CLASSIC TRUCK KELSALL RALLY 2019
80 TRUCKING August 2019 http://www.truckingmag.co.uk
to an electric motor which turns the
propshaft. NTO 143 was restored
over fi ve years from a scrapyard
wreck – a process that required
Peter Chamberlain to teach himself
coachbuilding to replace a Crossley
cab that had been fi tted at some point
in its life.
During restoration, it was the electric
driveline that required the least amount
of work. At some stage, the original
Tilling-Stevens petrol engine had been
replaced by a Gardner 4KL with circa
55 bhp. That itself is of historical
signifi cance. The engine been a Gardner
test prototype for units that powered
the Royal Navy’s Midget submarines
that in WWII sank the German
battleship Tirpitz. The seamless power
delivery of the Tilling-Stevens’ electric
transmission makes it particularly nice
to drive.
The restoration is a great credit to
Peter Chamberlain, whose background
is general rather than road transport or
the motor trade career of most heritage
vehicle restorers. Four years ago, he
acquired a second Tilling-Stevens
for restoration. Like NTO 143, it was
built as a searchlight truck for WWIIgearbox with a 196-to-1 bottom ratio. In
those days, they certainly knew how to
get the most out of the least.
Watford’s history-maker is 90 years
old next year. Its eye-popping features
include four-in-a-row back wheels each
with its own drive chain. (The Hundred
Tonner and its facts and feats will be
included in a not-to-be-missed feature
on chain-drive trucks in a forthcoming
issue of Trucking –ed.)
Rare attendance
Another Kelsall rarity from the great
days of British automotive engineering
was an unassuming looking – but many
decades ahead of its time – 1937 Tilling-
Stevens TS 19-3, owned and restored
by Peter Chamberlain. What today is
termed a hybrid, the engine drives
a dynamo, with power transmittedImpressive rows of moderns weren’t deterred by modest charges
(that go to charity) imposed in an attempt to limit numbersUS-inspired? The big N Series Swedes were impressive
trucks by any standard. Today, normal control Volvos
are the stock-in-trade of Volvo USASPICK
& SPAN
Notorious litter lout events like
Glastonbury could take a tip
from Kelsall. There’s not a
scrap to be seen, thanks to
helpers on constant patrol
with pick-up sticks and
bin bags.ABOVE Also by Tilling-Stevens is the suitcase-sized TS3
opposed-piston two-stroke powering this 10-12 Commer artic