Bedford CA Dormobile Personnel Carrier

One of the first of the Bedford CA series, this is a nice-looking pale blue version with the Mechanical friction motor.

It is billed in some places as a ‘Personnel Carrier’ but I used to call these Dormobiles and that is also what is written on the baseplate! The baseplate on this model is a little unusual, having the rear axle clipped in mounts rather than fed through holes in the tin of the normal base. (This may be how all the M models were produced - I shall investigate when I have some more.)

These M versions were really not terribly popular and are quite hard to find in good condition. This one has good paintwork, windows and wheels but the motor is loose and rattles around inside. The model is far too good to take apart, though, so it will stay like that. Quite frankly, no-one would know anyway as it is hardly likely to be played with again!

There are lots of these little vans and I was never particularly fond of them at the time and had none in my collection. So these are the first I have see up close and they do have a certain charm.