1901 Albion Model A1 8hp Twin-Cylinder Dog Cart

• Exported new to South Africa
• Known ownership history
• First UK registered in 2018
• Engine rebuilt
• Successfully completed four London to Brighton Runs

Once the largest commercial vehicle company in the British Empire, Albion was established in December 1899 in Finnieston Street, Glasgow by Arrol-Johnston émigrés Dr Thomas Blackwood Murray and Norman Fulton. The firm manufactured cars to begin with, concentrating on its commercial vehicle business from the end of 1913. Albion's motto 'Sure As The Sunrise', which reflected its reputation for dependability, inspired the distinctive design that featured on the radiator and badges of its many models. After its acquisition by Leyland in 1957, Albion's independence gradually diminished and by the mid-1990s the firm was making axles only. Today, the Biggar Albion Foundation, based in Lanarkshire, Scotland looks after The Albion Club and The Albion Archive.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the first Albion owed much to the Arrol-Johnston, being a similar tiller-steered dog cart powered by a horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder engine controlled by Murray's patented automatic governor. Mounted beneath the seat, the engine had bore/stroke dimensions of 4"x5" for a cubic capacity of 125.7ci (2,060cc) and was rated at 8hp by its maker. Drive was by a single chain and there were solid tyres, while centralised lubrication, operated by the driver while the vehicle was in motion, was a particularly advanced feature. Within a year or so, Albion had put a van body on one of its dog carts, thereby taking the first step towards its ultimate success as a commercial vehicle manufacturer.

By July 1903, Albion had completed getting on for 160 of its 8hp and 10hp models, despite a modest workforce of only seven employees. At around the same time the company relocated to Scotstoun in western Glasgow where it would remain until commercial vehicle production ceased in 1972. For the 1905 season these relatively crude dog carts were replaced with a more conventional front-engined motor car, albeit still a twin-cylinder design, while the range expanded to include a larger 24hp four-cylinder touring car and a smaller 15hp four. The commercial vehicles side of the business continued to develop and by 1912 only some 25% of Albion production was passenger cars. The decision was taken to concentrate on commercials thereafter, and Albion's last passenger car left the factory in November 1913.

Between 1900 and 1904 Albion built 58 dog carts, only seven of which are known to survive worldwide. This example is the tenth vehicle built in the original Finnieston Street works in Glasgow; it was ordered on 25th September 1901 and shipped to South Africa the following November. Spicer, Langley & Co of Long Street, Cape Town established one of the first motor agencies in South Africa with their Albion franchise, and were responsible for the importation of this vehicle to South Africa.

It is almost certainly the first Albion product to be exported to Africa and was ordered by a well known judge then living in Pietermaritzburg. After many years of trouble-free operation, the dog cart found its way to Johannesburg, having been purchased by Mr Charles Whitehead of the Albion dealership in that city. By then the car was a non-runner, but it was tidied up for display at the Albion Motors depot in Selby for the celebrations marking 50 years of continuous manufacture in 1950. It was then offered to Mr Blackwood Murray by Mr Barry Whitehead, the son of Charles Whitehead, who had decided to dispose of it. Eventually the dog cart was sold to Mr Robert Blackwood Murray, the grandson of the man who designed and built it.

When Mr Murray acquired this Albion dog cart it was totally original but had been a non-runner since last used in 1937; it was, however, substantially complete and Mr Murray spent five years restoring it to original condition. The Albion was passed down to the great grandchildren, Georgina Shield and James Blackwood Murray, who brought it back from Africa to the UK in 2012. The dog cart was first registered with the DVLA in 2018 as 'BS 8677'.

The present owner purchased the Albion from the Blackwood Murray Estate in 2018. The dog cart was in its present condition, as restored in the 1960s by Robert Blackwood Murray, still retaining its original factory coachwork and wooden wheels. Since then the engine has been rebuilt with new piston rings, white-metal bearings, valves and guides, Tufnol drive gear, differential gears, green grip-cone clutch, and solid tyres. A modern carburettor has been fitted to improve performance, as has Lumenition electronic ignition. The low tension ignition system is in perfect working condition and both systems can be used at the same time or alternately. (The original carburettor is supplied with the car.)

This delightful little Albion dog cart has successfully completed four London to Brighton Veteran Car Runs with two or four persons on board. According to the vendor, hills are not a problem for this 8hp flat twin, as in 2019 it towed another Veteran with two persons aboard from Gatwick to the finish at Brighton, a distance of some 35 miles out of the Run's total of 60 miles!