Turner History overview
MAJOR EVENTS IN TURNER’S HISTORY
1859 Thomas Turner & Sons formed in Wolverhampton. (managed by J S Dumbell)
1902. The Dumbell’s purchase shares in Thomas Turner Co. in order to make cars.
1906 name changed to Turner Motor Manufacturing Company
1938 name changed to Turner Manufacturing Company
1968 Company floated on the stock exchange to become a Limited Company.
1974 Part ownership taken by the Dana Corporation. (“Spicer” brands introduced).
1978 Dana take 100% control. Generally regarded as the end of “Turners”
1996 Caterpillar acquire transmission division from Dana. The Tuner name was reintroduced as Turner Powertrain Systems.
2014 Production of Turner branded transmissions ceased in Wolverhampton with production being transferred to India
PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY TURNERS
CARS produced from 1902 to 1928.
Started with the Belgian “Miesse” steam car and then various petrol engine cars
MACHINE TOOLS
Produced from 1914 on in to the 1930’s.
Small lathes and Tool& Cutter grinding machines.
RECOVERY WINCHES
Produced from 1927 to 1982.
First customer was Guy Motors. Last Customer was Bedford. Many other military vehicles were fitted with winches having pulling capacity ranging from 1 to 20 tons.
AIRCRAFT LANDING LEGS & Aircraft sub contract work 1931 to 1970’s
Product started with“Oleo” type aircraft landing legs being produced under licence. Then their own design units. Helicopter rotor heads for Westland from 1952.
DIESEL ENGINES (four stroke V95 series).
Produced from 1946 to 1956
Designs started in 1944. Single, ‘V’ twin and V4 configurations.
LIGHT DELIVERY VEHICLES (the Byvan & Tryvan).
Produced 1946 to 1958
First sample machines used Royal Enfield engines then produced with the Turner “Tiger” engine. Marketing company LDV formed in 1947.
FARM TRACTORS (“The Yeoman of England”)
Produced 1949 to 1956.
Production tractors used the 4V95 engine.
HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS
Produced 1952 to 1972 (?)
Initially made a range of valves etc and went on make to complete cargo handling systems for the first of the “Super Tankers”.
DIESEL ENGINES, Two stroke, to List design.
Produced from 1954 to 1958
First units obtained in 1952 but not produced until 1954.
Also used in a Front Wheel Drive VEHICLE unit with different bodywork attached.
TRUCK GEARBOXES
Produced from 1962 to 1998.
Started with a licence to produce Clark 265 which developed in to the T5-300 & T5-400 series of gearboxes. The T4-200 designed in 1968 with full use of taper bearings, pressed cup synchroniser cones etc. developed on in to the T5-290 and is also the basis of the Compact Shuttle type off highway boxes.
The above listing covers the major product groups of Turners. There are many other detail products or sub contract items that could be included. For more information about any of these please contact the web master.
A brief Turner history
TMC, the Turner Manufacturing Company Limited, Wolverhampton are perhaps best known on the preservation scene for the “Yeoman of England” farm tractor with its’ distinctive 4V95 series diesel engine.
There will be a gathering / a display of these is planned / they are a show theme – at the Tractor World Show on March 14 th & 15th 2015 held at Malvern.
This company has a long history and was involved in many more things than just the Turner tractor.
The story starts in the early 1900’s when the Dumbell family decide to get in to manufacturing cars. To do this they invested in an existing company called Thomas Turner & Sons that had been formed in the middle of the 19 th century. {some sources say 1849 others say 1859} . They had small premises, little more than a workshop behind a house, in Gt Brickkiln Street in Wolverhampton. The Dumbells purchased larger premises in Lever Street then negotiated a licence to make a steam car from the Belgian Miesse Company. Initially a number of complete chassis were purchased to which bodies were fitted but they quickly moved on to making the complete car. The decision was made to produce cars fitted with petrol engines and in 1906 the company was renamed as Turner Motor Manufacturing. A variety of cars were made including some being joint ventures. Car production stopped for the duration of the first world war as Turners war efforts were to make large numbers of machine tools. After the war a short lived arrangement saw Turners making cars for “Varley Woods” and then they re-started production of their own cars. Car production came to an end by 1928 but it was not until 1938 that the name was changed to being Turner Manufacturing Company.
{see my document summarising car production and also the Wolverhampton local history web site compiled by Bev Parker}.
Three complete steam cars are known to survive one of which was owned by TMC and is now in the BCLM along with two petrol engine cars. One post WW1 Varley Woods car is known to have survived. In the 1960’s and 1970’s Turner apprentices helped to maintain the cars including taking the steam car on the London to Brighton run. The other Turner steamer that was seen out on that run is now believed to be in Belgium. The third Turner- Miesse is in the “Jurba” (?) museum on the Isle of Man.
In the 1920’s, whilst cars were still being produced, a venture in to the marine world was made when a small two stroke engine with an overhung crank called the Turner Bray was produced. As a publicity stunt one of these was used to power a small dingy across the English Channel.
A far more significant product was introduced in 1927 when Turners were asked to provide a recovery winch for a military vehicle chassis being developed by Guy Motors, also based in Wolverhampton. This resulted in a long association of Turners with the MOD producing winches with capacities ranging from 1 ton (for Land Rover type vehicles) up to 20 tons (as used on the Thornycroft Antar Mk3). Many vehicles were kitted out with Turner winches with the association with Bedford lasting until the late 1970’s.
{See my document on winch production and vehicles fitted?}
{see my document on
Turners aircraft production?}
{make the tractor
production and development a separate document?}
{see my documents on
Operation Enterprise and the List diesel?}
{see my documents on
the range of Turner gearboxes}
{see my document on
the progression of the T4-200 to agriculture}