The ‘dog-cart’ marks the transition between horse-drawn transport and the motor car. It takes its name from a type of carriage which had an enclosed space for dogs under the seat.

For a motorised version of the dog-cart, this space is a very convenient place to put an engine! Like the horse-drawn carraige, occupants sat back-to-back and was known by the French translation ‘dos-à-dos’.

Although rather dated by 1900, the dog-cart was still popular in Scotland where this vehicle was made. The Albion Motor Car Company was founded by Norman Fulton and Thomas Blackwood Murray in Glasgow and the dog-cart was the first model they produced. The company eventually dropped private car prodution in 1913 in favour of commercial vehicles.

This model has a horizontally opposed 8 hp twin-cylinder engine with water cooling, hidden under the seat. It was originally fitted with tiller steering but was converted to wheel steering early in its career. It also has solid rubber tyres and rather large, carriage-like wheels. Like many of the pre-1905 cars in the collection, it is a regular participant in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.