Friends' Gallery Picture of the Month - October 2022

[Mike Costigan]

Following the recent thread on the Dunlop 'saddle' car, here's another promotional special:


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[kenkimber]

I’ve wondered in the past why no one has had a go at recreating this rather, to my eyes, 
attractive commercial version of a seven!

It would certainly be less challenging to build than the Dunlop saddle - but it would be too tall to go through my garage door !

It looks as though the floor was level with the base of the ‘ battery ‘  so I would suspect that, coupled with its height, when loaded with heavy batteries it’s centre of gravity would make it quite an unpleasant driving experience on corners and heavy cambers !

[Tony Griffiths]

Lovely picture. That's the size of a lead-acid battery to give a range of 90 miles. The snag is, it weighs three-quarters of a ton.

[Bob Olive]

Look like ‘accumulators’ to me, as powered non-mains wireless sets (as Low Tension supply, coupled with an Ever Ready AD90 for High Tension) back then… needed recharging at Curry’s at least once a week (costing 4d in 1955). Don’t ask me how I know.

[john williams]

At the garage I served my apprenticeship, Albert Engineering, Colwyn Bay, started 1957. One of my jobs was to charge the said glass accumulaters, cost was 6d. A big inovation was the introduction of the black plastic sealed accumulaters. The still needed charging.

[bob46320]

That would make a super electric 7 using modern light weight batteries.

[Steve kay]

The van has yet to be dated. Am I right in thinking those are 7" drums? Swansea Borough Councils were pioneers in providing good council housing, having hosted the South Wales Cottage Exhibition in 1910. Work on the Council's Mayhill Estate  and the nearby Townhill Estate of the Garden Suburb Freehold Ltd had barely started by 1914, when all work had to stop. Work resumed in 1919, and this image of the Battery Van would seem to show housing construction under way, being up on the hill above Swansea, perhaps in 1924. Completion of the estates and subsequent tree growth makes it difficult to identify the exact site, but perhaps looking at Townhill. If anyone has stayed awake during this historical diversion, further comment would be most welcome.

[stuartu]

Stephen, the WN registration series began in June 1927 and ran until 1936. To me that suggests late 1927 or early 1928 for the van.

Regards,

Stuart

[John Cornforth]

Hi

To my eye, the body represents three 2-volt accumulators of the celluloid cased type, which took over in the mid to late 1920's from the heavier glass cased ones for wireless use. After about 1928/1929 portable radios became very popular and "unspillable" types came in using gel electrolyte.

[Mike Costigan]

Stuart's dating is spot on: the WN series had reached 1622 in January 1929, so my guess would be around March 1928 for the registration date of this van. The vegetation would suggest spring/early summer, presumably in 1928 when the van was new.