Briefing of Later vehicles

Numerous detail changes were made over the years, with major changes from the JAP petrol engine to Lister's own diesel engine. The bearing ring moves over the chassis member and is no longer closed.This provides better access for lubricating and adjusting the rollers.Late vehicles were fitted with diesel engines,Lister single cylinder LD1 or twin cylinder LD2 engines with 3.5 rpm.The LD engine is already wrapped around the flywheel, cooling fan and cylinder head fins, so there is no need for a unique Auto-Truck engine cover or front panel.These late machines also used a leaf spring front suspension, in which the bearing ring was supported on the engine block by a pair of leaf springs.This provides better isolation between front wheel bumps and the chassis, but high unsprung weight is a drawback of all single wheel tractors,meaning they are still not high speed or efficient road vehicles.By the mid-50s, all products were powered by diesel engines.

In 1965, the Hawker Siddeley Group acquired Lister and in 1968 the electrical equipment company Crompton Parkinson.Shortly thereafter,Crompton produced a battery-powered, electric version of the Auto-Truck. Depending on the needs of the workday, batteries are available in different capacities, using the same size 24V or 36V battery.In 1973, all Auto-Truck production was transferred to Tredegar's Crompton plant.Dursley's old auto and truck shop turned apprentice training school.There seems to be some overlap though, with Dursley chassis production continuing until 1975, when production ceased.The design was sold to DP (David Proctor) Engineering in Aldridge, which later became MWM Powertrucks and finally DPR Engineering in Cannock.Production finally ended completely in the 1990s.

Rail-Trucks

Beginning in 1928, the Auto-Truck mechanism was also used to build small narrow-gauge locomotives, or "railroad trucks." Motor Rail supplied a large number of solid and reliable "Simplex" locomotives for the First World War, and Lister was eager to get a piece of their post-war market.With the right gearing, even a small engine can pull a usefully heavy load on track, albeit at a limited speed. The "Rail-Truck" locomotives produced by Lister are among the lightest locomotives available and are therefore particularly suitable for use on poorly laid or temporary tracks.They are used on construction sites, water works,peat cutting,small quarries and clay or gravel pits.Hundreds were built by 1940, a particularly large production run of British narrow gauge locomotives.

Using the same engine and cover, the chain drives from a Lister-built gearbox to the axles, with two speeds in each direction and a top speed of 6 mph.The driver sits sideways on a fixed pressed steel tractor seat that can face in either direction.Their controls are a screw-on handbrake (rear on diesels), a long gear lever, and a foot-operated clutch located on a cast-iron upright jutting out ahead of them.Use the driver's right foot to operate the accelerator via the pedal.The original model 'R' rail truck was fitted with the same 600 cc JAP engine as the automatic truck, making 4–6 bhp.Later "RT" models were fitted with a 9.8 bhp 980 cc v-twin engine and later, 1, 2 and 3 cylinder Lister diesel "LD series" engines were fitted from new engines without bonnets and braked wheels Move to the driver's right hand side.

In urban situations, locomotives can be stored in a covered area overnight. In remote and nomadic areas, such as peat bogs, where there is no shelter, locomotives can also be fitted with a roof.It's a simple wooden canopy with four poles at the corners, with canvas shades or side screens that can be rolled up.The canopy also provides some weather protection for the driver.From 1928 to 1956, approximately 350 rail trucks were built.Production continued until the early 1970s, although Lister's records were later destroyed by a fire in 1983.The oldest known surviving railway wagon, No. 873 from 1928, is kept in a Dutch museum.In all, about 90 railroad trucks survive.