Armstrong Saurer

Armstrong Saurer , also Armstrong-Saurer , is a former British commercial vehicle manufacturer .

history

The commercial vehicles of the Swiss company Adolph Saurer AG enjoyed a certain popularity in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the twentieth century. Pickfords imported the first trucks from this manufacturer in 1907, and more vehicles were ordered in the 1920s. The emerging sales opportunities prompted Saurer to consider licensing production in the United Kingdom in the early 1930s. Armstrong-Whitworth was selected as the licensee . Production was to take place at the Armstrong facility in Newcastle upon Tyne . Originally the vehicles were to be manufactured entirely in Newcastle, but components were later also obtained from Saurer-France .

Armstrong-Saurer's first truck was presented at the Commercial Motor Show in 1931 . The company manufactured heavy trucks that were characterized by their robustness. Originally used primarily for road transport, the vehicles were later used as construction site vehicles and for similar applications. Ultimately, however, the results of the truck production did not meet expectations, so production was stopped in 1937.

vehicles

Saurer was one of the pioneers in the use of diesel engines in truck construction. All Armstrong-Saurer vehicles were also equipped with diesel engines. Together with the compressed air brakes and gearboxes with overdrive , they represented progressive designs for their time. The company produced trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 7 to 15 tons . The light vehicles with a total weight of 7 tons were designed as two- and three-axle vehicles, the heavier than Three-axle. Only the 15-tonne were designed as four-axle vehicles. A six-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of approximately 6.2 l and an output of 110 bhp was used in the smaller vehicles . The series corresponded by and large to those manufactured in Switzerland, but were given English names for the British market such as Durable and Effective for the 6/7 tonner, Active and Dominant for the 7 tonner, and Dynamic for the 9 and 10 respectively -Tonner and Samson for the 15-tonner. The vehicles were very expensive. The 7-ton Dominant , a three-axle 110 bhp diesel engine produced between 1932 and 1934, cost £ 1,750 . For the roughly comparable Atlas from Crossley Motors , which was already considered a very expensive vehicle, a comparatively low price of £ 1,440 was asked.

The engines manufactured by Armstrong-Saurer were also used in rail vehicles. For example, the 250 bhp diesel engine was used to drive a railcar on the London Midland and Scottish Railway . Manufactured by Armstrong-Whitworth and fitted with a body from Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited (which contained a kitchen), the twelve-seater diesel-electric railcar ran for two weeks in 1933 as an express service between London and Castle Bromwich .

literature

• SW Stevens-Stratten: British Lorries 1900-1992 , Ian Allen Ltd, Shepperton, 1992. ISBN 0-7110-2091-4
• Halwart Schrader, Jan P. Norbye: The truck lexicon, all brands 1900 to today . Motorbuch Verlag; 3. Edition. 1998, ISBN 3-613-01837-3