Cuthbertson Snowplough
The Cuthbertson Snowplough: a 7 ft 6 in V-blade of all-welded steel, weighing 460 lb, hung from a Land Rover's chassis on pivoting arms and tie rods — fitted in five minutes with no alteration to the vehicle, and sold in 1962 to farmers, estates and councils by J. A. Cuthbertson Ltd of Biggar, Scotland's largest snowplough maker, as a Rover-approved accessory.
History
J. A. Cuthbertson Ltd of Biggar in Lanarkshire were, by their own account, Scotland's largest snowplough manufacturers, makers of the Hi-lift plough for lorries and tractors, and in 1962 they offered a Land Rover version: a snowplough approved by the Rover Company for use with its vehicle, aimed squarely at farmers, estates and councils. It is a different product from the same firm's tracked Land Rover conversion, which this registry records separately.
The design is a V. Two blades meet at a nose ahead of the vehicle, so that the plough splits a drift and throws the snow to both sides well clear of the road; Cuthbertson claimed stability through drifted snow at 25 mph, which for a Land Rover of the day was high-speed clearance. The construction is all-welded steel with every part renewable, 7 ft 6 in across the blades and 2 ft 6 in deep, weighing 460 lb. It mounts on pivoting support arms that heel on the chassis, with upper tie rods to the body — the brochure drawings show the tie rod, the pivot point and the heel — and the whole thing fits in five minutes with no structural alteration to the Land Rover. Under the heading Land Rover extras required, the leaflet says: nil.
The brochure, printed in February 1962 in a run of 4,500 and received by the Automobile Association's technical library that April, shows the plough on a Series II. This record puts it on a 109-inch canvas-tilt Series II, with the 2.25-litre petrol four. How many were sold is not recorded.
Imagery
Registry record
- Manufacturer
- Land Rover
- Manufactured
- Offered 1962 as a Rover-approved accessory; sales period not recorded
- Modifier / coachbuilder
- James A. Cuthbertson Ltd ↗J. A. Cuthbertson Ltd, Biggar, Scotland (snowplough)
- Engine type
- 2.25 L petrol inline-four (Series II 109 donor)
- Production run
- Unknown — sales figures not recorded
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Operated in
- United Kingdom
Catalogue data
- Record kind
- Named model
- Model line
- Series II
- Wheels
- 4
- Nominal wheelbase
- 109″
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Sources & citations
Researched sources
- Cuthbertson Snowplough — J. A. Cuthbertson Ltd leaflet, 1962, 2 pages (Farmers! Estates! Councils!; Scotland's largest snowplough manufacturers, makers of the Hi-lift; V blade stable at 25 mph; as approved by the Rover Co. Ltd; AA technical library stamp 2 April 1962) ↗ — Land Rover brochure archive, Hermen Vlothuizen collection (accessed 2026-09-11)
- Cuthbertson Snowplough — Specifications and Details (all-steel welded, all parts renewable; blade width 7 ft 6 in, depth 2 ft 6 in, weight 460 lb; fitted in five minutes with no structural alterations; tie rod, pivot point, heel on chassis; Land Rover extras required: nil; print code WH/4½M/2/62/RG) ↗ — Land Rover brochure archive, Hermen Vlothuizen collection (accessed 2026-09-11)
- Land Rover series (Series II 1958–61 with the 2.25 L petrol four; 109-inch long wheelbase) ↗ — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09-11)
Catalogue references
- https://landrover.vlothuizen.nl/show/list/7050-1.html https://landrover.vlothuizen.nl/show/list/7050-1.html ↗
Registry record updated 2026-09-11T01:43:52.427Z · status: researched