Burcombe Haulage

CREAM OF CORNISH COLLECTABLES!

1:50 scale Scania S500 High (6×2) tractor unit with 3 axle, curtain trailer, customised in the highly attractive livery of Cornish operator, Burcombe Haulage.

The models have been produced exclusively for Search Impex by WSI Models as a certificated Limited Edition (125 pieces).

Based in the small village of St Dominick, near Saltash, Burcombe Haulage is a well-established haulage business. Originally based on a farm and owned by the Batten family, the business was started by Richard & Maxine Batten nearly 40 years ago and has successfully grown, year by year, to a point where it now employs over 100 staff and operates a modern fleet of more than 70 vehicles. The business provides a wide range of haulage & transport services. This includes the movement of goods via its partnership with The Pallet Network and dedicated general haulage services utilising its comprehensive range of curtainside artic’s, through to ground clearance work requiring the Company’s fleet of tippers. The business even has a selection of road sweepers!

The Scania unit on which the model is based is affectionately known as “Big Red” (check out the registration plate!) and is one of a number of new gen Scania units in the fleet. Finished in a bold shade of red, the Scania carries classy and traditional looking signwriting. The graphics – predominantly in gold, cream, silver & black – are beautifully complemented with a distinctive corn sheaf image emblazoned on the cab sides and the cab wing corners are nicely finished off with the Cornish coat of arms, complete with Cornish Chough on top of the crest. Attractively incorporated into the trailer graphics, too, the corn sheaf logo is, perhaps, something of an acknowledgement to the early years of the business which, at the outset, saw Richard Batten providing haulage services to the local agricultural community.

In addition to the haulage side of the business, Burcombe Haulage has two sister operations – Callycombe Aggregates which extracts natural slate material from its own quarry in Cornwall and Burcombe Concrete which distributes premium ready-mix concrete using its own fleet of 6×4 and 8×4 concrete mixers. As to be expected, the tippers, concrete mixers and road sweepers tend to operate solely around the South West, whilst the curtainsiders undertaking the general haulage work travel more widely throughout the UK. Burcombe Haulage also benefits from having an International Operator’s Licence and so trucks are sometimes seen taking loads into mainland Europe.

Keep an eye out for Burcombe Haulage trucks – they certainly make for an eye-catching sight and may already be familiar to many UK truck enthusiasts and collectors. Who knows – the occasional continental work undertaken by this operator may also make for a collectors’ following that extends into mainland Europe – and possibly beyond!

Models, available from Search Impex are priced at £160 (including UK delivery & VAT).

For details of availability of this and other models, collectors can visit the Search Impex website at www.search-impex.co.uk or call on 01332 873555.