Welcome to Will’s Roadtransport Revival – my new daily photo blog of commercial vehicles from yesteryear. Every day I’ll be bringing you photos, press pictures, film stills, brochure shots and advertisements from my own personal collection and from the extensive Commercial Motor and Motor Transport archives.
I’ll want your help too. If you’ve got historic images of commercial vehicles then please email them to me.
And if you spot any mistakes (and I’m sure there will be a few), please let me know.

It might look like a photo-shoot from the mid-1970s, but in actual fact I took this picture 18 months ago in Southampton at the Ford Transit’s 40th birthday celebrations. The “S”-registered MkI Transit at the front has the extended “diesel nose”, which was required to house the Perkins engine. This was one of several early Transits that journalists were allowed to drive on the day.
It was in immaculate condition and drove exactly as it did the day it left the factory – in other words it was loud, underpowered, had appalling ride and handling characteristics and a sliding door that almost amputated a limb whenever you touched the brakes. What’s more, the interior was about as appealing as a fortnight’s holiday in Guantanamo Bay. Hard to believe that this van was class-leading in its day.
The similarly aged Bedford CF ice-cream van was nothing to do with the event and just happened to be parked there.