Having acquired one of Hans Witte’s ERF NGC kit models, kindly made up for me in the shape of ERF’s Middle-East demonstrator of 1974/5 - JLG 35N – I thought I’d have a bit of creative fun.
An ERF demo unit is a bonus in the realms of realistic model transport fantasy. A Middle-East spec demo is an absolute gift; and JLG 35N really existed as ERF’s Middle-East demo unit.
We can choose between a couple of scenarios here. Either imagine that various long-haul companies like Astran took NGC demonstrators and ran them on Middle-East work (some really did, of course, Eric Vick being a classic example). Or imagine that an o/d acquired the ex-ERF demo unit, left it in livery and used it to recover stranded trailers from the TIR trail (like Nick Bull did back in those days with his B-series ERF). More parochially, one might imagine it hauling tilts out of Dover on traction work. Whichever way you look at it, here is a very feasible fantasy using photos I’ve taken of my new model with various 1:50 scale trailers featuring the ‘70s Middle-East run.
Enjoy! Robert
Firstly, a nice unmarked tilt with wheels to match.
Meanwhile, back to the real world : I bumped into Steve Little at Gaydon. He drove for Richard Read / Eric Vick / Vijore and had found some more epic happy snaps for me. The pics taken on the Middle-East run were taken by him when he was driving Eric Vick’s LV-cabbed ERF; and the pic of him driving PDF 444R with a fridge was UK work.
Robert
Incidentally, for anyone wanting a nice neutral ERF demonstrator for European work trailers, I notice PKC had made one model up of the Euro demonstrator KDM 460N, which was featured in Pat Kennett’s Euro-Test in '75. See left-hand unit in pic below
I must say, I’ve only had this little NGC model a couple of days and already it has brought me an astonishing amount of pleasure. The build-quality and attention to detail is superb and the authenticity is phenomenal.
DEANB:
I know we have the picture on here before,but cant remember if the snippet of info was on here.
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Click on page once.
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Ha! I too have that press photo with the typed rubric on the back, but yours is more detailed than mine, so perhaps they sent out a later batch with more info on. Nice to have you back! Robert
Much is available/published on the broad Kalamazoo-invention…but a tribute to Trans Arabia
(in co-operation with Ronald Hawkins) or even to the 3MW and 5MW ERF would be desirable?
@Anorak and @Continental: I thank you for your faith! I fear I would need a much more thorough technical grasp of the subject to tackle the Fuller project, though I agree that it cries out to be written.
As for TA, Ron appears to view me with a jaundiced eye so that collaboration may never happen! The 5MW certainly needs attention and funnily enough I do give my frank excuse for not writing about them in my forthcoming book.
To be honest, when Lorries of Arabia Bk3 comes out on 13th August I intend to give the pen a rest for a while, as I have another rather time-consuming project on my plate at the moment. However, I’ll continue to work on TruckNet and keep a close eye on this thread.
I’ve just stumbled on a Swiss site - tir-transnews.ch - and found this fabulous image of Hans Burkhard’s ZH 120 919! It doesn’t really say anything about it, but what a cracking picture! It seems to have a acquired an illuminated headboard since the existing pictures we have of it. Robert
ERF-Continental:
Possibly a subco? With the Union-Jack as livery
A nice quick and effective response! Yes, I think you’re right: a sub-contractor or more likely a freight agent / speditor (or even a customer). His other NGC did Middle-East and didn’t have the Union Jack.
EDIT. The Union Jack may be a ‘red-herring’ because it seems to crop up elsewhere (like the French example, the European unit brochure example, and the Middle-East examples below), probably as part of ERF’s rocket-red-and-white factory livery backing the Buy British campaign of the '74-'76 period. It is unlikely that a Swiss freight-forwarder would use the Union Jack as its logo. The B-series ERF in your post may well have been Hans Burkhard’s too, as I believe he ran B-series. It would have been supplied by the Swiss importer, ERFIM AG in Spreitenbach (with a garage at Reinach near Basel). They did supply B-series. Robert
: I bumped into Steve Little at Gaydon. He drove for Richard Read / Eric Vick / Vijore and had found some more epic happy snaps for me. The pics taken on the Middle-East run were taken by him when he was driving Eric Vick’s LV-cabbed ERF; and the pic of him driving PDF 444R with a fridge was UK work.
.Robert
