WEST LOTHIAN CLASSIC

For a quarter of a century Bathgate was home to the BMC / British Leyland factory. The plant opened in 1961 under the management of BMC (British Motor Corporation). During its heyday it was one of the largest factories in Scotland, building a combination of tractors and trucks. At its peak around 100 lorries were leaving the assembly line each week, before it finally closed in 1986.

The name D & J Sibbald will be familiar to transport enthusiasts, as they have been in the haulage business since 1933. The company has used a variety of different lorries over the years and still owns NSV 491, an Albion KL 127 they acquired in the 1930s.

“The company was started by my grandfather John and his brother David,” David explained. “The first depot was at Kult farm near Whitburn. Back in those days West Lothian was still dominated by coal mining and shale oil, and the countryside would have been dotted with slag heaps. The brothers moved to Hardhill farm in Bathgate at the end of the Second World War. Their main business was