Lacre Motor Car Co
The Lacre Motor Car Co produced commercial vehicles from 1904. The name is a contraction of its location at Long Acre
1902 The company was formed in Long Acre, Covent Garden, London to produce cars. This thoroughfare was known as the street of cars
1904 Produced a 25 cwt 16 hp van
1904 December. Details of the electric brougham.[1]
1905 Agents for the Albion Motor Co.[2]
1906 F. Goodchild employed
1907 Harry Dew is chief tester.[3]
1910 Moved to new factory at Letchworth, Herts where a range from 10cwt to 10ton payloads was produced
1910 Launched a range from a 12-seater charabanc to a 3 ton chassis for double-deckers.
1913-1917 For a list of the models and prices of Petrol Motor Commercial Vehicles see the 1917 Red Book
WW1 Some vehicles were used in France
1914 Patent. 18514. Lacre Motor Car Co and J. S. Drewry: Apparatus for proportioning, vaporizing, and carburetting fuel for internal-combustion engines.[4]
Post WWI The company produced road sweepers
1919 The O model with a 2-3ton payload chassis and a 30hp engine produced and continued until 1935
1921 A 30/35 cwt model appeared
1922 James Sidney Drewry and Harry Shelvoke left to set up Shelvoke and Drewry
1922 The 4 ton Colonial type or N model was produced
The company also made three-wheel roadsweepers using a Dorman engine
1928 The company was wound up but was then relaunched as Lacre Lorries Ltd with new works at Welwyn Garden City.
WWI The factory was taken over by the Ministry of Aircraft Production
1947 Road sweeper production re-started
1952 Supplied road sweeper bodies for the Bedford chassis
Buses
1913 Crosville had a Lacre charabanc and bought some bus body examples. Later they had 10 Lacres in their fleet.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Autocar 1904/12/31
- ↑ The Automobile Vol. III. Edited by Paul N. Hasluck and published by Cassell and Co in 1906
- ↑ Cambridge Independent Press - Friday 15 February 1907
- ↑ Coventry Herald - Saturday 29 August 1914
- British Lorries 1900-1992 by S. W. Stevens-Stratten. Pub. Ian Allen Publishing
- Buses and Trolleybuses before 1919 by David Kaye. Published 1972
- Ian Allan - British Buses Since 1900 - Aldridge and Morris