Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Construction of Turnpike Lane Station, 1920s

Thanks to Stephen Hartley for sourcing the originals of this photo.

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Comment by Hugh on February 20, 2023 at 13:22: Thanks, both. That’s probably it then. Because of the pulling power, they were used for the heavy jobs, like excavation. I Imagine by this time petrol, driven lorries were still relatively flimsy and lightweight.

Comment by Gordon T on February 20, 2023 at 13:44: Indeed. Here's some supporting info.

A 1928 article from 'Commercial Motor' shows the design of the linkage that Richard spotted, and also gives a load capacity of '12 to 15 tons'. See https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/21st-august-1928/27/gre... Our Turnpike Lane example certainly looks heavily loaded.

In comparison, the long article that Richard found states

Petrol lorries were typically limited to about three ton payloads and top speeds were in the 20-30 mph (32-48 kph) range, although this was of course illegal. Anything heavy was generally shifted on steam lorries or towed on trailers by steam road tractors or steam road traction engines.

By the 1920's there were over a hundred thousand road lorries in Britain, although their use was still restricted by complex legislation, road tax was still based on a sliding scale related to axle loading. The example below was introduced in 1920 by Thornycroft, for its time a 6 ton lorry was a big machine.

This matches the weight of early buses - much more lightly built than today, and with wooden bodies.

Comment by cavendishmark on March 5, 2023 at 19:28: As promised - see below a picture of my great grandfather (Frederick Dean) on the right in front of his steam wagon. Exactly the same wagon and company as in the turnpike lane photo (although a different number) so potentially it is the wagon behind! When I found this picture in a box the turnpike lane photo was with it so presumably my grandad also thought there was some link!

Comment by cavendishmark on March 5, 2023 at 19:28: And just to add - I think this is taken in front of Ducketts Common (but it may not be!)

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