William Beardmore and Company
Automobiles, Motorcycles |
William Beardmore and Company was a British
History
The Parkhead Forge, in the east end of Glasgow, became the core of the company. It was established by Reoch Brothers & Co in 1837 and was later acquired by
Shipbuilding
In 1900, Beardmore took over the
The
Merchant ships
Beardmore also built oil tankers, including:
- British Commerce, British Tanker Company, (1922)
- British Enterprise, British Tanker Company, (1921)
- British Merchant, British Tanker Company, (1922)
- British Trader, British Tanker Company, (1921)
Railway locomotives
An attempt was made during the 1920s to diversify into the manufacture of railway locomotives at Dalmuir. Twenty 4-6-0 tender locomotives were built for the Great Eastern Railway as part of their class S69. Ninety London and North Western Railway Prince of Wales class locomotives were built between 1921 and 1922, along with an extra exhibition locomotive for the LNWR's successor, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1924. They also built 90 'Jinty' tank engine for the LMS between 1928 and 1929. Beardmore's locomotive production was small compared with the established competition.
Serial numbers |
Year | Quantity | Customer | Class | Wheel arrangement |
Fleet numbers |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
100–134 | 1920 | 35 | East Indian Railway |
HGS | 2-8-0 | 1520–1554 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 26729–26763.[5] |
135–154 | 1920–21 | 20 | Great Eastern Railway | S69 | 4-6-0 | 1541–1560 not in order |
To LNER 8541–8560 in 1923; renumbered 1541–1560 .[6] |
155–173 | 1920 | 19 | Nigerian Railways |
4-8-0 | 282-300 | 3' 6" gauge | |
174–263 | 1921–22 | 90 | London and North Western Railway | Prince of Wales | 4-6-0 | various | to LMS 5755–5844 (not in order) in 1923 |
264–268 | 1923 | 5 | Burma Railways |
Ns | 0-6-6-0 | 16–20 | Metre gauge Mallet locomotives.[7] |
269–293 | 1923 | 25 | Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway | H (BESA HP) |
4-6-0 | 540–564 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 24289–24331.[8] |
294–295 | 1923 | 2 | Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway | W (BESA HP) |
4-6-0 | 784–785 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 24368–24639.[9] |
296–298 | 1923 | 3 | Eastern Bengal Railway | LS (BESA HP) |
4-6-0 | 31–33 | 5' 6" gauge. [10] |
299–303 | 1924 | 5 | North Western Railway |
HPS | 4-6-0 | 2875–2879 | 5' 6" gauge. Two to Pakistan, three to Eastern Punjab Railway 2815–2817, later all-India 24400–24402.[11][12] |
304 | 1924 | 1 | Exhibition locomotive | Prince of Wales | 4-6-0 | Shown at British Empire Exhibition, Wembley 1924-5, then sold to LMS 5845.[13] | |
305–324 | 1927 | 20 | London and North Eastern Railway | N7/3 | 0-6-2T |
2642–2661 | Renumbered 9683–9702 in 1946 scheme |
325–414 | 1928–29 | 90 | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | 3F | 0-6-0T |
16600–16624, 16685–16749 |
Renumbered 7517–7541, 7602–7666.[14] |
415–416 | 1928 | 2 | Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway | BE | Bo-Bo | 901-902 | 5' 6" gauge Battery-electric, later all-India 20198-9. |
417–460 | 1930 | 44 | East Indian Railway |
XE | 2-8-2 | 2016–2031, 1981–2003, 2032–2036 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 22536–22551, 22501–22523, 22552–22556.[15] |
461–486 | 1930 | 26 | North Western Railway |
XC | 4-6-2 | 1842–1867 | 5' 6" gauge. 1842–51/55/56/58–64/66 to Pakistan at Partition;[16][17] remainder to Eastern Punjab Railway, later all-India 22245–22250.[18] |
487–490 | 1930 | 4 | Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway | XC | 4-6-2 | 613–616 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 22241–22244.[18] |
491–492 | 1930 | 2 | East India Railway |
XC | 4-6-2 | 1948–1949 | 5' 6" gauge. Later all-India 22201–22202.[18] |
493–494 | 1930 | 2 | North Western Railway |
DL | B-B (de) | 30–31 | 5' 6" gauge. 350 hp (261 kW). Renumbered 330–331.[19] |
In concert with US and Canadian Westinghouse,
Aviation
The company first became involved in aviation in 1913, when it acquired British manufacturing rights for Austro-Daimler aero-engines [21] and later those for D.F.W. aircraft.[22]
It later built Sopwith Pup aircraft at Dalmuir under licence. Later, a shipborne version of the Pup, the Beardmore W.B.III, was designed by the company. A hundred of these aircraft were produced and delivered to the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Beardmore also built 50 of the Nieuport 12 under licence, incorporating many of their own refinements however production was delayed sufficiently that by the time they entered service the aircraft were obsolete and were primarily relegated to training duties or placed into storage and never used.
The company built and ran the Inchinnan Airship Constructional Station at
In 1924, the company acquired a licence for
Aircraft
Own designs
- Beardmore W.B.1
- Beardmore W.B.1a
- Beardmore W.B.II
- Beardmore W.B.III (most successful design)
- Beardmore W.B.IV
- Beardmore W.B.V
- Beardmore W.B.VI
- Beardmore W.B.XXIV Wee Bee
- Beardmore W.B.XXVI
Licensed designs
- Beardmore Inflexible (Rohrbach)
- Beardmore Inverness (Rohrbach Ro IV)
- Handley Page V/1500
- Nieuport 12
- Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2C
- Sopwith Camel
- Sopwith Pup
- Wight Seaplane
Aircraft engines
- Beardmore 120 hp
- Beardmore 160 hp
- Beardmore Adriatic
- Beardmore Atlantic
- Beardmore Cyclone
- Beardmore Tornado
Airships
- R24r
- R27
- R32 (airship)
- R34 (airship)
- R36 (airship)
Road vehicles
In 1917, Beardmore bought
Cars and taxis
After the
Beardmore Mk7 Paramount Taxicab | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Beardmore Motors |
Model years | 1954–66 |
Assembly | Windovers Ltd. Hendon, North London; Weymann, Addlestone, Surrey; MCW, Washwood Heath, Birmingham, later Adderley Park, Birmingham |
Body and chassis | |
Body style | London taxi, fixed head |
Layout | Limousine |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Ford Consul (1508 cc or 1703 cc) or Zephyr 4 (1703 cc) 4-cylinder OHV petrol or Perkins 4-cylinder OHV diesel (99 cu in or 108 cu in) |
Transmission | Ford 3-speed or 4-speed manual |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 8ft 8in |
Length | 13ft 10 1/2in |
Width | 5ft 6in |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Beardmore Mk6 taxi |
Beardmore 12/30 Tourer, 1925 | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Beardmore Motors |
Model years | 1924–25 |
Assembly | Anniesland, Glasgow |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Beardmore sohc 4-cylinder petrol, 1589cc, 12HP |
Transmission | 4-speed manual |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Beardmore 11hp |
The Anniesland factory was closed by 1925 and car production was moved to the taxi factory at
Production of the Beardmore Taxi began at Paisley in 1919 with what became known retrospectively as the Mk1. This was designed to meet the Metropolitan Police Conditions of Fitness for London Taxis. It was a very tough and reliable vehicle and it earned itself the name of 'The Rolls-Royce of taxicabs'. A car version, the Country and Colonial model was also made, as was a light van. It was replaced in 1923 by the Mk2, which had an all-new chassis, which it shared with a new range of light trucks and buses. Following a change in the Conditions of Fitness, Beardmore introduced a new model, the Mk3 'Hyper'. This had a smaller, 2-litre sidevalve engine and was lighter and more economical to run.[26]
Following the removal of William Beardmore from the board of his company in 1929, Beardmore Motors was bought out by its directors, and taxi production was moved from Scotland to Hendon, North London. Here in 1932 a new model, the Mk4 Paramount was introduced, which was essentially an updated Mk3 with a 2-litre Commer engine and gearbox. In 1935, the Mk5 Paramount Ace, with a new, longer wheelbase chassis was introduced, with the same engine. It was followed in 1938 by the Mk6 Ace, which had detail refinements. The 1930s Beardmore became known as the 'greengrocer's barrow', because 'all the best things were in front'![26]
After the
Motorcycles
Between 1921 and 1924 Beardmore took over building the Precision range of motorcycles that had been developed by Frank Baker, selling them as "Beardmore Precision". Engine sizes ranged from 250 cc to 600 cc. They also supplied the engines to several cyclecar manufacturers. After Beardmore stopped manufacture, Baker set up his own company again and restarted production.
Diesel engines
Although heavy oil engines had been built from the early years of the century for power-generation purposes, a range of automotive diesels was under development at the time of the financial crisis; the Bank of England commissioned consulting engineer Harry Ricardo to assess these and he gave a mostly favourable report, the largest customer for the Dalmuir-built Beardmore Engine was Glasgow Corporation who took 30 6-cylinder 90 bhp engines in Albion Venturer M81 chassis during 1934, but reliability was so poor that by five years later all had been replaced by Leyland 8.6 litre units.[27]
Decline and demise
Beardmore's various companies became unprofitable in the post-WW1 slump,[28] resulting in the company facing bankruptcy.[28] Financial aid initially came from Vickers Limited, which took a 60 per cent stake in Beardmores,[28] before pulling out in the late 1920s. Beardmore himself was removed from executive control of his company by the Bank of England.[28] Most of Beardmore's various businesses were wound down over the next few years until Beardmore's retirement and death in 1936, although some persisted.[28]
Dalmuir Shipyard
The crisis in the British shipbuilding industry after the First World War resulted in the formation of a company with the purpose of taking control of and eliminating loss-making shipyards to reduce capacity and competition;
Parkhead Forge
After Parkhead Forge was nationalised by the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain between 1951 and 1954, it was acquired by Sheffield-based Firth Brown Steels in 1957, before the Forge was finally closed in 1983, with Firth Brown consolidating its operations in Sheffield. The land later became The Forge Shopping Centre, which opened in 1988.[28]
Archives
The archives of William Beardmore and Company are maintained by the Archives of the University of Glasgow (GUAS).
See also
- Beardmore Precision Motorcycles
- socialists and trade unionistsactive in the Beardmore workforce.
- Timeline of hydrogen technologies
Notes
- Harland and Wolff in Belfast, the Arrol Gantry spanning two building berths, and used in the construction of RMS Titanicand her sisters.
- ^ a b c d e "Industries: Beardmore". The Clydebank Story. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ "William Beardmore and Company Ltd., Dalmuir". Engineering. 88: 455.
- ^ "Examples of Structural Steel Work for the Following Firms". William Beardmore and Company Ltd., Dalmuir. Sir William Arrol/Engineering Ltd. 1909. pp. 150–158.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "Tom McKendrick's sculpture of HMS Ramillies" (movie). AND / OR Productions. Retrieved 24 September 2008.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Hughes 1979, p. 54.
- ^ Boddy et al. 1975, p. 66.
- ^ Hughes 1992, pp. 48, 50.
- ^ Hughes 1979, pp. 62, 65.
- ^ Hughes 1979, pp. 66, 71.
- ^ Hughes 1990, p. 32.
- ^ Hughes 1979, p. 72.
- ^ Hughes 1990, p. 81.
- ^ Rowledge 1975, p. 17.
- ^ Rowledge 1975, p. 23.
- ^ Hughes 1979, p. 35.
- ^ Hughes 1990, p. 84.
- ^ Hughes 1996, p. 87.
- ^ a b c Hughes 1979, p. 32.
- ^ Hughes 1990, p. 78.
- ^ "Those people made a good locomotive", David A. Hamley, Trains Magazine, December, 1969.
- ^ Austro-Daimlers in EnglandFlight, 1 November 1913
- ^ [1]Flight, 6 November 1914, p. 1099
- ^ John R Hume & Michael S Moss Beardmore: the History of a Scottish Industrial Giant
- ^ C A N May Shelsey Walsh
- ^ Various entries for Beardmore in London Motor Show catalogues, 1919 – 1926
- ^ a b c Bill Munro London Taxis: a Full History
- ^ Milligan and Adams (1999). Albion of Scotstoun. Paisley: Albion Vehicle Preservation Trust.
- ^ a b c d e f g "James Caird Society – Beardmore". James Caird Society. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
- ^ "No. 34514". The London Gazette. 27 May 1938. pp. 3471–3472.
- ^ "Sir Ian MacGregor; Obituary" The Times (London, England) (14 April 1998): 21. InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Gale. Cheshire Libraries. 16 September 2007
Bibliography
- Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; ISBN 0-901115-73-8.
- ISBN 0-7153-5687-9.
- Hughes, Hugh (1979). Steam locomotives in India: Part 3 – Broad Gauge. The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-4-2.
- Hughes, Hugh (1990). Indian Locomotives: Part 1 – Broad Gauge 1853–1940. The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-8-5.
- Hughes, Hugh (1992). Indian Locomotives: Part 2 – Metre Gauge 1872–1940. The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-9-3.
- Hughes, Hugh (1996). Indian Locomotives: Part 4 – 1941–1990. The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9521655-1-1.
- Hume, John R; Moss, Michael S (1979). Beardmore: the History of a Scottish Industrial Giant. Heinemann. ISBN 0-435-32589-2.
- Hurst, K. A. (2003). William Beardmore: Transport is the Thing. NMSE Publishing. ISBN 1-901663-53-1.
- Johnston, Ian (1993). Beardmore Built: The Rise and Fall of a Clydeside Shipyard. Clydebank District Libraries & Museums Department. ISBN 0-906938-05-8.
- MacKay, Charles (2012). Beardmore Aviation 1913–1930. A.MacKay. ISBN 978-0-9573443-0-3.
- May, C.A.N. Shelsey Walsh G T Foulis.
- Munro, Bill (2011). London Taxis: a Full History. Earlswood Press. ISBN 978-0-9562308-2-9.
- Rowledge, JWP (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5.
- Thomas, R.D; Patterson, B (1998). Dreadnoughts in Camera 1905–1920. Sutton Publishing.
Further reading
- Johnston, Ian; Buxton, Ian (2013). The Battleship Builders – Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships (Hardback). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-027-6.