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| Company type | Subsidiary (1934–79) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Defunct | 1979; 46 years ago (1979) |
| Fate | Purchased byCommer (Rootes Group) in 1934 |
| Successor | Dodge (Chrysler) |
| Headquarters | Huddersfield, England Luton, England |
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Karrier was a British marque of motorised municipal appliances and light commercial vehicles and trolley buses manufactured at Karrier Works,Huddersfield,West Yorkshire, by Clayton and Co. (Huddersfield) Limited. They began making Karrier motor vehicles in 1908 in Queen Street South, Huddersfield. In 1920, H.F. Clayton sold Clayton and Co's Huddersfield business into public listed company Karrier Motors while keeping their Penistone operation separate. Mechanical and electrical engineers Clayton & Co Penistone, remain active in 2020 as Clayton Penistone Group.
Karrier produced buses as well as their other municipal vehicles and in latter years, especially during the Second World War,Trolleybuses, notably their Karrier 'W' model.
In 1934 Karrier became part of theRootes Group where it retained its brand identity though the business was operated as part of Rootes's Commer commercial vehicle operation. The Karrier name began to disappear from products when Chrysler bought Rootes in 1967. It was finally dropped in the early 1970s.
Herbert Fitzroy Clayton (1857–1935), a prosperous chemicals manufacturer ordrysalter and dyer,[1][2] incorporated in December 1904 a company, Clayton & Co Huddersfield Limited, to own the engineering business he had carried on independently since 1899[note 1] when he had left his Dixon Clayton & Co partnership.[3] In 1908,[4] joined by his second son, Reginald Fitzroy ClaytonMIAE (1885–1964), Clayton & Co began designing and making Karrier petrol driven motor vehicles andcharabancs which became their main business. In 1920,[5] keeping Clayton & Co Penistone separate and retaining control of this new company,[6] Clayton & Co Huddersfield was sold to a newly incorporated public listed company which they named Karrier Motors Limited.[5] At this time the products had been:
Karrier experienced financial difficulties and suffered substantial losses in the late 1920s.[7][8][9]
A plan to amalgamate T.S. Motors Limited (Tilling-Stevens) with Karrier agreed in August 1932[10][11] was dropped a month later without explanation.[12] The following August 1933 Karrier tardily announced that under difficult trading conditions they had made a substantial loss during that 1932 calendar year.[13] At the beginning of June 1934 Karrier was put intoreceivership though it was also announced that business would continue while "negotiations" were completed.[14] It was bought by Rootes.
Rootes Securities, through its partly-owned subsidiaries, acquired Karrier in August 1934 when employee numbers had fallen to 700.[15][16] Rootes closed the Huddersfield operation and moved production to Commer'sLuton works but trolley-bus manufacture was moved to Moorfield Works, Wolverhampton where the same Karrier designs were to be built alongsideSunbeam Commercial Vehicles' trolley-buses.[17] Tilling Stevens would eventually join the Rootes Group in 1950.
Dodge Brothers, then a leading builder of light trucks in USA, in 1922 began to bringknocked-down kits for assembly inPark Royal,London. Dodge Brothers became aChrysler subsidiary in 1928 and truck production moved to Chrysler's car plant atKew. Dodges built there were known as "Dodge Kews" and the (partly Canadian sourced) American model cars built beside them, "Chrysler Kews". During the Second World War this Chrysler factory was part ofLondon Aircraft Production Group and builtHandley Page Halifax aircraft assemblies. Dodge (some vehicles badged Fargo or De Soto) truck production was merged with Commer and Karrier atDunstable in 1965. ThePublic Record Office is now on the site of the Chrysler plant.
By 1970, the Rootes Group had been taken over (in stages) byChrysler Europe, with support from theBritish Government which was desperate to support the ailingBritish motor industry. The Dodge brand (also used by Chrysler in the USA) began to take precedence on all commercial models. The last vestige of Karrier was probably in theDodge 50 Series, which began life badged as a (Chrysler) Dodge but with a Karrier Motor Company VIN (vehicle identification number) plate.
Chrysler eventually withdrew from UK operations, selling the business toPeugeot. The new owner had little interest in heavy trucks and the factory was then run in conjunction withRenault Véhicules Industriels, (then part ofRenault though nowVolvo). The combined company used the name Karrier Motors Ltd.[18]
The Karrier trademark is still in the possession of Peugeot, and it is not uncommon for vehicle marques to be reinstated.
From the outset the Karrier vehicles usedJ. Tylor and Sons engines. One characteristic of the early Karrier trucks was their preference to have the engine under the footboards, thereby giving a larger proportion of the length of the vehicle over to the load bed. However in a report of 1910 they had just launched a 25cwt truck with conventional bonneted layout.[19] In 1913 Clayton built a truck according to WD guidelines and were successful in getting it certified under theWar Office Subsidy Scheme.[20] The scheme was aimed at having vehicles in civilian use that were fit for immediate use by the military in time of war. When the war began in mid-1914 the manufacturers of certified vehicles were in a good position to supply vehicles direct to the war department, and Karrier produced their "subsidy" 3–4 ton B4 truck throughout the war. At the end of the war they continued the 3-4 ton model and added 5-ton chain driven model (the B110).[21]
In 1920 Karrier announced they had been developing their own engine for some time, and this would now be fitted in all their models.[22] At the 1920 October Commercial vehicle show at Olympia they had their 4 and 5 ton goods models plus a road sweeper and the Karrier "Superb"char-à-banc on display.[23] At the 1921 show they added a three-way tipper truck, and offered their other chassis models with the driver moved forward partly alongside the engine, allowing 2 foot more load bed/passenger space.[24] In 1922 they launched their first small capacity chassis since before the war, the type C for 30cwt load, and type CX for 2 ton load or 14 seat char-à-banc.[25] The 30cwt was certified under the post-WW1 War Department Subsidy Scheme which ran from 1922 to 1935.[26]
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In 1929, Karrier started production of the "Colt" three-wheeler as a dustcart chassis for Huddersfield Corporation. In 1930, this was developed into the "Cob" tractor to haul road trailers for theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway.
Later, in 1933, Scammell produced their own,Napier designed,Scammell Mechanical Horse.
In the mid-1930s, the "Cob" range was supplemented by the four-wheel "Bantam".
Described by newspapers, quoting Karrier, in 1930[27] as a "mechanical horse" the small "Cob" tractor was designed by J Shearman, road motor engineer forLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway. Its small wheels let it turn in confined spaces and manoeuvre more easily in traffic. The front wheels are lifted from the ground when the tractor is attached and it was then classed as an articulated vehicle. It was capable of pulling a three-ton load at 18 mph and capable of restarting on a gradient of one in eight.[28] Production tractors powered byJowett engines were displayed on the Karrier stand at Olympia's Motor Transport Show. A Karrier "Cob" Major, a 4-ton three-wheeled tractor, was also displayed.[29]
Karrier's Ro-Railer was ahybrid single deckerbus, capable of running on both road and rail, intended for towns and villages distant from a railway. Also designed by J Shearman, road motor engineer toLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway it was tested by the chairman and board of directors ofLM & S in January 1931 by travelling betweenRedbourn andHemel Hempstead.[30]
Though it was not a success,[31][32] Karrier's roadrailbus looked like a bus and could be changed from road to rail in 2½ to 5 minutes. With a six-cylinder engine and abody by Craven it ran at up to 50 mph. Said to be very rough-riding it ran for 1930–31 on theStratford-on-Avon and Midland joint line. Finally it became a vehicle used to transporttrack ballast on theWest Highland Line.[33]
In 1925, Karrier became the first British manufacturer to produce a three-axle passenger vehicle, aided by the availability of larger pneumatic tyres,[34] and in 1926, entered into an agreement withClough, Smith & Co. Ltd. to produce the 'Karrier-Clough' trolley-omnibus which Clough would market.[34] This arrangement continued until 1933, when Karrier began marketing the trolleybuses themselves. Despite receiving multiple orders in 1933–4, Karrier went into receivership, leading to the takeover byHumber in 1934, thus becoming part of the Rootes Group.[34] Trolleybus manufacture was moved to Rootes'sSunbeam subsidiary's factory at Wolverhampton, where it continued up untilWorld War II.[34] During the periods in wartime, when production was allowed, only one model was produced, the W4, which could be badged either as Sunbeam or Karrier.[35] Post-war, production continued briefly before the trolleybus portion of the company was sold to Brockhouse in 1946.[35]
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In the late 1950s and 1960s some Karrier vehicles were fitted with the RootesTS3 two-stroke opposed piston diesel engine. Other engines used in this period includeHumber Hawk4-cylinder petrol engines (L-Head andOHC),Humber Super Snipe6-cylinder (L-Head andOHV) andPerkins Diesels.
At Luton, the only designs carried over from the previous era were the three wheeler and the six-wheel trolleybus chassis.
The trolleybus business became integrated with that ofSunbeam Commercial Vehicles Limited following Sunbeam's purchase by the Rootes group.[17] In 1946 J. Brockhouse and Co Limited of West Bromwich, the engineering group, bought Sunbeam Commercial Vehicles but sold the trolley-bus part of the business toGuy Motors Limited in September 1948.[36]
Under Rootes ownership, Karrier trucks were generally a smaller size than their sisterCommer brand, with "Bantam" models using 13-inch wheels – and "Gamecock" models using 16-inch wheels – to give lower loading height. They were designed for local authorities and their varied applications, including highway maintenance tippers, refuse collection vehicles and street lighting maintenance tower wagons. Karrier trucks and chassis were also built for and supplied to airport operators and airlines for baggage handling trucks, water bowsers and toilet servicing.
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