LHD Leyland Roadtrains

[robert1952]

Odd one this. I’m never sure what to make of the T45 Roadtrain: it was thoroughly researched and developed but produced during British Leylands darkest hours. I never drove one, so I’d be interested in what people thought of them. The LHD ones came with the usual variety of engines: Leyland TL12, Rolls Royce 350, ■■■■■■■ 320. And the same variety of gearboxes: certainly 9-speed and 13-speed Fuller and Twinsplitter - probably Spicer as well (as in the RHD version) but I don’t know for sure. A lot seemed to have been sold in France and a substantial number in the Benelux countries. I’ll start the thread as usual with lots of pics for you to get your teeth (and memories) into. Robert

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

This wagon & drag has a Twin-splitter…

[robert1952]

As far as I know you couldn’t get a heavy-duty 6x4 Roadtrain, because Leyland called them Scammells. Leyland used the Scammell badge for the heavy-duty 6x4 Roadtrains but confusingly sometimes put Leyland badges on. ‘Badge engineering’, it was called. Never mind. The Scammell S26 was a very robust beast and usually came with a ■■■■■■■ 350 lump and a 15-speed Fuller 'box. The military used them too. At least one ended up on Middle-East work, as we shall see… Robert

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

I often wondered why the high ‘Interstate’ cab wasn’t offered on LHD Roadtrains or S26s but here’s a one-off that was displayed at NEC that really looks the part! Robert

[robert1952]

Bob Poggioni ran a Scammell S26 with a 400 bhp ■■■■■■■ in it and a Jake brake on Middle-East work to the Gulf. It featured in a 1991 TRUCK mag article by Lawrence Kiely. The machine performed well and was known as ‘The Scud’ (believed to have been named by Turkish drivers for its speed during the Gulf War of the early '90s). Here are some pics of this lorry. Robert

[robert1952]

more LHD Scammell S26s…

[robert1952]

Getting back to the LHD Roadtrains…

[robert1952]

[robert1952]

I’ve just found the ‘normal’ Leyland Roadtrains thread and bumped it up so that people can cross-reference if they want to. In the meantime, I’ll bet you a pound to a pinch of camel doo-doos that somewhere there was a LHD Roadtrain with a 14-litre ■■■■■■■ and a 9-speed Fuller in it, but that it’ll take us another year to locate it! There were RHD ones, to be sure, and one is even cited on the other thread… Robert

[jelliot]

I wonder if they came with whinny diffs as well…
You couldn’t get a descent nights kip at Southwaite will all the Robsons T45’s on the night trunk…

Jeff

[robert1952]

Jelliot:
I wonder if they came with whinny diffs as well…
You couldn’t get a descent nights kip at Southwaite will all the Robsons T45’s on the night trunk…

Jeff

I had a nice drop of diff whine with my lunch - just a hint of hypoid and raspberries! Robert

[robert1952]

I found this picture, I think it’s by GS OVERLAND. Isn’t that Bob Poggiani’s ‘Scud’ at the far end of the row? Robert

[dispatcher]

Ref HILLS S26 (HBM529Y), it went on to Crouch Recovery, who stretched the chassis, I thought it had
a 9 speed Spicer box (But I may be wrong it was while ago)