Weller Brothers
of West Norwood, makers of motorcycles (1902-1904) and cars (1903).
1900 Weller Brothers formed as general engineers, by John Weller and presumably one or more of his brothers.[1]
1902 Weller Brothers Ltd entered the motor business.
1902 John Weller built two-wheel motorcycles with a bicycle-type frame, and a vertically-mounted own-built 1.75hp or 2.25hp engine on the right of the downtube. The drive belt to the rear wheel was on the left of the tube. The cylinder fins were loose washers, dropped over the plain diameter and held by the long studs that secured the head. The controls were all handlebar mounted and included a twisting-handle throttle, while the rear brake was an internal-expanding drum with cam operation.
1902 Felix William Hudlass joined the company as works manager; he was in charge of the production of the 30hp (sic) 4cylinder Weller car which was shown at the 1903 Motor Show[2]
1903 They advertised a 50-mile trial run for any would-be buyer of the motorcycle.
1903 Their first automobile was displayed at the Crystal Palace motor show. Weller Brothers planned to produce an advanced 20-hp car. However, Portwine, their financial backer, thought the car would be too expensive to produce and encouraged the Wellers to design and produce a little delivery 3 wheeler. Wellers did so, called it the Auto-Carrier, and a new company was founded, named Autocars and Accessories.
c.1904 the firm closed due to lack of capital and was bought by Douglas S. Cox
See Also
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle by Peter Henshaw. Published 2007. ISBN 978 1 8401 3967 9