Probably were the Armstrongs you saw, it was just after that I went to the crown assets auction outside of Moncton. Somebody said they had old BSA military motorcycles, but they were all 1986 -ish Armstrongs (assembled in Bolton, England) Canada had bought 92 (?) I think, many of them were never put into service. They had 7 of them all lined up uncrated, no batteries or gas on 6 of them but one was serviced and could be started. At the time I was disappointed they weren't BSA's or even Triumph TRW's , so my bids were on the low side. A few years later I saw one for sale that supposedly came from that auction. Now they rarely turn up for sale; the collectors that bought them don't want to sell them!
New WWII motorcycles in crates?
- Thread starter MD
- Start date
Probably were the Armstrongs you saw, it was just after that I went to the crown assets auction outside of Moncton. Somebody said they had old BSA military motorcycles, but they were all 1986 -ish Armstrongs (assembled in Bolton, England) Canada had bought 92 (?) I think, many of them were never put into service. They had 7 of them all lined up uncrated, no batteries or gas on 6 of them but one was serviced and could be started. At the time I was disappointed they weren't BSA's or even Triumph TRW's , so my bids were on the low side. A few years later I saw one for sale that supposedly came from that auction. Now they rarely turn up for sale; the collectors that bought them don't want to sell them!
The storesman told me these were WWII vintage , I don't know anything about bikes . I got posted out in 94 , the base closed in 96 . AN MP friend of mine said some supplies got shipped to gagetown and halifax . He also said old vintage truck parts , tank cog wheels etc went in the scrap metal bin !!
I remember those Harley 45 engines for $125.00 in the Princess Auto catalog from Winnipeg in the early 1960s.
They were advertised as new surplus engines.
Folks were raising families on wages of $8 for a ten hour day. Our family lived on $40 every two weeks when my dad sold a pig.
At $125 they were out of reach financially. Even the Honda 50 Cub at $365.00 was out of our budget.
I kick myself quite often for not buying two assembled Canadian Army OD Green 1945 Harley Davidson's with a Canadian flag on the tank for $800.00 in 1980 both in mint condition. The deal was so good I had to assume the bikes may have been ill gotten and decided against buying them. My twin brother was pissed when I told him about them, one for each of us.
- Location
- Manitoulin Island
Anybody on here know the story about the eccentric old guy that had all kinds of surplus stuff on a farm somewhere around Aylmer in southern On? I remember reading about Yale aircraft and motorcycles. Eventually he was found shot to death on the property. I believe that the scuttlebutt was that he was thought to have been in a conflict with people who sneaked on to the property to steal stuff. I lived in St Thomas from mid-sixties to 71. The story was that if you went to the property you were apt to receive an unfriendly welcome. I never went there. I think there was a newspaper article about the auction after his death.
The Base Borden Military Museum has a military Triumph (likely a TRW) on display in the original packing crate. The museum plans to never take it out of the crate since it has more historical value that way. It is possible to peek though the crate and see that there is in fact a motorcycle inside.
http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/Borden/EN/Facilities/Pages/BordenMilitaryMuseum.aspx
http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/Borden/EN/Facilities/Pages/BordenMilitaryMuseum.aspx
copilot001
Regular
- Location
- etobicoke, ont.
their warehouse and storage yard was on Dundas street in the west end of Toronto on a rail siding..just a few blocks from my home.
In the early 60,s a lee enfild in cosmo could be had for $2, cosmo wiped off with a filthy rag $5.....50 gallon barrels full of them.
racks of every mill rifle you could imagine.
motorcycles stacked 6 or7 high in crates new and used.rowes of them.complete aircraft in crates.
that place was heaven for a teenage guy like me. the good old days.....long gone
I bought several bikes, lots of rifles and one airplane which is still flying in B.C.
Thank you for your cogent and well constructed contribution to our community. It's always wonderful to see this kind of quality content being added to the knowledge base.
I remember when that story broke. He had about a dozen planes in various states of degeneration and was a bit notorious for his oddness.
It's funny you should mention him and his stuff.
Just after WWII ended and around 1947, the Canadian government was disposing of a lot of obsolete or no longer needed stores of equipment/aircraft/armaments etc.
My grandfather purchased what I always thought was a Lancaster, that turned out to be a Halifax and three Blenheims. The bomber was bought for the fuel in the tanks and of course as a source for parts and the body was turned into grain storage. The engines sat in his barn on cradles made up by my uncle so they wouldn't be damaged and wrapped in oil cloth to keep the birds and mice out of them. The wings were stripped of their coverings, which were used to patch leaking roofs and the wheels were used on a trailer, along with another matching set they bought from SIR. It may even still be in use today.
The fate of the Blenheims was similar except for one. My uncle had a love affair with aircraft and just couldn't bring himself to tear it apart. When they bought it, it was assembled but as new. I remember playing around it and the adults building a shed around it to keep it out of the weather. One of the locals had flown them during the war and taught my uncle to fly on it. Of course, it had a voracious appetite for fuel so flights were few and far between.
By mid 1970, the old warbirds were starting to become very popular and people were scouring the old prairie farms for aircraft frames and parts. The Blenheim just happened to be parked out in the sunlight one day and a fellow drove into the farm yard and asked if it was for sale. It hadn't been but my uncle wanted a Piper Cub so that he could fly relatively cheaply so they came to a deal. The fellow bought the Blenheim and whatever spare parts could be salvaged from the shop "useful scrap" area, where he spotted the four Halifax engines and propellers. All were bought up for an undisclosed price but a new Cessna showed up next summer. The Cub was no longer on the list of desirables although he still appreciated them. He must have done fairly well on the sale because he also had a new tractor and swather. He told me the plane was disassembled for shipping and special steel frames were built to hold the engines, which were still unseized. He told me it all went to Texas. I never saw the plane again.
