Trojan Limited

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emblem

Trojan was a British automobile manufacturer; the brand existed from 1914 to 1974.

founding

The company was founded by Leslie Hayward Hounsfield (1877–1957). He started out as the chief engineer for a small company called Polygon Engineering Works in Clapham , South London. His goal was to build a simple, economical car that was easy to drive. He started development in 1910. In 1913 the prototype was ready. It was equipped with a two-stroke engine. The four cylinders were arranged in pairs, each two sharing a combustion chamber. The engine had only seven moving parts. It gave its power to the rear wheels via an epicyclic two-speed gearbox and a chain. The car had solid rubber tires to avoid breakdowns and extremely long springs.

Before production could start, the First World War broke out and Trojan, as the company called itself from 1914, produced tools and measuring devices from 1914 to 1918. The first six cars of a type were built in 1920 at the Croydon factory and the final version was shown at the London Motor Show in 1922 . Trojan reached an agreement with Leyland Motors to build the new car in their factory in Kingston upon Thames , where the conversion of former Air Force trucks expired. This agreement lasted until 1928, when Leyland needed production space for truck production. By then, 11,000 cars and 6,700 vans had been built.

Trojan Utility Car and Delivery Truck

Trojan from 1924
Trojan 10 HP from 1922 to 1930
Trojan Series 7, this version was produced from 1957 to 1959

The Trojan Utility Car was for £ 230 on the market, the price was in 1925 reduced to £ 125, exactly the price of a Model T Ford . The car was very unconventional: instead of a chassis, it had a boat-shaped compartment under the seats that contained the engine and transmission. The 1,527 cubic centimeter machine, which worked on the ingenious Hounsfield principle, was started by pulling up a lever on the right of the driver. To underline the economy of the car, the company used the slogan "Can you afford to walk?" ("Can you afford to walk?") And calculated that more money would have to be spent on shoes and socks for a distance of 200 kilometers than on the trip in the Trojan.

In 1920 the car was delivered with a smaller engine, only 1488 cubic centimeters in size, in order to achieve the tax-favorable 1.5-liter class. Pneumatic tires were now also available as an option. Trojan gave a 5000 mile guarantee.

On the basis of the utility car , a delivery van was also created in 1924 , initially designed for a payload of 5 cwt (converted 254 kg). The delivery van was initially only available with thin solid rubber tires. The footbrake acted on the rear axle, the handbrake on the power transmission. Trojan became a supplier for Brooke Bond tea and supplied the company with delivery trucks, popularizing the Trojan across the UK. In 1926 a larger version for a 7 cwt (equivalent to 355 kg) payload appeared, which was now also available with pneumatic tires. It was replaced in 1933 by the externally identical variant for a payload of 10 cwt (converted 508 kg). The engine capacity has been reduced. To reduce weight, the side walls of the superstructure were covered with panels made of fiberglass . This version remained in production until 1942. As early as 1937, the Senior was presented with a payload of 12 cwt (equivalent to 609 kg), which has now also received a modern braking system from Bendix . However, all other design features of the vehicle were retained.

After the end of the Second World War, the delivery van was initially continued to be produced, but was replaced in 1947 by a completely redesigned vehicle with an initially 15 cwt (equivalent to 762 kg) payload. The Perkins P3V diesel engine with 3 l displacement, which delivered an output of 34 bhp , now served as the drive . However, the old two-stroke engine was still available. This type remained in the production program until production was discontinued in 1959.

In 1958 a new type appeared again for a payload of 25 cwt (equivalent to 1.27 tons), which was powered by the Perkins diesel engine. In contrast to the previously developed types, it was designed as a forward control . Large numbers of this vehicle could not be sold. Some chassis were built as a minibus.

The RE Trojan and the 1930s

When the partnership with Leyland ended, Leslie Hounsfield took over production in Croydon; Leyland offered some spare parts until the early 1930s. Despite renewed body designs, sales fell during the global economic crisis . In 1931 a new model, the RE, (Rear Engine) with a top speed of 70 km / h was announced. It still had no electric starter and only rear brakes. Only 250 copies were sold. One final attempt was the 1934 wayfarer with a mid-engine, three-speed gearbox, but only three vehicles were sold; The six-cylinder "Mastra" also had two interested parties. The station wagon continued to sell well. The utility car could still be ordered; the last copy was delivered in 1937.

Leslie Hounsfield left the company in 1930 and started a new company that built, among other things, the "Safari" camp bed , which was manufactured thousands of times during World War II.

The Trojan company continued to build delivery trucks until World War II began. Even after the war, the vehicle was built with the original engine; In 1952 it was replaced by a Perkins Diesel .

Small and sports cars

Trojan 200

In 1959 the company was bought by Peter Agg, and from 1960 to 1965, after taking over the production facilities from Irish Dundalk Engineering Company , he continued to build the Heinkel cabin under the name Trojan 200, the last vehicle to carry the Trojan name. From 1966 to 1968 he built Elva sports cars, then racing cars until 1974.

Car models (1922–1936)

model Construction period cylinder Displacement power at speed wheelbase
10 hp 1922 4 row 1529 cc 11 bhp (8.1 kW) 1200 min −1
10 hp 1922-1930 4 row 1488 cc 10 bhp (7.4 kW) 1200 min −1 2426 mm
LW 1930-1936 4 row 1488 cc 12 bhp (8.8 kW) 1000 min -1 2337 mm
RE 1931-1936 4 row 1488 cc 12 bhp (8.8 kW) 1000 min -1 2591 mm

literature

  • SW Stevens-Strattan: British Lorries 1900–1902 , Ian Allan ltd 1992, ISBN 0-7110-2091-4 (English)

Web links

Commons : Trojan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b N. Baldwin: AZ of Cars of the 1920s . Bay View Books, Devon, UK 1994, ISBN 1-870979-53-2 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g N. Georgano: Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . HMSO, London 2000, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
  3. ^ M. Sedgwick: AZ of Cars of the 1930s . Bay View Books, Devon, UK 1989, ISBN 1-870979-38-9 .
  4. ↑ 'Safari Camp Bed'
  5. ↑ 1929-2012, obituary