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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Prototype: Lister 'R' Type Rail Trucks


Stoke-on-Trent once had a large number of small sewage works with many having their own narrow gauge railway. Several used Lister 'R' Type Rail Trucks to move the wagons containing the sludge around the works and one, number 39419, is now located at Mill Meece.

The Rail Truck is the rail version of the Lister Auto Truck, first produced by R.A. Lister & Company Limited in the spring of 1926. The original Auto Truck was a simple three wheeled vehicle with a single wheel at the front driven by an air cooled J.A. Prestwich (JAP) 600cc petrol engine.

Following the success of the Auto Truck a petrol locomotive was designed in 1928. These used the same JAP engine, oil and fuel tanks and front housing as the Auto Truck. The latter comprised a cast iron grille carrying the words ‘Lister’ and ‘Auto Truck’ at the front with a plain sheet steel curved bonnet top and sides.

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