Muir-Hill dumper truck (Dinky Supertoys 562)
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Muir-Hill dumper truck (Dinky Supertoys 562).jpg) 1951 catalogue image. The picture shows the driver's position "swivelled" so that the dumper is at the front and the engine at the back (i)
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Arch Two , Area 21 Classic Dinky Toys (John Durrant Collection) |
| Shelf 1
1949 - 1954 |
A mustard-yellow Muir-Hill dumper truck, Dinky Supertoys number 562, with red wheels and driver.
The model was produced between 1949 and 1954, and is complete with its original red-and-white-stickered box:
- "Made in England by Meccano Ltd"
Catalogue images
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Dumper truck design
The truck is a four-wheeler, with the two much larger rear wheels placed centrally underneath the tipper payload space, for stability. The truck doesn't have an enclosed cab for the driver, instead, the operator's seat and controls are at the front of the truck alongside the large bonnet and radiator. The seat also rotates, giving the operator all-round vision of what's happening around them (important for building site work), and lets the tipper bucket extend into the space that would otherwise be occupied by the driver's cab.
This configuration makes the truck short and manouverable, and able to carry high-capacity loads around areas of building sites that would otherwise be difficult to access. These "dumper" vehicles became a Muir-Hill speciality.
Muir-Hill
Muir-Hill was founded in Manchester, England in the 1920s, and produced a range of heavy-duty tractors and dumpers, with their later models being especially well regarded for their durability.
The company briefly experimented with the idea of adapting a tractor design to build a petrol-engine-powered railway locomotive, but the prototype loco didn't do well in tests, and the company stuck to producing high-powered road (and off-road) vehicles.
