Arrol-Johnston
Encyclopedia
Arrol-Johnston was an early Scottish
manufacturer of automobile
s, which operated from 1896 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world’s first "off-road" vehicle for the Egyptian government, and another designed to travel on ice and snow for Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition
to the South Pole.
was by training a locomotive engineer from Neilson, Reid and Company
Limited of Springburn
, Glasgow
. Johnston was commissioned by Glasgow Corporation Tramways
in 1894 to build an experimental steam-powered tramcar to replace their fleet of horse-drawn trams.
During a final test before a Corporation committee, it caught fire and work was abandoned. Johnston's attention was then turned to a detailed examination of continental makes of motor car, and he came to the conclusion that he could design and make a better vehicle than any of them and in particular a better engine. The first British-built motor car was thus conceived and by the end of 1895 was ready for financial backing. In the autumn of that year Johnston was joined by Norman Osborne Fulton and T. Blackwood Murray. Fulton was Johnston's cousin and was made responsible for manufacture and assembly, while Murray had electrical engineering experience, having been Works Manager with Mavor and Coulson, makers of mining machinery in Bridgeton
. His first task was the development of electrical ignition in place of the incandescent platinum tubes of the Daimler engine.
, while Norman Fulton was Works Manager. Sir William's main interest in the business was as the financial backer.
The first Arrol-Johnston car was a six-seater "Dogcart" (a vehicle with two transverse seats placed back to back), which went into production at a factory at Camlachie
, in the East End of Glasgow.
The Dogcart was a wood-bodied vehicle powered by a 10 hp flat-twin horizontally-opposed engine
with four pistons mounted beneath the floor, which was started by pulling on a rope. The vehicle boasted chain final drive and its high-wheeled, solid-tyred, horse-carriage type of body was retained well into the 1900s. The brakes were arranged in the form of shoes which could be pressed on the back of the solid rear tyres, and the suspension comprised full elliptic leaf springs at the front, and half-elliptics at the rear. Transmission and brake control levers were mounted close to the driver’s right hand.
The company's Camlachie
premises were destroyed by fire in 1901, and production was moved to Paisley
.
In 1902 William Beardmore
took the largest single shareholding in the company, creating a captive customer for his iron and steel components. He later became Chairman when A-J (as it was widely known) became a public company.
A-J was restructured financially in 1903. New finance, mainly from Beardmore, became available, Beardmore wishing to help the firm stave off bankruptcy, and there were important changes in staff, including the arrival of J.S. Napier as Chief Engineer. George Johnston left as a result of a disagreement and founded the All British Car Company
, a venture that was to be short-lived. A-J became effectively a wholly owned subsidiary of William Beardmore and Company
model of more modern appearance; this, however, still used an opposed-piston engine. There was also a three-cylinder version of the dogcart; this was an uncouth 16 hp with the centre cylinder being of greater bore than the outer two. A 1905 Dogcart with solid wooden disc wheels still survives in Khartoum
, where it was supplied as a searchlight tender for the Sirdar
of Egypt.
In 1906 came the 24/30 hp vertical four of 4654cc; followed in 1907 by the 38/45 hp of 8832 cc. The 12/15 hp twin survived in production until 1909. This was the year that T. C. Pullinger (formerly of Darracq
, Sunbeam and Humber
) joined Arrol-Johnston; he swept out the old range in favour of the new 15·9 hp of 2835cc. That model featured a dashboard radiator and four-wheel brakes (the latter were dropped in 1911). For 1912 a 1794 cc 11·9 hp, a 3640 cc 20·9 hp and a 3618 cc 23·8 hp were introduced.
In 1913 Arrol Johnston bought land at Heathhall, just outside Dumfries
, and commissioned an American firm to build a factory. This is said to be the first factory in Britain to use ferro-concrete (concrete reinforced with metal bars), and was designed by Albert Kahn, architect of the Ford factory at Highland Park, Michigan
, where the Model T was produced. A-J contracted to build 50 electric cars for Edison
at the new plant but it is not certain how many were actually made. Several models of car including the six-cylinder 23/9 were built up to the outbreak of war.
The first post war Arrol-Johnston was the Victory model in 1919 designed by G. W. A. Brown which had an ohc 2651 cc 4 cylinder engine of 40 hp. They introduced the model to agents in March 1919 but the first production car was not delivered until August; it was sold to the Prince of Wales
. The Victory sadly proved "unsellable and unreliable", and broke down while on a Royal tour of the West of England, so that the publicity attending its debut was not of the kind it needed. It was soon replaced by a modernized version of the prewar 15·9 hp; it was cheaper, but this was due to such cost-cutting measures as a black-painted radiator and fixed ignition. The 15·9 hp was revived as an urgent replacement for the Victory. A more modern version, the 20 hp, was introduced alongside the 15.9 hp in 1922.
In 1921 the cheaper Galloway
was launched as, in theory, a separate make, from the Tongland
works near Kirkcudbright
. The car was based on the Fiat 501
and started with the 10/20 with a 1460 cc side valve engine, in 1925 growing to the 1669 cc 12/20 and 12/30. Production moved to the main A-J factory in Heathhall in 1922. A short-lived 14 hp appeared in 1924, only to be replaced the following year by a 12·3 hp model. There also was a 4 cylinder 3290cc Empire model manufactured for the colonies.
of Wembley
, London to form the combined marque of Arrol-Aster, with directors from both Arrol-Johnston and Aster. The 15.9 hp was retained as were the two current Asters. Both the latter were given Burt-McCollum single sleeve valve
engines in the interests of silence, but the 21/60 hp Aster was also available in its original ohv form, renamed the Arrol-Aster. Another completely new Arrol-Aster was the 2.5-litre 6-cylinder 17/50 hp with sleeve valves. The 21/60 hp Arrol-Aster and the 15.9 hp Arrol-Johnston were dropped for 1929, and a straight-8 Arrol-Aster substituted. It had a 3.3-litre sleeve valve engine consisting of the 17/50 unit with two extra cylinders and was available in supercharged form. This was a fast car intended as a sports model, but unlike the French sleeve-valve designs it could not produce high outputs as revolutions were limited.
The company lasted for two years before the company went into receivership. Limited production and sales continued until 1931.
The most notable players at Arrol-Johnston were Dave Halliday
and Ian Dickson
. Both then played for Queen of the South before going on to top score for their respective clubs in the top division in England
. Halliday in particular had a highly successful goal-scoring career becoming one of the most prolific scorers in both UK and world football history. He then became a trophy-winning manager.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
manufacturer of automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, which operated from 1896 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world’s first "off-road" vehicle for the Egyptian government, and another designed to travel on ice and snow for Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition
Nimrod Expedition
The British Antarctic Expedition 1907–09, otherwise known as the Nimrod Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to the South Pole...
to the South Pole.
History
George JohnstonGeorge Johnston (Engineer)
George Johnston was a Scottish engineer, who spent the early part of his career in locomotive engineering before designing and constructing Scotland's first automobile, the Mo-Car, which led to the formation of the Arrol-Johnston Car Company Ltd....
was by training a locomotive engineer from Neilson, Reid and Company
Neilson and Company
Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines...
Limited of Springburn
Springburn
Springburn is an inner city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working and middle-class households.Springburn developed from a small rural hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its industrial expansion began with the establishment of a chemical...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Johnston was commissioned by Glasgow Corporation Tramways
Glasgow Corporation Tramways
Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland with over 100 route miles by 1922...
in 1894 to build an experimental steam-powered tramcar to replace their fleet of horse-drawn trams.
During a final test before a Corporation committee, it caught fire and work was abandoned. Johnston's attention was then turned to a detailed examination of continental makes of motor car, and he came to the conclusion that he could design and make a better vehicle than any of them and in particular a better engine. The first British-built motor car was thus conceived and by the end of 1895 was ready for financial backing. In the autumn of that year Johnston was joined by Norman Osborne Fulton and T. Blackwood Murray. Fulton was Johnston's cousin and was made responsible for manufacture and assembly, while Murray had electrical engineering experience, having been Works Manager with Mavor and Coulson, makers of mining machinery in Bridgeton
Bridgeton, Glasgow
Bridgeton is a district to the east side of Glasgow city centre. It is bounded by Glasgow Green to the west, Dalmarnock to the east and south and Calton to the north-west at Abercromby Street/ London Road...
. His first task was the development of electrical ignition in place of the incandescent platinum tubes of the Daimler engine.
Mo-Car Syndicate
In 1895 Johnston formed a joint venture with Sir William Arrol, an engineer of the Forth Bridge to form the Mo-Car Syndicate Limited, which was to produce his car. Sir William was Chairman and Johnston was Managing Director, and the Syndicate included a Mr. Archibald Coats, and a Mr. Millar of PaisleyPaisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, while Norman Fulton was Works Manager. Sir William's main interest in the business was as the financial backer.
The first Arrol-Johnston car was a six-seater "Dogcart" (a vehicle with two transverse seats placed back to back), which went into production at a factory at Camlachie
Camlachie
Camlachie is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland. Formerly a weaving village on the Camlachie Burn, it is located in the east end of the city, between Dennistoun to the north, and Bridgeton to the south....
, in the East End of Glasgow.
The Dogcart was a wood-bodied vehicle powered by a 10 hp flat-twin horizontally-opposed engine
Opposed piston engine
An opposed-piston engine is a reciprocating internal combustion engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head.-Configurations:...
with four pistons mounted beneath the floor, which was started by pulling on a rope. The vehicle boasted chain final drive and its high-wheeled, solid-tyred, horse-carriage type of body was retained well into the 1900s. The brakes were arranged in the form of shoes which could be pressed on the back of the solid rear tyres, and the suspension comprised full elliptic leaf springs at the front, and half-elliptics at the rear. Transmission and brake control levers were mounted close to the driver’s right hand.
The company's Camlachie
Camlachie
Camlachie is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland. Formerly a weaving village on the Camlachie Burn, it is located in the east end of the city, between Dennistoun to the north, and Bridgeton to the south....
premises were destroyed by fire in 1901, and production was moved to Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
.
In 1902 William Beardmore
William Beardmore
William Beardmore, 1st Baron Invernairn , known as Sir William Beardmore, Bt, between 1914 and 1921, was an Anglo-Scottish industrialist, founding the eponymous William Beardmore and Company.-Background and education:...
took the largest single shareholding in the company, creating a captive customer for his iron and steel components. He later became Chairman when A-J (as it was widely known) became a public company.
A-J was restructured financially in 1903. New finance, mainly from Beardmore, became available, Beardmore wishing to help the firm stave off bankruptcy, and there were important changes in staff, including the arrival of J.S. Napier as Chief Engineer. George Johnston left as a result of a disagreement and founded the All British Car Company
All-British
The All-British was an automobile built at Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, from 1906 to 1908. The company was founded by George Johnston, formerly of Arrol-Johnston, primarily for the manufacture a 54hp eight-cylinder car with its cylinders arranged as two parallel fours; the pistons were actuated...
, a venture that was to be short-lived. A-J became effectively a wholly owned subsidiary of William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
Arrol-Johnston Car Company Ltd.
In 1905 the company's name was changed to the Arrol-Johnston Car Company Ltd. In the same year, the company introduced a 3023cc 12/15hpHorsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
model of more modern appearance; this, however, still used an opposed-piston engine. There was also a three-cylinder version of the dogcart; this was an uncouth 16 hp with the centre cylinder being of greater bore than the outer two. A 1905 Dogcart with solid wooden disc wheels still survives in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, where it was supplied as a searchlight tender for the Sirdar
Sirdar (Egypt)
Sirdar - a variant of Sardar, a long-standing of Indo-Aryan rank - was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the nineteenth century Egyptian Army...
of Egypt.
In 1906 came the 24/30 hp vertical four of 4654cc; followed in 1907 by the 38/45 hp of 8832 cc. The 12/15 hp twin survived in production until 1909. This was the year that T. C. Pullinger (formerly of Darracq
Darracq
Automobiles Darracq S.A. was a French motor vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1896 by Alexandre Darracq.Using part of the substantial profit he had made from selling his Gladiator bicycle factory, Alexandre Darracq began operating from a plant in the Parisian suburb of Suresnes...
, Sunbeam and Humber
Humber (car)
Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
) joined Arrol-Johnston; he swept out the old range in favour of the new 15·9 hp of 2835cc. That model featured a dashboard radiator and four-wheel brakes (the latter were dropped in 1911). For 1912 a 1794 cc 11·9 hp, a 3640 cc 20·9 hp and a 3618 cc 23·8 hp were introduced.
In 1913 Arrol Johnston bought land at Heathhall, just outside Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
, and commissioned an American firm to build a factory. This is said to be the first factory in Britain to use ferro-concrete (concrete reinforced with metal bars), and was designed by Albert Kahn, architect of the Ford factory at Highland Park, Michigan
Highland Park, Michigan
- Geography :According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 16,746 people, 6,199 households, and 3,521 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,622.9 per square mile . There were 7,249...
, where the Model T was produced. A-J contracted to build 50 electric cars for Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
at the new plant but it is not certain how many were actually made. Several models of car including the six-cylinder 23/9 were built up to the outbreak of war.
The first post war Arrol-Johnston was the Victory model in 1919 designed by G. W. A. Brown which had an ohc 2651 cc 4 cylinder engine of 40 hp. They introduced the model to agents in March 1919 but the first production car was not delivered until August; it was sold to the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. The Victory sadly proved "unsellable and unreliable", and broke down while on a Royal tour of the West of England, so that the publicity attending its debut was not of the kind it needed. It was soon replaced by a modernized version of the prewar 15·9 hp; it was cheaper, but this was due to such cost-cutting measures as a black-painted radiator and fixed ignition. The 15·9 hp was revived as an urgent replacement for the Victory. A more modern version, the 20 hp, was introduced alongside the 15.9 hp in 1922.
In 1921 the cheaper Galloway
Galloway (car)
Galloway was a British car maker founded in 1920 as a subsidiary company to Arrol-Johnston. It was based at first at Tongland, Kirkcudbrightshire, and from 1923 at Heathall, Dumfries. It closed in 1928.-History:...
was launched as, in theory, a separate make, from the Tongland
Tongland
Tongland is a small village about 2 miles north of Kirkcudbright, south west Scotland. It lies on the west bank of the Dee near its confluence with the Tarff Water.-History:...
works near Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...
. The car was based on the Fiat 501
Fiat 501
The Fiat 501 is a car produced by Fiat between 1919 and 1926. The 501 was Fiat's first model after World War I. In 1921came sport versions S and SS. Fiat produced 47,600 examples.- Engines :-References:...
and started with the 10/20 with a 1460 cc side valve engine, in 1925 growing to the 1669 cc 12/20 and 12/30. Production moved to the main A-J factory in Heathhall in 1922. A short-lived 14 hp appeared in 1924, only to be replaced the following year by a 12·3 hp model. There also was a 4 cylinder 3290cc Empire model manufactured for the colonies.
Arrol-Aster
In 1927 Arrol-Johnston were merged with AsterAster (automobile)
The Aster was an English automobile manufactured from 1922 to 1930. The companies car roots can be traced to 1899 when Begbie Manufacturing of Wembley, in north London became British licensees of the French Aster company making mainly stationary engines...
of Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, London to form the combined marque of Arrol-Aster, with directors from both Arrol-Johnston and Aster. The 15.9 hp was retained as were the two current Asters. Both the latter were given Burt-McCollum single sleeve valve
Sleeve valve
The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve-valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in USA in the Willys-Knight car and light truck...
engines in the interests of silence, but the 21/60 hp Aster was also available in its original ohv form, renamed the Arrol-Aster. Another completely new Arrol-Aster was the 2.5-litre 6-cylinder 17/50 hp with sleeve valves. The 21/60 hp Arrol-Aster and the 15.9 hp Arrol-Johnston were dropped for 1929, and a straight-8 Arrol-Aster substituted. It had a 3.3-litre sleeve valve engine consisting of the 17/50 unit with two extra cylinders and was available in supercharged form. This was a fast car intended as a sports model, but unlike the French sleeve-valve designs it could not produce high outputs as revolutions were limited.
The company lasted for two years before the company went into receivership. Limited production and sales continued until 1931.
Football
Arrol-Johnston ran a works football team. In 1919 the football club was one of three clubs in Dumfries that merged to form Queen of the South F.C.Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
The most notable players at Arrol-Johnston were Dave Halliday
Dave Halliday
David "Dave" Halliday was a Scottish footballing prolific goalscorer and trophy winning manager. His 38 goals in 1923-24 made him top scorer in Scotland's top flight that season and 43 goals in 1928–29 gave him the same distinction in England's top flight that season. He scored 376 senior goals as...
and Ian Dickson
Ian Dickson (footballer)
Ian William Dickson was a Scottish professional footballer whose played as a forward. He played for Queen of the South, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough...
. Both then played for Queen of the South before going on to top score for their respective clubs in the top division in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Halliday in particular had a highly successful goal-scoring career becoming one of the most prolific scorers in both UK and world football history. He then became a trophy-winning manager.
External links
- http://britishmm.co.uk/history.asp?id=65 (Arrol-Johnston)
- http://britishmm.co.uk/history.asp?id=64 (Arrol-Aster)
- http://autoclassic.com/features/classic_car_history/arrol_johnston_dogcart.html
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/striderv/4300298265/ 1920 15.9 2-door tourer