Dodge flatbed lorry.
This is another original old photo sent in by Paul, who has quite a few early images of commercial vehicles operating in the Manchester area. This shot is of an English-built Dodge lorry (as opposed to the US and Canadian Dodge trucks). CRJ 812 was first registered in the Salford area of town, possibly in 1947. This style of cab was introduced in the mid/late 1930s, but it isn't inconceivable that production resumed for a short while after the war.
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A preserved Dodge breakdown lorry of the 1930s.
A similar looking Dodge breakdown lorry, now restored and well preserved, is shown alongside. It was displayed at the Astle Park show a few years ago. It is in the livery of Hollingdrake's of Stockport, at a time when they were Standard-Triumph (later Jaguar) sales agents. From memory this lorry dates to 1936, and has many cab features in common with the first vehicle shown on this page. However the grille slats and bonnet vents do differ slightly, suggesting that they may be separated by a few years in age. Information on the British-built Dodges of the '30s and '40s seems very thin on the ground, so if anyone can add to the details on this page, by all means get in touch.
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Dodge Brothers (Britain) Service Facilities, 1938.
I've had this little booklet for some time, and is of a similar age to the two lorries shown above - 1938. It was published by Dodge Brothers (Britain) Limited, of Kew Gardens in Surrey. American and Canadian lorries sent to the UK were also assembled at the Kew plant. The booklet lists all the Dodge commercial dealers and distributors throughout the British Isles. Re-assuring the Dodge driver, the booklet adds: ".. wherever you are, you will be able to find a Dodge man waiting to give you the kind of service that only Dodge can give - efficient and courteous." The Dodge garages are then listed, grouped together by Town.
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As already mentioned, the Dodge in the b/w photo was originally registered in the Salford (Manchester) area. A look in this 1938 booklet advises that there was just one Dodge dealer in Manchester, namely Lancashire Motor Traders Ltd, Olympia, Knott Mill (close to Deansgate). The Service Station and Parts Depot were both at this location. Other Dodge outlets in that area of the country included James Bennett (of Empire Garage, Warrington), Frank Ellison (of Excelsior Garage, Warrington), Drakeson Motor Company Ltd (Stockport), Brookside Garage (Runcorn), Gavin Murray (of Queen's Garage, St. Helens), Windle Motor Company Ltd (also St. Helens), Clarke's Motors (Rochdale), Cheadle & Wilson (of Witton Garage, Northwich), General Motor Co. (Oldham), and J. Blake & Co. (Chester).
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Several American & Canadian Dodges also feature on the site, including this military 3 ton Dodge D60L, and my own Detroit-built 3 tonner. Parts wanted and on sale for older Dodge lorries and trucks, can be found here, in the classic commercial ads section of oldclassiccar. Thanks again to Paul for allowing this lorry photo to be shown here.
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Return to Old Motoring Photos Page No. 9.
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A line-up of similarly-style Dodges, this time coaches, can be found on this page.
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