31001 4 Axle Flatbed Lorry

THE REAL BUSES   Edwin Foden perfected a compound steam traction engine in 1880 and continued to experiment with steam wagons until 1900 when he produced the successful overtype boiler vehicle. This was the forerunner of a long line of successful steam vehicles which were produced until 1931. The first diesel lorries were added to the range in 1931 and were like many of the vehicles produced since were fitted with Gardener engines. The Foden S24 cab was introduced in the 1960's and remained in production at Sandbach until the early 1970's. Foden trucks are still in production today although production ended at the original Sandbach factory in 2000. Foden was acquired by the American PACCAR Inc group in the late 1970's. THE EFE MODEL   This was the first of the four new truck cabs announced at the 2004 London Toy Fair to be released. The first version appeared in September 2005 in the form of the 4 axle flatbed truck 31001. It is expected that the existing combination of body and chassis types will over time be used for future releases of this truck.