My Scammell Experience (from 2001)
Story and photos © Tommy Sandham. This article must not be re-produced without permission from the Author.
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Apart from Cortinas, one of my other interests are heavy lorries -- the heavier the better! I especially like the heavy haulage tractors used to pull abnormal loads. These used to be run by Pickfords, and by Wynn's of Newport, amongst others. So it took little persuasion to visit Avon Dassett one bitterly cold day in November 2001 to see some lorries. What I found was not what I expected! All the vehicles there were off-road vehicles, including Land Rovers, Range Rovers, Bedford Army lorries and about half a dozen Scammell Explorers.
These specialised vehicles were used by the Army as Recovery Vehicles -- they could go almost anywhere due to the articulated suspension and six-wheel drive.
Having watched the antics of the off-road vehicles for a few hours, I decided to ask for a ride round. A suitable Scammell had just been pull-started by another, so I asked the driver for a ride round the quarry course. He agreed and I climbed up, nearly falling off before I got into the cab. I didn't know it then, but I had asked one of the top drivers, and was now sitting inside a very-much modified Scammell.
He told me to brace myself against the bulkhead and not to bang my head on the door frame. What had I let myself in for?
Instead of driving down into the quarry by an access road, the driver lined the beast up at the top of a 50-foot, near-vertical drop, and satisfied that we were straight onto the hill, he trickled over the top. (I noticed we were the only ones to got "over the top" during the time I was there!!)
We bumped and lurched our way to the bottom, at which point he asked me if I had a weak stomach? A few yards further round the course, we stopped to pick up another visitor who seemed to know the driver, whom I shortly learned was called Chris Acock. At this point Chris asked the other passenger if he had been in the new turbocharged version, pushing out he thought some 350 BHP.
Another Explorer was winching out a partly submerged third Explorer who had been unable to get through a particularly deep part of the course. This seemed to challenge Chris, and the other passenger said that if someone else had failed then Chris immediately took it as a challenge to get himself and his Explorer through. We ploughed into the mud, but took a slightly different line, getting through.
Anyway to cut a short story even shorter, Chris took us round the course with a lot of style and a huge bow-wave as we went through some 4 or 5 feet of water. We then came to a short muddy gully, and (I'm not sure why?) Chris put his wheel up on the side of the gully. We were stopped, I think, when we toppled over onto the driver's side of the vehicle.
Good job we missed that rock!
Another view of the toppled Explorer.
Did I do this? Our man Chris Acock stands on the stranded Scammel as the recovery starts.
To the rescue. The chain is coupled to the overturned Scammell. Of all the Explorers there, I especially liked this one. Maybe one day if I saved really hard...
In comes the heavy team. This is the AEC Militant of Graham Phillips.
Back on its feet again, with a bit of damage to the woodwork. Look at that guy in the shorts! Don't know your name but I was frozen in a fleece and an anorak!!
To Chris -- if you are reading this --- THANKS for a very interesting experience. I knew they were cross-country vehicles BUT!!! there's cross-country and there's cross-country!
I have a few bruised fingers but thanks for the ride of a lifetime!
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Page updated:- 21 July, 2005