Lister Auto-Truck

The Lister Auto-Truck was a small monowheel tractor built for moving light loads around factories, railway yards and similar sites.

Their design was a compromise between the top-heavy nature of the tall engine grouping above its wheel and a well thought-out chassis for stability.

A ring of rolled channel girder was attached to the engine group and rollers on the chassis carried the load upon this.

On early Auto-Trucks this bearing is set very low, in line with the chassis members, and is covered by thin steel plates.

The front panel of the engine cover is distinctive with large ventilation holes and a Lister signature cut through it.

Strangely this panel is made of thick cast iron, providing substantial weight high on the engine and only adding to its top heaviness.

The driver was seated on a Brooks bicycle saddle, which in recognition of the lack of vehicle suspension, was carried on the end of a cantilevered bar that acted as a leaf spring.

When used in reverse, the Auto-Truck could either be driven from the saddle, looking backwards over the driver's shoulder; or they could dismount, swivel the engine unit around and control it as a pedestrian-controlled truck from behind.

Engine and chain-drive lubrication used a total-loss oil system, controlled by a small pump and needle valve.

These included lifting platform bodies with a hydraulic pump and a long hand lever alongside the driver's saddle.

Tipping hoppers were also made,[1] although owing to the limitations of the small wheels, these were not intended for gardens or construction sites, as has often been claimed, but were mostly for collecting waste materials around factories.

An early development even offered the Auto-Truck as a lightweight tractor for use on roads, sold to local councils and the like for street cleaning.

[3][4] Motor Rail had provided a large number of its robust and reliable "Simplex" locomotives for service in World War I and Lister were keen to gain a share of their post-war market.

With suitable gearing, even a small engine could pull a usefully heavy load on rails, although with limited speed.

They were used for construction sites, waterworks,[5] peat cutting,[6] small quarries and clay or gravel pits.

Their controls were a screw handbrake on a prominent cast-iron pillar in front of them (moved rearwards on diesels), a long gear lever and a foot-operated clutch.

Some Rail-Trucks are still in use and working with their original owners on peat bogs and clay pits[citation needed].