Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors

Rolls-Royce

and

Bentley Motors

This article is about the company prior to its acquisition by Volkswagen. For the current car manufacturers, see Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Bentley. For other uses, see Rolls-Royce (disambiguation).

Rolls-Royce Motors

The Rolls-Royce logo
Former type	Private
Industry	Automotive
Fate	Sold to Volkswagen Group
Successor	Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited
Founded	1973
Defunct	1998; 19 years ago
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Automobiles
Net income	120 million (2008 est.)
Owner	Vickers plc

Rolls-Royce Motors was a British car manufacturer, created in 1973 during the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce automotive business from the nationalisedRolls-Royce Limited. Vickers acquired the company in 1980 and sold it to Volkswagen in 1998.

History

The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine. In 1973, the British government sold the Rolls-Royce car business to allow nationalised parent Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited to concentrate on jet engine manufacture.

In 1980, Rolls-Royce Motors was acquired by Vickers.

Sale to Volkswagen

In 1998, Vickers plc decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. The leading contender seemed to be BMW, who already supplied internal combustion engines and other components for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. Their final offer of £340m was outbid by Volkswagen Group, who offered £430m.

As part of the deal, Volkswagen Group acquired the historic Crewe factory, plus the rights to the “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot and the shape of the radiator grille. However, the Rolls-Royce brand name and logo were controlled by aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce plc, and not Rolls-Royce Motors. The aero-engine maker decided to license the Rolls-Royce name and logo to BMW and not to Volkswagen, largely because the aero-engine maker had recently shared joint business ventures with BMW. BMW paid £40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and “RR” logo, a deal that many commentators thought was a bargain for possibly the most valuable property in the deal. Volkswagen Group had the rights to the mascot and grille but lacked rights to the Rolls-Royce name in order to build the cars, likewise BMW had the name but lacked rights to the grille and mascot.

The situation was tilted in BMW’s favour, as they could withdraw their engine supply with just 12 months notice, which was insufficient time for VW to re-engineer the Rolls-Royce cars to use VW’s own engines. Volkswagen claimed that it only really wanted Bentley anyway as it was the higher volume brand, with Bentley models out-selling the equivalent Rolls Royce by around two to one.

Loss of Rolls-Royce marque

After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen Group arrived at a solution. From 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines for the cars and would allow Volkswagen use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo. On 1 January 2003, only BMW would be able to name cars “Rolls-Royce”, and Volkswagen Group’s former Rolls-Royce/Bentley division would build only cars called “Bentley”. The last Rolls-Royce from the Crewe factory, the Corniche, ceased production in 2002, at which time the Crewe factory became Bentley Motors Limited, and Rolls-Royce production was relocated to a new entity in Goodwood, England known as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Despite losing control of the Rolls-Royce marque to BMW, however, the former Rolls-Royce/Bentley subsidiary retains historical Rolls-Royce car assets such as the Crewe factory and

L Series V8 engine.

Cars

1965–80 Silver Shadow—the first Rolls-Royce with a monocoque chassis; started with a 6.23 L V8 engine, later expanded to 6.75 L; shared its design with the

1970 Bentley T series 1 with chrome bumpers

 Bentley T-series

1992 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Landaulette

1968–91 Phantom VI

Second-generation Rolls-Royce Corniche

1971–96 Corniche I-IV

1975–86 Camargue styled by Paolo Martin with a Pininfarina body

1980–98 Silver Spirit/Silver Spur—design shared with the Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley models were produced mostly in parallel with the above cars. The Bentley Continental coupés (produced in various forms from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s) did not have Rolls-Royce equivalents. Very expensive Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines were also produced.

Volkswagen Group era

1999 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph

1998–2002 Silver Seraph—This shared its design with the

 

Bentley Arnage, which sold in much greater numbers.

2000–02 Corniche V—This two-door convertible shared its design with the

Bentley Azure and was the most expensive Rolls-Royce until the introduction of the 2003 Phantom.

Bentley

For other uses, see Bentley (disambiguation).

Bentley Motors Limited

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Engineering Manufacturing Distribution
Fate	Acquired by Rolls-Royce Limited (1931) Acquired by Vickers plc (1980) Acquired by Volkswagen Group (1998)
Founded	18 January 1919; 98 years ago
Founder	H. M. Bentley W. O. Bentley
Headquarters	Crewe, England, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Wolfgang Dürheimer Chairman, CEO John Paul Gregory (Head of Exterior Design) Darren Day (Head of Interior Design)
Products	Continental Flying Spur Continental GT Bentayga Mulsanne
Production output	9,107 vehicles (2012) 7,593 vehicles (2011)
Services	Automobile customisation
Revenue	€1,453 million (2012) €1,119 million (2011)
Profit	€8 million (2011) −€245 million (2010)
Number of employees	3,600 (2013)
Parent	Volkswagen Group
Website	bentleymotors.com
Footnotes / references

 Bentley winged “B” badge bonnet (hood) ornament

Bentley Motors Limited (/ˈbɛntli/) is a British manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs—and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG since 1998.

Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London—and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 2003.

Prominent models extend from the

historic sports-racing Bentley 4½ Litre and

1930 Bentley Speed Six; the more recent

1953 Bentley R Type Continental,

Bentley Turbo R, and

2001 Bentley Arnage Red Label

Bentley Arnage; to its current model line—including the

2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed

Continental Flying Spur,

2012 Bentley Continental GT (II)

Continental GT,

2016 Bentley Bentayga and the

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Mulsanne—which are marketed worldwide, with China as its largest market as of November 2012.

Today most Bentleys are assembled at the company’s Crewe factory, with a small number assembled at Volkswagen’s Dresden factory, Germany, and with bodies for the Continental manufactured in Zwickau and for the Bentayga manufactured at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.

The joining and eventual separation of Bentley and Rolls-Royce followed a series of mergers and acquisitions, beginning with the 1931 purchase by Rolls-Royce of Bentley, then in receivership. In 1971, Rolls-Royce itself was forced into receivership and the UK government nationalised the company—splitting into two companies the aerospace division (Rolls-Royce Plc) and automotive (Rolls-Royce Motors Limited) divisions—the latter retaining the Bentley subdivision. Rolls-Royce Motors was subsequently sold to engineering conglomerate, Vickers and in 1998, Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG.

Intellectual property rights to both the name Rolls-Royce as well as the company’s logo had been retained not by Rolls-Royce Motors, but by aerospace company, Rolls-Royce Plc, which had continued to license both to the automotive division. Thus the sale of “Rolls-Royce” to VW included the Bentley name and logos, vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks (subsequently sold to BMW by VW)—but not the rights to the Rolls-Royce name or logo. The aerospace company, Rolls-Royce Plc, ultimately sold both to BMW AG.

Cricklewood

Before World War I, Walter Owen Bentley and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, sold French DFP cars in Cricklewood, North London, but W.O, as Walter was known, always wanted to design and build his own cars. At the DFP factory, in 1913, he noticed an aluminium paperweight and thought that aluminium might be a suitable replacement for cast iron to fabricate lighter pistons. The first Bentley aluminium pistons were fitted to Sopwith Camel aero engines during World War I.

In August 1919, W.O. registered Bentley Motors Ltd. and in October he exhibited a car chassis, with dummy engine, at the London Motor Show. Ex–Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop designed an innovative four valves per cylinder engine for the chassis. By December the engine was built and running. Delivery of the first cars was scheduled for June 1920, but development took longer than estimated so the date was extended to September 1921. The durability of the first Bentley cars earned widespread acclaim and they competed in hill climbs and raced at Brooklands.

Bentley’s first major event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500, a race dominated by specialized cars with Duesenberg racing chassis. They entered a modified road car driven by works driver, Douglas Hawkes, accompanied by riding mechanic, H. S. “Bertie” Browning. Hawkes completed the full 500 miles and finished 13th with an average speed of 74.95 mph after starting in 19th position. The team was then rushed back to England to compete in the 1922 RAC Tourist Trophy.

Captain Woolf Barnato

In an ironic reference to his heavyweight boxer‘s stature, Captain Woolf Barnato was nicknamed “Babe“. In 1925, he acquired his first Bentley, a 3-litre. With this car he won numerous Brooklands races. Just a year later he acquired the Bentley business itself.

The Bentley enterprise was always underfunded, but inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank Clement, Barnato agreed to finance Bentley’s business. Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922, which existed as his finance and investment vehicle. Via Baromans, Barnato initially invested in excess of £100,000, saving the business and its workforce. A financial reorganisation of the original Bentley company was carried out and all existing creditors paid off for £75,000. Existing shares were devalued from £1 each to just 1 shilling, or 5% or their original value. Barnato held 149,500 of the new shares giving him control of the company and he became chairman. Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929. With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was able to design another generation of cars.

The Bentley Boys

Main articles: Bentley Boys and Blue Train Races

 1929 Blower Bentley

The Bentley Boys were a group of British motoring enthusiasts that included Barnato, Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, steeple chaser George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, automotive journalist S.C.H. “Sammy” Davis, and Dudley Benjafield. The Bentley Boys favoured Bentley cars. Many were independently wealthy and many had a military background. They kept the marque’s reputation for high performance alive; Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930.

In 1929, Birkin developed the 4½-litre, lightweight Blower Bentley at Welwyn Garden City and produced five racing specials, starting with Bentley Blower No.1 which was optimised for the Brooklands racing circuit. Birkin overruled Bentley and put the model on the market before it was fully developed. As a result, it was unreliable.

In March 1930, during the Blue Train Races, Barnato raised the stakes on Rover and its Rover Light Six, having raced and beaten Le Train Bleu for the first time, to better that record with his 6½-litre Bentley Speed Six on a bet of £100. He drove against the train from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover, and finally London, travelling on public highways, and won.

Barnato drove his H.J. Mulliner–bodied formal saloon in the race against the Blue Train. Two months later, on 21 May 1930, he took delivery of a Speed Six with streamlined fastback “sportsman coupé” by Gurney Nutting. Both cars became known as the “Blue Train Bentleys“; the latter is regularly mistaken for, or erroneously referred to as being, the car that raced the Blue Train, while in fact Barnato named it in memory of his race. A painting by Terence Cuneo depicts the Gurney Nutting coupé racing along a road parallel to the Blue Train, which scenario never occurred as the road and railway did not follow the same route.

Cricklewood Bentleys

 

Bentley 8 Litre 4-door sports saloon

1924 Bentley 3-litre Sports Tourer by Park Ward 1921–1929 3-litre

1926–1930 4½-litre & “Blower Bentley”

1930 Bentley Speed Six tourer with original body by coachbuilder Hooper 1926–1930 6½-litre

1930 Speed Six Mulliner drophead coupé 1930 1928–1930 6½-litre Speed Six

1930 Bentley 8 Litre limousine by Mulliner 1930–1931 8-litre

1931 Bentley 4 Litre Supercharged Blower Two Seater Sports Vanden Plas 1931 4-litre

The original model was the three-litre, but as customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, a larger 4½-litre model followed. Perhaps the most iconic model of the period is the 4½-litre “Blower Bentley”, with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley it was not the racing workhorse the 6½-litre was, though in 1930 Birkin remarkably finished second in the French Grand Prix at Pau in a stripped-down racing version of the Blower Bentley, behind Philippe Etancelin in

a Bugatti Type 35.

The 4½-litre model later became famous in popular media as the vehicle of choice of James Bond in the original novels, but this has been seen only briefly in the films. John Steed in the television series The Avengers also drove a Bentley.

The new eight-litre was such a success that when Barnato’s money seemed to run out in 1931 and Napier was planning to buy Bentley’s business, Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley Motors to prevent it from competing with their most expensive model, the Phantom II.

Performance at Le Mans

 Bentley Speed Six

24 hours of Le Mans Grand Prix d’Endurance

• 1923 4th (private entry) (3-Litre)
• 1924 1st (3-Litre)
• 1925 did not finish
• 1926 did not finish
• 1927 1st 15th 17th (3-Litre)
• 1928 1st 5th (4½-litre)
• 1929 1st (Speed Six); 2nd 3rd 4th: (4½-litre)
• 1930 1st 2nd (Speed Six)

Bentley withdrew from motor racing just after winning at Le Mans in 1930, claiming that they had learned enough about speed and reliability.

Liquidation

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression throttled the demand for Bentley’s expensive motor cars. In July 1931, two mortgage payments were due which neither the company nor Barnato, the guarantor, were able to meet. On 10 July 1931 a receiver was appointed.

Napier offered to buy Bentley with the purchase to be final in November 1931. Instead, British Central Equitable Trust made a winning sealed bid of £125,000. British Central Equitable Trust later proved to be a front for Rolls-Royce Limited. Not even Bentley himself knew the identity of the purchaser until the deal was completed.

Barnato received £42,000 for his shares in Bentley Motors. In 1934 he was appointed to the board of the new Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. In the same year Bentley confirmed that it would continue racing.

Derby and Rolls-Royce

 “The silent sports car”
1935 3½-litre cabriolet by unknown coachbuilder

Rolls-Royce took over the assets of Bentley Motors (1919) Ltd and formed a subsidiary, Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. Rolls-Royce had acquired the Bentley showrooms in Cork Street, the service station at Kingsbury, the complex at Cricklewood and the services of Bentley himself. This last was disputed by Napier in court without success. Bentley had neglected to register their trademark so Rolls-Royce immediately did so. They also sold the Cricklewood factory in 1932. Production stopped for two years, before resuming at the Rolls-Royce works in Derby. Unhappy with his role at Rolls-Royce, when his contract expired at the end of April 1935 W. O. Bentley left to join Lagonda.

When the new Bentley 3½ litre appeared in 1933, it was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25, which disappointed some traditional customers yet was well received by many others. W. O. Bentley was reported as saying, “Taking all things into consideration, I would rather own this Bentley than any other car produced under that name”. Rolls-Royce’s advertisements for the  3 ¹⁄₂ Litre called it “the silent sports car”, a slogan Rolls-Royce continued to use for Bentley cars until the 1950s.

All Bentleys produced from 1931 to 2004 used inherited or shared Rolls-Royce chassis, and adapted Rolls-Royce engines, and are described by critics as badge-engineered Rolls-Royces.

Derby Bentleys

1935 Bentley 3½ sedan Park Ward body 1933–1937 3½-litre

1936 Bentley 4¼-litre 4-door sports saloon 1936–1939 4¼-litre

Bentley Mark V B-24-AW 1939–1941 Mark V

1939 Mark V

Crewe and Rolls-Royce

In preparation for war, Rolls-Royce and the British Government searched for a location for a shadow factory to ensure production of aero-engines. Crewe, with its excellent road and rail links, as well as being located in the northwest away from the aerial bombing starting in mainland Europe, was a logical choice. Crewe also had extensive open farming land. Construction of the factory started on a 60-acre area on the potato fields of Merrill’s Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine rolling off the production line five months later. 25,000 Merlin engines were produced and at its peak, in 1943 during World War II, the factory employed 10,000 people. With the war in Europe over and the general move towards the then new jet engines, Rolls-Royce concentrated its aero engine operations at Derby and moved motor car operations to Crewe.

Standard Steel saloons

Bentley Mark VI standard steel saloon, the first Bentley supplied by Rolls-Royce with a standard all-steel body.

Until some time after World War II, most high-end motorcar manufacturers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce did not supply complete cars. They sold rolling chassis, near-complete from the instrument panel forward. Each chassis was delivered to the coach builder of the buyer’s choice. The biggest specialist car dealerships had coachbuilders build standard designs for them which were held in stock awaiting potential buyers.

 The assembled pressings from Pressed Steel

To meet post-war demand, particularly UK Government pressure to export and earn overseas currency, Rolls-Royce developed an all steel body using pressings made by Pressed Steel to create a “standard” ready-to-drive complete saloon car. The first steel-bodied model produced was the Bentley Mark VI: these started to emerge from the newly reconfigured Crewe factory early in 1946. Some years later, initially only for export, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn was introduced, a standard steel Bentley but with a Rolls-Royce radiator grille for a small extra charge, and this convention continued.

Chassis remained available to coachbuilders until the end of production of the Bentley S3, which was replaced for October 1965 by the chassis-less monocoque construction T series.

Bentley Continental

 Bentley Continental, fastback coupé body by H J Mulliner

The Continental fastback coupé was aimed at the UK market, most cars, 164 plus a prototype, being right-hand drive. The chassis was produced at the Crewe factory and shared many components with the standard R type. Other than the R-Type standard steel saloon, R-Type Continentals were delivered as rolling chassis to the coachbuilder of choice. Coachwork for most of these cars was completed by H. J. Mulliner & Co. who mainly built them in fastback coupe form. Other coachwork came from Park Ward (London) who built six, later including a drophead coupe version. Franay (Paris) built five, Graber (Wichtrach, Switzerland) built three, one of them later altered by Köng (Basel, Switzerland), and Pininfarina made one. James Young (London) built in 1954 a Sports Saloon for the owner of James Young’s, James Barclay.

The early R Type Continental has essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but with modified carburation, induction and exhaust manifolds along with higher gear ratios. After July 1954 the car was fitted with an engine, having now a larger bore of 94.62 mm (3.7 in) with a total displacement of 4,887 cc (4.9 L; 298.2 cu in). The compression ratio was raised to 7.25:1.

Crewe Rolls-Royce Bentleys

• Bentleys made by Rolls-Royce Ltd. in Crewe
• 

  “The silent sports car”
  1952 4¼-litre 2-door by H J Mulliner

• 

  Bentley S-series Standard Saloon

• 

  Bentley T-series Standard Saloon (l.w.b.)

  Standard-steel saloon

• 1947 Bentley Mark VI early production (DVLA) first registered 28 October 1947, 4257ccBentley Mark VI early production (DVLA) first registered 28 October 1947, 4257cc
•  1946–52 Mark VI
• 1953 Bentley Mark VII R-Type standard steel saloon 1952–55 R Type Continental
• 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental HJ Mulliner Sports Saloon – chassis BC2LC 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental HJ Mulliner Sports Saloon – chassis BC2LC 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental HJ Mulliner Sports Saloon – chassis BC2LC 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental HJ Mulliner Sports Saloon – chassis BC2LC 
•  1952–55 R Type Continental
• S-series
•  Bentley S1 1955–59 S1 and
• 1957 Bentley S1 Continental, #BC27CH, Park Ward coupé (DVL) first registered 18 June 1957, 4887cc Continental
• 
  Bentley S2
• 
  
• Bentley Continental S2
•  1959–62 S2 and Continental
• Bentley S3
• 
• Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur by HJ Mulliner 1962–65 S3 and Continental
• T-series
• 
• 1967 Bentley T1 Coupé 1965–77 T1
• 
•  1977 Bentley T2 1977–80 T2
• 1971–84 Corniche
• 1975–86 Camargue

Crewe and Vickers

 The Bentley logo on a 1998 White Bentley Arnage

The problems of Bentley’s owner with Rolls-Royce aero engine development, the RB211, brought about the financial collapse of its business in 1970.

The motorcar division was made a separate business, Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, which remained independent until bought by Vickers plc in August 1980. By the 1970s and early 1980s Bentley sales had fallen badly; at one point less than 5% of combined production carried the Bentley badge. Under Vickers, Bentley set about regaining its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne. Bentley’s restored sporting image created a renewed interest in the name and Bentley sales as a proportion of output began to rise. By 1986 the Bentley: Rolls-Royce ratio had reached 40:60; by 1991 it achieved parity.

Crewe Vickers Bentleys

 1984 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo

Bentley Brooklands

1984–95 Continental: convertible

1992–95 Continental Turbo

1980–92 Bentley Mulsanne

1986 Bentley Mulsanne L Limousine 1984–88 Mulsanne L: limousine

1984 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo

1982–85 Mulsanne Turbo

1987-92 Bentley Mulsanne S BRG 1987–92 Mulsanne S

1989 Bentley Eight front left 1984–92 Eight: basic model

1985–95 Turbo R: turbocharged performance version

1998 Bentley Continental R 1991–2002 Continental R: turbocharged 2-door model

Bentley Continental S (1994-95)

1994–95 Continental S: intercooled

Bentley Continental T 1996–2002 Continental T

2001 Bentley Continental R Mulliner 1999–2003 Continental R Mulliner: performance model

1992–98 Brooklands: improved Eight

1998 Bentley-Brooklands-R-Mulliner-Car-12-of-100-WCH66811-3 1996–98 Brooklands R: performance Brooklands

1995 Bentley Turbo-S-Car-10-of-75-SCH56810-3  1994–95 Turbo S: limited-edition sports model

1994–95 Continental S: to order only version of Continental R with features of Turbo S incorporated

1995–97 New Turbo R: updated 96MY Turbo R with revised bumpers, single front door glazing, new door mirrors, spare in trunk, engine cover, new seat design, auto lights, auto wipers etc.

 Bentley Azure Mark I

1995–2003 Azure: convertible Continental R

1996–2002 Continental T: short-wheelbase performance model

1997 Bentley Turbo RL P LWB

1997–98 Turbo RL: “new” Turbo R LWB (Long Wheel Base)

1997 Bentley Turbo RT Photographed in Norwich, England

1997–98 Bentley Turbo RT: replacement for the Turbo RL

 1998 Bentley Turbo RT Mulliner

1997–98 RT Mulliner: Ultra exclusive performance model

Volkswagen AG vs. BMW AG

In October 1997, Vickers announced that it had decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. BMW AG seemed to be a logical purchaser because BMW already supplied engines and other components for Bentley and Rolls-Royce branded cars and because of BMW and Vickers joint efforts in building aircraft engines. BMW made a final offer of £340m, but was outbid by Volkswagen AG, which offered £430m. Volkswagen AG acquired the vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks, but not the rights to the use of the Rolls-Royce name or logo, which are owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. In 1998, BMW started supplying components for the new range of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars—notably V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, however, the supply contract allowed BMW to terminate its supply deal with Rolls-Royce with 12 months’ notice, which would not be enough time for Volkswagen to re-engineer the cars.

 Bentley Azure Mulliner 2003 Final Series

BMW paid Rolls-Royce plc £40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and logo. After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen AG agreed that, from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines and components and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo. All BMW engine supply ended in 2003 with the end of Silver Seraph production.

From 1 January 2003 forward, Volkswagen AG would be the sole provider of cars with the “Bentley” marque. BMW established a new legal entity, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, and built a new administrative headquarters and production facility for Rolls-Royce branded vehicles in Goodwood, West Sussex, England.

Modern Bentleys

SC06 Three Modern Bentleys

The Bentley line-up from late 2000s (from left): Flying Spur, Continental GT, and Arnage

 Queen Elizabeth II‘s Bentley State Limousine

After acquiring the business, Volkswagen spent GBP 500 million (about US$845 million) to modernise the Crewe factory and increase production capacity. As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at Crewe, compared with about 1,500 in 1998 before being taken over by Volkswagen. It was reported that Volkswagen invested a total of nearly US$2 billion in Bentley and its revival. As a result of upgrading facilities at Crewe the bodywork now arrives fully painted at the Crewe facility for final assembly, with the parts coming from Germany—similarly Rolls-Royce body shells are painted and shipped to the UK for assembly only.

In 2002, Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. In 2003, Bentley’s two-door convertible, the Bentley Azure, ceased production, and Bentley introduced a second line, Bentley Continental GT, a large luxury coupé powered by a W12 engine built in Crewe.

Demand had been so great that the factory at Crewe was unable to meet orders despite an installed capacity of approximately 9,500 vehicles per year; there was a waiting list of over a year for new cars to be delivered. Consequently, part of the production of the new Flying Spur, a four-door version of the Continental GT, was assigned to the Transparent Factory (Germany), where the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car is also assembled. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the Crewe plant.

In April 2005, Bentley confirmed plans to produce a four-seat convertible model—the Azure, derived from the Arnage Drophead Coupé prototype—at Crewe beginning in 2006. By the autumn of 2005, the convertible version of the successful Continental GT, the Continental GTC, was also presented. These two models were successfully launched in late 2006.

A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed “GTZ“.

A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show: The Continental Supersports. This new Bentley is a supercar combining extreme power with environmentally friendly FlexFuel technology, capable of using petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol).

Bentley sales continued to increase, and in 2005 8,627 were sold worldwide, 3,654 in the United States. In 2007, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time with sales of 10,014. For 2007, a record profit of €155 million was also announced. Bentley reported a sale of about 7,600 units in 2008. However, its global sales plunged 50 percent to 4,616 vehicles in 2009 (with the U.S. deliveries dropped 49% to 1,433 vehicles) and it suffered an operating loss of €194 million, compared with an operating profit of €10 million in 2008. As a result of the slump in sales, production at Crewe was shut down during March and April 2009. Though vehicle sales increased by 11% to 5,117 in 2010, operating loss grew by 26% to €245 million. In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week.

Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of total sales. The current workforce is about 4,000 people.

The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results:

1998

2005

2011

Unsold cars: During the years 2011 and 2012 production exceeded deliveries by 1,187 cars which is estimated to have trebled inventory.

Car models, Crewe Volkswagen

Car models in production

2010–present: Mulsanne

2011–present: Continental GT (Gen 2)

2011–present: Continental GT Convertible (Gen 2)

2013–present: Flying Spur

2016–present: Bentayga

2018–????: Continental GT (Gen 3)

Former car models in production

1992-2011: Bentley Brooklands

1998-2003: Arnage

1995-2009: Azure

2003-2011: Continental GT

2005-2012: Continental Flying Spur

2006-2011: Continental GTC

2009-2009: Continental Supersports

2009-2009: Bentley Zagato GTZ

Former special edition car models in production

1999: Hunaudieres Concept

2002: State Limousine

My complete collection off pictures all from the World Wide Web:

This Bentley poster celebrates the mighty Bentley Speed sixes of the late 1920’s when the ‘Bentley Boys’ dominated endurance motor sport. In the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1930 they took first and second place, the winning car being driven by millionaire Captain Woolf Barnato with co-driver, the ‘born adventurer’ Glen Kidston, but sadly this was to be the company’s last year of racing. Financial problems prevented Bentley from competing in 1931 and after Rolls Royce purchased the remains of the company, the racing program was scrapped. Barnato retired from motor racing that year and Kidston, in 1931, died when his De Havilland Moth biplane broke up over Africa.

Bentley Barker 1935

Rolls-Royce 25/30 1936 Hearse. Converted in 1958 to a Hearse by Alpe and Saunders

http://www.autogaleria.hu –

Generated by Carsales Image Server on 07:43.44 17/08/2016

1991 Rolls Royce silver-black custom who knows

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Rolls-Royce Art Deco Ghost Extended Wheelbase Revealed

Bentley Hybrid Concept

The logo of a Bentley car is pictured during a press presentation prior to the Essen Motor Show in Essen November 30, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

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A logo of Rolls Royce is pictured on a car in Munich, May 16, 2012. REUTERS/Guido Krzikowski

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DCF 1.0

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Rolls-Royce Motorcars of Long Island Great Gatsby Party

The Rolls-Royce logo is seen on a wheel at the Rolls-Royce plant where the Phantom and Ghost models are manufactured in Goodwood near Chichester in south England May 10, 2011. REUTERS/Toby Melville

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Motorsport

A Bentley Continental GT3 entered by the M-Sport factory team won the Silverstone round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series. This was Bentley’s first official entry in a British race since the 1930 RAC Tourist Trophy.

References

1. Jump up^ Volkswagen AG 2012, p. 68.
2. Jump up^ Volkswagen AG 2012, p. 49.
3. Jump up^ “Bentley Motors Website: World of Bentley: Our Story: News: 2014: Wolfgang Dürheimer to become Bentley CEO”. Bentleymotors.com. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
4. Jump up^ https://www.bentleymedia.com/en/newsitem/654
5. Jump up^ http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/the-new-bentley-continental-gt-darren-day-head-of-interior-design-bentley-motors/vp-AAs6XKD
6. Jump up^ Volkswagen AG 2012, p. 102.
7. ^ Jump up to:^a b Volkswagen AG 2012a, p. 120.
8. Jump up^ “vwagfy2012”.
9. Jump up^ Volkswagen AG 2012a, p. 121.
10. Jump up^ Armistead, Louise (9 October 2013). “Video: behind the scenes at the Bentley factory”. The Daily Telegraph. London.
11. Jump up^ Volkswagen AG 2012, p. 19.
12. Jump up^ “Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Facts and Figures 2012” (PDF). volkswagenag.com. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. 11 June 2012. 1058.809.453.20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
13. Jump up^ “Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Annual Report 2011” (PDF). volkswagenag.com. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. 12 March 2012. 258.809.536.00. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
14. Jump up^ Armitstead, Louise (6 October 2013). “Monday Interview: Bentley boss on what’s driving demand for luxury British cars”. London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
15. Jump up^ Einhorn, Bruce (5 April 2012). “The Surge in China’s Auto Sales May Soon Slow”. Bloomberg Businessweek.
16. Jump up^ “BENTLEY: MADE IN GERMANY”. PistonHeads. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
17. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Georgano, Nick, ed. (1 October 2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (Hardcover, Reprint ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
18. Jump up^ “Bentley’s racing heritage”. The Telegraph. 5 October 2016.
19. ^ Jump up to:^a b Wagstaff, Ian (September 2010). “3: The Not-So-Roaring Twenties”. The British at Indianapolis=. Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing. pp. .26–27. ISBN 978-1-84584-246-8. Retrieved 11 October 2013. It was an event that was to prove a costly exercise for the Cricklewood-based company in sending both a professional driver and a mechanic with the car.
20. Jump up^ Davidson, Donald; Schaffer, Rick (2006). “Official Box Scores 1911–2006”. Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500. St. Paul, MN USA: MBI Publishing. p. 327. ISBN 1-905334-20-6. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
21. Jump up^ Davidson, Donald, Schaffer, Rick, Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500, page 60
22. Jump up^ Melissen, Wouter (12 January 2004). “Bentley Speed Six ‘Blue Train Special'”. UltimateCarPage. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
23. Jump up^ Burgess-Wise, David (1 January 2006). “The Slippery Shape of Power”. Auto Aficionado. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
24. Jump up^ “Bentley Motors To Give Up Racing”. Evening Telegraph. Angus, Scotland: British Newspaper Archive. 1 July 1930. Retrieved 23 July 2014. (Subscription required (help)).
25. Jump up^ “Receiver Appointed Of Bentley Motors Limited Re Bentley Motors Limited; London Life Association Limited v. Bentley Motors Limited, And Woolf Barnato”. The Times, Saturday, 11 July 1931; p. 4; Issue 45872
26. Jump up^ Feast, Richard (2004). “When Barnato bought Bentley”. The DNA of Bentley. St. Paul, MN: MotorBooks International. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-7603-1946-8. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
27. Jump up^ Finley, Ross (29 November 1985). “Luxury of the long-distance cruiser”. Glasgow Herald. p. 21. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
28. Jump up^ Feast, Richard, The DNA of Bentley, Chapter 5: “Togetherness: Rolls-Royce/Bentley”, p. 77
29. Jump up^ Stein, Ralph (1952). Sports Cars of the World. Scribner. p. 43. Retrieved 29 September 2013. These, known as “the silent sports car,” have been successfully marketed for almost twenty years now in various models.
30. Jump up^ Sewell, Brian (13 July 2004). “New Bentley is a drive in the wrong direction”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
31. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d Crewe’s Rolls-Royce Factory From Old Photographs by Peter Ollerhead and Tony Flood, republished electronically 2013 by Amberley Publishing of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
32. Jump up^ Pugh 2000, pp. 192-198.
33. Jump up^ “Bentley Crewe History 1914 – 2006”. Jack Barclay. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
34. Jump up^ Ollerhead, P. (2013). Crewe’s Rolls-Royce Factory From Old Photographs. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445627649. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
35. Jump up^ “Used Car test: Bentley Continental”. Autocar. 130 (3824): 47–48. 29 May 1969.
36. ^ Jump up to:^a b Cremer, Andreas (24 June 2010). “Volkswagen Said to Shuffle Porsche, Bentley Managers”. BusinessWeek. Retrieved 25 June2010.
37. Jump up^ Gillies, Mark (10 May 2010). “Going Back in Time at the Bentley Factory”. Car and Driver blog. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
38. Jump up^ Edmondson, Gail (6 December 2004). “VW Steals A Lead In Luxury”. BusinessWeek. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
39. Jump up^ Garlick. “Bentley reports record profit”. Retrieved 18 March2008.
40. Jump up^ Reiter, Chris; Ramsey, Mike (15 December 2009). “Daimler Maybach Fails to Dent Rolls, Bentley Super-Luxury Lead”. Bloomberg.
41. Jump up^ Cremer, Andreas (14 January 2010). “Volkswagen’s Bentley Targets U.S. Growth With Mulsanne Sedan”. BusinessWeek. Retrieved 25 June 2010.^{[dead link]}
42. Jump up^ Massey, Ray (23 January 2009). “Bentley announces seven-week production shutdown while Jaguar chief calls for Government aid”. Daily Mail. London.
43. Jump up^ “Volkswagen AG 2010 Annual Report”. Annualreport2010.volkswagenag.com. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
44. Jump up^ Cooke, Rhiannon (24 October 2010). “Bentley protests continue in Crewe over changes to working hours”. Crewe Chronicle.
45. Jump up^ Rauwald, Christopher (4 January 2012). “Bentley Mulls Its Own SV”. The Wall Street Journal. p. B3.
46. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Volkswagen AG 2012 Annual Report”. Annualreport2012.volkswagenag.com. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
47. Jump up^ Ramsey, Jonathon (2009). “First Bentley Zagato GTZ available at $1.7M”. autoblog.com. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
48. Jump up^ Burt, Matt (25 May 2014). “New Bentley Continental GT3 claims inaugural victory at Silverstone”. Autocar. Haymarket Group. Retrieved 26 May 2014.

See also

Bentley

Rolls-Royce Limited

Luxury vehicle

Brewster

Further reading

Richard Feast, Kidnap of the Flying Lady: How Germany Captured Both Rolls Royce and Bentley, Motorbooks, ISBN0-7603-1686-4

External links

Rolls-Royce vehicles.

Video (RT 05:02) Showcasing 1988 Silver Spur.

ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY

Armstrong Siddeley Motor Cars and Aircraft engines 1919-1960

Armstrong Siddeley

Industry	Motor cars Aircraft enginesLight engineering
Fate	Merged with Hawker Aircraft(1935) Merged with Bristol Aero Engines (1960) became Bristol Siddeley Merged with Rolls-Royce(1966)
Successor	Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Ltd
Founded	1919
Defunct	1960
Headquarters	Coventry, England
Key people	John Davenport Siddeley
Parent	Armstrong Whitworth (1919–27)
Subsidiaries	Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft(1927–35)

Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines.

The company was created following the purchase by Armstrong Whitworth of Siddeley-Deasy, a manufacturer of fine motor cars, that were marketed to the top echelon of society. After the merge of companies this focus on quality continued throughout in the production of cars, aircraft engines, gearboxes for tanks and buses, rocket and torpedo motors, and the development of railcars. Company mergers and takeovers with Hawker Aviation and Bristol Aero Engines saw the continuation of the car production but the production of cars ceased in August 1960.

The company was absorbed into the Rolls-Royce conglomerate who were interested in the aircraft and aircraft engine business. Eventually the remaining spares and all motor car interests were sold to the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Ltd, who now own the patents, designs, copyrights and trademarks, including the name Armstrong Siddeley.

History

Siddeley Autocars

Siddeley Autocars, of Coventry, was founded by John Davenport Siddeley (1866–1953) in 1902. Its products were heavily based on Peugeots, using many of their parts but fitted with English-built bodies. This company merged with Wolseley in 1905 and made stately Wolseley-Siddeley motorcars. They were used by Queen Alexandra and the Duke of York later King George V.

Siddeley-Deasy

1913 Siddeley Deasy

Main article: Siddeley-Deasy

In 1909 J. D. Siddeley resigned from Wolseley and took over the Deasy Motor Company, and the company became known as Siddeley-Deasy. In 1912, the cars used the slogan “As silent as the Sphinx” and started to sport a Sphinx as a bonnet ornament, a symbol that became synonymous with descendent companies. During the Second World War the company produced trucks, ambulances, and staff cars. In 1915 airframes and aero-engines started to be produced as well.

1919 armstrong siddeley

Armstrong Siddeley

 

Armstrong Siddeley 30HP Landaulette advert 1921 1921 5-litre 30hp Landaulette Advert

Coupé utility for the postwar export drive

In April 1919 Siddeley-Deasy was bought out by Armstrong Whitworth Development Company of Newcastle upon Tyne and in May 1919 became Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd, a subsidiary with J. D. Siddeley as managing director. In 1927, Armstrong Whitworth merged its heavy engineering interests with Vickers to form Vickers-Armstrongs. At this point, J. D. Siddeley bought Armstrong Siddeley and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft into his control. In 1928, Armstrong Siddeley Holdings bought

Avro from Crossley Motors. Also that year Siddeley partnered with Walter Gordon Wilson, inventor of the pre-selector gearbox, to create Improved Gears Ltd, which later became Self-Changing Gears – the gearbox that should be credited with enabling the marketing tagline “Cars for the daughters of gentlemen”.

Armstrong Siddeley manufactured luxury cars, aircraft engines, and later, aircraft. In 1935, J. D. Siddeley’s interests were purchased for £2 million by Tommy Sopwith owner of Hawker Aircraft to form – along with the Gloster Aircraft Company and Air Training Services – Hawker Siddeley, a famous name in British aircraft production. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft became a subsidiary of Hawker. The aviation pioneer Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith– Tommy, later Sir Thomas, Sopwith – became chairman of Armstrong Siddeley Motors, a Hawker Siddeley subsidiary.

Armstrong Siddeley was merged with the aircraft engine business of Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol Aero Engines) to form Bristol Siddeley as part of an ongoing rationalisation under government influence of the British aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturers. Armstrong Siddeley produced their last cars in 1960. Bristol Siddeley and Rolls-Royce merged in 1966, the latter subsuming the former which remained for a while as an aircraft engine division within Rolls-Royce.

In June 1972, Rolls-Royce (1972) Ltd sold all the stock of spares plus all patents, specifications, drawings, catalogues and the name of Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd to the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Ltd. This meant that “Armstrong Siddeley” and “A-S Sphinx Logo” are trademarks and copyright of the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Ltd.

The “Siddeley” name survived a while longer in aviation; in Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Hawker Siddeley Dynamics before they joined with others to become British Aerospace (BAe) which with further mergers is now BAE Systems.

Products

Motor cars

The first car produced from the union was a fairly massive machine, a 5-litre 30 hp. A smaller 18 hp appeared in 1922 and a 2-litre 14 hp was introduced in 1923. 1928 saw the company’s first 15 hp six; 1929 saw the introduction of a 12 hp vehicle. This was a pioneering year for the marque, during which it first offered the Wilson preselector gearbox as an optional extra; it became standard issue on all cars from 1933. In 1930 the company marketed four models, of 12, 15, 20, and 30 hp, the last costing £1450.

The company’s rather staid image was endorsed during the 1930s by the introduction of a range of six-cylinder cars with ohv engines, though a four-cylinder 12 hp was kept in production until 1936. In 1933, the 5-litre six-cylinder Siddeley Special was announced, featuring a Hiduminium aluminium alloy engine; this model cost £950. Car production continued at a reduced rate throughout 1940, and a few were assembled in 1941.

The week that World War II ended in Europe, Armstrong Siddeley introduced its first post-war models; these were the Lancaster four-door saloon and the Hurricane drophead coupe. The names of these models echoed the names of aircraft produced by the Hawker Siddeley Group (the name adopted by the company in 1935) during the war. These cars all used a 2-litre six-cylinder (16 hp) engines, increased to 2.3-litre (18 hp) engines in 1949. From 1949 to 1952 two commercial variants of the 18 hp cars were produced, primarily for export. The Utility Coupé was a conventional coupe utility style vehicle, while the Station Coupé was effectively a dual cab vehicle, although it still retained only two doors. However, it did have two rows of seating to accommodate up to four adults. From 1953 the company produced the Sapphire, with a 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine.

In 1956, the model range was expanded with the addition of the 234 (a 2.3-litre four-cylinder) and the 236 (with the older 2.3-litre six-cylinder engine). The Sapphire 346 sported a bonnet mascot in the shape of a Sphinx with namesakeArmstrong Siddeley Sapphire jet engines attached. The 234 and 236 Sapphires might have looked to some of marque’s loyal customers like a radical departure from the traditional Armstrong Siddeley appearance. However, in truth, they were simply too conservative in a period of rapidly developing automotive design. If the “baby Sapphire” brought about the beginning of the end for Armstrong Siddeley, it was because Jaguar had launched the unitary-construction 2.4 saloon in 1955, which was quicker, significantly cheaper, and much better-looking than the lumpy and frumpy 234/236 design.

The last model produced by Armstrong Siddeley was 1958’s Star Sapphire, with a 4-litre engine, and automatic transmission. The Armstrong Siddeley was a casualty of the 1960 merger with Bristol; the last car left the Coventry factory in 1960.

Model list

Cars produced by Armstrong Siddeley had designations that came from the Tax horsepower rating of their engines.

1947 Lancaster six-light saloon1949 Whitley four-light sports saloon

1950 Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon Typhoon fixed head coupé

1947 Armstrong Siddeley (DVLA) 2300cc

Hurricane drophead coupé

Model name	Type	Engine	From	To	No. produced
Thirty	Various	4960 cc	1919	1931	2770
Eighteen	Various	2400 cc	1921	1925	2500 inc 18/50
18/50 or 18 Mk.II	Various	2872 cc	1925	1926	2500 inc Eighteen
Four-Fourteen	Various	1852 cc	1923	1929	13,365
Twenty	Short and Long chassis	2872 cc	1926	1936	8847
Fifteen	Tourer, saloon	1900 cc	1927	1929	7203 inc 15/6
Twelve	Tourer, saloon, sports	1236 (1434 cc from 1931)	1929	1937	12500
15/6	Tourer, saloon, sports	1900 cc (2169 cc from 1933)	1928	1934	7206 inc Fifteen
Siddeley Special	Tourer, saloon, limousine	4960 cc	1933	1937	253
Short 17	Coupe, saloon, sports saloon	2394 cc	1935	1938	4260 inc Long 17
Long 17	Saloon, tourer, Atalanta sports saloon, Limousine, landaulette	2394 cc	1935	1939	4260 inc Short 17
12 Plus & 14	Saloon, tourer	1666 cc	1936	1939	3750
20/25	Saloon, tourer, Atlanta sports saloonLimousine, landaulette	3670 cc	1936	1940	884
16	Saloon, Sports saloon	1991 cc	1938	1941	950
Lancaster 16	4-door saloon	1991 cc	1945	1952	3597 inc Lancaster 18.
Lancaster 18	4-door saloon	2309 cc	1945	1952	3597 inc. Lancaster 16.
Hurricane 16	Drophead coupé	1991 cc	1945	1953	2606 inc Hurricane 18.
Hurricane 18	Drophead coupé	2309 cc	1945	1953	2606 inc. Hurricane 16.
Typhoon	2-door fixed-head coupé	1991 cc	1946	1949	1701.
Tempest	4-door fixed-head coupé	1991 cc	1946	1949	6.
Whitley 18	Various	2309 cc	1949	1953	2624.
Sapphire 346	4-door saloon & Limousine	3435 cc	1952	1958	7697
Sapphire 234	4-door saloon	2290 cc	1955	1958	803
Sapphire 236	4-door saloon	2309 cc	1955	1957	603
Star Sapphire	Saloon & Limousine	3990 cc	1958	1960	980
Star Sapphire Mk II	Saloon & Limousine	3990 cc	1960	1960	1

A feature of many of their later cars was the option of an electrically controlled pre-selector gearbox.

• 1936 Armstrong Siddeley Twelve 1½-litre
• 

  1935 Fifteen 2-litre

• 

  1939 Armstrong-Siddeley 16Hp Sixteen 2¼-litre

• 1938 Seventeen 2½-litre

• 

  taken at Wisley Bus Rally 2010 Thirty 5-litre

  1958 Sapphire 234 2.3-Litre 4-cylinder
  

  Armstrong Siddeley’s sphinx

  

  Sapphire 346 3.4-Litre 6-cylinder

  

  1959 Star Sapphire 4-Litre 6-cylinder

  Sapphire 200 turbojet

Clubs

Like many British cars of the age, there are active owners’ clubs supporting their continued use in several countries, e.g. the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Germany. ASOC Ltd has members worldwide and many members of the ASCC in Australia are resident overseas. In the United Kingdom, the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Ltd publishes a monthly Members magazine “Sphinx”. In Australia, the Armstrong Siddeley Car Club publishes “Southern Sphinx” six times a year. In the Netherlands ASOC Dutch publishes also six times a year, and in New Zealand, Armstrong Siddeley Car Club in New Zealand Inc. publish “Sphinx-NZ” every month. Further details are available from the Membership Secretary, or via the ASOC Ltd and ASCC Australia websites.

Aircraft engines

Armstrong Siddeley Lynx 7 cylinder radial from theAvro 618 Ten aircraft, Southern Cloud

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Armstrong Siddeley produced a range of low- and mid-power aircraft radial engines, all named after big cats. They also produced a tiny 2-cylinder engine called the Ounce, another name for the snow leopard, for ultralight aircraft.

The company started work on their first gas turbine engine in 1939, following the design pioneered at the Royal Aircraft Establishment by Alan Arnold Griffith. Known as the “ASX” for “Armstrong Siddeley eXperimental”, the original pure-turbojet design was later adapted to drive a propeller, resulting in the “ASP”. From then on, AS turbine engines were named after snakes. TheArmstrong Siddeley Mamba ASM3 Mamba andArmstrong Siddeley Double Mamba aircraft engine Double Mamba were turboprop engines, the latter being a complex piece of engineering with two side-by-side Mambas driving through a common gearbox, and could be found on theA Royal Navy Fairey Gannet AS.4 Fairey Gannet. TheArmstrong Siddeley Python during NACA wind tunnel testing in 1949 Python turboprop powered theWestland Wyvern S Mk.4 Westland Wyvern strike aircraft. Further development of the Mamba removed the reduction gearbox to give the Adder turbojet.

Another pioneer in the production of the RAE engine design was Metrovick, who started with a design known as the Metrovick F.2. This engine never entered production, and Metrovick turned to a larger design, the Beryl, and then to an even larger design, the Sapphire. Armstrong Siddeley later took over the Sapphire design, and it went on to be one of the most successful 2nd generation jet engines, competing with the better-known Rolls-Royce Avon.

The company went on to develop an engine – originally for unmanned Jindivik target drones – called the Viper. This product was further developed by Bristol Siddeley and, later, Rolls-Royce and was sold in great numbers over many years. A range of rocket motors were also produced, including the Snarler and Stentor. The rocket development complemented that of Bristol, and Bristol Siddeley would become the leading British manufacturer of rocket engines for missiles.

Aero and rocket engines

	year	type
Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah	1935	7-cyl radial
Armstrong Siddeley Civet	1928	7-cylinder radial
Armstrong Siddeley Cougar	1945	9-cylinder radial not-produced
Armstrong Siddeley Deerhound	1935	21-cylinder 3-row in-line radial engine. Not produced
Armstrong Siddeley Genet	1926	5-cylinder radial
Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major	1928	radial
Armstrong Siddeley Hyena	1933	experimental 15-cylinder 3-row inline radial
Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar	1923	14-cylinder 2-row radial
Armstrong Siddeley Leopard	1927	14-cylinder, 2-row radial
Armstrong Siddeley Lynx	1920	radial
Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose	1926	5-cyl radial
Armstrong Siddeley Ounce	1920	2-cylinder opposed
Armstrong Siddeley Panther	1929	14-cylinder 2-row radial
Armstrong Siddeley Serval	1928	10-cylinder 2-row radial
Armstrong Siddeley Tiger	1932	14-cylinder 2-row radial supercharged
Armstrong Siddeley ASX	1945	axial flow turbojet
Armstrong Siddeley Python	1945	turboprop, also known as ASP
Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba	1949	Two Mamba linked by gearbox
Armstrong Siddeley Mamba	1946	turboprop
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire	1948	turbojet
Armstrong Siddeley Adder	1948	turbojet
Armstrong Siddeley Viper	1951	turbojet
Armstrong Siddeley Snarler	1950	rocket

Diesel engines

In 1946 Armstrong Siddeley produced their first diesel engines. They were medium-speed engines for industrial and agricultural use. Initially there was a single-cylinder engine producing 5 bhp (3.7 kW) at 900 rpm and a twin-cylinder version. Each cylinder had a capacity of 988 cm³ (60.2 cubic inches). The power output and speed was progressively increased. By the end of 1954 the single-cylinder engine was rated at 11 bhp (8.2 kW) at 1800 rpm and the twin-cylinder engine 22 bhp (16.4 kW) at the same speed. In 1955 the range was extended with the introduction of a 3-cylinder engine rated at 33 bhp (24.6 kW).

The engines were built at Armstrong Siddeley’s factory at Walnut Street, Leicester until that factory closed in August 1957. Production was transferred to the factory of Armstrong Siddeley (Brockworth) Ltd in Gloucestershire and in 1958 to the factory of Petters Limited at Staines, Middlesex. The engines built by Petters were designated AS1, AS2 and AS3 to distinguish them from that company’s other products. Production ended in 1962 when Petters introduced a replacement range of lightweight small high-speed air-cooled diesel engines.

In April 1958 the company obtained a licence to build the Maybach MD series high-speed diesel engines. Several hundred were built by Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd after that company took over Armstrong Siddeley’s manufacturing activities in 1959.

See also

• List of aircraft engines
• List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom

References

Citations

1. Jump up^ Kay & Springate (2014), p. 18.
2. Jump up^ Smith (2006), p. 494.
3. Jump up^ RAC Rating
4. Jump up^ Armstrong Siddeley Air-Cooled Diesel Engines by Sid Beck inStationary Engine April 1992 reprinted in Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Sphinx newsletter 49, December 2001
5. Jump up^ Armstrong Siddeley Motors, Minutes of Board Meeting, 1 October 1957
6. Jump up^ Armstrong Siddeley Air Cooled Diesel Engines by Tom Smith in Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Sphinx newsletter 54, 2004
7. Jump up^ Armstrong Siddeley Motors, Minutes of Board Meetings, 2 April 1958 and 28 April 1958

Bibliography

• Kay, David; Springate, Lynda (2014). Automotive Mascots: A Collector’s Guide to British Marque, Corporate & Accessory Mascots (eBook). Veloce Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84584-785-2.
• Smith, Bill (2006). Armstrong Siddeley Motors, The cars, the company and the people in definitive detail. Veloce Publishing. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-904788-36-2.

Further reading

• Robert Penn Bradly: Armstrong Siddeley, the Post War Cars; Motor Racing Publications, Croydon, 1989.
• Robert Penn Bradly: The 346 Sapphire explored to great depth; Pimula PTY Pvt., Bardwell Park, NSW, 2008.
• Bruce Lindsay: Armstrong Siddeley, the Sphinx with the heart of a lion; Lindsay family trust, Thailand, 2010.

External links

• Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club for the cars
• Non-affiliated Internet forum for Armstrong Siddeley enthusiasts world-wide

Armstrong Siddeley 30HP Landaulette advert 1921

taken at Wisley Bus Rally 2010

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

SONY DSC

taken at Wisley Bus Rally 2010

ALLEY and MACLELLAN – SENTINEL Shrewsbury Glasgow Scotland

Alley and MacLellan

of Sentinel Works, Polmadie, Glasgow and at Worcester

Alley and MacLellan was an engineering company in Glasgow, which used the Sentinel brand name, and was the developer of the Sentinel steam vehicle

General

1875 Stephen Alley and John MacLellan founded Alley and MacLellan in London Road, Glasgow.

1880 The company moved to the Sentinel Works at Polmadie, Glasgow.

1885 Started production of the Sentinel High Speed Steam Engine used for electricity generation, marine engines and for factory work. They also built boats at their own shipyard.

1889 See 1889 Shipbuilding Statistics for detail of the tonnage produced.

1894 Catalogue of fittings.

1903 Became public company. The company was registered on 3 June, to acquire the business of a firm of the same name, manufacturers of valves, air compressors, high speed engines, engine fittings, marine auxillary machinery etc.

1906 Took the rights to the development work on steam wagons carried out by Simpson and Bibby and Daniel Simpson retained by the company as a consultant for ten years.

1911 Manufacturer of Axle Boxes for the Railways.

1914 Engineers and shipbuilders (light-draught craft). Specialities: air compressors, steam motor wagons, steering gears and ships’ auxiliary machinery, light draught steamers and barges, valves for steam and water and waterworks fittings, high-speed steam engines, ash hoisting engines, capstans, feed water filters and heaters. Employees 900.

1917 Advert for ‘Sentinel’ Valves.

1918 Stephen Alley sold his shares in Alley and MacLellan to William Beardmore and Co; the Glasgow works were separated from the Sentinel Waggon Works which were concentrated at Shrewsbury.

1919 Advert for ‘Sentinel’ Valves.

1927 Advert for ‘Sentinel’ Valves (of Sentinel Valve Works, Worcester).

1937 Engineers and ironfounders.

1940 Advert for air Compressors (of Sentinel Works, Glasgow S2) and Valves (of Sentinel Valve Works, Worcester).

1945 Advert for ‘Sentinel’ air compressors. (of Sentinel Works, Glasgow, S2).

1945 Advert for ‘Sentinel’ steam traps and valves. (of Sentinel Valve Works, Worcester).

1951 Advert for Compressors and vacuum pumps. (of Polmadie, Glasgow).

1952 Was a fully owned subsidiary of Glenfield and Kennedy. Acquired Browett Lindley Ltd fromGeorge Cohen, Sons and Co^[14]

1960 Advert for balanced opposed compressors. (of Polmadie).

1960 Advert for Valves. (of Worcester).

1960 The compressors business at Polmadie was transferred to G. and J. Weir. Fixed assets at Polmadie were sold to Davy and United Engineering Co who would use this facility to expand their works in the Glasgow area

1961 Engineers, manufacturing air and gas compressors, marine auxiliary, vacuum pumps and steam engines. 400 employees.

 

Preserved 1931-built Sentinel DG4.

A Sentinel Steam Bus

 

1924 Super Sentinel FA1803

Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.

History

Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow

The company began life about 1875 as Alley & MacLellan based in Polmadie, Glasgow. They moved from Polmadie Road to the nearby Jessie Street where they continued in operation until the 1950s. Alley & MacLellan began producing steam road vehicles in 1906 when they introduced a5 ton vertical-boiler wagon, which featured a 2-cylinder undertype engine and chain drive. Around 1915 Alley & McLellan moved the steam wagon production to a new factory in England and it continued under a separate company (see below). However, Alley & MacLellan continued to operate in the original Sentinel Works in Jessie Street, Glasgow until the 1950s. They produced a wide range of engineering products including compressors, valves, etc. The ‘Sentinel’ name continued to be used for the products of the original Glasgow works until the mid 20th Century.

Perhaps the most surprising fact is that the Sentinel Works in Glasgow, though a significant distance from the River Clyde, produced almost 500 small ships and boats. The vast majority of these vessels were built as ‘knock downs’ – i.e. assembled at the Jessie Street works using nuts and bolts, then dismantled and shipped as parts in crates to their client destination where they were re-assembled using rivets. At least one Alley & McLellan ship still exists – the motor vessel (originally steam ship) Chauncy Maples built at Jessie Street in 1899 and reassembled on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi) in 1901. Alley & MacLellan continued in operation, though owned firstly by Glenfield & Kennedy, Kilmarnock, then G & J Weir, Glasgow, until the 1950s.

The original Sentinel Works in Jessie Street, Glasgow is still in existence in 2009 though now in a very derelict condition. The design offices and pattern shop is listed category A as a building of significant national importance. It was the first steel-reinforced concrete building in Scotland.

Move to Shrewsbury

LNER Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar

A new company Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was formed when steam wagon production was switched to a new factory, opened at Shrewsbury in 1915. There were several other slight changes to the name over the company’s lifetime when further infusions of working capital were required to obviate financial problems.

Alley & MacLellan’s early wagon was so successful that it remained in production with relatively few updates until the launch of Sentinel’s famous Super in 1923. The company also produced steam railway locomotives and railcars, for railway companies and industrial customers.

In 1917, the company was bought by William Beardmore & Co., Ltd.

Sentinel Waggon Works (1920) Ltd

In 1920, after financial problems, the company was reorganised as Sentinel Waggon Works (1920) Ltd. The Sentinel ‘Super’ model that followed in 1923 was assembled in a radical new plant at Shrewsbury, with a flow line based on Henry Ford’s Model T factory at Highland Park, Michigan, with 1,550 vehicles produced.

Sentinel, along with Foden, dominated the steam market, but the 1930s saw the demise of both companies’ ranges as new legislation forced the development of lighter lorries, Sentinel surviving the longest.

In 1934 Sentinel launched a new and advanced steamer – the S type which had a single-acting 4-cylinder underfloor engine with longitudinal crankshaft and an overhead worm-drive axle. Their Sentinel Waggon Works’ design of 1935 led to the production of 3,750 Sentinel ‘Standards’ in the seventeen years that followed, the biggest selling steam lorry ever. It was lighter and featured a modernised driver’s cab with a set-back boiler and was available in four, six and eight-wheel form, designated S4, S6 and S8. In spite of its sophisticated design, however, it could not compete with contemporary diesel trucks for all-round convenience and payload capacity, and was phased out in the late 1930s. It was not the end of Sentinel’s involvement with steam, however; the company built about 100 “S” type vehicles for export to Argentina as late as 1950, for use by the Río Turbio coal mine. It has been stated that Sentinel were never paid for the last batch of the Río Turbio production run. At least two of the Río Turbio waggons survive in Argentina to this day.

In 1946 Thomas Hill’s signed an agency agreement with Sentinel for repair and maintenance of diesel vehicles. In 1947 Sentinel offered to extend the agreement for diesel vehicles to include the steam locomotives and an agency was accepted by Thomas Hill for sales and servicing.

Sentinel (Shrewsbury) Ltd

In 1947 the company became Sentinel (Shrewsbury) Ltd, and had developed a new range of diesel lorries. Despite Sentinel’s superbly engineered vehicles, sales diminished throughout the 1950s, and by 1956 the company was forced to cease lorry production. The factory was acquired by Rolls-Royce for diesel engine production, and the remaining stock of parts and vehicles was taken over by Sentinel’s chief dealer, North Cheshire Motors Ltd of Warrington, who formed a new company, Transport Vehicles (Warrington) Ltd, in 1957 to produce Sentinel-based designs under the TVW name.

In 1963 Thomas Hill’s decided to renew the loco agreement and relinquish the diesel vehicle agency, concentrating all efforts on the steam locomotive work.

Rolls-Royce agree to build diesel locomotives

Rolls-Royce Sentinel Cattewater, now at the East Somerset Railway

An 0-6-0 outside crank Sentinel Derwent at Lafarge Hope Cement Works in 2008.

Despite the various interesting developments, Rolls Royce did not consider railway locomotives to be part of their core business. They had agreed to complete all steam locos on order, and four steam receiver locos ordered by Dorman Long in 1956, but only after much consideration did Rolls-Royce finally agree at the end of 1957 to design and build a diesel locomotive of similar weight and power to the 200 hp (150 kW) steam loco that had sold so well. Thomas Hill’s would assist in the design and development of these diesel machines and would be the Sole distributor.

Last steam locomotives

In 1958 the last two Sentinel steam locos were delivered marking the end of an era. Two of the newly developed steam receiver locos were delivered and proved very satisfactory in service, but Dorman Long were not happy. There had been a change of heart among their engineers as well as a change of circumstances, and they were now favouring diesel locomotives. The last two steam receiver locos were built but never delivered and ultimately all four were converted to diesel hydraulic.

Diesel production commences

The prototype Sentinel diesel locomotive was built and ready to commence trials on the former Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway (then under military control) early in 1959. It met with the approval and enthusiasm of the Company’s prospective customers and before the end of the year 17 locomotives had been sold and delivered. The company was ready to produce a maximum of four locomotives a month.

By 1963 four different Sentinel diesel models were being produced, commencing with the 34 ton chain drive 0-4-0 powered by the Rolls-Royce C6SFL six-cylinder engine of 233 bhp (174 kW) (gross) (later uprated to 255 bhp (190 kW)). This was followed within a year by a 48 ton 0-6-0 rod coupled machine, fitted with a Rolls-Royce C8SFL eight-cylinder engine of 311 bhp (232 kW) (gross) (later uprated to 325 bhp (242 kW)). Between 1963 and 1966 a fleet of these diesel locomotives, eventually numbering five 0-6-0s and 18 0-4-0s, was supplied to the Manchester Ship Canal Company for use on the navigation’s private railway network.

These Sentinels demonstrated their suitability for heavy work, but heavier and more powerful locos were called for, particularly by the steel industry, and before the end of 1963 a 74 ton 0-8-0 powered by 2 x C8SFL engines and a 40 ton 0-4-0 fitted with a C8SFL engine had been added to the range.

Sentinel Steelman

A shaft drive 600 hp (450 kW) 0-6-0 machine was now being developed at Shrewsbury to use the new DV8T engine. Considerable interest in this loco was expressed by Stewart and Lloyds mineral division at Corby who were operating more than 20 steam locos, mainly of the Austerity type. This new locomotive Steelman was eventually delivered to Corby in late 1967, about two years overdue. The prototype locomotive proved satisfactory and three more were ordered by Stewart and Lloyds and one by Richard Thomas and Baldwins, Scunthorpe. With Stewart and Lloyds’ programme to replace more than 20 steam locos over the next few years the future for Steelman looked good.

Unfortunately for the Company and Rolls-Royce, British Railways, seeing a potential for their Swindon-built class 14 diesel hydraulic locomotives made Stewart and Lloyds an offer of 26 locomotives around three years old at a fraction of their original cost. The Class 14 locomotive had proved rather a white elephant for B.R. but powered by a 650 hp (480 kW) Paxman, Voith Transmission, a rod coupled 0-6-0 capable of doing the work required, it was an offer that Stewart and Lloyds could hardly refuse. New locomotive sales were declining anyway, and the release of such locos onto the industrial market at such prices was disastrous, and regrettably no further “Steelman” locos were built at Shrewsbury.

This was not to be the end of the Steelman. Some 12 years later ICI Billingham wanted two heavy locomotives to replace their ageing Yorkshire Janus locomotives. Their stated wish was to buy the best and most up to date equipment available and in their efforts to achieve this aim, their engineers visited many industrial sites, and steelworks in particular. Their requirements were discussed with all UK locomotive manufacturers, and the final outcome of their investigations was an order for an updated version of the “Sentinel Steelman locomotive”. This order was subsequently increased to two machines which were delivered toward the end of 1981.

UK sales of Sentinel locos were now fewer than 10 per year, their only overseas success had been to license the assembly of 36 0-6-0 locomotives by Sorefame for the Portuguese Railways in 1965/6. These locomotives became the CP Class 1150.

Road vehicles

Preserved 1934-built S4 dropside in steam

Steam waggons

Diesel lorries

Diesel buses

Railway vehicles

Sentinel chain-drive shunter of 1957

The locomotives and railcars (with a few exceptions) used the standard steam lorry boilers and engine units.

CE Class

Centre Engine

BE Class

LMS Sentinel 7164

Balanced Engine

DE Class

Double Engine

100 hp Steam Locomotives

Works no. 6515/1926, Isham Quarries, Northamptonshire, (ex-GWR No. 12)

Works no. 6520/1926, “Toby” 0-4-0VG; Port of Par, Cornwall. (Replaced 1876 Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST “Punch”. Replaced by Bagnall 0-4-0ST “Alfred” and “Judy”).

Works no. 6807/1928, “Gervase”; rebuilt as a vertical-boilered geared locomotive from 1900 Manning Wardle. (Moved to Kent & East Sussex Railway in 1972, and to the Elsecar Steam Railway in 2008.)

Works no. 7026/1928, British Quarrying Co., Criggion, Montgomeryshire

Works no. 7299/1928, Corby Quarries, Rockingham Forest, (ex-Phoenix Tube Works)

Works no. 9365/1945, “Belvedere”; Isham Quarries, Northamptonshire, (ex-Thomas Hill, Rotherham): preserved at Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust

Works no. 9369/1946, “Musketeer”; Isham Quarries, Northamptonshire, (ex-Williams & Williams, Hooton): preserved at Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust

Works no. 9615/1956, Oxfordshire Ironstone Quarries, Banbury

LMS Sentinels 7160-3

LNER Class Y1

LNER Class Y3

200 hp Steam Locomotives

LNER Class Y10

S&DJR Sentinels

Works no. 7109/1927, Croydon Gasworks No. 37 “Joyce”, preserved at Midsomer Norton railway station

Railcars

1951-built articulated Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar, no. 5208, at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

In 1925 the New Zealand Railways Department bought one Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar which became part of its RM class.

Between 1925 and 1932 the London and North Eastern Railway bought 80 Sentinel steam railcars and four were supplied to the LNER-controlled Cheshire Lines Committee.

In 1928 Palestine Railways bought two Sentinel-Cammell articulated steam railcars for local services. Each unit had two cars articulated over three bogies. Palestine Railways found the railcar format inflexible, as if passenger numbers exceeded the capacity of a train it was not practical to couple up an extra coach. In 1945 PR removed the Sentinel engines and converted the railcars to ordinary coaching stock.

In 1933 the Southern Railway bought a Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar for use on the Devil’s Dyke branch, in East Sussex. Although operationally successful, the single railcar was not large enough to meet the needs of this line. It was transferred away from the line in March 1936 and tried in other areas, but was withdrawn in 1940.

In 1951 Egyptian National Railways bought 10 articulated steam railcars. Each had three carriage bodies articulated over four bogies. One is preserved by the Quainton Railway Society at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, England.

Specials

The Doble Shunter

LMS Sentinel 7192 – so-called as it was fitted with an Abner Doble boiler

The Double Locomotive

A special locomotive was produced at Sentinel, for Dorman Long and named “Princess”. It consisted of 2 x 0-6-0 chassis coupled together to articulate. One unit carried the cab, a 5 drum oil-fired Woolnough boiler and two 100 hp (75 kW) engines. The other unit housed the water and fuel tanks and also two more 100 hp (75 kW) engines providing a total of 400 hp (300 kW). It was considered a magnificent machine by the staff but unfortunately was the only one of its kind ever built.

The Gyro locomotive

Another special was the NCB Gyro or Electrogyro Locomotive. Based on a 200 hp (150 kW) 4-wheeled 0-4-0 frame fitted with two “gyro units” (see Flywheel energy storage) made byMaschinenfabrik Oerlikon of Switzerland. The gyros were principally a 3 ton horizontal flywheel enclosed in a vessel filled with low pressure hydrogen. A vertically mounted three-phase squirrel-cage electric motor/generator was directly coupled to each flywheel shaft. The motor took its power from a side-mounted supply at static posts via a four-contact swinging arm extended or retracted pneumatically by the driver. Power could only be taken whilst the loco was stationary alongside one of these posts. When the gyros had reached the required speed, the driver would retract the contact arm, switch the motor to generation and controlled the locomotive in a similar way to a diesel-electric loco. Charging posts had to be strategically placed around the site. A contact arm was provided on each side of the locomotive, although it is not clear if posts were installed on one or both sides of the track. Each gyro operated between 3,000 rpm when fully ‘charged;’ and 1,800 rpm before recharging. Recharging took 2¹⁄₂ minutes and the locomotive could work for around 30 minutes before recharging. It weighed 34 tons and had a maximum speed of 15 mph (24 km/h).

This machine was specially built for the National Coal Board (NCB) at Seaton Delaval. The intention was to investigate the use of gyroscopic storage as a potential method for a flameproof and emissions-free underground locomotive. It operated very satisfactorily but was eventually taken out of service because of site development and its restricted field of operation. In April 1965 it was converted for the NCB to a diesel hydraulic machine.

The Receiver Locomotives

The Receiver Locomotives were another special type built just for Dorman Long and were based on the idea of a Fireless locomotive.

Steam locomotives used by UK Main Line Companies

Preservation

Road vehicles

A number of Sentinel steam waggons and tractors exist in preservation in the UK—about 117 as of 2008. For example, Preserved Sentinel Super steam wagon No. 5676. They are often shown at steam fairs in the UK. For more information see the Sentinel Drivers Club website. A number also exist in Australia and other countries.

Railway locomotives

United Kingdom

There are several surviving steam locomotives located at various heritage railways around the UK, including: the Elsecar Heritage Railway, the Middleton Railway, the Foxfield Light Railway and the Chasewater Railway.