“Le camion Hotchkiss est electerricifique,” laughs Ken Walsh in a fractured Mancunian accented impression of French. “Don’t be daft,” joshes older brother Ray. “The electric bit is certainly true. But terrific? I don’t think so.”
“Well, I drove it out of the workshop under its own power,” defends Ken. “Yes,” jibes Ray. “And no further. A few yards running on batteries? Think you’re like that Tesla chap? You’re miles behind even a milk float.”
The Walshes have quite possibly the only two trucks in Britain built by former French manufacturer Hotchkiss. The one under discussion is a bonneted 1954 vintage 4.5-tonnePL25. The other, an eight-tonner, is a 1968 forward-control DH80. Sporting a hydraulic crane, it earns its keep lifting cabs, engines and whatever else in their workshop lockup needs a helping hoist for.
The PL25 was the first truck restored by the Walshes. “Lovely little thing isn’t it,” waxes Ken. “Petite – small but perfectly formed”. Ray’s breaking smile signals sarcasm: “It was – until you decided to muck about converting it to electric and imagining you were inventing perpetual motion. Lunacy – but no more than you’d expect from a left-hander.”
In the same way that he would never work on the same side of a vehicle as Ken – a southpaw – Ray refused to have anything to do with the project. “Damned right you’re putting the Perkins back in over the winter. It used to go nicely,” then smiles, “even though it’s
