GAMBRINUS DRIVERS MUSEUM

Hello!

You are in a unique museum dedicated to brewery trucks. The name Gambrinus owes its origin to the Duke of Brabant, Jan Primus, who was known as “the King of Beer”… “King of the road” for trucks and king of beer! Don’t forget that around 1930, breweries were the largest buyers of trucks. The disappearance of breweries put an end to numerous localized truck makers.
This museum is in former maltings-brewery-farm buildings of the 19° century (the Bouty brewery, which ceased production in 1975) which makers an unusual background for our vehicles. The museum contains 20 vehicles and 75 themed displays. Please excuse us if ail the vehicles are not on display, because some are undergoing restoration or attending specialist events.
This little plan will assist your visit. The displays have a number and their principal objects a letter.

BAR
• On the bar in front of the beer pump is the radiator of a MINERVA truck
• in front of the bar, to the left is a window dedicated to the Belgian marque MINERVA
• Above the bar is a SAURER 5AD chassis (Swiss, from 1927, part of a truck owned by Whitbread of London. See the tableau at the front of the vehicle which shows this type of truck, used by breweries around the world:A->Belgium – B->Great Britain – C->Australia – D->Switzerland – E->France

DRINKING ROOM (in front of the entrance)
• Two panels with view s of Romedenne
• Two panels dedicated to the wheelbarrow. Romedenne constructed the worlds in 1998 and an eight-hour barrow roll is planned for August
• Truck tarpaulin from MOEREMANS Brewery (Anderlecht, Brussels) and BERNA (Swiss) radiator grille

DRINKING ROOM (in front of the bar)

WINDOW N° 1: Lorries seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N° 2: Cars seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N°. 3: Plaques from brewery drays and horseshoeing material
On the walls: Displays of different trucks

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MUSEUM

THE MUSEUM (in front of the bar, to the right of the staircase)

WINDOW N° 4: Delivery van seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N° 5: Service diploma of delivery vehicles

WINDOW N° 6: Brewery hats and brewery shares with delivery drivers
On the walls: Brewery publicity showing delivery
On the panels: Lorries used for the transport of beer-making ingredients and materials

TURN LEFT AND GO UP THE STAIRS

WINDOW N° 7
A. Evolution of the wheel
B. Transport by hand
C. Horse transport
D. Transport by oxen

WINDOW N°. 8
A. Different breeds of horses used by breweries
B. Horses are used at fairs ... and transported by lorries!
C. Horses used as symbols by breweries in their advertising

WINDOW N°. 9
A. Advertisements for brewery drays and carts (STUDEBAKER made them in USA until c. 1914)
B. Drays seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N°. 10
SAURER (Switzerland) - the marque SAURER was among the best-known brewery vehicles. Several assembly plants, technical qualities (bail bearings, low fuel consumption) - technical innovations (engine brake, diesel with dual turbulence). The Swiss factory was taken over by MERCEDES-BENZ and some of the technical facilities by IVECO.

WINDOW N° 11 - SCANIA (Sweden)

WINDOW N° 12- IVECO (Italy)

WINDOW N° 13- MAN (Germany)

WINDOW N° 14- CITROEN (France)

WINDOW N° 15- MERCEDES-BENZ (Germany)

WINDOW N° 16- RENAULT (France)

WINDOW N°. 17 - VOLVO (Sweden) owns shares in Pripps Brewery Sweden)

WINDOW N°. 18- PACCAR (USA) (DAF, FODEN. LEYLAND KENWORTH, PETERBILT).
The DAF museum is in a former brewery whose proprietor helped the Van Doorne brothers get started.

WINDOW N0. 19 -

A. CUGNOT (France), a steam artillery tractor of the 18th. century - the first steam-powered vehicle.
B. LENOIR (Belgium) invented the first internal (as opposed to external) combustion engine. adapted from the steam engine. Before this invention, he worked for a couple of years as a waiter in a Parisian café!
C. DAIMLER (Germany) - GOTTLIEB DAIMLER invented the first internal combustion engine lorry in 1897, adapted from a cart with a rear-mounted engine

WINDOW N° 20 - Steam lorries - there are 3 types:
A. Vertical boiler
B. Transverse boiler
C. Longitudinal boiler
Large water consumption (D) with little visibility and much dust, 100 heavy even when unladen (boiler + water + coal), they were abandoned soon after the Second World War. The vertical boiler is easier to maintain and on rough ground helps to keep the fine tube covered with water.

PASS INTO THE NEXT ROOM - MIND THE STEPS!

WINDOW N°. 21 - Electric trucks. In America they were more numerous than petrol trucks (more reliable motors and sometimes brakes on all four wheels). The development of new materials and new oils gave

petrol lorries an advantage. Batteries were heavy and their range was small. Battery electrics had a revival before the Second World War. SOVEL (France) and ELECTRICAR (UK) became well-known marques.

WINDOW N° .22- 1914-l9l8 War.
A. Governments subsidise purchases of lorries, which they can commandeer in time of war
B. At the front one can see requisitioned lorries with the names of beers still visible
C. Towards the end of the conflict, a standardised American lorry was constructed (Liberty):
Afterwards it was the basis of several new constructions: BERNARD and WJLLEME in France, LIBERTY in UK and Belgium
D. Army surplus lorries in use with breweries

WINDOW N° 23 - 1939-1945 War.
A. Patriotic publicity from different manufacturers
B. Shortages of petrol and diesel led to producer-gas (a system that makes gas from coal or
charcoal). F - burners; G - gas carburettors
C. Aerial attack at night led to the use of blackout masks
D. And warnings from the brewers
E. Re-use of ex-military vehicles by breweries
t. A Belgian brewer registers the name “Jeep” for a beer trademark

PASS INTO THE NEXT ROOM

WINDOW N° 24 - publicity vehicles
The bottle, the barrel the crate and the glass are sources of inspiration to the breweries for the bodywork on their trucks

WINDOW N° 25 - France - an assortment of truck makers which have disappeared

WINDOW N°. 26 - Germany - an assortment of truck makers which have disappeared

WINDOW N° 27 - The influence of beer trucks on the advertising of suppliers and beer merchants

ON THE WALL: Evolution of publicity with beer trucks
A. Advantages when compared with horses (BOVY, Belgium)
B. List of breweries using a particular marque (LEYLAND, UK)
C. A brewery lorry included amongst other vehicles (SEDDON, UK)
D. ACTROS publicity (MERCEDES. Germany). with no mention of beer

PASS INTO TUE NEXT ROOM

WINDOW N° 28 - Aerodynamic trucks (STREAMLINER)
At the end of the 1930s, Count Sakhnoffskv in USA conceived rounded vehicle shapes. Speed was increased and fuel consumption reduced. The best-known and most elaborate example was the LABATT Brewery (Canada) White - a range of several models shows you the evolution.

WINDOW N° 29 - Three-wheelers
Germany (GOLJATH, TEMPO), France (FAR) and England (SCAMMELL, KARIER) produced lorries and tractors with three wheels. Three-wheeled tractors could turn with trailers in the breweries’ small, old-fashioned yards. The arrival of modern breweries around 1960 eliminated the problem.

WINDOW N°. 30 - Belgium - various manufacturers which have disappeared

Brossel ORVAL 1931

WINDOW N° 31 & 32- USA
A. PEERLESS was a manufacturer which, at the end of prohibition, decided to produce beer, and ceased to make vehicles.
B. Above windows n°. 29 and3O:-
- Various sorts of publicity for Coca-Cola and White (USA)
- A director of Coca-Cola was also a director of White’s at one time. He encouraged the use of White’s trucks.

WINDOW N° 33 - Denmark and Japan - the TRIANGEL lorry became the symbol on Tuborg’s
Christmas beer label

WINDOW N° 34 - Czech Republic, Spain, Cyprus and Australia
The Czech constructor SKODA had its head office at Pilsen, which gave its name to the celebrated style of bottom-fermented beer

WINDOW N°. 35 - Robert Bosch - founder of the firm BOSCH, known for lamps, batteries, injection
pumps, horns and spark plugs - was the son of a brewer!
WINDOW N0. 36 - Transport of beer in tankers
A. Tanker transport started around 1900, using horses

B. Transport from England to the Continent developed the use of tankers or smaller containers on lorries
C. Today, container transport is even more important and frequent, using ships and trucks
D. Tankers supply beer by tank to the largest bars

WINDOW N° 37 - Rudolf Diesel - the technical features of his high-compression motor and fuel reduced delivery costs, allowing breweries and their depots to be further apart.
A. Different engine makers advertised direct to brewers (HERCULE, PERKINS, M.W.M, BUSSJNG)
B. ANHEUSER-BUSG (USA) was the first brewer in the world to obtain a licence to make diesel motors in the USA under its own name and logo

WINDOW N°. 38 - Small trucks - the various sections of a brewery (publicity, delivery, small loads) needed these trucks for their work

WINDOW N° 39 - CHENARD & WALCKER - this French firm made road haulage tractors at the same time as its three-wheeler (FAR). These four- and six-wheelers used trailer load as ballast, so weighed less and could use smaller engines. They were made under licence in different countries:
MINERVA (Belgium), KRAUSS-MAFFEI (Germany), BEARDMORE and MULTJWHEELER (UK) and BEERS (Netherlands) and were used by breweries all over Europe.

WINDOW N°. 40 & 41 - Great Britain - various English manufacturers of the Scottish Albion.

WINDOW N°. 42 - Switzerland - various constructors have disappeared.

GO DOWN THE STAIRS AND TURN LEFT

WINDOW N°. 43 - Four axtes
Different taws concerning axte weight ted to various different layouts. Britain, Spain and Switzertand favour four-axte rigids in addition to articulated outfits.

COME BACK AND TURN LEFT

WINDOW N°. 44 & 45 – Brewer’s supplies for fleet maintenance

WINDOW N° 46 - Safety on the road

WINDOW N° 47 - Accidents and problems with brakes.
Brewery trucks were often overloaded. SAURER. with its engine brake and electric truck with motor wheel brake, had an advantage. The Belgian DEWANDRE invented the servo-brake in 1924 and helped make front-wheel brakes become widespread from 1928. This increased safety.

WINDOW N° 48 - Motor racing - brewers are big sponsors

WINDOW N°. 49 - Types of bodywork

GO INTO THE NEXT ROOM

WINDOW N° 50 - Engines and special vehicles seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N° 51 - Trains seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N° 52 - Boats seen in brewery publicity

WINDOW N° 53 - Airplanes, rockets, balloons ...

WINDOW N° 54 - The motorcycle and bicycle

Thank you for your visit and your interest.
The bar offers a wide choice of local beers.
Would you like to help us?
You may buy our poster at the bar.
Please send ail documentation and information to the following address:

GAMBRINUS DRIVERS MUSEUM
Chartes FONTAINE - Curator
2A Fontaine St. Pierre
B 5600 ROMEDENNE (Philippeville)
Tel/Fax (+32) 82.67.83.48

Home