barrett Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Right, I'm sure one of you lot is related to the chap who built these things and was on the lookout for more information about them. Because everyone has changed their usernames etc I obviously can't remember who it is and after one embarrassing PM to somebody who obviously has no idea WTF I was talking about I'm just gonna post this here - In the latest issue of the VSCC Light Car & Edwardian Section newsletter: (Sorry about the moiré) anonymous user, UltraWomble and brickwall 3
gary_davidson Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 a bit of googleing has turned this uphttp://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t04517&pos=2&action=zoom
Micrashed Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Its me.When Im at home I'll post photos of the family one, the advert and the bloke who built them.If I can access my Flikr account I can do that in a bit...
Micrashed Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Righto...This is my grandfathers example of the Richardson Light - there were two variants built in Sheffield by my Great Grandfather Charles (and I share his name, as has every bloody male member of the family ever since) Richardson Light Commercial by Micrashed, on Flickr As far as I have been able to find out, the only difference was cosmetic - earlier ones had a sloped radiator grille later ones adopted an upright one. Here is an advert for the variant shown above: Advert for RIchardson Light Commercial by Micrashed, on Flickr I need to find the advert again (think its in my tin box of papers) and scan it at a higher res. Here is the man himself - Charles Ebeneezer Richardson... saucedoctor, HMC, Junkman and 16 others 19
purplebargeken Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Please tell me that it has been compulsory for each male family member to have exactly the same moustache as Charles too. gary_davidson, forddeliveryboy, Micrashed and 7 others 10
dugong Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 That's an incredible backstory! Banger Kenny 1
Mr_Bo11ox Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 That is a splendid moustache alright. Probably would Micrashed 1
Micrashed Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 The Mechanikery Gene has featured strongly in my family This is Grandfather Micrashed....Clifton Family Chauffer by Micrashed, on FlickrWho was a chauffeur and mechanic for the Clifton family before he fooked off to fight the Germans. Upon his return he settled down and opened a shop repairing motorcycles whilst his wife had a grocers shop next door. later on he sold the bike shop and "retired". Father Micrashed spent his days first nailing these together and test driving them...Original Bond Mechanics Photograph by Micrashed, on Flickr Then moved on to designing and testing the hydraulics on these...TSR-2 by Micrashed, on Flickr And is pictured here doing something involving witchcraft I suspect...TSR-2 by Micrashed, on Flickr Sadly it missed a generation with me and I am a mechanical arse. Fortunately my son has picked up the gene and is in his element pulling track rod ends off cars and replacing them. Sigmund Fraud, Banger Kenny, saucedoctor and 7 others 10
wuvvum Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 WTF happened to you, Renault? tooSavvy and Justin Case 2
Micrashed Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Oh its a Renner is it? Ive often wondered. That photo dates from somewhere roundabout 1935 ish, the car looks much older than that.
wuvvum Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Yep - probably about 1906 I reckon. Micrashed 1
sheffcortinacentre Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 anything to do with Richardson cutlery?
Micrashed Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Not that I can work out from the family tree. Charles had a toy factory and then after the Great War, decided to get in on the act with the "new Fangled Horseless Carriage" and built these.Fairly clever, chain driven and for reverse you stopped the engine and restarted it in reverse giving you three reverse gears. They didnt sell many though, less than 500 all told and I think there are only 3 which have survived. There is one on display over at Kelhem Island Museum, Sheffield.Picture of it here: 1921 Richardson Light Car Kelham Island Museum Sheffield Yorkshire by woodytyke, on Flickr There is a bit of info on Wikipedia...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_(1919_cyclecar) Interesting bit of family history but very little in the way of records have been kept by the family, a lot of what I knew was told to me by my grandfather. michiel 1
sheffcortinacentre Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 only knew of the simplex when it came to locally built cars, you learn sumat everyday. Micrashed 1
Guest Nidrajud Posted August 20, 2014 Posted August 20, 2014 Hello,I am a newbee on this forum, and certainly not so fluent in english, but, i know this car...it's the car: chassis n° 2, personel car of C.E.Richardson.I have seen there is an other one in Sheffield Museum but ignore anything about a third one?the car, originally as onto the picture has been modified round 1922 with new font and radiator slate vertical. It seems that C.E.Richardson use it, journally, until 1926.I buy the car in 1975 in Brussels; but completely dismantled, missing wings. Wood frame is also brokenMy objective is to rebuild the car the next three years...if God and my wallet give me life.I will try to give you some news at the end of 2014!AmicalementThierry saucedoctor, Jim Bergerac, dugong and 16 others 19
Wilko220 Posted August 20, 2014 Posted August 20, 2014 Missed this thread first time around - great stuff. Welcome Thierry, and keep us updated!
Cavcraft Posted August 20, 2014 Posted August 20, 2014 Welcome along, Thierry, please keep us updated.
Micrashed Posted August 20, 2014 Posted August 20, 2014 Wow. From what little I know Charles had a couple of examples in his name - but number 2 is some bit of history.Welcome EDIT:Just managed to read the log book ( Im on clockwork internet just outside Scotland) and this is the one my grandfather tried to buy off the bus company in Sheffield. They wouldnt sell it then ( ?1970) I wonder if he knew it was chassis 2?
Guest Hannuman Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 It is a shame that earlier owners than 1963 cannot be seen in the log book .I suspect that this is the same 1919 Richardson which was stored up the corner in a fairly derelict but complete state in Rosedene Garage ,Whinmoor, Scholes , Near Leeds .in the very early 60's when I was barely a teenager.I used to scour country garages in Yorkshire on my bicycle looking for such gems as this rare vehicle .Rosedene Garage never failed to delight.The proprietor of Rosedene Garage was one Norman Routledge a prominent member of the Alvis Owners Club and owner and constructor of several specials ,including the famous Routledge Spl , a Firefly chassis powered by a Speed 25 engine . There are photos of him online racing this special in the early 50's at Silverstone , in rolled up shirtsleeves ,hair blowing in the wind .This car can still be seen at VSCC events .Routledge also created a replica of the very first Cecil Kimber MG based on the Bullnose Cowley chassis , and I used to cycle weekly across to Scholes to see the slow progress of this Hotchkiss engined ( I think ) replica .He was very proud of the Richardson ,and never failed to point out that it was the sole surviving example of the marque , a claim which the passage of time has proven to be not quite true . . forddeliveryboy, UltraWomble and Bucketeer 3
Vin Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 This thread has some AMAZING first posts... I am curious to know what exactly a 'cyclecar' is though... I am currently re-reading the autobiography of LTC Rolt and in part 1 - 'Landscape with machines' he talks of how in the early 1920's his father got rid of his Overland Tourer... He replaced it with a 'Belsize Bradshaw' which Rolt describes as a development of the 'cyclecar'... Apparently, their Belsize was a disaster. It had an oil cooled engine, and very poor sparking meant the best way to get it going was to hill start it or push it. Fortunately they lived on a hill, but wherever they where going had to be on a hill too... so it was only ever used for the yearly Christmas trip from Stanley Pontlarge to Chester. .Rest of the time they relied on bikes and trains... I find Tom Rolt quite an interesting character. His account of his trip round the navigable canals, in his barge in 1939 is fascinating... He had a bit of a Junkman attitude to car manufacture though, in that as far as he was concerned they stopped making cars when, in order to fix them, the garage he ran needed specific tools provided by the manufacturers. That was about 1933 or something... Bucketeer and catsinthewelder 2
Christine Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Might be of interest ,might not ,might be unreadable ..but i can lay my hands on the mag and rescan it if you want . catsinthewelder, forddeliveryboy and Vin 3
Vin Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Those articles remind me that in 'Landscape with machines', Tom Rolt talks at length and favourably of the two GNs that he ran in the late 20s/early 30s...
barrett Posted April 3, 2022 Author Posted April 3, 2022 On 2/6/2014 at 12:46 PM, Micrashed said: Its me. When Im at home I'll post photos of the family one, the advert and the bloke who built them. If I can access my Flikr account I can do that in a bit... Through various circumstances I am currently working on a book about British cyclecars, which will cover every type built up to about 1930. Currently there is circa 250 marques on my master list so lots of work ahead of me. At some point I'd like to have a chat about the family, the cars and anything of interest you may be able to help with no matter how small... Craig the Princess and Asimo 2
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