SHORT AND SWEET? THE ATKINSON TIMELINE
1889 - Edward Atkinson joins steam wagon manufacturer Coulthards as an Apprentice.
1905 - Edward Atkinson leaves Coulthards and becomes involved with the design and production of the Preston ‘Pullcar’ front wheel drive delivery vehicle.
1907 - Edward joins with Harry Birch Atkinson in the formation of a new company, Atkinson & Co., based in Kendal Street, Preston.
1912 - The workforce in the new company now exceeds twenty, many of whom are engaged on steam wagon repairs of various makes. However, the company soon starts to specialise in the repair and conversion of Alley & McLennan wagons, subsequently gaining an Agency for the Polmadie, Glasgow-based manufacturer.
1914 - 1918 - The Great War results in a rapid rise in the demand for motorised transport of all kinds to replace horsedrawn wagons. This demand was the impetus for Atkinson to design it’s own steam wagon.
1915 - Atkinson’s Agency with McLennan is lost when production is moved to Shrewsbury and restarted as The Sentinel. Atkinson’s business reverts to ‘all makes’ repair and conversion of steam wagons, specialising in conversion from solid to pneumatic tyres. Sentinel goes on to spell ‘wagon’ as ‘waggon’ with two ‘g’s.
1916 - The first ‘Own Brand’ Atkinson steam wagon is built – a two-axle 6tonner. Customer interest is so positive that a brand new factory in Frenchwood is built to produce it. The original Kendal Street works is retained as a repair and service depot.
- The workforce has now risen to over 100, before rising even further to 150 by
