Electricar DV4

The Electricar DV4 is a 4-ton electric dustcart used by the city of Birmingham, England, between 1938 and 1971.^[1] The DV4 was developed as the result of a collaboration between the Birmingham salvage department and Electricars based on the salvage department's experience with its previous electric vehicles.^[2] They were replaced by diesel-powered designs with one surviving in the collection of Birmingham museums.

The surviving DV4 No.184

History

The Electricar DV4 was a two-axle design weighing 4 long tons 2 cwt 1 qr (9,210 lb or 4.18 t) when empty.^[3] It ran off 80 volts provided by 40 cells.^[2] Rubbish would be loaded in from the side and would be emptied by tipping the body using a hydraulic ram.^[2] It had the capacity to hold up to 12 cubic yards (9.2 m³) of refuse.^[2] The electricity used to charge the DV4 (and the city's other electric dustcarts) was provided by the incinerators it took the waste to.^[4]

Seventy-two DV4s were ordered and the first was delivered to the salvage department on 1 May 1938.^[2] Thirty-four had been delivered by the start of the Second World War.^[2] Production continued but was disrupted by the war and halted entirely in 1942.^[5] Production resumed in 1943 and the order was completed in 1944 with the last DV4 entering service on 1 April 1944.^[5][6] During the war, a DV4 based at the Montague Street Destructor was hit by a small bomb which damaged its chassis.^[7] The DV4 in question remained in service although it appears its working life was shortened.^[7]

In 1958, Birmingham began to switch to a new type of dustbin which required a new type of vehicle.^[8] These new vehicles were diesel-powered and the city began the process of replacing its electric fleet.^[8] By the start of 1970 there were only 11 DV4s remaining in service; this number had been reduced to 6 by the time the last DV4s left service in January 1971.^[8]

Survivor

No. 184 is the only known remaining dustcart, and is in the collection of Birmingham museums.^[2][9] It was previously on display at the Museum of Science and Industry, having been transferred there on 3 January 1972.^[2] It is now in the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre.^[9] A private attempt to save No. 199 failed due to lack of funding.^[8]

Bibliography

• De Boer, Roger F (1990). Birmingham's Electric Dustcarts. Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Trust. ISBN 978-0905586076.
• Desmond, Kevin (2020). Electric Trucks: A History of Delivery Vehicles, Semis, Forklifts and Others. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9781476676159.