George Johnston (1855–1945) was a Scottish engineer. He was the son of the Reverend James Johnston, 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 ind ...

's United Presbyterian Church. George 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 Arrol-Johnston (later known as Arrol-Aster) was an early Scottish manufacturer of automobiles, which operated from 1895 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world's first "off-road" v ...

Car Company Ltd.

Career

Locomotives and trams

George Johnston worked as a locomotive engineer for the Hyde Park Locomotive Company Limited of Springburn, Glasgow. In 1894 Johnston was commissioned by the City of Glasgow to build an experimental steam tram-car to replace the horse trams. When it was having a final test before a Corporation committee it took fire and it was abandoned.

Motor cars

Johnston's attention was then turned to a detailed examination of continental makes of

motor car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

. 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.

Mo-Car Syndicate

In the autumn of 1895 Johnston was joined by his cousin Norman Osborne Fulton and T. Blackwood Murray, former Works Manager with Mavor and Coulson, makers of mining machinery in Bridgeton. and 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 ...

, 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, and a Mr. Millar of Paisley, while his cousin Norman Fulton was Works Manager. Sir William's main interest in the business was as the financial backer. Fulton and Murray later parted company with Johnston in 1899 to set up

Albion Motors Albion Motors was a Scottish automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer. Founded in 1899, Albion Motors was purchased by Leyland Motors in 1951. Vehicles continued to be manufactured under the Albion brand until 1972, after which they con ...

All British Car Company

Johnston departed the Arrol-Johnston company in 1903 after it had been restructured financially, as a result of a disagreement, to join the All British Car Company.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, George 1855 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Businesspeople from Glasgow Scottish engineers Scottish designers Scottish inventors British automotive pioneers Locomotive builders and designers British automotive engineers British founders of automobile manufacturers 19th-century British engineers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century British engineers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople People from Springburn