W. S. Laycock
W. S. Laycock of Levygreave Road and Victoria Works, Gell Street, Sheffield were Railway Carriage Fittings and Appliance Manufacturers in 1901 [1]
1884 Company established by William Samuel Laycock in Victoria Street, Sheffield
1893 Introduced a system for train heating using steam from the locomotive with storage reservoirs in each compartment[2]
1899 Description and photographs of Victoria Works[3]
1900 Incorporated as a limited company. Supplied equipment to every railway company in the world, the main specialities being carriage blinds, buckeye automatic couplers, vestibule gangway connections, and steam-heating equipment for complete trains.
1902 After several enlargements, works were opened at Millhouses, adjoining the Midland Railway.
1914 Manufacturers of railway specialities. Specialities: blinds, ventilators, window lifts, steam heating, automatic couplers and all classes of railway carriage fittings. Employees 400. [4]
WWI Production of war munitions
1916 A controlling interest in the company was acquired by Charron Ltd[5]
1917 the firm secured a contract to produce aircraft engines, which necessitated the building of an additional large machine shop, tool room, etc.
1919 Commissioned an engine works for cars, which had been established during the war to make aeroplane engines[6]
1920 In conjunction with the Charron Company of France, produced the Charron-Laycock light car.
1922 Charron Ltd increased its borrowing powers in order to acquire W. S. Laycock[7]
1923 A scheme of arrangement was proposed with debenture holders and creditors[8]
Because of the slump in the early 1920s, car production was discontinued.
At some point the business became Laycock Engineering Co
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ White's Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham, 1901 p979
- ↑ The Times, Feb 17, 1893
- ↑ Engineering 1899/02/17
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ The Times, Sep 11, 1917
- ↑ The Engineer 1919/01/03
- ↑ The Times, May 16, 1922
- ↑ The Times, Jul 11, 1923