Electricar DV4

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The surviving DV4 No.184

The Electricar DV4 was 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.
Contents

1 History
2 Survivor
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External links

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 the 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 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.

References
Desmond, 2020, page 119
De Boer, 1990, page 21
Roberts, Keith (August 2015). "Electricars Limited". Vintage Roadscene (189): 32.
De Boer, 1990, page 12
De Boer, 1990, page 24
De Boer, 1990, page 26
De Boer, 1990, page 25
De Boer, 1990, pages 29–31
Desmond, 2020, page 240