Thornycroft
see also Thornycroft (disambiguation)
Thornycroft was a United Kingdom-based vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.
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History
Thornycroft started out with steam vans and lorries. John Isaac Thornycroft, the naval engineer, built his first steam lorry in 1896. Their first petrol vehicle was in 1902 and the company completed the move into internal combustion engine power in 1907.
Thereafter the vehicle building firm and the marine side (later to become Vosper Thornycroft) were separate companies.
From 1931, Thornycroft used names for their vehicle range - descriptive and colourful ones.
In 1948, the company name was changed to Transport Equipment (Thornycroft) Ltd to prevent confusion with the shipbuilding Thornycroft company.
They were taken over by AEC, by then Associated Commercial Vehicles Ltd and production was limited to the Nubians, Big Bens and Antars. ACV was then taken over by Leyland who already had a specialist vehicle unit in Scammell, another manufacturer of large haulage vehicles. Thornycroft's Basingstoke factory was closed in 1969 and specialist vehicles transferred to Scammell at Watford.
Models
Bus and coach
- Boudicea
- Patrician
- Lightning
- Cygnet
- Beautyride
Lorry
- Hardy
- Dandy
- Sturdy - 5/6 tonner
- Trusty - 8 ton forward control 4 wheeler
- Bullfinch
- Strenuous
- Mastiff
- Taurus
- Iron Duke
- Amazon
- Stag
- Bulldog
- Jupiter - 6.5 ton
- Big Ben
- Nubian
- 3-ton vehicle.
- Available as 4 x 4, 6 x 4, 6 x 6
- Mighty Antar
- 85-ton
- 6 x 4 pipeline and tank transporter
Other
- Terrapin - design only, built by Morris Commercial
External links
See also
- J I Thornycroft - shipbuilding firm
Categories
Bus manufacturers | Defunct bus manufacturers | Defunct companies of the United Kingdom | Truck manufacturers | Military vehicle manufacturers