Bags of Karriers

A collector recently alerted me to something I had not noticed before and this led to a surprise discovery for me. This is the 413 Karrier Butchers Shop with suspension. I had no idea this existed. This and the 407 Mobile Shop look so ancient that I had assumed they both preceded suspension but, no, it seems that the very late editions of the Butchers Shop did get suspension and this example has just arrived to prove it. It did not, though, get a 413S catalogue number, just stayed at 413, rather like the Chipperfields Crane Truck which just gets suspension somewhere along the line without any special announcement or change of number. 

I did find this standard box with 413 printed and an S label affixed on one end amongst items sold by QDT but it is the only reference to 413S that I have seen, the blue and yellow boxes being unillustrated and just having 413 printed at the end. The blue boxes are illustrated but would, I believe, have ceased production some time prior to the suspension models being available. My guess is that teh S label was added by a shop (or even a collector) rather than the factory. If more turn up with the same S label then I might be persuaded to change my mind.

The 407 and 413 models have an array of base types.

The first was the black base with one river and the text had the word SHOP.

Next, I think, comes the same type of base but in grey. This switch from black to grey happened with quite a few models - the 208M Jaguar, 207 Standard Vanguard (and its RAF version) come to mind and maybe there are others.

Then there is a grey base without a rivet but with twisted metal fasters and the text now has an overlay of VAN.

The 426 Chipperfields Booking Office has the same type of base as the 413 with suspension - very similar to the previous type but without any holes at the axles.

471 Joe's Diner has the same base again as the 413 with suspension and the 426 but with a rivet at the front and the two metal fasteners are not twisted to secure the base. It also has free-spinning wheels which teh others didn't get.

As far as I can see so far, all the 413 with suspension, 426 and 471 models have the same type of base. I think we will also find that all the 413 models with fixed shaped wheels will have suspension but I have yet to confirm that and may still come across a model with shaped wheels and an earlier base style which will not have suspension.

The 407 Mobile Shop appears not to have had the last type of base but I would not rule it out completely as it would seem that the suspension base was brought in at the beginning of 1962 when the 407 was still available. The question is whether is was still in production then. It might also have had shaped wheels fitted although that seems unlikely as the first Chipperfields Booking Offices still was being fitted with smooth wheels when first produced in January 1962.

If we take it that the suspension bases were all fitted at about the same time then that would be midway through the 413 period of availability. However as records show that a quite low number, around 100,000, were sold, it is unlikely that there was a demand for any more to be produced after the initial stock runs for quite some time and that could explain the scarcity of the suspension model.

Here are the dates when these models were available to be ordered:

• 407  9/1957 - 1962
• 413 10/1960 - 1964
• 426  1/1962 - 1964
• 471  3/1965 - 1966