Clydesdale Motor Truck Company

Clydesdale Motor Truck 

Courtesy of the Clyde Public Library

The Clydesdale Motor Truck Company built truck bodies in Clyde, Ohio, between 1917 and 1939. The trucks were marketed in the 

U. S. and other countries, and many were used in World War I. Two of the unique features available on the trucks were a special type of radiator and a patented automatic controller that acted as a governor. 

Clydesdale Motor Truck
Courtesy of Clyde Public Library

 

The Clydesdale Motor Truck Company began as the Clyde Cars Company (a continuation of Krebs Commercial Car Company), on Amanda Street in Clyde, Ohio, the site of the earlier Elmore Manufacturing Company. The Krebs company had taken over the plant in 1912 and built trucks until sometime in 1916. Although sources indicate the Clydesdale company was established in 1917, an advertisement in the "Saturday Evening Post" for January 5, 1918, says: "Nearly three years ago this truck, which was performing its peaceful duties here, was selected for war service in Europe." The advertisement also describes some of the features available on the Clydesdale, one of them being the the Krebs Patented Automatic controller. "This device is not an ordinary governor, but an exclusive patented attachment that practically acts as a second driver. It maintains any speed-uphill or down-and positively prevents engine racing… Another exclusive feature is the Clydesdale radiator, patterned after the famous London General Omnibus radiator-with a tremendous cooling surface of plain standard copper tubing."

Clydesdale One Ton Truck with Express
Clydesdale Catalog

According to Hans Compter, "During most of WWI total production capacity for Clydesdale Trucks was taken up to fill military army orders for the European arena. An enlargement of the plant allowed the Clyde people to begin…selling Clydesdale trucks in their own country again, and by the end of 1917 large ads started appearing in leading US newspapers…" Compter also indicated that in 1936 Clydesdales made a resurgence in the marketplace, powered by Hesselman Diesel engines, and suggests that the Hesselman system, which was difficult to tune and in which the fuel did not burn efficiently, may have been the reason why "these new generation Clydesdales never really made it. The last ads for them appeared around May or June 1939."

(Quoted from "The Clydesdale Truck," in New Zealand Classic Car, January 1995

Clydesdale 2 1/2 Ton Truck, Model 65x
Clydesdale Catalog

For more information see:

Clydesdale Motor Truck Company, An Illustrated History 1917 - 1939

by Tiffany Middleton and James Semon