it was vulnerable in a market that was accepting the internal combustion engine as the standard. White canvassed existing gas manufacturers and licensed the rights to the Delahaye design for the “gas car”, showing a chassis at an English auto show in December 1908.
White tractors
Rollin became more interested in agricultural tractors, and developed designs for tractors derived from standard White truck parts. When the White Company was not interested in producing tractors, Rollin set out to develop his own designs and, with brother Clarence, eventually founded Cleveland Motor Plow, which later became Cletrac tractor. In the early 1920s, Rollin briefly produced the Rollin car to diversify the tractor company, but found it could not compete in cost versus price against much larger manufacturers.
White was successful with their heavy machines, which saw service around the world during World War I. White remained in the truck industry for decades.
White Motor Company ended car production after WWI and began producing trucks. The company soon sold 10 percent of all trucks made in the US. Although White produced all sizes of trucks from light delivery to semi, the decision was made after WWII to produce only large trucks. White acquired several truck companies during this time: Sterling, Autocar, Diamond T, and REO. White also agreed to sell Consolidated Freightways trucks through its own dealers. White produced trucks under the Autocar nameplate following its acquisition. Diamond T and REO Motor Car Company became the Diamond REO division, which was discontinued in the 1970s.
A White semi performed a role in the 1949 James Cagney film, “White Heat“. This era was probably the peak of White Motor market penetration, with the substantial gasoline engined tractors moving a large part of the tractor trailer fleet.
White designed and (with other companies) produced the M3 Scout Car, the standard United States Army reconnaissance vehicle at the start of World War II. White also built the later M2 and M3half-tracks.
In 1967, White started the Western Star division to sell trucks on the west coast.
In the 1930s, White produced 500 of their small Model 706 buses specifically designed to carry passengers through the major National Parks of the western US. The distinctive vehicles, with roll-back canvas convertible tops, were the product of noted industrial designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, and originally operated in seven National Parks. Today, Glacier National Park operates 33 of their original 35 buses, where they are referred to as “Red Jammers“, and 8 (of an original 98) have been restored for renewed service in Yellowstone National Park. Glacier National Park‘s 33 buses were refurbished by Ford Motor Company and TransGlobal in 2000-2002, while Yellowstone National Park‘s eight buses were refurbished by TransGlobal in 2007. Glacier has kept one bus in original condition. Yellowstone has five White buses in original condition, two model 706s and three older units as well. In addition, Gettysburg National Battlefield operates two of Yellowstone’s original buses.
During the time brothers Walter and Windsor White ran the company, it offered a library branch, a store which sold necessities at low cost, sports teams, and concerts by orchestras and jazz bands, as well as musical performances by the workers, many of whom were immigrants from Slovenia and Poland. The company also had picnics at Euclid Beach Park.
After Walter White died from a traffic accident, management changed and so did the firm’s culture. Employees started one of the country’s first automobile unions. The Great Depression caused a drop in sales, forcing White to merge with Studebaker. However, White soon became independent again.
In 1935, Robert Fager Black became president, but workers were still unhappy, and they went on strike. Black tried talking to the workers who were striking, and he even got baseball equipment for them and let them play while on strike, so they would have something to do. Black learned people’s names, visited the plant frequently, and asked customers if they were happy with what they purchased. Anyone could visit his office.
Black brought the company back to where it had once been by World War II, during which the company supplied the military with much of its equipment. White ranked 54th among US corporations in the value of WWII military production contracts. When husbands went to serve, wives took their jobs, and the work force totaled over 4000. Black provided the services the company had at one time, and helped employees get to work with carpools.
Black retired in 1956, still beloved by employees.
Demise
1962 tractor
In 1953, White purchased the Autocar Company. From 1951 until 1977, White Motors also distributed Freightliner trucks. This took place under an agreement with Freightliner’s parent, Consolidated Freightways. White manufactured trucks under its own brands—White, Autocar, and Western Star—as well, leading to the company becoming known as the “Big Four” through to the mid-1970s. The Sterling nameplate, unused by White as long as the company owned it, went to Freightliner after the companies’ split; it is was used from 1997 to 2008, by Daimler Trucks.
Sales dropped during the 1960s, and White tried merging with White Consolidated Industries, the company that once made sewing machines; the federal government blocked this deal. The company opened plants in Virginia and Utah, since they did not have unions, but this did not help. Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudsen, former president of Ford Motor Company, made the company successful for a time, but the decline continued. Later, the federal government approved a merger with White Consolidated, which feared being hurt by White Motor’s troubles. Mergers with Daimler and Renault were also considered. Production was somewhat limited as White did not have a lighter range (13,330 units built in 1978), leading to several attempts at linking up with various European manufacturers.
By 1980, White was insolvent. Volvo AB acquired the US assets of the company in 1981, while two energy-related companies based in Calgary, Alberta, Bow Valley Resource Services, and NovaCorp, an Alberta corporation, purchased the Canadian assets, including the Kelowna, British Columbia, plant, and the Western Star nameplate and product range.
1948 White road tractor model WC-22T
Volvo produced trucks as White and Autocar through the 1980s, while Western Star continued independently in Canada and the United States, although Volvo-White–produced high cab over engine models were purchased and rebadged Western Star for sale in the Canadian market through the early 1990s.
Volvo purchased GMC‘s heavy truck business in 1987 and merged it with White, creating the White-GMC brand. Western Star was sold to Australian entrepreneur Terry Peabody in 1990. Subsequently, Western Star was resold by Peabody to DaimlerChrysler AG and merged with its Freightliner subsidiary. Volvo dropped any reference to White, and is now Volvo Trucks North America. Autocar remained a part of Volvo until 2000, when the trademark was withdrawn from the market, and was subsequently sold to Grand Vehicle Works together with the Xpeditor low cab forward heavy duty product, which remains in production under the Autocar badge, the last vestige of what was once America’s leading commercial vehicle producer.
A former White subsidiary, White Farm Equipment, produced farm tractors until 2001. As of 2006, the only products made under the White name is a series of corn planters (made by AGCO) and garden tractors (made by MTD Products).
Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR) designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, government services, defense, and delivery and service markets. The company is based in Charlotte, Michigan and employs approximately 1,800 associates at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Indiana and Florida. Spartan reported sales of $471 million in 2012 and is focused on becoming a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of specialty vehicles and chassis. It was started in 1976 by Charles Robert McManamey and a group of individuals whose employer, Diamond Reo, went bankrupt.
Chicago Fire Department Academy engine – 2012 Spartan Gladiator
Facilities
Spartan Motors operates facilities in the following places:
Spartan Chassis is a world-class leader in the engineering, manufacturing and marketing of chassis and aftermarket parts for emergency-response, recreational vehicle (RV), defense and specialty vehicles. Spartan Chassis’ beginnings date back to 1975 when the Diamond Reo Trucking Company of Michigan went bankrupt. A group of four young Diamond Reo engineers saw an opportunity to strike out on their own and continue doing what they loved to do—build trucks—and build them well. George Sztykiel, Bill Foster, Jerry Geary and John Knox sacrificed everything they could to establish Spartan Motors, Inc.; taking out second mortgages on their homes for capital and pinching every penny to make their endeavor successful.
Spartan Metro Star
Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles
Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles (Spartan ERV) is a leading manufacturer of custom fire trucks and other rescue vehicles. Spartan ERV manufactures a full line of pumpers, tankers, rescues, aerials, quick-attack/urban interface vehicles and other emergency-rescue vehicles from its facilities in Florida, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. After several years of supplying chassis for fire trucks, Spartan acquired fire apparatus body manufacturers Luverne and Quality Manufacturing in the mid-1990s. Luverne used its early expertise in the automotive and heavy truck industries to begin building fire apparatus in 1912. Quality got its start six decades later, catering to the Southern firefighting market. In 2003, Luverne and Quality were consolidated under the names Crimson Fire and Crimson Fire Aerials. In 2012, these units were consolidated again to become Spartan ERV. Customers of Spartan ERV include, but are not limited to the Buffalo Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department, Dallas Fire Department and San Francisco Fire Department. There have also been several deliveries to fire services in Canada, Peru, Chile and China.
Spartan Gladiator – Pingree Grove & Countryside – Pingree Grove, Illinois
Utilimaster Corp.
Utilimaster Corporation is a leading manufacturer of walk-in vans and commercial truck bodies for the delivery and service marketplace. Utilimaster designs, develops and manufactures products to customer specifications for use in the package delivery, one-way truck rental, bakery/snack delivery, utility and linen/uniform rental businesses. The company serves a diverse customer base and also sells aftermarket parts and accessories. It was founded in 1973 in Wakarusa, Indiana. Previously owned by Holiday Rambler and then Harley-Davidson, it was later acquired by senior management along with an investment group led by Kirkland Messina in 1996. In November 2009, it was purchased by Spartan Motors.
Since 2005, Spartan has provided automotive integration, final assembly and paint, inspection and shipment of more than 30 variants of vehicles under the MRAP & ILAV Programs. Spartan continues to support the sustainment of these vehicles for America’s leading defense contractors. In 2006, Spartan began manufacturing military vehicle chassis as a supplier to two companies, Force Protection Inc (FPI) and General Dynamics.
The REO Motor Car Company was a Lansing, Michigan based company that produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms.
Originally the company was to be called “R. E. Olds Motor Car Company,” but the owner of Olds’ previous company, then called Olds Motor Works, objected and threatened legal action on the grounds of likely confusion of names by consumers. Olds then changed the name to his initials. Olds Motor Works soon adopted the popular name of its vehicles, Oldsmobile (which, along with Buick and Cadillac, became founding divisions of General Motors Corporation).
The company’s name was spelled alternately in all capitals REO or with only an initial capital as Reo, and the company’s own literature was inconsistent in this regard, with early advertising using all capitals and later advertising using the “Reo” capitalization. The pronunciation, however, was as a single word. Lansing is home to the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum.
Early REO production
By 1907, REO had gross sales of $4.5 million and the company was one of the four wealthiest automobile manufacturers in the U.S. After 1908 however, despite the introduction of improved cars designed by Olds, REO’s share of the automobile market decreased due in part to competition from emerging companies like Ford and General Motors.
REO added a truck manufacturing division and a Canadian plant in St. Catharines, Ontario in 1910. Two years later, Olds claimed he had built the best car he could, a tourer able to seat two, four, or five, with a 30–35 hp (22–26 kW) engine, 112 in (2845 mm) wheelbase, and 32 inch (81 cm) wheels, for US$1055 (not including top, windshield, or gas tank, which were US$100 extra); self-starter was US$25 on top of that. By comparison, the Cole 30 and Colt Runabout were priced at US$1500, Kirk‘s Yale side-entrance US$1,000,the high-volumeOldsmobileRunabout went for US$650, Western‘s Gale Model A was US$500, a Brush Runabout US$485, the Black started at $375, and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250.
In 1915, Olds relinquished the title of general manager to his protégé Richard H. Scott and eight years later he ended his tenure as the company’s presidency as well, retaining the position of chairman of the board.
1912 REO advertisement – R. M. Owens & Co.
Perhaps the most famous REO episode was the 1912 Trans-Canada journey. Traveling 4,176 miles (6,720 km) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Vancouver, British Columbia, in a 1912 REO special touring car, mechanic/driver Fonce V. (Jack) Haney and journalist Thomas W. Wilby made the first trip by automobile across Canada (including one short jaunt into northeastern Washington State when the Canadian roads were virtually impassable.)
From 1915 to 1925, under Scott’s direction REO remained profitable. During 1925, however, Scott, like many of his contemporaries/competitors, began an ambitious expansion program designed to make the company more competitive with other automobile manufacturers by offering cars in different price ranges. The failure of this program and the effects of the Depression caused such losses that Olds ended his retirement during 1933 and assumed control of REO again, but resigned in 1934. During 1936, REO abandoned the manufacture of automobiles to concentrate on trucks.
The Flying Cloud was the first car to use Lockheed’s new hydraulic internal expanding brake system and featured styling by Fabio Segardi. While Ned Jordan is credited with changing the way advertising was written with his “Somewhere West of Laramie” ads for his Jordan Playboy, Reo’s Flying Cloud—a name that provoked evocative images of speed and lightness—changed the way automobiles would be named in the future. It has a 115″ wheelbase. The final REO model of 1936 was a Flying Cloud.
In April 1927, Reo introduced the Wolverine brand of cars as a companion model to the Flying Cloud. With a Continental engine, artillery wheels, and a different pattern of horizontal radiator louvers from the Flying Cloud, the Wolverine was made until 1928.
The 1931 Reo Royale was a trendsetting design, introducing design elements that were a precedent for true automotive streamlining in the American market. The model was vended until 1935. Beverly Kimes, editor of the Standard Catalog of American Cars, terms the Royale “the most fabulous Reo of all”. In addition to its coachwork by Murray designed by their Amos Northup, the Royale also provided buyers with a 125 hp (93 kW) straight-eight with a nine bearing crankshaft, one shot lubrication, and thermostatically controlled radiator shutters. The Royale rode upon factory wheelbases of 131 and 135 inches (3,400 mm); a 1932 custom version rode upon a 152-inch (3,900 mm) wheelbase. Beginning in 1933, the Royale also featured REO’s semi-automatic transmission, the Self-Shifter.
REO advertisement in 1953 (back cover of the October 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics)
REO bus in Norway
Cottage Grove Dump Truck, Lane County, Oregon
An REO Speed Wagon, from a 1917 advertisement
REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck at Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee
Reo Flying Cloud 4.7 litre
1931 Reo Royale Victoria Eight
Car emblem for a Reo Flying Cloud (1930 model)
After passenger cars
c.1946 REO truck
Although truck orders during World War II enabled it to revive somewhat, the company remained unstable in the postwar era, resulting in a bankruptcy reorganization. In 1954, the company was still under performing, and sold vehicle manufacturing operations (the primary asset of the company) to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation of Detroit. Three years later, in 1957, it became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. White then merged REO with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc. In 1975, this company filed for bankruptcy in the Western District of Michigan and most of its assets were liquidated. Volvo later took over White and thus currently owns the rights to the REO brandname.
1906 REO Motor Ad
Meanwhile, the corporation remained nominally after the 1954 Bohn sale. Management began liquidating the organization, but due to shareholder issues, instead acquired Nuclear Consultants, Inc., a nuclear medicine or nuclear industry services organization (unclear), and renamed the combined company “Nuclear Corporation of America, Inc.” The company diversified, and purchased other companies, to become a conglomerate, including nuclear, prefabricated housing, and steel joist businesses. Most of these business were failures, except for the latter, and the company was bankrupted once again in 1965. Upon reorganizing, only the successful steel joist business remained; that company started producing recycled steel, leading to today’s steel company, Nucor.
Prévost (pronounced pray-voh; the -st is silent) is a Quebec, Canada-based manufacturer of touring coaches and bus shells for high-end motorhomes and specialty conversions.
The company was first founded in 1924 by Eugène Prévost (1898–1965), a cabinet maker specializing in church pews and school furniture, who in 1924 was asked to build a custom bus body for a new REO truck chassis. Les Ateliers Prévost, as the company was then called, received several repeat orders. Between 1937 and 1939, Prévost Car’s first bus manufacturing plant was built. Initially the vehicles were built around a wooden frame. In 1945 this changed, and bodies were made of metal.
The company was acquired by Paul Normand in 1957. In 1969, two American businessmen formed a partnership with André Normand, then President of Prévost, to become the company’s owners. These three men, in turn, sold Prévost to Volvo Bus Corporation in 1995.
As of February 2007, the firm has 1,337 employees and operates six parts and service centres in North America.
The latest models saw the XLII thoroughly revised, with a longer wheelbase for more storage and a smoother ride. This, and other changes, marked the beginning of the new X3-45.
The flagship H3-45 received some further enhancements in 2006 with GPS and destination sign options. In addition, the new Delta sound system was developed to provide improved sound throughout the cabin.
For the new EPA 2007 Standards, Prévost now offers an innovative installation of the Diesel Particulate Filter and the Rooftop Diffuser for Increased Safety, Performance, Serviceability and Security. The standard Detroit Diesel has been uprated from 12.7 litres to 14 litres for the model year 2007.
For the 2008 model year, Prévost introduced a new Volvo D13 engine from their parent company as a replacement for the then-current Detroit Diesel Series 60 offering. The Volvo I-Shift semiautomatic transmission was introduced as an option to the Allison B500R transmission. A set of new interior colour schemes were developed for the 2008 model year to provide a modern feel. There are three “trim levels” ranging from fabric to leather and wood.
Beginning with 2011, the Prevost X3-45 is available in a transit configuration, with bi-fold doors instead of a sedan-type door. The New York City Transit Authority is the launch customer for this configuration. Previously, 20 transit-style buses in the LeMirage predecessor model had been built for GO Transit in the late 1990s.
Prévost is also the North American builder of the Volvo 9700 motorcoach.
Bus bodies were built in Turku already in the late 1920s. Two body building factories – “Nieminen body factory” (later known as Turun Autokoritehdas) at Tehtaankatu and a vehicle equipment factory “G.W.Wulff Ajokalutehdas” at Itäinenkatu – produced bodies, and competition between these two factories was quite tough.
1936 Autokori Oy perustettiin vuonna
After the Great Depression, the demand for buses increased remarkably and three bus company owners Verner Arvela, Emil Heikkilä and Volmar Mäkinen decided to join forces and start their own body manufacturing factory in 1935.
Turun Autokoritehdas
This is regarded as the start of the company. The official date of establishing the new factory is February the 1st 1936. The company was named Autokori Oy. The facilities were rented from the Turku City Administration and were situated in the fields of Pispala, which is today known as the Ikituuri suburban.
“Chevrolet 157”. Matkustajaluku 20. Turun autorakenne Oy, 20.1.1934
“Diamond 311.C”. Matkustajaluku 27. Turun autokorirakenne Oy, 26.10.1935.
During the war the factory was involved in producing orders for the Finnish Defense Forces. After the war, the country experienced a serious lack of buses, but the sudden demand couldn’t immediately be satisfied, as the factory also experienced a lack of chassis and components for the production.
1934 Autokori Oy n REO 1D
1938 Autokori Oy, 10.2.1938. International D.30 173
1938 Autokori oy n Mercedes Benz OP 3750
1938 Autokori Oy Sisu SB 10
1938 Studebaker S.K.20.B-001. Matkustajaluku 31. Autokori Oy.
1938 Volvo LV 84 Bus
1938 Volvo LV.84.B. Matkustajaluku 24. Autokori Oy, 26.9.1938
1938 SISU SH-7 i104655
“Opel 183 (Blitz)” Matkustajaluku 26. Autokori Oy, 10.2.1938.
In 1950, Autokori rented a site in Itäharju. A new factory was established there and in August 1951 the whole body production was moved from Pispala to Itäharju. At the bus exhibition in Helsinki 1955 the company’s bus was awarded a gold medal for its steel reinforced wooden body.
1957 Autokori Oy Airisto
The first steel based body was manufactured by Autokori in 1957, and from April 1960 onwards steel was the base material for all the bodies. The most popular body models at the time were the Airisto and the Aura.
AURA
New ideas started to grow in the company in 1964 with the introduction of new ownership in form of an engineer, Aimo Laukka. It was in these times the production started to speed up and the annual volumes started to increase. Before Laukka, the annual production was 40-45 bodies, but already in 1965 Autokori manufactured a total amount of 83 bodies. The company started to sell products outside of Finland, and the first buses to be exported were delivered to Sweden in 1966. In 1969, the annual production capacity was 129 bodies, of which an amount of 19 were delivered to foreign customers.
This are not all buses from Autokori Oy, but from the same period and from scandinavian karosseri fabrike
OY DELTA PLAN AB
In the late 1960s, a new site was bought in Nuolemo, Lieto. A decision to build a new factory was made and the body production moved to the new site in 1973. Simultaneously, the company name was changed from Autokori Oy to Oy Delta PlanAb and the new Delta body models were introduced. The export market continued to expand and the first bused to Norway and Iceland were manufactured in the 1970s. In 1976 the company made a record in the volume of produced bodies as the total amount of completed units rose to 246. 77 of these buses were delivered to the export market. The company’s buses were also awarded more prizes at many international exhibitions, including an exhibition in France.
After five years of operations in Lieto, the factory became inadequate and new facilities were acquired in Yliskulma, Lieto. The former dairy facility had already been used for metal industry for some years. The chief Supervisor of the factory, Mr Helmer Forsman, was a very creative manager who invented various special machinery and tools for body production. The roofmaking tool that Forsman invented is still in use.
The year 1979 was very significant for Delta Plan. The company acquired the assets of Erikoiskori Oy, a special vehicle factory in Iisalmi. The purpose was to add production of fire engines to the product range. However, only one fire engine unit was built and Iisalmi became the production facility for short buses. During 1980 an amount of 186 bus bodies were produced.
The prototype of the Delta Star – model was completed and this model participated in an exhibition in Nice during the autumn in 1981.
In January 1982 Oy Delta Plan Ab was sold to Ajokki Oy and the 18 year long career of engineer Aimo Laukka in the head of Delta Plan ended. The company continued its growth and a new model, Delta Superstar, was introduced in 1983. The same year, the model was exhibited at the Nice Salon with great success. Annual production was 173 units. 59 buses were delivered to export market.
The 50th anniversary of the company was celebrated in August 1985. In the same year the most popular body model of the company, Delta Star, was introduced. Shortly after the Delta star 50 model was completed, some new models were launched including the doubledecked Jumbostar and the smaller coach Delta Star 30.
CARRUS OY
In 1986, Ilmari Mustonen, the owner of Wiima Oy bought Ajokki and Delta Plan. The production at this time was 171 bodies of which 96 were exported. In 1988, the products included models like the Star 301, Star 501, Superstar and Jumbostar. In 1989 the company changed its name to Carrus Oy. Consequently, the Lieto factory got the name Carrus Oy Delta.
In 1991 the body frame material was changed to stainless steel, and Carrus Stainless was used as the base material in all the bodies manufactured by Carrus factories. In the mid 1990s, the Carrus Oy Delta body models were completely updated taking into account new safety requirements for modern bus bodies. The new models were named the Star 602, Star 502 and the Star 302.
The Turku factory is known for innovative solutions proved by the many body models introduced. Also, an own passenger seat was developed during the 1990s.
VOLVO BUS FINLAND OY
In 1997, a new page was turned in the company’s history as the company was sold by Ilmari Mustonen to Volvo Bussar AB, and Carrus became a subsidiary for Volvo.
In these times the factory experienced significant growth in international relations and today there are still several bus models which have been developed at the Lieto factory that are manufactured today by Volvo in countries like Mexico, Poland and India.
The name Carrus Oy Delta was changed to Volvo Bus Finland Oy Turku in June 2004. In the year 2004 185 buses were produced at the Lieto factory.
CARRUS DELTA OY
The last drastic change happened in 2008, when the company operations were transferred back to Finnish ownership. The traditional company name was restored, which lives on today. This is the story of Carrus Delta Oy.
1924 Kromhout B-7669Toch begon het met een heel ander product. Het begon in de 18e eeuw, met de aanschaf van een werf, waar jarenlang houten zeilschepen werden gemaakt. Daar komt ook de naam “Kromhout” vandaan: het is het “kromme hout” dat bij uitstek geschikt is om een scheepsspant van te maken. In diverse plaatsen, zoals Dordrecht, zijn straten te vinden met de naam Kromhout. Dit duidt op de aanwezigheid van een scheepswerf in het verleden.1926 Asjes-Minerva-Kromhout1927 kromhout autocarOp 11 maart 1867 werd de werf ‘t Kromhout op de Hoogte Kadijk gekocht door Daniël Goedkoop. Later zetten zijn zonen het bedrijf voort. Toen stoomboten in opkomst waren, ging werf ‘t Kromhout over op ijzeren stoomschepen. Rond 1900 lukte het een ingenieur bij Kromhout om een zogenaamde Ottomotor te laten werken. Bijna gelijktijdig begon men met het inbouwen van deze motoren in vrachtauto‘s en boten (voornamelijk opduwers). Deze 1-cilinderbenzinemotoren van 2, 4 en 6 pk waren weinig succesvol door de gecompliceerde bediening.1929 htm 66 minerva-kromhout-arm1930 kromhout autocarOok de vierslagpetroleummotoren voor de binnenvaart, die vanaf 1904 werden geproduceerd, sloegen niet aan. Op de RAI-tentoonstelling van 1905 kon echter een 12 pk-scheepsmotor worden getoond die wel een succes was. Er werd toen ook gestart met de serie-fabricage van motoren. Hiervoor was een nauwkeurige fabricage van de onderdelen nodig zodat ze onderling uitwisselbaar waren.1929 ESA 8 REO. Kromhout. Hainje
Motorenfabriek
1930 Kromhout VerehagenIn 1908 verhuisde de motorenafdeling van Kromhout naar een nieuwe fabriek aan de Ketelstraat in de Nieuwendammerham in Amsterdam-Noord, grenzend aan het IJ. De achtergebleven scheepswerf aan de Hoogte Kadijk werd in 1911 overgenomen door het naastliggende scheepswerf.1933 KromhoutIn 1911 ging Kromhout een nieuw ontwerp tweetact motor produceren, de R.O.-Kromhoutmotor van 35 pk. R.O. stond voor Ruwe Olie en dat betekende dat de motor op veel verschillende brandstoffen (van petroleum tot gasolie) kon lopen. Al snel moest de fabriek uitgebreid worden, vanwege de grote vraag naar deze motoren. Een volgend eigen ontwerp was de Hogedrukmotor uit 1926. Door de crisis aan het begin van de jaren 30 kwamen minder bestellingen binnen en werden de financiële reserves uitgeput. Toen is Kromhout de Engelse Gardner-motoren in licentie gaan bouwen. Deze motoren werden toegepast in onder meer in autobussen, vrachtwagen en tractoren.1936 9-1 Kromhout 5LW Groenewold.
Productie vrachtwagens en bussen
In 1935 kwam Kromhout met eigen trucks op de markt. Het eerste zelfgebouwde chassis was voor een autobus van de NACO. Een verscheidenheid aan chassis’ en motoren voor vrachtauto’s en bussen zorgde ervoor dat Kromhout een grote populariteit genoot.1936 Kromhout TB5 Werkspoor Tet 070
Vliegtuigmotoren
1936 Kromhout TrekkerIn licentie werden ook de Engelse Armstrong-Siddeley-motoren voor vliegtuigen gemaakt. Van deze 165 pk sterke motoren heeft Fokker er in 1939 vijftig in lesvliegtuigen gebouwd. Dit succes leidde tot een eigen ontwerp voor een vliegtuigmotor van Kromhout, de Genet Major Motor, maar door het uitbreken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog is deze nooit toegepast. Tijdens de oorlogstijd zijn houtgasgeneratoren voor auto’s geproduceerd. Aan het eind van de oorlog is het bedrijf, net als veel andere in de buurt, leeggeroofd door de bezetter.1936 Kromhout, Kromhout LW, carr. Verheul, GTM 106 Zwaardvis, M-50651
Wederopbouw
1936 Kromhout-Schiedam Fa. v d Ende
Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog is het bedrijf weer opgestart, aanvankelijk voor de reparatie van motoren. Daarna werden vele vrachtauto’s en bussen met Kromhout-Gardner-motoren gebouwd voor Nederlandse afnemers. Vooral in het stadsvervoer van Amsterdam Rotterdam en Den Haag reden vele Kromhoutbussen. Bij het streekvervoer was Kromhout echter minder succesvol. De prototypen die geleverd waren aan GADO, NBM en NTM, dochterondernemingen van de Nederlandse Spoorwegen, leidden niet tot verdere bestellingen, want de NS gaf de voorkeur aan het Britse Leyland-product. Hierdoor kreeg Kromhout het steeds moeilijker, mede door de binnenlandse concurrentie van het sterk opkomende DAF.1936 Kromhout, Kromhout LW, carr. Verheul, GTM 107 Stier, M-50652 PB-35-05
Einde
1936 Kromhout-Vlisco HelmondIn 1958 stopte Kromhout met de bouw van vrachtauto’s en bussen. Motoren werden nog steeds gemaakt. De productie van trucks werd tot 1962 overgenomen door Verheul, een bekende carrossier. Toen deze er in 1962 mee stopte, kwam er na ongeveer 2000 stuks een eind aan een vermaard merk.1936 Kromhout, Kromhout LW, carr. Verheul, GTM 109+houtgasgen dolly, M-50654 NB-96-07In 1966 werd Kromhout onderdeel van Stork. De productie van de motoren werd overgeheveld naar de motorenfabriek in Zwolle. In 1969 werd de Kromhout-motorenfabriek definitief gesloten. De fabriek in Zwolle is in 1989 overgenomen door Wärtsilä. De fabriekgebouwen zijn daarna door Stork gebruikt voor de productie van machines voor de voedingsmiddelenindustrie. Ook daaraan is een eind gekomen en nu worden de gebouwen gebruikt als evenenmentenhal en voor een restaurant.1936 Kromhout, Kromhout LW, carr. Verheul, GTM 110 Struisvogel, M-50655 PB-44-14
Bartele Hainje kwam als knecht uit Roordahuizum naar Heerenveen. Hij verdiende een loon van elf gulden in de week. In november 1907 kocht hij met tachtig gulden in de kas en een geleend kapitaal van 2000 gulden een Heerenveens bedrijf en begon zijn Rijtuig- en wagenmakerij B. Hainje. In het bedrijf werden onder meer kruiwagens en bakkerskarren gemaakt. In 1922 vroeg een klant om een “bak” op een Ford-chassis te bouwen. Deze bus was het begin van de carrosserie- en bussenbouw in de fabriek van Hainje. In 1925 droeg Bartele Hainje het bedrijf over aan zijn zoon Abe, die een halve eeuw directeur bleef. Door het personeel werd in 1957 ter gelegenheid van 50 jaar een maquette van de fabriek gemaakt. Ook toen het na 1962 geen familiebedrijf meer was, bleven de Hainjes aan de leiding, want in 1975 nam zijn zoon Bart Hainje de directie over.
De fabriek was jarenlang gevestigd aan het zuideinde van de Leeuwarderstraatweg te Heerenveen. Later werd aan de Leeuwarderstraatweg een nieuwe vestiging gebouwd, ruim 200 meter noordelijker dan de eerste. Op 14 november 1980 legde Abe Hainje de eerste steen voor de nieuwbouw op het industrieterrein Area Kanaal aan de Wetterwille te Heerenveen. Reeds op 17 augustus 1981 reed als opening de eerste bus van de band.
In 1962 werd Hainje een dochteronderneming van de Verenigde Machinefabrieken (VMF), waarvan ook Werkspoor–Utrecht deel uitmaakte. Omdat de uurtarieven die Werkspoor-Utrecht in rekening moest brengen te hoog werden – en ook omdat de streekvervoerbedrijven van de Nederlandse Spoorwegen geen afnamegarantie wilden afgeven – had Werkspoor de bouw van bussen gestaakt, waarna die naar Hainje werd overgeheveld. Hainje bleef door de overname wel volledig zelfstandig. In de jaren ’60 ging het slecht met VMF. Bij Werkspoor vielen massaontslagen: 1900 mensen kwamen op straat te staan. In 1965 ging VMF verder onder de naam Verenigde Machinefabrieken-Stork. In 1971 werd Hainje ondergebracht bij Stork.
De naam Hainje verdween op 1 januari 1989 nadat het bedrijf werd overgenomen door de Berkhof Groep. Deze wijzigde de naam in Berkhof Heerenveen. Volgens oprichter-directeur A.G. Berkhof was de naamswijziging noodzakelijk omdat Hainje op dat moment, zoals hij zei, een “kwaliteitsprobleem” had en vrijwel uitsluitend werd geassocieerd met standaard-stadsbussen. Andere door Berkhof overgenomen bedrijven zoals Kusters en het Belgische Jonckheere (nu VDL Bus Roeselare) mochten hun naam behouden. Het huidige VDL Bus Heerenveen bouwt in de vestiging Heerenveen nog immer vooral stads- en streekbussen.
Hainje-producten
Stads- en streekbussen
Al in de jaren 1950 en 1960 bouwde Hainje enkele series stadsbussen voor de RET. Voor het streekvervoer op het platteland kwamen in die periode veel Scania-Vabis– en DAF-bussen uit deze fabriek.
Het bedrijf ging nadat de Werkspoor busdivisie was overgenomen vanaf 1962 ook zelfdragende bussen met Leyland-componenten bouwen, deels van het type bolramer, in licentie van Werkspoor. Doordat Hainje vanaf de jaren zestig steeds meer overging op seriebouw voor grote stads- en streekvervoerders en daardoor geen maatwerk meer kon leveren, moesten trouwe klanten als de Frieseparticuliere busbedrijven LABO, LAB en ZWH uitwijken naar andere busbouwers, zoals Smit Joure.
Standaard-stadsbus
Hainje werd vooral bekend door de rode standaardbus (CSA). Dit bustype werd gebouwd tussen 1966 en 1988. Het ontwerp was gekocht van Werkspoor. Hainje was wel verantwoordelijk voor de bouw van verreweg de meeste bussen van dit type. Een beperkt aantal standaardbussen is in de late jaren zestig gebouwd door derden, namelijk Verheul en Den Oudsten. In 1982 presenteerde Hainje de tweede generatie standaardbus. Deze werd geproduceerd tot en met 1988.
In 1977 toonde Hainje een gelede bus voor het GVB Amsterdam met een standaardbus-carrosserie. In de jaren ’80 ontwikkelde Hainje ook enkele korte midibussen met een standaardbus-carrosserie.
In 1987 presenteerde Hainje de Standaardbus 2000, bedoeld als opvolger van de standaard-stadsbus. Omdat het principe standaardisatie werd afgeschaft is van deze opzet weinig terechtgekomen. Dit type bus werd voornamelijk geleverd aan de Zuidooster. In 1989 ontwierp Duvedec een moderner front voor de Standaardbus 2000.
Portretten van Hainje-producten
1922-chevrolet-hainje-sneek
1922 Hainje Chevrolet B-10303
1923 Chevrolet Hainje Bus
1924 Chevrolet Hainje col lTD Cupido 6 Terschelling
1924 Chevrolet Hainje 20pers B-7257B
1925 Ford T Hainje Heerenveen B-5225
1927 Chevrolet Hainje
1927 Chevrolet Hainje Heerenveen Hoofdbrug B-7257
1928 Ford V8 Hainje Heerenveen B-9274
1930 Hainje Ingebracht door Bangma Oosterzee
1931 Ford-Hainje Cupido 8 collTD
1931 International Hainje Heerenveen
1932 Diamond T Hainje
1932 Diamond T.van de LAB (Leeuwarder Autobedrijf) met een carrosserie v Hainje Heereveen B-13888
1932 ESA 5 Dodge Hainje
1932 ESA 7 G.M.C. TX Hainje.
1932 ESA 9-1 Kromhout 5 LW Hainje
1933 Chevrolet carr Hainje B-4862
1933 Chevrolet Hainje NTM
1934 De Dion Bouton Hainje
1934 Diamond T Hainje Heerenveen
1934 Diamond T North Bay to Huntsville, Ontario
1934 ESA 4 Renault Hainje
1935 ESA 8 REO. Kromhout. Hainje
1935 Esa 12-1 Chevrolet, Hainje. (Ex Habo Haulerwijk)
1935 Ford V8 Hainje B-20623 Rally Monte Carlo
1935 Oldsmobile Hainje 20 zitpl
1936 ESA 16-1 Kromhout Hainje 5 LW. (Al in 1940 naar D.W)
De vader van de grondlegger, Joseph Edward Tilt, werd geboren op 29 oktober1843 en is overleden op 28 september1930, zijn moeder Sarah B. Thompson, is geboren in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika in 1854; de datum van haar overlijden is onbekend. Joseph kwam in 1871 vanuit Ierland naar de Verenigde Staten en is daar genaturaliseerd. Hun zoon, Charles Arthur Tilt, de grondlegger zelf, werd geboren in juni 1877. Hij groeide op in Chicago, waar zijn vader schoenen en laarzen fabriceerde, die hij verkocht in zijn eigen winkels onder de merknaam “Diamond T”, met ongeveer 150 medewerkers. Het bijbehorend logo bevatte de ‘Diamant’ voor de kwaliteit en de ‘T’ voor Tilt.
De grondlegger
Charles A. Tilt begon met werken in 1896 in de schoenfabriek van zijn vader. Na acht jaar in allerlei banen gewerkt te hebben, keerde hij op vierentwintigjarige leeftijd terug naar Chicago om te werken voor Charles W. Knight, uitvinder van de beroemde Silent Knight motor. Knight was een zakenrelatie van vader Joseph en huurde een deel van een gebouw naast de schoenenfabriek. Charles was gedurende 1904 en 1905 werkzaam voor Charles Knight en leerde daar het technische vak. In de herfst van 1905 begon hij zijn eigen bedrijf, een machinefabriekje van één verdieping hoog aan de achterkant van de schoenenfabriek. Met besef van marketing gebruikte hij hetzelfde logo als zijn vader bij de oprichting van zijn eigen Diamond T Motor Car Company
Er zijn een aantal interessante verhalen over de financiële ondersteuning van Tilts start in het bedrijfsleven. Met zijn vader stond hij niet op beste voet op dat moment. Een artikel in de pers uit die tijd vermeldt dat hij met $ 1.000 eigen gespaard geld zijn bedrijf startte. Een andere bron meldt dat hij begon met geld, dat hij had gekregen van zijn moeder.Hij trok zich in 1946 uit het bedrijf terug en overleed in 1956 Het bedrijf
De Diamond T Motor Car Company of Chicago begon in 1905 als bouwer van personenauto’s. Tussen 1905-1910 alleen met de hand en naar wens van de klant. De auto’s waren van een roadster-type met een viercilindermotor. Ze werden alleen lokaal in Chicago verkocht. De eerste Diamond T truck werd gebouwd voor L. Wolff Manufacturing Co., een groot loodgietersbedrijf. Deze truck was net als alle andere Diamond T producten geassembleerd, dat wil zeggen samengesteld uit onderdelen die door andere fabrikanten dan Diamond T geproduceerd werden. “Old No 1″, zoals de truck nu genoemd wordt, had een 4-cilinder Continental motor, Timken assen, Brown Lipe versnellingsbak en een AO Smith chassis. Hij had kettingaandrijving, zoals toen gebruikelijk was. Dat de bouwkwaliteit hoog was blijkt uit het feit dat deze truck tot ver in de jaren 30 in gebruik is geweest.
Het bedrijf werkte eerst alleen lokaal, maar in 1915 werd er een beperkte dealerorganisatie opgezet. Het bedrijf groeide daarmee uit tot een landelijke fabrikant. In 1917 werd er een nieuwe en veel grotere fabriek gebouwd op de 26e straat en de Belt Railroad, nog steeds in Chicago. De vrachtwagens werden daar voortaan op een lopende band gebouwd.
Eerste Wereldoorlog
Tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog bouwde Diamond T 1500 trucks van het model “B” voor het leger. De model B vrachtwagen maakte gebruik van een motor die was ontwikkeld door Ing. C.C. Hinkley. Na de oorlog gebruikte Diamond T deze Hinkley 4-cilindermotoren ook in haar civiele trucks.
In 1919 startte men een actieve campagne om de dealerorganisatie landelijk nog verder uit te breiden. De grote depressie van de jaren 30 remde dit streven af, maar het bedrijf bleef toch groeien.
In de jaren 20 werden verschillende technische innovaties en stylingveranderingen ontwikkeld. Een gesloten cabine met drie-punts rubber ophanging werd geïntroduceerd in 1923. Er kwam een totale restyling in 1926 met elektrische verlichting ter vervanging van carbidlampen. De massieve rubber banden werden vervangen door luchtbanden. In 1927 en 1928 past Diamond T zijn ontwerpen wederom drastisch aan. De vrachtwagens veranderden van logge, lompe maar onverwoestbare constructies naar een meer modern design. Deze nieuwe trucks hadden Hercules 6-cilindermotoren, hydraulische remmen op alle wielen, volledig gesloten cabines, waren lichter en dus veel sneller. Vormgeving werd een belangrijk verkoopargument. De vrachtwagens werden ook niet meer geadverteerd als The Nation’s Freight Car, maar als De mooiste truck in Amerika en werden ook wel de Cadillac onder de trucks genoemd. Mede doordat er alleen nog maar trucks werden gebouwd, werd het bedrijf een van de drie grootste onafhankelijke truckfabrikanten. Diamond T’s beste jaar was 1936, toen er 8.750 nieuwe trucks werden gebouwd.
Tweede Wereldoorlog
Tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog werd de fabriek weer ingezet in de oorlogsproductie en werden er, op basis van het civiele model Diamond T 980/981, 4 militaire modellen in meerdere varianten gebouwd:
Aangezien deze voertuigen via de Lend-Lease act ook geleverd zijn aan de geallieerde landen en het feit dat veel van deze voertuigen, na de oorlog, door het Amerikaanse leger in dumps achtergelaten werden, kreeg Diamond T een internationale bekendheid. Er werden in de oorlog meer dan 50.000 heavy-duty militaire voertuigen geproduceerd, die tot op heden nog bij veel (kleine) landen in gebruik zijn.
Naoorlogse jaren
Na de oorlog werd de productie van luxe trucks weer opgenomen tot het jaar 1958. In dat jaar werd Diamond T overgenomen door de White Motor Company, de Chicago-afdeling bleef daarna nog als zelfstandige divisie doordraaien. In 1966 fuseerde de fabriek met een andere White divisie, Reo, en dit nieuw ontstane bedrijf ging vervolgens door als Diamond Reo. Daarmee verdween Diamond T Motor Car Company als zelfstandig merk voorgoed.
In de totale 51-jarige geschiedenis als zelfstandig bedrijf werden er ongeveer 250.000 Diamond T trucks gebouwd.
In dit blog gaan we puur kijken naar Bussen, een paar trucks en brandweerwagens van DIAMOND T
al komen die laatste terug nadat ik de bussen in zijn geheel heb afgerond.
1927 Diamond T Sneek B-12001 The Netherlands
1927 Diamond T Sneek B-12001 The Netherlands
1932 Diamond T carr. Hainje B-13888 The Netherlands
1932 Diamond T Leeuwarden B-17265 The Netherlands
1932 Diamond T van de LAB (Leeuwarder Autobedrijf) met een carrosserie v Hainje Heereveen B-13888
1933 Diamond T 210
1934 Diamond T Hainje B-15313 Heerenveen The Netherlands
1934 Diamond T loading-a-ddodle-bug-feb-1934-in-San-Antonio
1934 Diamond Texaco Tankwagen
1934 Diamond T North Bay to Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
1934 Diamond T North Bay to Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.
The Flxible Co. (originally the Flexible Sidecar Company) was an American manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, funeral cars, ambulances, intercity coachesand transit buses, based in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1913 and closed in 1996.
Flxible 1963 Buick hearse conversion
History
In 1913, Hugo H. Young and Carl F. Dudte founded the Flexible Sidecar Co. in Loudonville, Ohio, to manufacture motorcycle sidecars with a flexible mounting to the motorcycle. The flexible mounting allowed the sidecar to lean on corners along with the motorcycle, and was based on a design patented by Young.
In 1919, the company’s name was changed to The Flxible Co. (still pronounced “flexible”) so that the name could be registered as a trademark.
After low-priced automobiles became available in the 1920s, the motorcycle sidecar demand dropped and in 1924, Flxible turned to production of funeral cars (hearses), and ambulances, which were primarily manufactured on Buick chassis, but also occasionally on Studebaker, Cadillac and REO chassis, and intercity buses, initially (1930s and early ’40s) built on GMC truck chassis, and powered with Buick Straight 8 engines.
1947 Flxible Clipper highway coach
In 1953, Flxible absorbed the bus-manufacturing portion of the FageolTwin Coach Company, and accepted its first order for transit buses from the Chicago Transit Authority. In 1964, Flxible purchased Southern Coach Manufacturing Co. of Evergreen, Alabama, and built small transit buses at the former Southern Coach factory until 1976. Flxible was purchased by Rohr Industries in 1970, and a new factory and corporate headquarters were built in Delaware, Ohio, in 1974, with the original factory in Loudonville, Ohio, being used to manufacture parts and sub-assemblies. Flxible was sold to Grumman Corporation in 1978 and became known asGrumman Flxible. The name reverted to Flxible when Grumman sold the company in 1983 to General Automotive Corporation. In 1996, Flxible declared bankruptcy and its assets were auctioned. The last Flxible vehicles produced were eight 35 ft (11 m) CNG-fueled Metro buses that went to Monterey-Salinas Transitin Monterey, California. The former Flxible factory in Loudonville, Ohio, is now a bus maintenance facility for Motor Coach Industries, while the former factory in Delaware, Ohio, is now a parts facility for North American Bus Industries.
Production outside the United States
Mexican-made DINA Flxliner bus, in second-class service, berthed in the Silao, Guanajuato central terminal, 2006.
A Changjiang CJ6800G1QH bus in Beijing,China, showing the similarity to the Flxible Metro.
Flxible’s intercity buses were popular in Mexico and in Latin American countries. However, high import duties into these countries limited sales. In the early 1960s, Flxible began licensing a producer in Mexico, DINA S.A. (Diesel Nacional), to manufacture Flxible designed intercity coaches, and this continued until the late 1980s. In 1965 and 1966, Flxible also licensed its “New Look” transit bus design to Canadair Ltd., an aircraft manufacturer in Ville St-Laurent, Quebec.
In 1994, Flxible’s parent company, General Automotive Corporation, and three other American companies, Roger Penske, Mark IV Industries, and Carrier, entered into a joint venture with Changzhou Changjiang Bus, a Chinese manufacturer located in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, to produce buses based on the Flxible Metrodesign and with the Flxible name. The resulting company, China Flxible Auto Corporation,[citation needed] manufactured buses in a variety of lengths, from 8 m (26 ft 3 in) to 11 m (36 ft 1 in). These buses, which include both front- and rear-engine designs, and share only their general exterior appearance with the American-built Flxibles, were sold to many transit operators in major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. A trolleybus version was manufactured for just one operator, the Hangzhou trolleybus system, which bought a total of 77 between the late 1990s and 2001. However, for these vehicles, Changzhou Changjiang supplied the chassis and Metro-style bodies to the Hangzhou Changjiang Bus Company (in Hangzhou), and that company equipped them as trolleybuses.
Charles Kettering and General Motors
Charles F. Kettering
Charles Kettering, a Loudonville, Ohio native and vice president of General Motors, was closely associated with Flxible for almost the entire first half of the company’s existence. In 1914, Flxible was incorporated with the help of Kettering, who then became president of the company and joined the board of directors. Kettering provided significant funding for the company in its early years, particularly after 1916, when Kettering sold his firm, the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco), to GM for $2.5 million. Kettering continued to serve as president of Flxible, until he became chairman of the board in 1940, a position he held until his death in 1958. After selling Delco to GM in 1916, Kettering organized and ran a research laboratory at GM, and by the 1950s, held the position of vice president at GM. As a result of Kettering’s close relationship with both GM and Flxible, many GM parts were used in the production of Flxible vehicles, particularly prior to GM’s 1943 purchase of Yellow Coach (a competing bus manufacturer, of which GM had been a majority owner since 1925). For example, most Flxible ambulances, hearses, and buses from the mid-1920s to the early-1940s were built on Buick chassis, and Flxible’s “Airway” model buses of the mid-1930s were built on a Chevrolet chassis.
1955 Flxible VistaLiner (VL100)
In 1958, and as a result of the consent decree from the 1956 anti-trust case, United States v. General Motors Corp., GM was mandated to sell their bus components, engines, and transmissions to other manufacturers, free of royalties. However, in the early 1950s and prior to the consent decree, Flxible built a small number of buses with GM diesel engines while Kettering still served on the board. It has been postulated that GM may have made its diesel engines available to Flxible to reduce the criticisms of GM’s business practices that some felt were monopolistic. The same has been said about GM’s decision in the 1960s and 1970s not to produce a 35 ft (11 m) “New Look” transit bus with an 8-cylinder engine. However, it is also possible that GM chose not to enter this market because the potential sales did not warrant the added costs of engineering and production. Another result of the consent decree (which was not settled in its entirety until 1965) was that GM was barred from having any of its officers or directors serve as an officer or director for any other bus manufacturing company. This provision would have applied to Kettering, had he not died in 1958.
In the mid-1980s, several Grumman 870 buses operated by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) developed cracks in their underframes. This prompted NYCTA President David Gunn to remove the entire fleet from service. Soon, several other companies reported cracked 870 frames. However, the frame issues primarily affected NYCTA 870s and not the 870s owned by the franchisees of the New York City Department of Transportation. NYCTA attempted to get the remainder of its pending order for new buses transferred to GM, but was barred from doing so unless they could prove that the 870s were flawed and unsafe. The buses were eventually returned to Flxible and resold to Queen City Metro and New Jersey Transit. Grumman blamed the problems with the NYCTA 870s on NYCTA’s maintenance practices, despite the fact that transit operations in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, and Los Angeles had also reported problems with their 870s. Ironically, NYCTA ordered fifty Metros in 1995, but Flxible closed its doors while the order was being produced, and NYCTA obtained the remaining new buses from Orion.
Flxible Owners International
Clipper-era Flxible nose emblem
Flxible Owners International (see external link) was founded in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the Family Motor Coach Association, and is dedicated to the preservation of buses and coaches produced by Flxible. The organization holds a rally in Loudonville biannually, in even-numbered years and normally in mid-July, where many preserved Flxible coaches and buses may be seen.
The majority of vehicles owned by members are of the Clipper series (Clipper, Visicoach, Starliner) that were produced from the 1930s until 1967. However, there are also quite a few “non-clipper” Flxible coaches that are owned, maintained, and operated by proud Flxible owners. This includes the Starliner, VL100 (VistaLiner), Hi Level, and Flxliner as well as some of the more modern transit buses. Most of these vehicles have been converted to motor homes; however, there are still a few examples of seated coaches belonging to members.
FitzJohn was a bus manufacturer in Muskegon, Michigan. The company was founded October 8, 1919, by Harry Alphonse FitzJohn, and built over 5,000 bus bodies, complete buses, stretchout sedans and passenger-carrying trailers before closing down in May 1958.
Corporate names
FitzJohn-Erwin Manufacturing Company
1919–1933
FitzJohn Manufacturing Company
1933–1935
FitzJohn Body Company
1935–1937
FitzJohn Coach Company
1937–1958
FitzJohn Coach of Canada Ltd.
1949–1959
The FitzJohn company was formed in 1919 to build truck and bus bodies. The former were mostly for Ford chassis, while the latter were for REOs. Originally sold under the Fitz-Er marque, the buses were soon badged as FitzJohn. FitzJohn’s best selling point was the low price relative to its quality, which led to enough success that a new plant was purchased in 1924, five times larger than the original. Sales continued to increase, doubling from 1924 to 1925, and in the late 1920s FitzJohn was delivering almost 300 bodies a year. At that time FitzJohn models had a simple letter designation, although some had rather basic names, too. However, since so many options (such as rooftop luggage racks or polished aluminum bright-work) were offered, many of the variations were also given Indian names by the company’s sales & marketing department.
1922 fitzjohn cab
History
From 1 January 1929, FitzJohn began selling directly to consumers, rather than exclusively through chassis manufacturers and dealers. This change, however, did not prevent a 40% decline in sales due to the Depression, and on 8 June 1931, the company went into receivership. Its founder (H.A. FitzJohn) was forced out, and went into partnership with Paul O. Dittmar to produce the 12- to 15-passenger Dittmar-FitzJohn Autocoach (similar to the model D, but with a lowered aisle along the right side). H.A. FitzJohn later became the first manager of the General American Aerocoach Company.
1937 Fitzjohn stretched out 11 passenger
In 1934 FitzJohn introduced its 11-passenger stretchout model 100. It was based on the Chevrolet Master Sedan which was split in the middle, had an extra body section inserted and a baggage rack added to the roof. The 100 was an immediate success, primarily as an economical “mini-coach” for feeder routes, although some were used for airport transfers or sightseeing services. During World War II, when many other bus manufacturers suspended production in favour of war materiel, the War Production Board directed FitzJohn to build a 15-passenger version of the 100. Otherwise-surplus Chevrolet, Pontiac and Packard sedans had extra rows of back-to-back seats installed, but because of wartime restrictions, white ash framing and Masonite panels were used instead of metal. Sixty-two enclosed auto haulers were also converted to passenger-carrying trailers in 1943.
1940 Fitzjohn model 625 in March 1940 for a White 1012
Starting about 1940, under the direction of James J. St.Croix FitzJohn began to switch from building bodies for other manufacturers’ chassis to their own integral models. The last bus body delivered was a model 625 in March 1940 for a White 1012 demonstrator chassis. In 1950 diesel power began to be offered as an option. At the same time the current models were redesigned with rear engines. Even though the Cityliner offered unparalleled maintenance access to the engine (the rear corner panels swung out, as well as the back panels lifted up), FitzJohn could not compete against the larger manufacturers (such as GM and Twin Coach) and decided to leave the transit market in 1954.
FitzJohn’s last offering was the Roadrunner. Officially designated the FID (FitzJohn Interurban Diesel with a 150 hp Cummins JBS-600) or FIG (with a Gasoline Waukesha 176 hp 140-GK), the Roadrunner was offered as a 37-passenger coach with a 237-inch (6.0 m) wheelbase, or a shortened 33-seat version on a 201-inch (5.1 m) wheelbase. Only 14 FIGs were built, and all but a handful of the Roadrunners were 37-seaters. The last FitzJohns built for an American customer were five Roadrunner Sightseer variants (with roof windows) for Florida Greyhound Lines. The 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m2) Muskegon factory closed in May 1958, after the last order of 54 FIDs was delivered to Mexico.
Sales records exist for the 31 years 1927 through 1958. During that time FitzJohn constructed 2,621 buses and coaches, 1,460 bodies, 776 stretchouts, and 62 trailer conversions. It is estimated that over 400 bus bodies—plus a small number of truck bodies—were built in the years 1921–1927, for a total of over 5,300 units.
Foreign operations
In 1949 FitzJohn purchased surplus land and a 42,000 sq ft (3,900 m2) airplane hangar adjacent to the Brantford, Ontario airport. The first buses built by FitzJohn Coach of Canada Ltd. were delivered to Hollinger Bus Lines (a suburban Toronto company) in May 1950. The Brantford plant built 197 buses during its entire existence. Initially the front-engined 310 Cityliner was produced, but construction switched to the rear-engine FTD and FTD. In 1958 the facility was sold to Blue Bird, allowing that company to expand into Canada.
Shortly after World War II FitzJohn established a sales unit in Mexico City. Mexico proved to be a fertile market for the company, and 40-passenger Super Duraliners were sold there until 1956, many built to an unusual rear-entrance/exit configuration. Although sales dropped in the mid-1950s when the Mexican government began to encourage domestic manufacturing, over 50 Roadrunners were exported. Following the dissolution of FitzJohn, a Mexican company began building the Roadrunner.
A very big developper and maker off buses in South America is CAMETAL. First they used only familiar buses but they make since the eighties a lot of buses off own making. Not all the pictures are from superquality but is is no different. Enjoy watching. It was all new for me. The drive through Chili, Paraquay, Uruquay, Argentina, Cuba and several other countries.
1945 Brockway 78
1938 kromhout 112 Beijnes
![1954 Kromhout TBZ100 carr. Verheul [1954]PB-89-17 Kromhout TBZ100 carr. Verheul NB-76-85](https://myntransportblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/1954-kromhout-tbz100-carr-verheul-1954pb-89-17-kromhout-tbz100-carr-verheul-nb-76-85.jpg)
![1937 Diamond-T [1937-1952] NB-48-48](https://myntransportblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1937-diamond-t-1937-1952-nb-48-48.jpg)
![1947 Diamond carr. Verheul [1947-1952] NB-28-26](https://myntransportblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1947-diamond-carr-verheul-1947-1952-nb-28-26.jpg)
![flxible [1434]](https://i0.wp.com/farm9.static.flickr.com/8066/8245600165_56b124f7a9_m.jpg "flxible [1434]")
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