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THE MELLOR BROTHERS

SALUTE

MORETON C. CULLIMORE

  
 

    
 
Arguably the Gloucestershire road haulage fleet most modelled by The Mellor Brothers is that of Moreton C. Cullimore - with David and Paul even using the original authentic two shades of green paint direct from the company.
  
 

    
FROM FOAL TO FLIVVER


Arguably the Gloucestershire road haulage fleet most modelled by The Mellor Brothers is that of Moreton C. Cullimore - with David and Paul even using the original authentic two shades of green paint direct from the company.

Moreton C. Cullimore himself died in 1972 but his son Roger carries on the strong family tradition that dates back to the 1600s, when the Cullimores were farmers in the Vale of Berkeley.

By the 1920s the Cullimores were also hay and straw merchants around Frocester in Stroud District and in  those days loading and delivering their goods to Cheltenham by horse drawn cart would take a day and a half with the horses being stabled overnight in yards on the site of today's Regent Arcade shopping centre.

Moreton C. Cullimore moved to Lypiatt on the Cotswold Hills above Stroud in 1925 and despite the bleak economic conditions of the time had the vision and courage to invest in motorised transport.  In 1927, he purchased a second-hand Ford Model T truck to transport his own milk produce and livestock to local markets, and return with supplies to meet his family's own needs.  The Ford, believed to be only the second livestock carrying motor vehicle in Gloucestershire, impressed Moreton's neighbours so much that they were soon asking him to take their own sheep and pigs to market.

The Cullimore family farm continues in business at Lypiatt today but Moreton quickly recognised the need for a more formal arrangement and set himself up as a local haulier. So successful was Moreton that within ten years he had a fleet of some ten trucks on the road, running the business - famed for its reliability - alongside his farming commitments.


READY FOR TAKE OFF


After the war Moreton C. Cullimore delivered some 260,000 tons of gravel from Frampton to the runway constructed at Filton for use by the Bristol Brabazon, pictured above with a Bristol Type 170 Freighter. Later projects included various sections of the M4, M50 and M5 motorway between Worcester and Bristol. Cullimore lorries also delivered aggregates for the Eagle Star building in Cheltenham while the haulage side of the business transported for British Steel in South Wales from 1963 until 2002. The company is now involved in other work for local companies and hauls return loads.


The years of the Second World War witnessed contracts for Moreton C. Cullimore's flat bed lorries to carry parts for the Air Ministry, with half the fleet working on aerodrome construction in Devon and North Cornwall. In fact before the War they had been running to places like Hullavington, Boscombe Down and Moreton Valence aerodrome south of Gloucester.

After the war Moreton C. Cullimore delivered some 260,000 tons of gravel from Frampton to the runway constructed at Filton for use by the Bristol Brabazon, pictured above with a Bristol Type 170 Freighter. Later projects included various sections of the M4, M50 and M5 motorway between Worcester and Bristol.  Cullimore lorries also delivered aggregates for the Eagle Star building in Cheltenham while the haulage side of the business transported for British Steel in South Wales from 1963 until 2002. The company is now involved in other work for local companies and hauls return loads.


WHAT THE DICKENS?


When Cullimore vehicles supported the construction of Wartime military airfields in the South West of England away from home and alongside lorries from a number of other sources, shortages and restrictions meant that they could no longer be identified by their distinctive green livery. Moreton C. Cullimore therefore hit upon the idea of giving each vehicle the name of a character from one of the works of his literary hero Charles Dickens'.

When Cullimore vehicles supported the construction of Wartime military airfields in the South West of England away from home and alongside lorries from a number of other sources, shortages and restrictions meant that they could no longer be identified by their distinctive green livery. Moreton C. Cullimore therefore hit upon the idea of giving each vehicle the name of a character from one of the works of his literary hero Charles Dickens'.

As things gradually returned to normal after 1945, the traditional livery re-emerged and the practice of naming the vehicles was allowed to lapse. Moreton however retained his fascination with Dickens and needed little persuasion by his son in the early 1960s to revive the tradition of christening his vehicles. Names were quickly applied to the whole fleet and over the years this custom has attracted much media interest.

The tradition survives today with all Cullimore vehicles and even the individual items of plant, proudly display their Dickensian names. Some names are of course particularly appropriate: Oliver Twist being a truck mixer, while well-placed confidence saw the ready-mix plant at Netherhills christened Great Expectations when it was opened nearly 30 years ago.

The example above is an ERF B 4x2 tractor unit with a day cab named Sir Josiah Fielding.


THE COLOURS OF EXCELLENCE


The company receives enquiries about its fleet from road haulage enthusiasts throughout the UK. Green continues to be the fleet colour, although in 1961 following discussions with Foden the two-tone livery, red bumpers (boards) instead of chrome and red chassis instead of black, became the fleet hallmark for the future, giving an appearance both attractive and distinctive.


The company receives enquiries about its fleet from road haulage enthusiasts throughout the UK. Green continues to be the fleet colour, although in 1961 following discussions with Foden the two-tone livery, red bumpers (boards) instead of chrome and red chassis instead of black, became the fleet hallmark for the future, giving an appearance both attractive and distinctive.

Over the years some 350 Heavy Goods Vehicles have been acquired, almost all bought new. Bedfords, Dodges and Commers accounted for many of the vehicles up to the 1960s, with Leylands then arriving in some quantity. Meanwhile Fodens ( from 1948) and ERFs ( from 1967 ) have formed the mainstay of the more recent fleet.

Today the Cullimore Group of Companies are particularly prominent in the sand and gravel industries - possessing  their own quartz aggregate deposits - and where possible always buy British equipment.  Many of the eighty plus strong vehicle fleet are general haulage tractor units with a variety of trailers to cater for almost any load, based at the 23 acre Netherhills depot, between the villages of Whitminster and Frampton-on-Severn and only one mile from the M5 motorway.

While Moreton C. Cullimore's original Model T Ford had a payload of just 1 ton, Twenty First Century HGVs can operate at up to 44 tonnes gross carrying 29 tonnes. The combined Cullimore transport fleet also covers over 2 million miles each year.


AN ICONIC BRAND


Over the years some 350 Heavy Goods Vehicles have been acquired, almost all bought new. Bedfords, Dodges and Commers accounted for many of the vehicles up to the 1960s, with Leylands then arriving in some quantity. Meanwhile Fodens ( from 1948) and ERFs ( from 1967 ) have formed the mainstay of the more recent fleet.


In 2001 a Cullimore Foden tipper was produced in the Corgi range while in 2004 a Corgi two-piece set  entitled 'A Dickensian Tale', represented the last of the ERF lorries from Middlewich in 2003.

On 12" to the foot scale meanwhile Cullimores have undertaken the painstaking restoration of two of their vehicles, a Wartime Scammell and a 1961 Foden tipper.

Both have been regularly taken to The City of London for the ancient Cart Marking ceremony outside the Guildhall, which is carried out annually in July. This historic ceremony sees a select band of Carmen and Freemen of the City of London bringing their trucks, tractor units, veteran and vintage vans, some still horse-drawn, to be branded with a hot iron on a wooden plate attached to the vehicle's body.

The ceremony serves as a reminder of the centuries of service hauliers have provided to the well-being and development of the City, and maintains the Carmen's ancient tradition of seeking the Lord Mayors approval to their plying their trade within its boundaries. The Company is eligible for inclusion through Roger Cullimore's status as a Freeman and Carman of the City. Indeed, Roger Cullimore was Master Carman in the year from October 2004.


A MELLOR BROTHERS MODEL SURVEY OF
THE MORETON C. CULLIMORE FLEET
BY
MANUFACTURERS


AEC


This Mercury tractor with an Ergonomic cab was unusual in having the name "Fagin" applied in red paint just below the moveable windows. However, it proved a moody prime mover and after reviewing the situation Moreton C. Cullimore buried the unreliable AEC at Claypits near the A38 south of Gloucester.


This Mercury tractor with an Ergonomic cab was unusual in having the name "Fagin" applied in red paint just below the moveable windows. However, it proved a moody prime mover and after reviewing the situation Moreton C. Cullimore buried the unreliable AEC at Claypits near the A38 south of Gloucester.


This Mercury tractor with an Ergonomic cab was unusual in having the name "Fagin" applied in red paint just below the moveable windows. However, it proved a moody prime mover and after reviewing the situation Moreton C. Cullimore buried the unreliable AEC at Claypits near the A38 south of Gloucester.  The model is a conversion of an EFE die cast.


ATKINSON


This 1970 vintage Atkinson Leader 6x2 tractor lived up to its name by pioneering steering on the first two axles.


This 1970 vintage Atkinson Leader 6x2 tractor lived up to its name by pioneering steering on the first two axles.                                                                                                               


COMMER


  1950 vintage Commer QX TS3 retains Moreton C. Cullimore's original Brunswick green livery. The exact measurements for this largely resin and plasticard model were scaled down from the manufacturer's brochure to produce a pair of chassis side members with road spring profile cut accordingly. The springs were all detailed with axle locations filed out and U sections inserted. Having passed both axle rods through square section brass tube, the replica Commer wheels were secured to each end. The chassis top frame was then cut out and side frames joined to the edges while the cab exterior was due to be located on to the previously mounted cab interior but only glued once the wheel arches were centralised. The tipping body was fashioned from a Base Toy unit and would ultimately be mounted at the correct height and detailed.  
 

    
1950 vintage Commer QX TS3 retains Moreton C. Cullimore's original Brunswick green livery.  The exact measurements for this largely resin and plasticard model were scaled down from the manufacturer's brochure to produce a pair of chassis side members with road spring profile cut accordingly.  The springs were all detailed with axle locations filed out and U sections inserted. Having passed both axle rods through square section brass tube, the replica Commer wheels were secured to each end.  The chassis top frame was then cut out and side frames joined to the edges while the cab exterior was due to be located on to the previously mounted cab interior but only glued once the wheel arches were centralised.  The tipping body was fashioned from a Base Toy unit and would ultimately be mounted at the correct height and detailed.


DAF


One of Moreton C. Cullimore's curtainside trailers beautifully rendered in 4mm scale using authentic two tone green paints and attached to DAF X105F 6x2 tractor unit Mr Justice Starleigh.


One of Moreton C. Cullimore's curtainside trailers beautifully rendered in 4mm scale using authentic two tone green paints and attached to DAF X105F 6x2 tractor unit Mr Justice Starleigh.


One of Moreton C. Cullimore's curtainside trailers beautifully rendered in 4mm scale using authentic two tone green paints and attached to DAF X105F 6x2 tractor unit Mr Justice Starleigh.

Charles Dickens described the judge in the Pickwick Papers thus:

 "Mr. Justice Starleigh was a most particularly short man, and so fat that he seemed all face and waistcoat. He rolled in upon two little turned legs, and having bobbed gravely to the bar, who bobbed gravely to him, put his little legs underneath his table, and his little three-cornered hat upon it, and when Mr. Justice Starleigh had done this, all you could see of him was two queer little eyes, one broad pink face, and somewhere about half of a very big and very comical-looking wig."                                                                                                                   

Keeping the Dutch designed rig company is Scania 6x2 tractor unit "The Guvnor".


ERF


Day cab fitted ERF LV 4x2 meanwhile was named Thomas Gradgrind after the notorious headmaster in Dickens novel Hard Times. Gradgrind is dedicated to the pursuit of profitable enterprise and his name is now used generically to refer to someone who is hard and only concerned with cold facts and numbers. In the story, he was the father of five children, naming them after prominent utilitarians such as Robert Malthus. He also ran a model school where young pupils were treated as vessels which were to be filled to the brim with facts. This satirised Scottish philosopher James Mill who attempted to develop his sons into perfect utilitarians.  
 

    
  Day cab fitted ERF LV 4x2 meanwhile was named Thomas Gradgrind after the notorious headmaster in Dickens novel Hard Times. Gradgrind is dedicated to the pursuit of profitable enterprise and his name is now used generically to refer to someone who is hard and only concerned with cold facts and numbers. In the story, he was the father of five children, naming them after prominent utilitarians such as Robert Malthus. He also ran a model school where young pupils were treated as vessels which were to be filled to the brim with facts. This satirised Scottish philosopher James Mill who attempted to develop his sons into perfect utilitarians.  
 

    
Day cab fitted ERF LV 4x2 meanwhile was named Thomas Gradgrind after the notorious headmaster in Dickens novel Hard Times.  Gradgrind is dedicated to the pursuit of profitable enterprise and his name is now used generically to refer to someone who is hard and only concerned with cold facts and numbers. In the story, he was the father of five children, naming them after prominent utilitarians such as Robert Malthus. He also ran a model school where young pupils were treated as vessels which were to be filled to the brim with facts. This satirised Scottish philosopher James Mill who attempted to develop his sons into perfect utilitarians.


Appropriately, the sleeper cabbed ERF B 4x2 is named after Captain Josiah Bounderby, a business associate of Mr. Gradgrind. He is a bombastic, yet thunderous merchant given to lecturing others, and boasting about being a self-made man. He employs many of the other central characters of the novel, and his rise to prosperity is shown to be an example of social mobility. He marries Mr. Gradgrind's daughter Louisa, some 30 years his junior, in what turns out to be a loveless marriage. They then had no children. Bounderby is the main target of Dickens' attack on the supposed moral superiority of the wealthy, and is revealed to be a hypocritein his sensational comeuppance at the end of the novel.


Appropriately, the sleeper cabbed ERF B 4x2 is named after Captain Josiah Bounderby, a business associate of Mr. Gradgrind. He is a bombastic, yet thunderous merchant given to lecturing others, and boasting about being a self-made man. He employs many of the other central characters of the novel, and his rise to prosperity is shown to be an example of social mobility. He marries Mr. Gradgrind's daughter Louisa, some 30 years his junior, in what turns out to be a loveless marriage. They then had no children. Bounderby is the main target of Dickens' attack on the supposed moral superiority of the wealthy, and is revealed to be a hypocrite in his sensational comeuppance at the end of the novel.




The tandem axle twin wheeled Scammell all steel tipper trailer pictured above was later converted to tri axle super single running gear. However, even in this modified form it would not have survived long enough to meet Moreton C. Cullimore's "Count Smorltork", an ERF ECK 6x2 tractor with a German built MAN engine under a custom made cab. This was converted from a European die cast MAN 6x2 R161D with a brass chassis to allow for super detailing. A similar unit has been built from resin and brass to replicate one of the many ERF tractors owned by Harold Read of Mitcheldean.



The tandem axle twin wheeled Scammell all steel tipper trailer pictured above was later converted to tri axle super single running gear.  However, even in this modified form it would not have survived long enough to meet Moreton C. Cullimore's "Count Smorltork", an ERF ECK 6x2 tractor with a German built MAN engine under a custom made cab.  This was converted from a European die cast MAN 6x2 R161D with a brass chassis to allow for super detailing.  A similar unit has been built from resin and brass to replicate one of the many ERF tractors owned by Harold Read of Mitcheldean.

The character Count Smorltork can be found in Charles Dickens  novel The Pickwick Papers - an apt choice as the story also features the Royal Hop Pole Hotel in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.  Dickens describes Count Smorltork as a "well-whiskered individual in a foreign uniform" who was one of Mrs Leo Hunter's guests at her fete champetre. She informs Mr Pickwick that he is a famous foreigner who is "gathering materials for his great work on England."  Apparently Rochester-based Dickens modelled Smorltork on Count Puckler-Muskau ( 1785 - 1871 ) and Professor Freidrich von Raumer, both of whom published books on their tours of England.



The character Count Smorltork can be found in Charles Dickens novel The Pickwick Papers - an apt choice as the story also features the Royal Hop Pole Hotel in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Dickens describes Count Smorltork as a "well-whiskered individual in a foreign uniform" who was one of Mrs Leo Hunter's guests at her fete champetre. She informs Mr Pickwick that he is a famous foreigner who is "gathering materials for his great work on England." Apparently Rochester-based Dickens modelled Smorltork on Count Puckler-Muskau ( 1785 - 1871 ) and Professor Freidrich von Raumer, both of whom published books on their tours of England.


The character Count Smorltork can be found in Charles Dickens novel The Pickwick Papers - an apt choice as the story also features the Royal Hop Pole Hotel in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Dickens describes Count Smorltork as a "well-whiskered individual in a foreign uniform" who was one of Mrs Leo Hunter's guests at her fete champetre. She informs Mr Pickwick that he is a famous foreigner who is "gathering materials for his great work on England." Apparently Rochester-based Dickens modelled Smorltork on Count Puckler-Muskau ( 1785 - 1871 ) and Professor Freidrich von Raumer, both of whom published books on their tours of England.
 

 

  
 

As a coda to the description of the Mellor Brother's 4mm scale Count Smorltork, David later found these pictures of the real WV 02 KXG on Flickr, where they had been posted by their friend and fellow Model Bus Federation member Adam Floyd of Quicksilver Coaches fame.

 
 

 

  
 

As a coda to the description of the Mellor Brother's 4mm scale Count Smorltork, David later found these pictures of the real WV 02 KXG on Flickr, where they had been posted by their friend and fellow Model Bus Federation member Adam Floyd of Quicksilver Coaches fame.

 
 

 

  
  As a coda to the description of the Mellor Brother's 4mm scale Count Smorltork, David later found these pictures of the real WV 02 KXG on Flickr, where they had been posted by their friend and fellow Model Bus Federation member Adam Floyd of Quicksilver Coaches fame.

Adam very kindly sent us copies of these images, which were taken at Willen Lake Fair near Milton Keynes on 6 August 2011.  Although not taxed at the time, it is possible that they have left Moreton C. Cullimore's ownership for that of showman John Scarrott.

 


FODEN
 
 
Depicted above are two Foden FGs, a 6x2 plaform lorry and an eight wheel tipper.


Depicted above are two Foden FGs, a 6x2 plaform lorry and an eight wheel tipper.


Depicted above are two Foden FGs, a 6x2 plaform lorry and an eight wheel tipper.


Depicted above are two Foden FGs, a 6x2 plaform lorry and an eight wheel tipper.


Following the FG series, Foden's next series of cabs featured more rounded styling including the S20 "Chinese Six" platform lorry pictured immediately above. The S20 was the ancestor of the S21 "Mickey Mouse" and the Chinese Six wheel arrangement also prefigured the iconic Bedford Val coach chassis.


Following the FG series, Foden's next series of cabs featured more rounded styling including the S20 "Chinese Six" platform lorry pictured immediately above. The S20 was the ancestor of the S21 "Mickey Mouse" and the Chinese Six wheel arrangement also prefigured the iconic Bedford Val coach chassis.


Following the FG series, Foden's next series of cabs featured more rounded styling including the S20 "Chinese Six" platform lorry pictured immediately above.  The S20 was the ancestor of the  S21 "Mickey Mouse" and the Chinese Six wheel arrangement also prefigured the iconic Bedford Val coach chassis.


   Representing Foden in the Moreton C. Cullimore recovery fleet is this S21 "Mickey Mouse" named Major Bagstock, after the character from Dicken's Dombey and Son, which was fitted with a Neville tipper body when new.  
 
 
   Representing Foden in the Moreton C. Cullimore recovery fleet is this S21 "Mickey Mouse" named Major Bagstock, after the character from Dicken's Dombey and Son, which was fitted with a Neville tipper body when new.  
 
 
Representing Foden in the Moreton C. Cullimore recovery fleet is this S21 "Mickey Mouse" named Major Bagstock, after the character from Dicken's Dombey and Son, which was fitted with a Neville tipper body when new. 


   Moreton C. Cullimore's "Major Pawkins" was formed around a rebuilt Corgi Trackside Guy Big J 8x4 tipper with the front section constructed from brass sections soldered together to locate the front axle. The Foden S39 cab was sourced - rather expensively as it turned out - from Impy and the Neville body formed from the cut down I-pod case by overlaying individual micro strips grouped in threes. These body sections were joined together and could be replaced when necessary. Fuel tank, batteries and twin exterior mounted tipping rams were also added.  

 		    
  Moreton C. Cullimore's "Major Pawkins" was formed around a rebuilt Corgi Trackside Guy Big J 8x4 tipper with the front section constructed from brass sections soldered together to locate the front axle. The Foden S39 cab was sourced - rather expensively as it turned out - from Impy and the Neville body formed from the cut down I-pod case by overlaying individual micro strips grouped in threes. These body sections were joined together and could be replaced when necessary. Fuel tank, batteries and twin exterior mounted tipping rams were also added.  
 

    

Moreton C. Cullimore's "Major Pawkins" was formed around a rebuilt Corgi Trackside Guy Big J 8x4 tipper with the front section constructed from brass sections soldered together to locate the front axle.  The Foden S39 cab was sourced - rather expensively as it turned out - from Impy and the Neville body formed from the cut down I-pod case by overlaying individual micro strips grouped in threes. These body sections were joined together and could be replaced when necessary. Fuel tank, batteries and twin exterior mounted tipping rams were also added.

In Charles Dicken's 1842 novel "Martin Chuzzlewit" Major Pawkins was the proprietor of a New York boarding house


  This Moreton C. Cullimore Foden S83 4x2 tractor - seen here next to the River View Cafe with a load of pallets on a flat bed trailer - not only has the more boxy styling of today's HGVs but is easily recognisable by the twin exhaust stacks at the rear of the cab leading from a Rolls Royce engine.  
 

    
  This Moreton C. Cullimore Foden S83 4x2 tractor - seen here next to the River View Cafe with a load of pallets on a flat bed trailer - not only has the more boxy styling of today's HGVs but is easily recognisable by the twin exhaust stacks at the rear of the cab leading from a Rolls Royce engine.  
 

    
This Moreton C. Cullimore Foden S83 4x2 tractor - seen here next to the River View Cafe with a load of pallets on a flat bed trailer - not only has the more boxy styling of today's HGVs but is easily recognisable by the twin exhaust stacks at the rear of the cab leading from a Rolls Royce engine.

GUY


The Guy Invincible 6 tipper pictured above features a scaled down Marquis cab.


The Guy Invincible 6 tipper pictured above features a scaled down Marquis cab.


Hauling the Scammell tipper trailer seen above with Count Smorltork is Guy Big J 4T tractor unit "Pip", named after Philip Pirrip,the protagonist of Great Expectations.  In the 1946 David Lean film adapatation of "Great Expectations" Pip was played by John Mills.


Hauling the Scammell tipper trailer seen above with Count Smorltork is Guy Big J 4T tractor unit "Pip", named after Philip Pirrip,the protagonist of Great Expectations. In the 1946 David Lean film adapatation of "Great Expectations" Pip was played by John Mills.


Hauling the Scammell tipper trailer seen above with Count Smorltork is Guy Big J 4T tractor unit "Pip", named after Philip Pirrip,the protagonist of Great Expectations.  In the 1946 David Lean film adapatation of "Great Expectations" Pip was played by John Mills.


SCAMMELL


  This Scammell Pioneer recovery vehicle meanwhile is named Dr Alexander Manette, a character in Charles Dicken's novel "A Tale of Two Cities".
  
 

    
  This Scammell Pioneer recovery vehicle meanwhile is named Dr Alexander Manette, a character in Charles Dicken's novel "A Tale of Two Cities".
  
 

    
This Scammell Pioneer recovery vehicle meanwhile is named Dr Alexander Manette, a character in Charles Dicken's novel "A Tale of Two Cities".  

In the novel, Dr Alexander Manette is a brilliant physician who spends eighteen years in Paris's Bastille making shoes to take his mind off the horrific conditions of the prison. As he overcomes his past as a prisoner, however, he proves to be a kind, loving father who prizes his daughter’s Lucie's happiness above all things. When Charles Darnay is arrested in France, Dr Manette is his witness that he is innocent. Unfortunately, when Darnay is arrested again, a diary that Manette wrote when he was in jail sends Darnay back to prison. Sydney Carton (out of love for Lucie Manette) then takes his place in the guillotine and dies for him.


SCANIA


  While The Guvnor ( pictured above) is a 6x2 tractor unit the 8x2 rigid chassis tipper below was scratchbuilt by The Mellor Brothers and is distinguished by its single exhaust stack behind the driver and the automatic sheet loader. This enables the aggregate load to be covered with just the movement of a control in the cab as modern Health and Safety laws forbid drivers to climb on their loads or even open the tailgate manually.
  
 

    
  While The Guvnor ( pictured above) is a 6x2 tractor unit the 8x2 rigid chassis tipper below was scratchbuilt by The Mellor Brothers and is distinguished by its single exhaust stack behind the driver and the automatic sheet loader.  This enables the aggregate load to be covered with just the movement of a control in the cab as modern Health and Safety laws forbid drivers to climb on their loads or even open the tailgate manually.
  
 

    
  While The Guvnor ( pictured above) is a 6x2 tractor unit the 8x2 rigid chassis tipper below was scratchbuilt by The Mellor Brothers and is distinguished by its single exhaust stack behind the driver and the automatic sheet loader. This enables the aggregate load to be covered with just the movement of a control in the cab as modern Health and Safety laws forbid drivers to climb on their loads or even open the tailgate manually.  
 
    
  While The Guvnor ( pictured above) is a 6x2 tractor unit the 8x2 rigid chassis tipper below was scratchbuilt by The Mellor Brothers and is distinguished by its single exhaust stack behind the driver and the automatic sheet loader. This enables the aggregate load to be covered with just the movement of a control in the cab as modern Health and Safety laws forbid drivers to climb on their loads or even open the tailgate manually.  
 
    
     
 
 
   THE STORY CONTINUES  
 
 
   In line with the Mellor Brother's aim of building a comprehensive collection of the vehicles of the Moreton C. Cullimore fleet, work is steadily continuing on "Mr Slasher" , a concrete mixer on a Leyland Constructor chassis built with an extra rear axle and a lengthened Langley Cruiser tractor kit. At the rear of the cab a gantry carries the cooler header tank and exhaust silencer assembly. Brake fluid reservoirs are mounted alongside. The mixer barrel and superstructure are sourced from children's toys using sections of other drums scaled and joined together with all hydraulic power units and water tanks scratch built. This model will be complimented by complex ladders and platforms being built from solder assembled brass rod. Parts from Carama mixers are being used to engineer discharge chutes and other details.  
 
 
   In line with the Mellor Brother's aim of building a comprehensive collection of the vehicles of the Moreton C. Cullimore fleet, work is steadily continuing on "Mr Slasher" , a concrete mixer on a Leyland Constructor chassis built with an extra rear axle and a lengthened Langley Cruiser tractor kit. At the rear of the cab a gantry carries the cooler header tank and exhaust silencer assembly. Brake fluid reservoirs are mounted alongside. The mixer barrel and superstructure are sourced from children's toys using sections of other drums scaled and joined together with all hydraulic power units and water tanks scratch built. This model will be complimented by complex ladders and platforms being built from solder assembled brass rod. Parts from Carama mixers are being used to engineer discharge chutes and other details.  
 
 
  In line with the Mellor Brother's aim of building a comprehensive collection of the vehicles of the Moreton C. Cullimore fleet, work is steadily continuing on "Mr Slasher" , a concrete mixer on a Leyland Constructor chassis built with an extra rear axle and a lengthened Langley Cruiser tractor kit.  At the rear of the cab a gantry carries the cooler header tank and exhaust silencer assembly.  Brake fluid reservoirs are mounted alongside. The mixer barrel and superstructure are sourced from children's toys using sections of other drums scaled and joined together with all hydraulic power units and water tanks scratch built.  This model will be complimented by complex ladders and platforms being built from solder assembled brass rod.  Parts from Carama mixers are being used to engineer discharge chutes and other details.

Ironically, despite concrete mixers being used to build structures, Dicken's "Mr Slasher" is not only a character in "The Pickwick Papers" so obscure that he is only mentioned by others but his business is -as a pre-anaesthetic surgeon - is taking people apart:

A heavy footstep was heard upon the stairs, and Jack Hopkins presented himself. He wore a black velvet waist-coat, with thunder-and-lightning buttons; and a blue striped shirt, with a white false collar.

"`You're late, Jack?' said Mr. Benjamin Allen.

"`Been detained at Bartholomew's,' replied Hopkins.

"`Anything new?'

" No, nothing particular. Rather a good accident brought into the casualty ward."

"`What was that, Sir?" inquired Mr. Pickwick.

"`Only a man fallen out of a four pair of stairs' window; but it's a very fair case very fair case indeed."

"`Do you mean that the patient is in a fair way to recover?" inquired Mr. Pickwick.

"`No,' replied Hopkins, carelessly. "No, I should rather say he wouldn't. There must be a splendid operation though, tomorrow magnificent sight if Slasher does it.'

"'You consider Mr. Slasher a good operator?' said Mr. Pickwick.

"`Best alive,' replied Hopkins. `Took a boy's leg out of the socket last week boy ate five apples and a gingerbread cake exactly two minutes after it was all over, boy said he wouldn't lie there to be made game of; and 'he'd tell his mother if they didn't begin.'

"'Dear me!' said Mr. Pickwick, astonished.

 

  
 
 
   THE NEXT GENERATION  
 
 
   After 40 years as managing director of one of the county's oldest family firms, Roger Cullimore [ pictured ] is passing on the mantle to the next generation.  
 
    
  From the Gloucester Citizen's Business Week of Tuesday 12 January 2010:

"Next generation steps up as family firm looks to the future"

After 40 years as managing director of one of the county's oldest family firms, Roger Cullimore [ pictured ] is passing on the mantle to the next generation.

The Stroud based Cullimore Group, which has significantly helped shape the much-visited Cotswold Water Park, now has Mr Cullimore's son, Moreton, at the helm.  Roger will continue to play a significant role as chairman of the company his own father started in 1927 with a secondhand  Model T Ford truck which he used to ferry livestock and milk from his farm near Stroud.

Today the group, involved in sand and gravel extraction and concrete, turns over around £ 50 million and employs 90 staff.

"Moreton has been with the company for four to five years and staff get on well with him," said Mr Cullimore, who took the reigns from his father in May 1972, after initially joining the firm in 1961. "It is time to give him the responsibility and to have younger guys coming through."

Moreton has been immersed in the company from an early age, leaving to gain a degree in business and management from Sheffield University, and later an MA from the University of Gloucestershire.

"I have been a director for about four years.  I have done everything, right from shovelling concrete," said Moreton, 30, who has been particularly involved in the firm's Cotswold Water Park developments. "We have three active sites at the park, extracting sites, and one or two other sites.  In all that's about 800 acres."

The difficult transition from second to third generation appears to have been handled well by company and family, with both men admitting that in some ways there will be business as usual after Monday's official change of managing director.

"I don't think my day-to-day role will change much.  I will be more legally responsible, and it will give my dad time to pursue other things.  But he has been in the business nearly 50 years.  There are things he knows I will never know, so luckily we will still have him here.  Obviously coming through what we hope is the tail end of a recession and a period when there has been redundancy ( the company was previously 100 plus strong ) it is perhaps not the ideal time to be taking the driving seat."

Reshaping the company for the moment when the changeover takes pace had been carefully thought out, said Moreton.

"We had to think forward.  I knew that at some point the business would turn to me and say ' what direction are you going to take us in for the next 30 years?'  So it has been important for the business to develop some new managers.  We are not top-heavy with management like some British businesses, but the structure is important.  We also have many staff who have been with us for 10.20 or 30 years, which is also a great asset.  We used to be a sand and gravel business, but now things are more complicated."