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Old 21 December 2024, 19:28   #1
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Have we got any Oldtimers from NW England?

Bit of an odd one but here goes.

As a very young child, I visited the area around Barrow-in-Furness, where my great uncle John Cameron was a GP. I have an enduring memory of seeing amphibious lorries working on a foreshore and beach, probably in the wider area. Now I suspect Morecambe Bay but I have NO IDEA where it was. I remember there being two of them, one working and one that to my child's eye, looked knackered. Looking at photos of likely candidates now, I'm suspecting ex US Army DUKWs but my memory prefers Alvis Stalwarts. Stalwarts would have been pricey and I think these were involved in moving shellfish, which doesn't really fit. I'd guess a date of 1969-1970. Anyone here old enough to shed any light on my memories? Extra points if you knew my uncle
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Old 21 December 2024, 20:04   #2
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I remember them running seal trips from Hunstanton in North Norfolk in DUKWs in a similar era ,the fact was the tide went so far out they would drive a way (and i cant remember how far ) before you could see the sea ,let alone a seal !
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Old 22 December 2024, 10:41   #3
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This link should take you to a Facebook page which has a photo of a DUKW on Morecambe beach "post WW2":

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...02298223207600
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Old 22 December 2024, 10:53   #4
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And another:
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/features/n...ords/#gallery1

From the related article:

"Ted Hartley was interviewed about life at Bolton-le-Sands, near carnforth, in the 1950s.

He said the Burrows family and Gerald Edmondson, of Carnforth, bought ex-military amphibious, six-wheel DUKW vehicles.

The idea was that they could cross both sand and river channels with ease. He said: "They had a lot of bad incidents with them - breakdowns and so forth.""
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Old 22 December 2024, 11:12   #5
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This book includes info about DUKWs used by the lifeguards on the Southport beaches but perhaps too far south for the ones you remember:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/D-U-K-W-s-W...rmat=1&depth=1
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Old Yesterday, 13:47   #6
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Oldtimers indeed willk... pfft.

Anyway you asked for it so here's my "Duck" story....

My late father was a civil engineer with a major construction company in the 50/60/70s. Think motorways, power stations etc. This was before health and safety or the need to jump through multiple justified hoops to buy something for a job, you saw a need and just bought the item. Such an item for a particular job was an old DUKW which seemed to the resident engineer would be a bit of fun, I mean fit a very niche need. It spent more time being moved about the yard than doing anything useful but the huge upside for me at toddler age in 1960 was being allowed to sit in it and play with the controls.

Later on when I had the ability to understand I found out the old chap regarded it as a floating (barely) brick of uncertain reliability and minimal use in a commercial environment. There were fiddly procedures to taking it on the water such as engaging axle seals which were not left on for road use. It leaked a fair bit and crucial to its design was the engine powered bilge pump with a staggering ability of close to 300gals per minute which gives a clue to the designers expectations as to how much water ingress they expect to to cope with. If the engine stopped in the water the backup was a hand pump with about 1% of that capacity.

Knowing its character from an early age I was always staggered they were allowed for pleasure trips, particularly so recently on the Thames.
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Old Yesterday, 14:24   #7
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Thanks guys - it certainly must have been a brace of DUKWs I remember.
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Old Today, 00:01   #8
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We had a tour of Seattle in one 15 years ago, great fun but I thought it was an accident waiting to happen! Then about 10 years ago 2 of them sank in the Salt House Dock, Liverpool (about 6 months apart) The company had their operators licence revoked and went into administration.

https://youtu.be/NlA4U050Hss?si=fvqW8bqhWn5Zsykr

I think it was very fortunate that nobody was killed by the narrow boat!

A new company has designed a amphibious tour bus that is now in operation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99wz8q8jd5o
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