MILK FLOAT RECORD - 27 August 2003

Electric Milk Floats

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Two teams met at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire on 27th August 2003 for a competition to set the first World Milk Float Land Speed Record.

CBL Electric Vehicles of Bampton, Oxfordshire, were the brains behind the Electric Dream Team, led by driver Daniel Hoffmann-Gill from Nottingham. Their vehicle was a Morrison Electricar dating from the 1950s, with a much altered driveline and control equipment, extra cell packs and safety equipment.

The opposition was EV engineering firm VXL Automotive, a subsidiary of Symonds Hydroclean, based near Newport, Gwent. Their entry was a development vehicle for their latest model, the Electron E150. It is powered by a 12000rpm AC motor and features an exchange battery pack system similar to that pioneered by General Motors, Lucas and other van companies in the 60's and 70's. 

Design consultancy was provided by Bluebird Automotive Group Ltd of Swansea, a company formed by the directors of Bluebird Technologies Limited (Co. No. 03469526) Martin Rees and David Hammond-Williams, to take over from 'BTL', that company having run into financial difficulties.

VXL Automotive Milk Float

The VXL Automotive team brought the modern quiet float to challenge Dan's team for the record. Although this is a development vehicle not fitted for road use, production vehicles are already being built for several customers and are likely to appear in service soon. The float is seen approaching the end of its return run, driven by Richard Rozhon.

HOT 306 was the contender for the CBL Electric Dream Team. Apart from the rear axle and internal cab structural reinforcements (for safety reasons), the vehicle retains the appearance of a standard Morrison float. It is licenced for road use, and the registration number is genuine.

The CBL 'Morrison' Milk Float conversion featuring 3 motors  -  With thanks to Dave Root for photos

Under the platform, things are very different, as the picture above shows. Twin DC motors are provided to start and accelerate the float, whilst the larger DC motor above (a standard float motor) is cut in once a certain speed is reached. The motors are connected to the drive-shaft via a system of pulleys and rubber belts. An extra battery pack can be seen centre front, whilst another is located at the rear below the camera position.

The winner was the VXL float with a recorded average speed of 73.39mph; the CBL float managed an average of just 47.61mph, although the maximum recorded was around 52mph. It had, in fact, achieved higher speeds on test, but most unfortunately had caught fire a few days before the event, and had not been quite the same since. The belts driving the pulleys also proved troublesome, with noticeable slipping taking place.

CBL's engineers appeared keen to beat VXL's record in the future, and intend to use HOT 306 again for the purpose. For their part, VXL believe their float should be capable of 100mph, so it is entirely possible that this event may be repeated at a future date.

Links to news articles about the event:

Ananova  BBC News  Yahoo! News

Other Modified Floats

The race held at Bruntingthorpe was not the first time milk floats have travelled at high speed, although previous attempts have all resorted to alternative means of propulsion, such as a petrol engine or even a jet engine!

Another Arla Morrison Milk Float conversion

This Arla Morrison float has been cosmetically modified to resemble a racing vehicle, presumably for promotional purposes, although in reality it retains its normal driveline.

NEW FOR 2012

Check out the latest electric milk floats from China, being imported by:

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The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a plurilateral treaty that seeks to improve the global enforcement of intellectual property rights through the creation of common enforcement standards and practices and more effective international cooperation.

Counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property rights is recognised as a global issue. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that the international trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights accounts for more than $250 billion a year. In Europe alone, we are losing more than €8 billion annually through counterfeit goods entering the market. This impacts the competitiveness of our businesses depriving workers of jobs and can harm consumers through the distribution of dangerous products.

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• 26 January 2012 - The UK signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)  at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo alongside 22 European Member States.

• 16 December 2011 - ACTA agreed  at Council of the European Union.

• 14 October 2011 - ACTA clears scrutiny in the House of Lords European Scrutiny Committee (EUC-23  published 11 January 2011).

• 1 October 2011 - ACTA signed by most of the negotiating parties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan .

• September 2011- ACTA formally transmitted to the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament (INTA) .

• 9 September 2011 - ACTA clears scrutiny in the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee (see report No. 40  – doc 12190/11 and 12193/11).

• 27 June 2011 - The proposals for signature  and conclusion  of ACTA have been received from the Commission and deposited for national Parliamentary scrutiny.

• 6 May 2011 - An update on ACTA  and open discussion took place on 25 March 2011 at the DG Trade Civil Society Meeting.

• 27 April 2011 - Commission services' comments  on the opinion of European Academics on ACTA were published.

• 6 December 2010 - The finalised Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) text  was released on the Europa website.

• 20 October 2010 - EU press statement - All you want to know about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) 

• 10 March 2010 - The European Parliament passed a resolution  on transparency and state of play of the ACTA negotiations.

• 9 March 2010 - Karel De Gucht, Trade Commissioner, responded 

•  to the European Parliament’s concerns in an oral Parliamentary question debate on transparency and state of play of the ACTA negotiations.

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