Oxford Diecast - NRAB006 - Truck, Scammell, Scarab - British Rail - NDN 753

Specific Item Information: After the end of the Second World War, Scammell Lorries looked at the Mechanical Horse, which was basically unchanged from its 1934 design, realised that something more modern was called for and set about re-designing the vehicle. Later Scammell offered diesel engines. These were the Perkins 4-199 for 3-ton and P4 and P4203 for six ton. The Scarab lasted in production until 1967.

Prototype History: The Scammell Scarab is a British 3-wheeled tractor unit produced by the truck manufacturer Scammell between 1948 and 1967.The Scammell Scarab was the successor to the Scammell Mechanical Horse and production began in 1948.Its name is commonly believed to be derived from the rounded bonnet that resembled the elytra (wing covers) of a Scarab beetle, but the name really comes from a more conventional source. It was a portmanteau of Scammell and the Arab horse which the Mechanical Horse replaced in British Railways usage. The official Scammell Lorries advertisement film makes reference to this. It was extremely popular with British Railways and other companies which made deliveries within built-up areas. The Ministry of Defence also used the Scarab and trailers for predominantly internal transport on large military bases.From Wikipedia

Road Name History: British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 designated as the British Railways Board.

British Rail designed and manufactured rolling stock from 1948 to 1989, at which time its subsidiary British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was privatised.

1997 marked the end of the privatization effort in which the last assets of British Rail were sold to 31 regional freight and passenger operators as well as Railtrack (which was later brought under public control as Network Rail), which was given the track and infrastructure.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Manufacturer Information: Established in 1993, Oxford Diecast is a British Company that specializes in high-quality die-cast metal vehicles. Produced in various scales, the firm's models are marketed as collector items, gifts, and promotional products. Their largest production goes to OO scale (1:76) and in 2015 they introduced railway products under 'Oxford Rail' brand.
Their N-scale collection is using the 1:148 scale ratio as most British manufacturers.