{"id":2007,"date":"2018-11-27T22:52:40","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T03:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2007"},"modified":"2018-11-27T23:16:12","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T04:16:12","slug":"the-little-skeoch-motor-car-lived-for-one-glorious-year-1920","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2007","title":{"rendered":"THE LITTLE SKEOCH MOTOR CAR … LIVED FOR ONE GLORIOUS YEAR…1920"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ONCE UJPON A  TIME THERE WAS  A MOTOR CAR CALLED  THE LITTLE SKEOCH<\/div>\n

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(also called  The Skeoch Motorcycle  Car)<\/div>\n

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alan  skeoch<\/div>\n
Nov. 27. 2018<\/div>\n

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Maybe we should bring back the LITTLE SKEOCH MOTOR CAR.   It was small,, cheap and  simple\u2026sort of  a  4 wheel bicycle  seating two people with a chains drive and  small<\/p>\n

motorcycle  engine.  So small that only two very slim people could  ride in it since the<\/p>\n
car was  only 31 inches  wide and a  little over 8 feet long.  <\/div>\n

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Some of  you may think this  is some kind  of joke.  Wrong.  In 1920, James Skeoch built his first Little Skeoch, then entered it in a Scottish auto show and sold it<\/div>\n
in ten minutes.   All  told less than a dozen Little Skeoch\u2019s  were built in his small factory.  Ten  were quickly purchased at that auto show. Price?  180 pounds\u2026which was the cheapest car in the show.  None have survived.   Sadly in 1921 a fire  consumed  his little factory and as  a  result the Burnside Motor Company in Dalbeattie,  Scotland, ceased to exist.<\/div>\n

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\"Skeoch<\/div>\n

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\"The<\/div>\n

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\"Skeoch<\/div>\n

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\"Burnside<\/div>\n

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Pictures of the Skeoch production line were retrieved from Skeoch  family albums.   Not exactly an automated  factory.<\/div>\n
But the LITTLE SKEOCHS were real mini cars and seemed about to make a big splash in the booming car market of the 1920\u2019s<\/div>\n
until  fire ended  the enterprise.  Everything became a  blackened  pile  of scrap  iron.<\/div>\n

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James Skeoch moved on.   His skills were valued.  He had a  long successful career and  died  in 1954.<\/div>\n
Not many people, by 1954, were even  aware that there was  such a  car as the SKEOCH.   Memories are short especially since <\/div>\n
none of the Little Skeochs  survived.   Gone  Gone Gone.    <\/div>\n

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Well, not quite.<\/div>\n

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POSSIBLE REBIRTH OF THE LITTLE SKEOCH<\/div>\n
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\"Skeoch<\/div>\n

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\"Engine<\/div>\n

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The Skeoch is  about to be  reborn.  All was  not lost.  By good fortune the motor and  gearbox of one of the Little Skeoch\u2019s<\/div>\n
has  been found.  A group of men, largely retired mechanics and carpenters, have decided to  rebuild the car and to do so<\/div>\n
in the same Scottish town where the originals  were built.  Dalbeattie.<\/div>\n

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\"Fiona<\/div>\n

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This is  Fiona  Sinclair, granddaughter of James Skeoch. Her family records  and  artifacts  gave a  big boost the idea of<\/div>\n
rebuilding the car.   When  Ron Skeoch, James Skeoch\u2019s son died, treasures were found  in his  home…  The plans, radiator and  other <\/div>\n
parts  of the Little Skeoch <\/div>\n

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\"Geoff<\/div>\n

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And this is Geoff Allison of  Dalbeattie, Scotland, who is one  of the prime movers of the restoration project..  He has founded<\/div>\n
the Dalbeattie Men\u2019s  Shed which  is hardly a glorious name for the little factory where All the bits  and pieces<\/div>\n
of the Little Skeoch have been assembled along with quite a gathering of men\u2026engineers, mechanics, widowers,\u2026some<\/div>\n
men  who are just lonely and want something to do  in their retired years  that seems meaningful.   <\/div>\n

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The brainchild  behind the project is Martin  Shelley, a  car enthusiast, who suggested that the Dalbeattie Men\u2019s Shed might<\/div>\n
consider doing something remarkable and then  dropped the bits and pieces on to their work  benches.   <\/div>\n

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Their job makes  me think of<\/div>\n
the Nursery Rhyme about Humpty Dumpty. Only this  time Humpty Dumpty,  i.e. The Little Skeoch, could be put back together again.<\/div>\n
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i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/incoming\/article12137301.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s810\/Mens-Shed-Dalbeattie.jpg<\/a> 810w” src=”https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/incoming\/article12137301.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/Mens-Shed-Dalbeattie.jpg” alt=”Dalbeattie Men’s Shed members Geoff Thomas, John Forrest, Robin Gilchrist and Geoff Allison with part of the original engine and plans for the Skeoch car.” content=”https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/incoming\/article12137301.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/Mens-Shed-Dalbeattie.jpg” class=””><\/div>\n

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Dalbeattie Men’s Shed members Geoff Thomas, John Forrest, Robin Gilchrist and Geoff Allison with part of the original engine and plans for the Skeoch car.<\/span> (Image: Jim McEwan)<\/span><\/div>\n

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Will the  Little Skeoch ever see the light of  day again nearly a century later?   That remains to be seen.  The job is demanding and the cost  of  the right parts is high but <\/span><\/div>\n
the  men are  optimistic.  And  Fiona Sinclair hopes a  reborn Little Skeoch  will be on the road so  her mother, the daughter of  James  Skeoch will be able to take the first ride.<\/span><\/div>\n
These four men are only part of the gathering of men devoted to the project\u2026about three  dozen strong.   Men who  wanted something to do and both Shelley and Allison found that<\/span><\/div>\n
something.<\/span><\/div>\n

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 \u201cThis is a truly local car, it was the only cycle car ever made in Scotland and it was manufactured right here in Dalbeattie.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a Dalbeattie man building a car the likes of which has never been built since.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already had a lot of interest from visitors staying here.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s already attracting a lot of attention and when it is finally road-worthy will really put Dalbeattie on the map.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Project manager, Men\u2019s Shed member Robin Gilchrist, 73, reckons sufficient local skills exist to do the job \u201cin-house\u201d.<\/font><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe will draw in a lot of expertise because some of the work is quite technical in nature.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s enough specialists in Dalbeattie who can help us do the precision engineering work.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

 Quotes  from an interview with journalist Stephen  Norris (Scottish  Daily Record,  March  6, 2018)<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
Nov. 27, 2018<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n