Castle Three
Encyclopedia
The Castle Three was a British three-wheeled cyclecar
made from 1919 to 1922 by the Castle Motor Company of Castle Mill Works, New Road, Kidderminster
, Worcestershire. The company had originally been a car repair business founded in 1906 by brothers Stanley and Laughton Goodwin but grew to make munitions during World War I and entered the car building business with the coming of peace and the post-war boom.
The car was aimed at the top end of the Cyclecar market and so was fitted with a four-cylinder, water-cooled engine. The first batch of cars had side-valve, straight four, Dorman engines of 1094 cc with the remainder using Belgian Peters 1207 cc engines. These were in-unit with a gearbox, either of two-speed epicyclic or three-speed conventional type and drove the single rear wheel by a shaft and bevel gears.
The open two-seater body with dickey seat had a smart nickel-plated radiator and electric lighting and was attached on a chassis with the suspension using quarter elliptic leaf springs at the front and semi elliptic at the rear. Unusually for a cyclecar, artillery wheel
s were used rather than wire-spoked ones.
The car was exhibited at the 1919 London Motor Show and a reputed 2,300 orders were taken. Not all these were confirmed and it is estimated that around 350 were made. Two are known to survive.
A prototype of a four-wheel version was made but never went into production. The company closed in 1922, selling the works to a carpet maker.
Cyclecar
Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.-General description:Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other...
made from 1919 to 1922 by the Castle Motor Company of Castle Mill Works, New Road, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, Worcestershire. The company had originally been a car repair business founded in 1906 by brothers Stanley and Laughton Goodwin but grew to make munitions during World War I and entered the car building business with the coming of peace and the post-war boom.
The car was aimed at the top end of the Cyclecar market and so was fitted with a four-cylinder, water-cooled engine. The first batch of cars had side-valve, straight four, Dorman engines of 1094 cc with the remainder using Belgian Peters 1207 cc engines. These were in-unit with a gearbox, either of two-speed epicyclic or three-speed conventional type and drove the single rear wheel by a shaft and bevel gears.
The open two-seater body with dickey seat had a smart nickel-plated radiator and electric lighting and was attached on a chassis with the suspension using quarter elliptic leaf springs at the front and semi elliptic at the rear. Unusually for a cyclecar, artillery wheel
Artillery wheel
The artillery wheel was developed for use on gun carriages when it was found that the lateral forces involved in horse artillery manoeuvres caused normally-constructed cart wheels to collapse. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave , it has them fitted together then bolted into...
s were used rather than wire-spoked ones.
The car was exhibited at the 1919 London Motor Show and a reputed 2,300 orders were taken. Not all these were confirmed and it is estimated that around 350 were made. Two are known to survive.
A prototype of a four-wheel version was made but never went into production. The company closed in 1922, selling the works to a carpet maker.