Albion Motor Car

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Albion Motor Car Co.

logo
legal form
resolution 1951
Reason for dissolution Takeover by Leyland
Seat Glasgow , UK
Branch Motor vehicle manufacturer

Albion 1901
Albion 1902
Albion 16 HP Wagonette 1904

Albion was a Scottish automobile and truck manufacturer.

history

In 1900, the Albion Motor Car Co. in Glasgow began producing automobiles. There were the 8 HP , 12 HP and 16 HP models with two-cylinder engines between 1900 and 1913 and the four-cylinder models 24/30 HP and 15 HP between 1906 and 1915.

In 1902 a half-ton truck was produced. In 1933 its own diesel engine was developed. In 1935 the Scottish competitor Halley Motors was taken over.

In 1951 Albion was taken over by Leyland . Most of the heavy Albion models were abandoned in favor of the corresponding Leyland models. In the late 1950s, Albion and Leyland trucks were similar. In 1972 the production of the Albion trucks ceased.

Trucks

Albion type 550 , built in 1936

During the first ten years of its existence, the company manufactured a variety of different truck models. With the A10 model released in 1910, the company produced a truck that was characterized by its simplicity and robustness. With a payload of 0.75 t, the vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder engine with 32 bhp. The wheelbase was initially 13 feet 1 inches, from 1920 an extended version with a wheelbase of 14 feet 5 inches was also produced. Around 6,000 vehicles were produced up to 1918, production ended after 16 years in 1926.

In the 1920s, Albion created the slogan Sure as the Sunrise . The musician Mark Knopfler dedicated a song entitled "Border Reiver" to this fact on his CD Get Lucky . At the same time as the slogan, the rising sun also appeared in the company's trademark. The production range has been expanded. The vehicles produced covered a payload range from 30 cwt to 15 tons . Albion was one of the pioneers in the manufacture of forward control vehicles , which were then called cab-over-engines . With the vehicle length limited by the registration regulations, the length of the loading area could be increased. In 1935 Albion took over competitor Halley and used its production facilities for a service base and the preparation of CKD chassis for export. While petrol engines were installed in smaller vehicles, diesel engines with direct injection from our own production were used in larger trucks. The B119, first presented in 1936, was able to build on the success of the A10 . With a wheelbase of 9 feet 9 inches, it was suitable for bodies up to 13 feet 6 inches long. The vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder gasoline engine with 19.6 bhp . The bodies came from various body manufacturers, such as Strachan. Sometimes exotic-looking bodies were placed on the Albion chassis. In 1935 , Holland Coachcraft built a van with a streamlined structure on the chassis of a 30/40 cwt .

During the Second World War , Albion built all-terrain trucks with the wheel formulas 6 * 4 and 6 * 6 with a payload of 10 tons.

Production of vehicles for the civil market began in 1947. Albion produced the CX series, which were heavy trucks. The CX7 was an eight- wheel truck for a payload of 14.5 tons, the CX5 a three-axle truck for a 12 ton payload. The CX1 and CX3 were two-axle vehicles with a payload of 7 and 6.5 tons respectively. The range was rounded off by the FT3 for payloads of 3 to 4 tons and the AZ5 for a payload of 1.5 tons. Albion had already started giving its trucks model names before the Second World War, most of which began with a C and, like Reiver , Caledonian or Clydesdale, were related to the company's Scottish homeland.

In 1955, Albion began producing the Claymore . Equipped with an O.300 Leyland diesel engine and designed for a payload of 4 to 5 tons, the chassis had an underfloor engine between the axles. This design allows maximum utilization of the vehicle length for the loading area and a small turning circle. The vehicles were particularly popular in inner-city delivery traffic.

With the Caledonian , which was built from 1958 , Albion had a direct competitor to the Octopus of the parent company Leyland in its range. As a heavy four-axle truck, it was designed for a payload of 15.5 tons.

After the takeover by Leyland in 1951, more and more assemblies from other manufacturers that also belonged to the Leyland group were installed. This became clear through the changed design of the cabs. From 1968 Albion models were available with the Ergomatic-cab from Leyland. From 1972 the company's trucks were sold under the Leyland brand, but production in Scotstoun continued. However, it was now primarily smaller trucks that were produced. Leyland took advantage of the company's popularity and, for example, presented a Reiver again in 1979 , which, however, was a completely in-house development and apart from the name had nothing in common with the Albion vehicles.

  • Albion CX1

  • Albion FT2

  • Albion Claymore

  • Albion Chieftain , built in 1966

  • Albion Reiver , built in 1971

buses

Albion PMA 28, built in 1930

The first Albion buses were built on truck chassis. Two of these vehicles were delivered to West Bromwich in 1914 . The first chassis specially made for buses appeared in 1923. It was based on the chassis of the 25-cwt truck, but got improved suspension. Various superstructures for 12 to 23 passengers were available. In 1925, the company's range was expanded to include another chassis, the Model 26. Equipped with an engine with an output of 60 hp at 30 control hp (30/60 hp), it was available with wheelbases from 3.4 to 4.9 m. All of these chassis were designed as long-hooded vehicles, the engine was in front of the driver. At the time, this type of construction was called normal construction in the United Kingdom. With the Viking , the company's first forward control vehicle appeared in 1927 , in which the engine was arranged next to the driver. The bus could be equipped with superstructures for 32 seats. From 1933, Gardner diesel engines were available. In 1932 the Venturer , the company's first double-decker bus, appeared with bodies for up to 51 seats. Five years later, the Venturer CX appeared , with the engine and gearbox assembled together. Until then, they were connected by a separate drive shaft. At the same time, the buses were also available with diesel engines manufactured by Albion.

After the Second World War, production was gradually modernized. After the first prototypes were assembled from 1951, the production of buses with an underfloor engine began in 1955. After the takeover by Leyland, development and production of buses were scaled back. The company's last double-decker model, the Lowlander , was marketed in England as the Leyland. The company's last development was the Viking , which took the name of the successful pre-war model in 1963.

  • Albion Valiant CX13, building Burlingham , 1940

  • Albion nimbus

  • Albion Lowlander with development of Northern Counties

  • Albion Viking with Duple Dominant construction

Models

  • Model 24 (1923–1924) the company's first bus chassis
  • Viking 24 (1924–1932) different wheelbases from 3.4 m to 4.9 m, braked front axle; available with six-cylinder engine as Viking Sixe s.
  • Valkyrie (1930–1938) forward control, engine with 5 l displacement from 1930, from 1933 6.1 l, from 1935 optional 7.8 l, mainly built as a coach
  • Valiant (1931–1936) built mainly as a coach
  • Victor (1930–1939) available as a standard version or front handlebar; 20–24 seats
  • Venturer (1932–1939) first double-decker from Albion, initially 51, then 55 seats; the three-axle version Valorous was only built once in 1932
  • Valkyrie CX (1937–1950) Version of the Valkyrie with a motor-gear unit
  • Venturer CX (1937–1951) Version of the Venturer with a motor-gear unit
  • Victor FT (1947–1959) lightweight single-decker bus
  • Valiant CX (1948–1951) Version of the Valiant with motor-gear unit, mainly built as a coach
  • Viking CX (1948–1952) Version of the Viking with a motor-gear unit, mainly built for export
  • Nimbus (1955–1963) Single-decker light-weight bus with an underfloor motor
  • Aberdonian (1957–1960) underfloor motor
  • Victor VT (1959–1966) front engine
  • Clydesdale (1959–1978) export version on a truck chassis
  • Lowlander (1961–1966) double-decker with a 5.64 m wheelbase. LR5 and LR7 with air suspension
  • Viking VK (1963–1983?) Built mainly for export with Leyland engine O.370, VK43 with rear engine

Trivia

In Border Reiver, Mark Knopfler describes the life of a truck driver on his solo album Get Lucky . The text passages My Scotstoun lassie , She's an Albion and Sure as the Sunrise refer to a truck from Albion.

literature

  • SW Stevens-Strattan: British Lorries 1900–1902. Ian Allan ltd, Shepperton 1992, ISBN 0-7110-2091-4 (English).
  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars. 1895-1975. New edition. Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 (English).

Web links

Commons : Albion Motor Car  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files