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Arrol-Johnston (later known as
Arrol-Aster Arrol-Aster was a British car maker founded in 1927 when Arrol-Johnston and the English Aster company merged. The Wembley, London works of Aster was closed and production concentrated at the Heathhall, Dumfries factory of Arrol-Johnston. At fir ...
) was an early Scottish manufacturer of
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
s, which operated from 1895 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 The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second expedition to the Antarctic. Its main target, ...
to the South Pole.


History

George Johnston was by training a locomotive engineer from
Neilson, Reid 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. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Par ...
Limited of
Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. Johnston was commissioned by
Glasgow Corporation Tramways Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tram, tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland, with over 100 route miles (160 route kilometres) by 1922. The system clo ...
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 cars 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. George Johnston had an experimental vehicle on the roads in November 1895, and there was an account in the Scotsman of a 3 hour journey in it, reputed to be the first Auto-Car to be seen in Scotland. The driving of a horseless carriage in Glasgow resulted in a prosecution under the Locomotive Amendment Act of 1878, where George Johnston conducted his own defence arguing that the vehicle was registered as a carriage and did not fit the definition of locomotive in the act. While he lost his case and was given a nominal fine, there was growing pressure to amend the so called 'red flag acts' that were holding back British motor vehicle development, and later that year the passing of the
Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier Locomotive Acts which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on ...
allowed motor vehicles to travel at as much as 12mph.


Mo-Car Syndicate

In 1895 Johnston formed a joint venture with
Sir William Arrol Sir William Arrol (13 February 1839 – 20 February 1913) was a Scottish civil engineer, bridge builder, and Liberal Unionist Party politician. Career The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a cotton ...
MP, an engineer of the
Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
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 with a Mr P M Coats of Paisley, and a Mr. John Millar also of Paisley, 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 ( gd, Camadh Làthaich) is an area of the city of Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th l ...
, in the East End of Glasgow. The Dogcart was a wood-bodied vehicle powered by a 10 hp 2 cylinder
opposed piston engine An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and f ...
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 ( gd, Camadh Làthaich) is an area of the city of Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th l ...
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 William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...


Arrol-Johnston Car Company Ltd.

In 1905 the company's name was changed to the Arrol-Johnston Car Company Ltd. They had a 4.5-acre well-equipped factory in Paisley, and it was said they made everything there for their vehicles excepting a few specialised items such as springs, tyres and lamps - they even made their own magnetos. In the same year, the company introduced a 3023cc ''12/15 hp'' model of more modern appearance; this, however, still used an
opposed-piston An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and f ...
engine producing 12bhp at 800rpm and 15bhp at 1100rpm. 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 or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
, inside the Sudan national museum, where it was supplied as a searchlight tender for the
Sirdar The rank of Sirdar ( ar, سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-blo ...
of Egypt. Also announced at the 1905 Olympia show was the new ''24/30 hp'' vertical four of 4654cc; followed in 1907 by the ''38/45 hp'' of 8832 cc. In 1907 Arrol-Johnston were engaged to produce a car for the British South Polar Expedition, and it did make it to Antarctica, though it was of limited use except on hard ice, so it was restricted to the base camp areas. The car was an alcohol-fuelled air-cooled version of the 12-15hp model. The ''12/15 hp'' twin survived in production until 1909. This was the year that T. C. Pullinger (formerly of
Darracq A Darracq and Company Limited owned a French manufacturer of motor vehicles and aero engines in Suresnes, near Paris. The French enterprise, known at first as A. Darracq et Cie, was founded in 1896 by Alexandre Darracq after he sold his Gladi ...
,
Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...
and
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...
) 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 ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
, and commissioned an American firm to build a factory. This is said to be the first factory in Britain to use
ferro-concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
(concrete reinforced with metal bars), and was designed by Albert Kahn, architect of the
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
factory at
Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Along with its neighbor of Hamtramck, Highland Park is an enclave city surrounded by the city of Detroit. History The area tha ...
, where the
Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
was produced. A-J contracted to build 50
electric cars An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
for Anderson Electric, maker of the Detroit Electric, 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 An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
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 ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
. 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 ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...
was launched as, in theory, a separate make, from the
Tongland Tongland is a small village about north of Kirkcudbright, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies on the west bank of the Dee near its confluence with the Tarff Water. History Tongland ...
works near
Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...
. The car was based on the
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. Fiat introduced the S and SS sports versions of the 501 in 1921. Fiat produced 47,600 501s in total. Engines References *Fiat Pers ...
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
Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...
of
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, 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 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 the United States 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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
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 Football Club is a Scottish professional football club formed in 1919 in Dumfries. The club plays in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. They are traditionally nicknamed the '' Doonhamers'' but are mor ...
The most notable players at Arrol-Johnston were
Dave Halliday David Halliday (11 December 1901 – 5 January 1970) was a Scottish association football player and manager. He achieved numerous distinctions and high rankings as a prolific goal-scoring forward with six senior clubs; St Mirren, Dundee, Sunder ...
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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Halliday in particular had a highly successful goal-scoring career. He then became a trophy-winning manager.Queens Legends career profiles of Dave Halliday and Ian Dickson
/ref>


See also

*
All-British The All-British was an automobile manufacturer based at Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, from 1906 to 1908. The company was founded by George Johnston, formerly of Arrol-Johnston, primarily for the manufacture of a 54 horsepower eight-cylinder ca ...
*
Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...
*
Arrol-Aster Arrol-Aster was a British car maker founded in 1927 when Arrol-Johnston and the English Aster company merged. The Wembley, London works of Aster was closed and production concentrated at the Heathhall, Dumfries factory of Arrol-Johnston. At fir ...
*
Galloway (car) Galloway was a Scottish people, Scottish 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 The company was ...
*
Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass ...


References


External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20040812085725/http://www.britishmm.co.uk/history.asp?id=65 (Arrol-Johnston) *https://web.archive.org/web/20040814061602/http://www.britishmm.co.uk/history.asp?id=64 (Arrol-Aster) *http://autoclassic.com/features/classic_car_history/arrol_johnston_dogcart.html {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040819003138/http://autoclassic.com/features/classic_car_history/arrol_johnston_dogcart.html , date=19 August 2004 *https://www.flickr.com/photos/striderv/4300298265/ 1920 15.9 2-door tourer Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Scotland Companies based in Dumfries and Galloway Renfrewshire Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1931 1896 establishments in Scotland 1931 disestablishments in Scotland History of Dumfries and Galloway Veteran vehicles Vintage vehicles