960 Albion Chieftain Concrete Mixer Lorry (1960-68)

There are two different gearing setups on the 960 Albion concrete mixer. When looking on the underside with the cab towards you, the pinion wheel is either on the left of centre or the right. This is determined by the squared off corner of the mounting bracket that faces aft with the pinion wheel being mounted on the same side of centre. The upshot of this is that the barrel rotates either clockwise or anticlockwise as the toy is pushed forward. At a rough observation about 10-15% of the toys have the pinion on the left with the right being normal. I have just noticed the brace in the 'tool box' behind the cab on the left-hand model. This does not coincide with the left versus right pinion wheel - just later issues of 960. Ron

An original model with many variations mainly in the colours of the mixer :

Lovely model this one. In reality of course the barrel would rotate both ways, it has a screw mechanism built in and in transit it would rotate to force the mix down into the barrel, and once at site rotate in the opposite direction to scrape the mix out of the barrel. The driver would typically use a gear leaver to do this, either from inside or outside the cab. What a shame Dinky didn't use this cab to make an Atric lorry. Chris Warr.

Hi Chris Warr, This is what an articulated Albion may have looked like. I apologize for the Tekno trailer as it is the only one that looked right proportionally. Ron Ford.

Hi Jacques, Here is the colour swatch for the Albion mixers I have. Ron

Thanks Ron, Looks great doesn't it? No need to apologize for the Tekno, I collect them too. Chris Warr.

I have a few Techno items, the quality is superb Dave

micromodels wrote: 'There are two different gearing setups on the 960 Albion concrete mixer. When looking on the underside with the cab towards you, the pinion wheel is either on the left of centre or the right. This is determined by the squared off corner of the mounting bracket that faces aft with the pinion wheel being mounted on the same side of centre. The upshot of this is that the barrel rotates either clockwise or anticlockwise as the toy is pushed forward. At a rough observation about 10-15% of the toys have the pinion on the left with the right being normal. I have just noticed the brace in the 'tool box' behind the cab on the left-hand model. This does not coincide with the left versus right pinion wheel - just later issues of 960. Ron' Greetings Ron in the Land of the Long White Cloud and everyone else! I am attaching images of my two 960 Albion Lorry Mounted Concrete Mixer together with their boxes: Notice that both models have the centre brace mentioned by Ron in his Post. Also, the uncommon black tyres in the last issue on the left. There are also a number of other casting differences between the first model issued in the traditional blue-striped box and the later issues. Kind regards Bruce

Hi Bruce and all, I see that you have a left pinion on the late issue Albion and a right pinion on the earlier one. Here is a picture of the bracket. Ron

Hello Ron et al! I thought at first the bracket had something to do with the pinion being on the other side, but perhaps it is the axle/pinion that can be reversed. Must get my models out and have a closer look. (No display cabinet permitted in this household, so I have to go through a number of 50 litre lidded plastic containers and check them out!) Nice to see your posts and we all look forward to more of them!! Kind regards Bruce

Cement and concrete mixer boxes. The word cement was inadequate, 'mortar' would have been exact. There are also yellow lift off lid boxes, yellow end flaps boxes and yellow Visi-Pac boxes. I have not yet seen a gold Visi-Pac. Have you ? Bruce, No display cabinets allowed is a case for a divorce. Can you let us know which are the casting variations that you have noticed ? Some of the brackets have been folded the wrong way around. The square corner is usually on the left but it can be found on the right without any difference to the fitting of the rear axle which is a sub-assembly of axle, pinion and wheels. Only the wheels on the pinion side drives the axle. The bracket is not symetrical and can be fitted in one way only. Only the rear axle sub-assembly can be reversed. On the real trucks, the mixer is not driven through a gear box but with an hydraulic motor. When loaded, the rotation is not smooth and a gear box would not resist Of course the mixer does not tilt, it is by reversing the rotation that it can be emptied.

Jacques It is interesting that Meccano changed the wording from CEMENT to CONCRETE. Actually your suggestion of MORTAR would be an inaccurate word to describe the use of the mobile mixer. Mortar is used as a joining agent in brickwork, mixed on site and in small quantities to prevent drying out. Cement on its own with sand is used as a rendering agent, covering existing brickwork. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, gravel and aggregate mixed in a set proportion, used in the construction of buildings, bridges, road surfaces, kerb and guttering, footpaths, airports, etc. So in reality, Meccano changed the wording to suit exactly what was mixed in the barrel! On another note, I see that you have a blue-striped box with the wording CONCRETE replacing CEMENT. Assuming you do have the box, does the inside of the lid contain a quality inspection date stamp?? This will give us an idea of the approximate date the change took place. The last date I have of a box with CEMENT wording is December 1960. Kind regards Bruce