Issued 1950    Length 91mm

​

Several of the early Morestone models seemed to have had a slightly nostalgic feel to them with a number of horse-drawn items appearing in the 1940's and then in 1950 this historic-looking road sweeper. However, clockwork toys were very popular at that time and judging by the number which are still around, the Mechanical Road Sweeper must have sold well.

It is believed that the Road Sweeper was manufactured by Sam Agasee (S.A.Agasee Ltd.) for Sam Morris and was one of the early models to be sold under the Morestone name.The mechanical version was quite a complex toy to make and later a non-clockwork variation with brushes only was issued but both had appealing play-value.

The Road Sweeper comprised two parts, the upper body section which was a hollow casting, and the lower mechanical unit (or chassis) which slotted into it. The body included the front mudguards and the front axle and wheels. 'City Cleansing Dept.' was cast on each side with various other detail.

Several colours were used to paint the Road Sweeper, the early ones being orange or turquoise but later metallic blue and metallic green were added. The version without clockwork motor was orange-red (in various shades). The front mudguards and lower chassis were black on all the variations except the orange-red issue when they were bright green (sometimes the front mudguards had the green paint omitted). The grille was always finished with silver trim.

The chassis section had three elements: the clockwork motor if included; the black sweeping brush; and the rear mudguards and wheels. The rear wheels were connected to the clockwork motor so when it was wound up the vehicle moved steadily forward. As this happenned, the brush, which was on a horizontal axle, turned freely and swept the ground. On the version without clockwork mechanism, the vehicle needed to be hand-pushed to turn the brushes.

All variations of the Road Sweeper had black rubber wheels which gave the model good grip to operate, but one version of the metallic green Sweeper has been found with metal wheels painted black similar to the Compressor.

The Road Sweeper had a bright end-flap card box with a nice red & black illustration printed on all four sides. 'A Morestone Series' and the model name were also included. The end-flaps, unusually for Morestone, were left plain.

​

Finding early Morestone toys in good condition is always difficult but the Road Sweeper is not too hard to locate if auctions are watched although the boxes are becoming rare.