page_title: Scammell Mechanical Horse
section_title: Scammell Townsman
hierarchical_section_title: Scammell Mechanical Horse / Scammell Townsman
caption_attribution_description: Scammell Townsman at the Shildon Lorry Museum.
context_page_description: The concept of the Mechanical Horse tractor unit with an easily detached articulated trailer was conceived in the early 1930s by Napier & Son. It has one front wheel in the midline. The London and North Eastern Railway had approached Napier for an answer to the problem of replacing horses for local haulage purposes, while retaining the flexibility of changing the wagons and the manoeuvrability of the horse and wagon.
context_section_description: The Scammell Townsman replaced the 3-ton Scarab. There was no provision for a 6-ton model; more conventional vehicles were used to take on the heavier role. The Townsman closely followed the Scarab in its basic design. The frame was of a welded construction and had integral coupling ramps fitted with Scammell Mechanical Horse automatic coupling. The engine, gearbox and driving axle formed a rigid assembly pivoted at the front end in a large rubber bush. A vacuum operated release mechanism replaced the hand lever mechanism used in the Scarab. The futuristic lines of the fibreglass cab were a novelty. Use of GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) for the cab had allowed for a more complex shape to be employed. Scammell had experience with GRP cabs in heavy lorries such as the Routeman, Trunker and Handyman which also had cabs designed by Michelotti. The new cab had many new developments, such as vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes, a heater-demister, two rear view mirrors, interior sun-visors, totally enclosed oil-immersed coil spring front suspension and dual rate mounting of semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Later a larger engine was fitted; the Leyland OE160, being an in-house product due to Standard-Triumph and Scammell being part of the Leyland Group. The OE160 was used in the Leyland Twenty and Leyland 90 commercials built under Leyland badges by Standard-Triumph. The Townsman had better driver controls and faster road speed (50 mph) but still lacked brakes on all wheels; only the rear axle had brakes.  Legislation in the late 1960s regarding braking of goods vehicles meant that the working days of the innovative Scammells was nearing an end.
  Production ended in 1968. Around 30,000 Mechanical Horses in total were produced over the 35 years of production, but of those only 30 original Mechanical Horses, 60 Scarabs and 30 Townsman models are known to survive.
caption: A 1966 Scammell Townsman now preserved at Shildon Lorry Museum
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