Ahhh...my beloved Biglorryblog brethren what would I do without you? Somehow I knew that if I asked about Bussing---and whether the famous underfloor-engined German truck maker ever had a punt in the UK---I'd get an answer. Step forward Richard 'The Brochure King' Stanier who has sent me the full story (as I knew he would)! Richard writes: " Hi Brian, here's some 'words and pictures' on Bussing in Britain - as requested.
"Brian Watt [as mentioned by Bob Beech] of Wath-Upon- Dearne, Yorkshire, did indeed import Bussing Trucks into the UK in 1970, in his capacity as their sole UK importer. Commercial Motor of September 25, 1970 reported that four left-hand-drive BS 19 S 32 ton tractors had already been imported with right-hand-drive versions to follow in Spring of 1971. Three of the tractors were reported as already sold, with Brian Watt operating the fourth, FWR 766J, in his international haulage business. I have enclosed an advert from Commercial Motor, featuring Brian's truck. It would appear that this venture was not very successful, but Bussing's involvement in the British commercial vehicle market can actually be traced back a lot further than 1970 - They provided bus designs for London buses before the Great War."
Now click through here for more Bussing pictures and further details on the trucks sold in the UK...
Richard goes on to say: "As Bob Beech recalls, Brian Watt was already making a name for himself on the international haulage scene, and was featured in the Leyland Journal of March/April 1969. At this point Brian was operating a couple of Guy Big J6 rigids and a Big J4T tractor to Europe. The Leyland Journal featured Brian 'running in' his newest (day cabbed!) Guy on a 1000 mile trip to Ostrava in Eastern Czechoslovakia. Ostrava, apparently, was like Scunthorpe 'only dirtier'. I've attached a photo of Brian Watt with his trusty Big J."
Finally Richard says:"Here's a scan of a brochure shot of the Bussing BS 20 S2 6x2 Tractor Unit from 1969. This handsome truck featured a steered second axle and the firm's own 6 cylinder diesel of 240 BHP. Unlike Bussing's famous rigid trucks, this one featured the engine installed under the cab, rather than horizontally in the chassis. Cheers! Richard."
Great stuff Richard, but then I knew you'd come through! Meanwhile, my first experience with Bussing was attending a MAN press event in Munich in 1979 as snapper to the late and much missed CM Tech editor Graham Mongomerie. It was the launch of the MAN G90, the light middleweight truck jointly developed with VW. On the ride-and-drive event there were several trucks including a couple of big MAN rigids with the word 'Bussing' on the side of the cab. And these had underfloor engines ala Bussing. I hadn't realised either that the Lion grille badge came from Bussing, rather than MAN...you learn something new every day in this job!
Comments (2)
For the real anoraks: the Bussing twin steer tractor on this site did even exist in a 6x4 drive version.
(second and third axle driven)
Posted by BDV | December 30, 2007 5:36 PM
Posted on December 30, 2007 17:36
As did the Henschel-Hanomag of the same era. I recall seeing one in Southampton docks in the early 1970s and being surpised that the mid axle was both steering and driven. By the way, nice going Richard. You really excelled this time with the Brian Watt brochure. Excellent stuff.
Posted by Martin Phippard | December 30, 2007 6:53 PM
Posted on December 30, 2007 18:53