REO Speed Wagon

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The REO Speed Wagon was the brainchild of Ransom Eli Olds, who had made his first fortune manufacturing automobiles in Lansing, Michigan in 1905 under the Olds name.

After selling the Olds part of his automotive business, which would eventually became absorbed into General Motors as the Oldsmobile, he continued to build cars marketed under the name REO - his initials. In 1908 he tried and failed to make a success of a commercial version of his Model H REO car. Convinced he was on to a good thing, he kept trying and hit the jackpot in 1915 when the market was ready for something that offered more speed than the plodding light trucks on sale at the time which could barely scrape 15mph.

Branded the Speed Wagon, it used a lusty four-litre twin-block inlet-over-exhaust engine of robust proportions and simple design, which coupled to sensible gearing and a three-speed gearbox fully justified the name. They became instantly popular, rendering almost all other light commercials obsolete overnight. Production of the basic 1915 design continued until 1925 when it was replaced with a much more contemporary design.

Across the United Kingdom, REO Speed Wagon sales were dealt with by the sole concessionaires Harris & Hassell who boasted premises in London and Bristol. They handled the sale of this 1925 example as can be seen from the plaque on the dash, probably organising the choice of bus coachwork at the time.

Currently configured with 14 seats including the driver, it is understood that in the past, this charabanc would have had seating for many more paying passengers, the change being made to fit into current licensing regulations. It has clearly been restored at some time in the past and can be seen when it sported blue livery in an episode of Jeeves and Wooster entitled ‘Kidnapped' which was filmed in 1991.

It has served more recently transporting passengers around the superb Black Country Living Museum (if you’ve not been you really must go), who acquired it from a deceased estate about 10 years ago. The Museum is blessed with an overhead network of 600 volt cables that power their electric trolley bus system, as well as a number of other fascinating transport alternatives to move people around the site, hence the REO doesn’t get the use it should and they have decided to use the money raised from the sale to help fund another project.

Treated to a superb tour of the site in the REO when visiting to take the photos, the writer can confirm that it is indeed a ‘Speed Wagon’, the old girl showing an impressive turn of speed as it travelled around the 67 acre site. The leather covered seats proved extremely comfortable and it has a full length roll-back roof to make the most of the sunshine. What a way to take your friends on holiday, or it could even convert into a stunning vintage camper, the possibilities of this vehicle are only limited by your imagination.

Please bid enthusiastically. You’re unlikely to find another one any time soon and the funds raised will be put to very good use by the museum, more details of which can be found online at www.bclm.co.uk.