Lacre engine

Long Acre Motor Car Co. (1902–1904) Lacre Motor Car Co. (1904–1928) Lacre Lorries Ltd. (1928–1952)
legal form	Limited
founding	1902
resolution	?
Seat	Welwyn Garden City , Hertfordshire , United Kingdom
Branch	Commercial vehicles , automobiles , bodywork , automotive accessories

The Lacre Motor Co. Ltd. , from 1938 Lacre Lorries Ltd. , was a British company that manufactured motor vehicles, bodywork, vehicle accessories and later special vehicles, especially for municipal use, and a regional agency for several car manufacturers in London . Brand names were Lacre and J & B Lacre .

history

The company was founded in Long Acre, Covent Garden in 1902 as the Long Acre Motor Company . The company name is a contraction from Long Acre . The company was initially active in the accessories sector and had departments for body construction, convertible top manufacture and automotive-friendly (dust-proof) clothing and chauffeur uniforms. A repair shop, car rental, used car dealership and photo shop were also affiliated. From 1905 the appearance as regional representative of Albion , Lanchester and Wolseley is documented and the first automobile bodies can be proven.

Lanchester 18 HP as Coupe de Ville. Body by Lacre (1905).

Wolseley 24 HP as a tourer with a fixed Surrey roof. Body by Lacre (1905).

1912, bus in Brisbane, Australia, using a Lacre truck chassis.

Motor vehicle production started in 1904. At that time, the company had already relocated to Poland Street in Soho and was trading as Lacre Motor Co. Ltd. Some Albion chassis vans were sold as Lacre . A number of electric cars were also built between 1904 and 1905 .

1907 published J & B Lacre - forward control with 2.2 t payload but not manufactured by Lacre itself, but in James & Browne were made and the program for the time being supplemented upwards.

A new generation of Lacre vehicles followed in 1909, and they were now manufactured entirely in-house. The in-house engines were two-cylinder with 15 or 18 HP and four-cylinder with 20, 30 or 38 HP. The two most powerful engines were reserved for the Lacre Model O truck , which, as the company's longest-lasting product, remained in the range in numerous versions until 1928 or even 1935.

In 1910 the company was relocated to Letchworth Garden City ( Hertfordshire ). Commercial vehicles for loads from 0.5 to 10 t and buses were built here . Early customers included Shoolbred's and Harrods department stores . During World War I , Lacre trucks were used by British , Canadian , Belgian , Indian and Siamese units.

A 1917 pre-positioned truck for cleaning streets became the standard product of the company after the war, soon, a three-wheeled version Lacre Model L followed. In 1922 a cardan drive was used. This year, chief engineer Harry Shelvoke and James Sidney Drewry, two executives left the company to found the commercial vehicle manufacturer Shelvoke and Drewry .

Lacre mainly sold its street sweepers in the 1920s. An interesting Frontlenker in 1926 with the Lacre Model E presented. The two and a half ton truck had the engine, transmission and fuel tank mounted on a subframe that could be pulled out of the vehicle from the front for maintenance work.

In 1928 the company ran into financial difficulties and was renamed Lacre Lorries Ltd. reorganized. Investments in Letchworth were sold and the company used its depot in Kings Cross as a new seat this time was. Lacre representatives of Low Loader - municipal vehicles . In 1934 the commercial vehicle manufacturer HG Burford & Co. Ltd. taken over in North Kensington . After a final move to Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire) in 1936, the company continued production there. Trucks were still available, but their output was modest and the main product was street sweepers. During the Second World War , the facilities were used for aircraft production. In 1946 the company resumed production, but now concentrated entirely on street cleaning technology. The last complete vehicles were assembled in 1952. They were based on the Opperman Motocart . After that, Lacre built street cleaning structures for Bedford for some time . The date of the company's closure is unknown.

Automobiles

In 1910, three car models with internal combustion engines were launched for private customers.

The Lacre 12 hp has a two-cylinder in - line engine with a displacement of 2414 cm³ , which was rated at 12 hp . The chassis has a wheelbase of 2515 mm and a track width of 1372 mm . It weighs 914 kg. The body is 3543 mm long and 1727 mm wide.

The medium model Lacre 18 hp has a larger two-cylinder engine with a displacement of 3068 cm³. The wheelbase had been lengthened to 2743 mm. This increased the weight of the chassis to 1067 kg. Track and body width correspond to the smaller model. The vehicle is 3924 mm long.

The top model Lacre 20 hp , on the other hand, has a four-cylinder engine in which the cylinders of two 12 hp engines are combined. This results in a displacement of 4829 cm³. The wheelbase is 3658 mm, the track width is 1499 mm and the weight of the chassis is 1524 kg. With the body, the vehicles are 5334 mm long and 1880 mm wide.

model	Construction period	Engine type	Displacement (cm³)	Wheelbase (mm)	Length (mm)	width (mm)	Track width (mm)	Chassis weight (kg)
Electric	1904-1905	Electric motor
12 hp	around 1910	2 cyl. line	2414	2515	3543	1727	1372	0914
18 hp			3068	2743	3924			1067
20 hp		4 cyl. line	4829	3658	5334	1880	1499	1524

A taxi model with 15 hp is also mentioned , for which no further data is available. It seems to have been the two-cylinder listed as 12/15 in 1913 , which corresponds to the 12 HP in the list above. At the end of 1910, Lacre gave up the series production of private cars again.

Commercial vehicles (selection)

1912, Lacre bus in Brisbane, Australia

Lacre Model L three wheel street sweeper in the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester. Although manufactured before World War II according to the accompanying text, a Meadows engine was used here.

• Lacre Model O 2-3 ton truck; Four-cylinder engines with 4820 or 7117 cc. 1910–1928 or 1935. The versatile commercial vehicle was used to transport goods, as a dump truck , as a fire engine , as an ambulance , as an army truck and as a char-à-bancs , omnibus or double-decker bus . At times it was also available as a semi - trailer tractor . Until 1922 the car had drive chains , then cardan drive .
• Lacre Model N 4 ton truck.
• Lacre Model E 2.5 tonne front handlebars . Presented in 1926; The engine, transmission and fuel tank could be pulled forward out of the vehicle on a subframe, which made maintenance, repairs and replacement easier.
• Lacre Model L 3 wheel street sweeper. 1917-1943; with 12 HP four-cylinder engine from Dorman , later optionally with six-cylinder, possibly also Meadows engine.
• Lacre Model M street sweeper, 1946–1949, with Meadows four-cylinder engine.
• Lacre Model T street sweeper, 1949–1952 based on the Opperman Motocart . These vehicles, developed for agriculture, were powered by an 8 HP JAP single-cylinder engine mounted on the side of the steered front wheel .

literature

• David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing plc, Dorchester 1999, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .
• Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Lacre.
• George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 844 (English).
• GN Georgano (Ed.), G. Marshall Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. MBI Motor Books International, Osceola WI 1979, ISBN 0-87341-024-6 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Lacre Motor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Grace's Guide: Lacre Motor Car Co. (accessed May 21, 2018)
• Grace's Guide: Oppermann. (accessed on May 21, 2018)
• Motor, Marine and Aircraft Red Book, 1913-1917: Petrol Motors. Lacre Motor, p. 157 ; Lacre delivery program 1913-1914. (accessed on May 21, 2018)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Georgano, Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. 1979, p. 368.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Grace's Guide: Lacre Motor Car Co.
3. ↑ George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 844 (English).
4. ↑ ^{a b} Grace's Guide: Oppermann.
5. ^ Culshaw, Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975.
6. ^ Motor, Marine and Aircraft Red Book, 1913-1917: Petrol Motors. Lacre Motor, p. 157 ; Lacre delivery program 1913-1914.
7. ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Lacre.
8. ↑ Georgano, Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. 1979, p. 475.