70. Years of Land Rover

The mechanical horse always fascinated me, although I have never been close up to one.
My FiL drove one for years and used to regale tales of the maneuverability of the gadget .
The trailers must've been brakeless???

The trailers at the sale all had air brakes on the axle.

Regards,
Tote

I am dashed if I can remember anything about the braking system.
As Ian said , the Scarab and its trailer really was a gadget and possibly was not equipped with trailer brakes in its original form. Having the Bedford prime mover leads me to think it would be used on roads, Tote ,whereas the Scarab was not. That little unit wouldn’t pull the pants off Madonna, so was confined to wharehouse and wharf : nowadays a forklift is much more effective.

dave

The ones my FiL drove were used on public roads, around town, in the UK. That was back in the 1950s-early sixties and the trailers were the approximate size of the earlier horse drawn trailers, hence the nickname, mechanical horse. It is entirely possible that there was no requirement for trailer braking back then.
I'll make further enquiries and report back.

I just had a thought, was there a mechanical brake, through the coupling?

Giving this further thought, Tote's trailers were more than likely modified, if they had air brakes.
Even in the last days of Scammel couplings, vacuum brakes would've been pretty flash.

Ah yes, Ian , you are indubitably correct, the little Scarab would in its element among the narrow roads in its homeland, delivery and drop offs and pickups here and there,

thanks for that, and your Fi L memories, we should get all our elders to record this history

Mechanical brakes it was.

The TruckNet UK Drivers RoundTable • View topic - A question about Scammel couplings.

You might find this forum interesting too, Dave .

Attachment 146946
Scammel Scarab aka Mechanical Horse.

scammell scarab images - Google Search

Well ,well, I had not realized they were used so extensively , so it is possible to teach old dogs.

Thanks Ian , good research

I am still reading the forum Ian directed me to,

Perhaps I should forward the lights bill to Tote

Very interesting I must admit.