Scammell Routeman: the eight-wheeler that lasted twenty years

The Scammell Routeman was the Watford works’ forward-control eight-wheeler, built from 1959 to 1980. It was based on a Leyland Octopus chassis, was sold in three series and was one of the first Scammells to receive a cab designed by Giovanni Michelotti.

Scammell Routeman at a glance

History of the Scammell Routeman

The first Routemans

The Routeman was the forward-control eight-wheeler of the range that Scammell introduced after joining Leyland Motors in 1955, and it used a Leyland Octopus chassis. The Routeman I was launched in November 1959 and had a production run of just under 100 vehicles. The Routeman II followed in 1963, with 1,200 built, and the Routeman III accounted for 4,800. The lorries were available with Gardner and Leyland engines.

The Michelotti cab

In the 1960s Scammell commissioned Giovanni Michelotti to design its cabs, which produced a series of glass-reinforced plastic designs with a distinctive spring-like shape. The first model to be redesigned was the Routeman, followed by the Handyman, and the glass-fibre cab became one of the recognisable features of the later eight-wheelers. At the 1968 commercial vehicle show Scammell also presented a 24-tonne double-drive Routeman 8×4 tipper, which used the same rear bogie as the new Crusader.

The end of the line

The Routeman stayed in production into 1980, when it was superseded by the Constructor 8, the eight-wheel version of the Leyland Roadtrain. By then the three series had together accounted for more than six thousand lorries, which makes the Routeman one of the most numerous heavy Scammells.

Design and features

• Eight wheels, four driven: a forward-control 8×4 on a Leyland Octopus chassis.
• Gardner and Leyland power: the two engine families offered through the range.
• Michelotti cab: glass-reinforced plastic bodywork from the 1960s.
• Long production: three series and more than six thousand lorries between 1959 and 1980.

Scammell Routeman versions

• Routeman I: launched in November 1959, just under 100 built.
• Routeman II: the 1963 series, 1,200 built.
• Routeman III: the final series, 4,800 built.
• 24-tonne tipper: the double-drive 8×4 shown in 1968 with the Crusader rear bogie.

The Routeman shared its rear bogie with the Crusader tipper and was replaced by the Constructor 8; its forward-control stablemate was the Handyman. More lorries are in the Scammell collection.

Sources

• Scammell Routeman, English Wikipedia: series, production figures, chassis and engines
• Scammell, English Wikipedia: place in the post-1955 range, Michelotti cabs
• Scammell, French Wikipedia: 1968 tipper and shared rear bogie