The 4x4 Ferrari is Finished

Well, it has been quite a job, or series of jobs, but the station truck is finished.   She may get a final coat or two of paint next year but meantime she, and the Yanmar tractor have a new shelter:

click to enlarge

 It is at the back of the navvy hut and therefore out of sight.   It also means I can hide away other things like wheel barrows too.

The finishing touches for the truck were LMS signs:

and here is the Villiers Mk 10 engine, which starts first pull and now has the correct Villiers identification plate - a gift from Meetens Ltd who overhauled the engine.

Been doing a bit of digging into the history of these Geest trucks.   Turns out they were made by the Geest banana people at a factory in Spalding, Lincolnshire initially for use by Geest in such places as wholesale fruit and veg markets.   They proved so successful that other people, railways for instance, wanted to buy them from Geest so production was increased to satisfy that demand.

They were simple, rugged, reliable and above all  extremely manoeuvrable.   The single front wheel can turn full circle.   Great fun.