Milk Delivery A7

[Bob Culver]

Back to the original posting ...it does not seem a very practical vehicle, although suppose it could stop  with minimum obstruction and venture down narrow lanes. If the churns had no tap must have all been very laborious and difficult to avoid rain entry.I can remember milk being home delivered into a billy but cannot recall seeing the vehicle used. To about 1950 in large city horses with  4 wheel wagons still in use, but milk bottled. In hilly Wellington the road often is below footpath and houses. The horse would walk on its own to meet the next descent of the footpath.

[Archivist]

The Archive holds a copy of the appropriate brochure if anyone is interested in seeing how Austin suggested how the car could be used..

http://www.archive.a7ca.org/wp-content/u...R_784A.pdf

Hugh

[Mike Costigan]

Yes, if the number is non-transferable then it will be marked as such on the V5C. Because your Ruby had already been registered with DVLA the number retains its transferable status.

[Ivor Hawkins]

Yes, mine was made non- transferable via the local DVLA office when applying for the missing new style log book, I had an old green continuation book but I have a feeling that while it was asleep in the back of a garage for many years it missed the new V5 registration process.

Going back to the milk delivery Seven, if I bought it, I would have the original plates made up and put those on for shows and events and use the silly number on the road!

Is the V5C marked as to the number being non-transferable? Our Ruby now has its number recovered (we had a V5 but this was not computer registered) but the shiny new V5C appears not to mention "Non-transferable".

Yes Tony, my V5 is marked non-transferable.

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Hi ivor,

As I say I dont like to see the numbers robbed either.

But you shouldn't be so harsh on the age related numbers.

My first ulster rep was age related, not robbed.
I have the 1923 to finish, hope to get an age related, not robbed.
And I have the boulogne to finish, not robbed.

So to think all age related numbers are the result of the original number being robbed from it. Is very harsh on the cars.

Tony.

Hi Tony,

I fully understand that some cars haven’t been robbed of their numbers and like you, I have had to accept the fact that I’ve had three of my cars and motorcycles issued with age related numbers, two were robbed of their numbers by previous owners (real shame as one was even rarer than the milk delivery seven) and one was because all the original paperwork and history was lost.

I think what irks me is that the numbers are so distinctive!

[Tony Betts]

hi ivor,

i fully understand it.

i have a 1925 diamond, flat tank motorcycle. it had a MR _ _ _ _ reg. although the reg had been robbed before i bought it. it still has its original number plates with reg numbers on. so as i dont use it on the road, ive left it as is. but it still annoys me to think that someone robbed the number.

even though motorcycle numbers cant, or never used to be able to be transfered to cars. something to do with it costing less to register a motorcycle.

i notice with austins advert for the milkfloat, it show the churns also loaded were the passenger seat should be. so i would have expected them to be fitted with a fold flat passenger seat. although the latter picture shows it with two full seats?

tony

[Bob Culver]

Thanks Archivist. 
A lot of handling involved. Have to pour into portable container then into measures, then into customers container. In the rain with water dripping off nose into the milk. I guess useful for spread our runs, otherwise would have to return to depot  for more. No fridges, dont know what a typical house would use each day.
I presume those models had a side or dim light as dynamo would never keep up otherwise.Am astonished 6 have survived although probably useful generally.

[Hedd_Jones]

Bob, i'm not sure you understand the purpose of the vehicle.

In Britain a smallholder would milk his cows, take what he needed for himself, and the sum total of his production would be decanted into churns.

For 2 or 3 churns 'production' I would have expected that the milking would have been by hand, that is, the farmers wife and or daughters will have done the milking.

For such small quantities, the farmer will have had to take his milk to the local dairy, or possibly to a central location where a number of such farmers would deliver to and the milk collected by the dairy.

The dairy would then pasteurize and sell in bottles, or supply to industry in bulk.

So the milk delivery Seven is a dual purpose vehicle, the farmer could buy an Austin 7 to do this delivery, but he could also use it as a car. The alternative around 1930 was probably a van.

I do wonder what the tax arrangements would have been, was this a dodge to avoid some tax, being classed as a commercial vehicle?

Latterly the dairies (or the nationalised industry - The milk Marketing Board) collected the churns on a lorry. I believed this ceased in the UK in 1979 when tankers took over.

[JonE]

the first hatchback...

[Hedd_Jones]

the first hatchback...

The milkman round here delivers milk out of a Corsa......so nothing is new

[Tony Griffiths]

I see that it has a 5.6:1 back axle - if one turned up to a VSCC trail with full churns aboard - bolted down of course - it might be a winner.