Lot Ended
Description
Commonly
known as the “Green Goddess”; totally
original with most if not all the fittings and hoses still present;
driven here over 20 miles and has been running starting and driving since
it has been on site; five owners in total
"Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a brand of
vehicle produced by Vauxhall Motors, which was ultimately owned by General
Motors (GM).
Established in 1930 to make
commercial vehicles, Bedford became a leading international truck brand with
substantial export sales of light, medium, and heavy trucks throughout the
world. The brand took its name from the county town of Bedfordshire in which the
Luton factory is located and was GM Europe's most profitable venture for several
years.
The Bedford RL was the British military
medium lorry, built from the mid-1950s until the late-1960s and superseding the
Bedford OY. The RL was based on the Bedford SCL, a civilian 7-ton truck, but
being a military version had all-wheel drive and bigger wheels to increase
ground clearance. Originally conservatively rated at 3 tons, all RL GS (general
service) trucks in British military service were, at a late stage in their
service lives, re-rated at 4 tons without any mechanical modifications (the
weight referring to its rated cross country payload
capacity).
The RL was powered by a 4.9-litre
petrol engine producing 110bhp, although some were fitted with diesel engines.
Many specialist variants were also built including recovery vehicles, mobile
workshops, radio vans and cable layers. The Green Goddess fire engine was also
based on the RL and similar specification vehicles were put into service as
civilian fire appliances.
The RL and variants
continued to serve alongside the later Bedford MK and Bedford TM trucks until
well into the 1990s. The Home Office also purchased a large number of these
vehicles, kept in reserve for any national emergency. All have now since been
disposed of, many having less than 2,000 miles on the clock. The last RL rolled
off the production line in the early 1970s after around 74,000 had been produced
and the Bedford brand was retired in 1991.
This
RL Fire Engine was first registered in London in April 1956 and the V5C is
stating that it has had five keepers in total.
Unfortunately, over the years all the service history has
been mislaid, but the RL is totally original with most if not all the
fittings and hoses still present.
The original
registration number was removed by the vendor (the one shown in the pictures)
but has been replaced with a age related plate of 807 XWG, with the
current V5C is present.
The RL was driven
here over 20 miles and has been running starting and driving since it has been
on site.
Please contact
[email protected]