Letters
W J KING STEAM WAGONS
Dear Editor
From around 1965 I was working in the offices of a large Wiltshire-based transport company. One of the highlights of the working week was the arrival of the two trade journals, Motor Transport and Commercial Motor.
I usually turned first to the ‘sits vac’ to see if there were any jobs worth applying for, and after that I trawled through the other features (not usually any ‘classic and vintage’) in those days, including the licensing authority section which included operators on the carpet for ‘running bent’ and other infringements
The majority of these were in other parts of the country but one which caught my attention was in the neighbouring county of Somerset and involved a quarry operating company.
The company had received a visit from a Ministry of Transport inspector whose remit was to satisfy himself that all the vehicles specified on their carriers licence were taxed, roadworthy and fit for purpose. He was astonished that when asking about several such vehicles he learned that they were steamers laid up in the ‘graveyard’ at the rear of the premises.
The Licensing Authority adjourned the hearing to consider the matter further and I heard no more about it,
