Moreland Motor Truck Company

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Moreland Motor Car Company
Moreland Motor Truck Company
legal form Company
founding 1909
resolution 1949
Seat Burbank , California , USA
Branch Motor vehicles

Moreland plant in Burbank, 1927
Moreland truck with double axles and solid rubber tires working in the forest (1927)

The Moreland Motor Truck Company was an American automobile manufacturer .

description

Watt Moreland, who previously worked for the Durocar Manufacturing Company , founded the Moreland Motor Car Company in 1909 . The company was at the instigation of local entrepreneurs in Burbank ( California settled). Initially, a few passenger cars were built . Soon, around 1911, the focus was on commercial vehicles . At that time the new company name was already in effect. The brand was a pioneer of trucks with double axles, lightweight construction in the commercial vehicle sector and diesel drives .

The first Moreland trucks were available with a gross weight of 1½, 3, 3½ or 5 tons. The power transmission took place with the smaller models with cardan shaft , with the bigger ones as usual with drive chains . Moreland bought the engines from outside suppliers, most notably Hercules and Continental . Transmissions usually came from Brown-Lipe , electrics from Dixie or Auto-Lite, and carburetors from Miller or Dixi .

In 1924 a version with 6 tons added to the offer and Moreland put a double-decker bus with a double axle for 60 passengers on the wheels. It was powered by a six-cylinder engine from Continental on both rear axles. The vehicle had both Lockheed hydraulic brakes and Westinghouse air brakes . However, it was too expensive for a profitable bus operation and did not go into series production.

The following year, the TX6 was a larger truck with a Continental six-cylinder model 14H and a double axle of its own design. Moreland was practically at the same time as a Californian competitor, Fageol as the first on the market. Some models received engines from Waukesha . With the Ace , a two-axle vehicle with 1.7 tons appeared. The significantly heavier Californian also had two axles with an empty weight of 4 tons and a payload of 3 tons. The power-to-weight ratio , which was favorable for the time , was made possible by consistent lightweight construction .

Moreland was the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the western United States in the late 1920s. The best year the company had in 1929. The company shipped approximately 1,000 trucks, buses and trailers, and chatted in California next to its headquarters in Burbank, the company offices in Los Angeles , San Diego , Bakersfield , Stockton , Oakland , Santa Ana , El Centro , Fresno , Sacramento and San Francisco . Further, there was in Portland ( Oregon ), Spokane ( Washington ), Salt Lake City ( Utah ) and Seattle (Washington). The large Moreland models received twin axles of their own construction; for smaller models like the Road Runner RR they were bought in from Timken. The Road Runner series comprised two-axle vehicles with 2-5 tons and Road Preserver three-axle vehicles with 5-6 tons or 10 tons.

The program for 1929 included:

  • Road Runner RR (two-axle, 2 tons, engine Continental Six Red Seal)
  • Road Runner BX (two-axle, 2-2½ tons, engine Continental Six Red Seal)
  • Road Runner EXX (two-axle, 2½-3½ tons)
  • Road Runner AXX (two-axle, 3½-5 tons)
  • Road Preserver SX (three-axle, 5-6 tons)
  • Road Preserver TX (three-axle, 10 tons)

Thanks to the double axles, trucks for use in forestry became a specialty. For example, the Los Angeles Forestry Department ( LA Division of Forestry ) received a Moreland 3-ton truck in 1930 and equipped it itself as a fire engine for fighting bush fires. In the following years production fell significantly. Moreland shifted increasingly to the trailer and body construction and developed a refrigerated vehicle . In 1931 a merger was negotiated with Fageol , but it did not materialize. The company ended up producing more or less to order. With the outbreak of World War II , it became increasingly difficult to obtain necessary materials. Truck production therefore ended in 1941. Vega Aircraft Corporation assembled several thousand fighter planes and bombers at the Moreland factory . Moreland itself existed as a spare parts supplier until 1949.

Models (selection)

  • 19C (two-axle, 2½ tons, engine Continental E4 four-cylinder with 5.6 liter displacement, from approx. 1919)
  • TX6 (three-axle, 6 and 10 tons; from 1925)
  • Ace (two-axle, 1.72 tons, engine Continental)
  • Californian (two-axle, 7 tons, Hercules engine)
  • Road Runner (series)
  • Road Preserver
  • WS6

Passenger cars

In 1909, 1912, 1916, 1917 and 1924 some passenger cars were produced. Six cars have been handed down for 1912. The 1916 model remained a prototype with a special power transmission. In 1917, there were four Moreland cars registered in California. A luxuriously equipped sedan was announced for 1924 , which also remained a prototype.

Web links

Commons : Moreland Motor Truck Company  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d hankstruckpictures.com: Moreland  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 25, 2012)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.hankstruckpictures.com  
  2. ↑ trombinoscar.com: Moreland fire brigade for use in bush fires (1930) (French) (accessed on May 27, 2012)
  3. ↑ a b c d coachbuilt.com: Brand history (English) (accessed on May 24, 2012)
  4. ↑ trombinoscar.com: Moreland 19C 2.5 tons flatbed truck (1919) (French) (accessed May 27, 2012)
  5. ↑ Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1001 (English).