The 2.6 million GBP getaway truck.

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Are the only commercial vehicles getting noticed in the classic car scene the ones that have been carrying racing cars to and from the international racing scene? It seems so. But then there’s this scruffy Austin Loadstar. It has a major story attached to it as it was one day used to carry money. Cash money. Stolen cash money, and mailbags full of it, as it hauled the 2.6 million pounds in notes from the Great Train Robbery on 8 August 1963. The robbers bought the truck from a War Department sale and drove it from the robbery site to a hideout where the cash was counted out. The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. The truck with secret compartment between the chassis rails was confiscated by Scotland Yard before being sold several times. It nearly got destroyed in a fire more recently. The plan is now to raise funds to bring the vehicle back to its former glory, but if you prefer seeing it in its original state visit the NEC in Birmingham next month, where it will be on display.

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