255 Mersey Tunnel Police Van (1955-61)

Just found a fourteen minutes' (rather poor quality) colour film of Liverpool in the year 1964 on YouTube. Between 2:30 and 2:55 you can see a glimpse of the red Mersey Tunnel Police Land Rover.

Yes a short glimpse.I must have seen these Land Rover when I visited Liverpool in 1959 but I can not remember them.

The Mersey Tunnel Police Van is known to occur with two types of lettering on the doors. One is a spirit based transfer, the other done by tampo printing, the former in fact planography, offset, on a transparent transfer film, the latter direct relief printing by a kind of stamp. The transfer characters, in fact minitransfers, transfer islands, for each character, are more or less solid and surrounded by the transfer film contours, whereas the tampo printed characters show beadings on the outside and a faded colour area on the inside, caused by the printing ink being pressed to the outside contours of the characters. I presume that both transfers and tampo printing were the initial type of lettering for this model. Whereas early models show both techniques, later ones (criss-cross inside ceiling, treaded tyres, later boxes) seem to show tampo printing only. The tampo printed characters are always bigger than the transfer characters. Perhaps tampo printing did not allow very small characters? Just the reason why and when (inter)changing this lettering procedure from transfer to tampo printing is not clear to me. Perhaps the assy no. 13992 of January 1954 could present a kind of explanation, but its not known to me. In the GBofDT (page 192) the design of the stereos for tampo printing are noted to be designed first, in January 1954 (together with the Police transfers), and the design of the transfers Mersey Tunnel extremely late, in August 1955, the model being issued in September 1955. Kind regards, Jan

Mersey Tunnel Police Vans escorting a heavy propeller transport, to be delivered in Birkenhead:

Reviving this thread, and forgive me if i missed it in the foregoing, wheelbase is of interest. The SWB Land Rover is generally noted as going from 86' to 88' in 1956 when the LWB went from 107 to 109. But from 1949-51 the SWB was 80'. The Dinky LR is clearly a first type and although the model appearing in 1955 might be assumed as an 86' at about 1/48 as it does appear quite 'dinky'. The factory sheets reproduced in the Richardson's book however give it as 17/64' to a foot ie 1/45. This renders it as the early 80'. Appearing small though against 1/48 Corgis are the factory sheets correct.........and is it an 86'?

Interesting! I do not know when the Tunnel Police started using Land Rovers, and this may confuse the matter even further, but I have seen a photograph of one of the real Mersey Tunnel Police series 1 Land Rovers bearing the registration plate RKD 810, which would have been issued (in Liverpool) either late 1954 or early 1955, suggesting an 86' version. There were also some early series 2 in red livery (before the change to the later cream/reddish-brown colours). Prior to the Land Rovers, Fordson E83W vans (like the ones in the Matchbox-Dinky Collection range) were used, in a dark blue livery.

Dinky produced SWB Land Rover 27d in 1950, an 80' type 1. Being in Liverpool they must have anticipated the 1955 introduction of Land Rovers to the tunnel; which were reputedly cream with brown wings as opposed to yellow and red. Perhaps they had blueprints of the proposed design based on an early type 1 to work from, not aware of the impending 88' type 2 which actually was used. Notably they had a special large rear viewing window (seen clearly on the white one in the calendar picture and on the 1962 photo it is based on); not replicated on the Dinky. A four wheel 'skate' was used for towing out broken down vehicles - what a set this would have made if Dinky had copied that; certainly makes the Corgi Classics LWB crane version look to be a neverwazza (appearing to be an early type 2A and carrying a 1963 A reg).

I have just received a LR with the smaller text. Both my existing larger text and this one have smooth inside roofs, with circular downstands (suggestive of an unused provision for a beacon, like those found for example in the USA police cars). Also the circular ridge on the hubs on the earlier one is narrower (this can also been seen on Jan Werner's side views above). I've looked at some other of my Dinkys which all seem to have the narrower ridge. perhaps the wider were just a batch before the advent of spun hubs. (i am quitting while I'm ahead having seen all Jan's variations.......).