The 1900s

In 1902 the Royal Mail tried out another vehicle, this one built by Carl Opperman at Grosvenor Garage in Camden Town.  It was placed in service in Battersea but its range was inadequate and it did not last long.

Moving away from London, we see the first evidence of an important trend – the importation of electrics, especially from North America.  Also in 1902 the Manchester Motor Transport Company imported a small fleet of Still electrics from Canada for the delivery of parcels, agricultural products and dairy products around the city.

The first big exhibition featuring battery electrics

The inaugural commercial vehicle exhibition at Olympia, London, in 1907 demonstrated that battery-electrics had become a significant part of the scene – with both home-built and imported examples on display.

Domestic firms like the Electric Van, Wagon & Omnibus Company displayed delivery vans, medium weight wagons with about two tons payload, and larger machines with payloads of five tons.  Ambulances were also an early application, with a pair built for the City of London Police, favoured for their reliable start up compared with their temperamental petrol-powered equivalents.  Curiously, slow moving electric ambulances were around until the 1920s, with new models coming out as late as 1915.

Before we go any further it is worth clarifying a bit of terminology.  When terms like ‘two tonner’ or ‘15 cwt’ are used, they refer to the nominal load carrying capacity of the vehicle.  A British ton is 2,240 lbs, and is made up of 20 hundredweight (cwt).  So a 10 cwt van can carry a payload of half a ton.  Where terms like ‘10 – 12 cwt’ or ‘2/2½ ton’ are used this means that the basic chassis the manufacturer offers can be configured, through choice of motors, batteries, springs, etc to meet the particular load requirements of a customer within that range.