I found some film footage of a Nairn Brothers’ Marmon-Herrington artic bus on Youtube. It comes up at 16 minutes into the film. But the whole thing is worth watching if you have the time.
Is that the same Marmon that made the very square handbuilt cabovers?
newmercman:
Is that the same Marmon that made the very square handbuilt cabovers?
Yes. According to Peter Davies’s world encylopedia of trucks; in 1963, after Marmon-Herrington ceased truck production, a new company, Marmon Motor Co. of Denton, Texas, as formed by one of its distributors. 
Robert
Some more.
Oily
newmercman:
Is that the same Marmon that made the very square handbuilt cabovers?
Yes, Marmon-Herrington made about 25 cabovers under their name before it changed to just Marmon.
Thanks, I could’ve googled it I suppose lol.
Those Marmon are held in very high regard, they use the same proprietary components as all the other trucks of the same era, so I don’t know what’s so special about them?
Mind you some people get excited about ERFs, nowt as strange as folk [emoji38]
There are still a few working Marmons on the roads in the States. Here are some I’ve seen in the past 5 years.
Phew! That day cabbed MH look so pre Scammell Crusader to me! Project study!
Nairn Bros. obviously saw a need/gap in the market for their bus travel. Why? Do that many people travel or did travel between Damascus and Baghdad? For what reason? Religion? Family? Why only that route and no expansion to other destinations?
gazzer:
Phew! That day cabbed MH look so pre Scammell Crusader to me! Project study!Nairn Bros. obviously saw a need/gap in the market for their bus travel. Why? Do that many people travel or did travel between Damascus and Baghdad? For what reason? Religion? Family? Why only that route and no expansion to other destinations?
Nairn brothers headquarters were in Beirut, which was quite vibrant, go-ahead and touristic city during the two World Wars. It was a holiday destination for a lot of wealthy Syrian, Iraqi and Persian families. It was called the Paris of the Middle-East. The busses also provided transport for oil industry workers and European tourists. There were other companies that did similar cross-desert services, such as Haim Nathaniel, but Nairns had most of the mail and diplomatic work.
Some more old black and white photos from the Internet.
ChrisArbon:
0Thirty years before Asian Transport started going to the Middle-East; the Nairn brothers were experiencing customs check-point delays in the desert. This is a picture of the French/Syrian Customs at Khan Abu Al-Shamat; just up the road from the British/Iraqi Customs at Al Ramadi.
Hi all,
Tin hat ready… I do like the title “Marmon-Herrington: The Middle East Before Astran” I am pretty sure the Middle East was there before Astran arrived and I am pretty sure they had road transport as well. What was the difference, Astran was going to and fro to the UK and Europe. All those problems did exist long before Astran got there, and I will say again I don’t think Astran invented any of it.Just saying.
Paul
