Articulated Lorry
Built by Adrian Ashford in January 2018
This is the tractor unit only so far, of model 9.10 from the 1962–69 set of 10 model leaflets which were issued with the № 9 outfit. All the outfits were revised in content in 1962, together with the inclusion of a number of new parts, and the completely new instruction for all outfits, except № 10, were presented as photographs and exploded drawings. This was the outfit which was dropped in the 1970 revisions of the Meccano set range, and the leaflets were then supplied with the number 10 set, in addition to the original 20, which were never subsequently revised.
To those who know their Dinky Toys, this model is a very close copy of the Mighty Antar Low Loader with Propeller, introduced in June 1959 and shown on the back cover of the Meccano Magazine for that month. The tractor unit was introduced in June 1956 with a trailer, all finished in Army olive green, as a Tank Transporter, designed to take the Dinky Toy Centurion Tank. This model was made with a different trailer, in red and grey, carrying a beautifully modelled replica of a ship’s propeller — in the correct bronze colour — mounted on wooden blocks, all moulded in plastic.
The prototype was a powerful tractor, with six-wheel drive, capable of hauling heavy loads over rough terrain. The Meccano version has a № 1 clockwork motor, driving the leading rear axle through a pinion and contrate drive via a two-speed gearbox.
I have doubts as to whether the motor would actually be powerful enough to move both tractor and trailer, and as there’s no differential on the driving axle, I don’t think it would steer very well! Having said that, the model is, within the set limitations, a very good copy of the model it’s based on.
March 2018
A trailer of virtually my own design has been completed, so that both it and the tractor would fit in my suitcase! The width was reduced from 9½” to 7½” and the bed is in two sections, each made from 9½” Angle Girders (in place of a single 18½” one each side), the two sections being butt-joined in the centre.