BravoFoxtrot Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I picked this item up an auction a few weeks ago. It assumed it to be a brass wheel cap from a WW1 cart. There was some very old grungy grease on the inside so definitely used. What I had not realised is that the Bristol Wagon Works company changed its name in 1889 to the Bristol Wagon and Carriage company. Which would predate this to pre 1889. The 1915 stamp and crows foot are either a wartime mark when the cart was impressed or less likely given the grease etc a later affectation. Looking through the shire book it mentions that the GS wagon Mk V11 was made by the Bristol Wagon Company. What i don't know is the lifetime of a cart as it would be at least 25 years from 1889 to 1915 - or were these brass pieces repurposed or refurbished for use ? Were the hub sizes standardised that they could be interchanged ? FYI it is 2.5 inches across the flats on the top bolt section. 3.5 inches in total diameter; 1.75 inches in height and 2 inches across the threads Any other comments /suggestions ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 Very interesting. I dont know the answer though. You might want to try the Great War Forum. Under the other equipment discussion there is a relevant thread on horse drawn equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BravoFoxtrot Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 Thank you Sir. I did wonder if the broad arrows were original to the hub cap from the start if it was a pre 1890 manufactured military cart and the 1915 is a reference number and nothing to do with date. I will have a look at the Great War forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1212 Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 Another possibility is that the pre 1889 tooling was never modified or replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BravoFoxtrot Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 David this post 1890 hubcap in the link suggests that they did replace their tooling for marking the hub caps. I also found that they had their own brass foundry section. Their catalogue from 1900 shows the extreme number of variations of vehicles they supplied ( excepting military) based upon needs and area styles - lot more complicated than a transit vs a Luton .. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-brass-horse-drawn-cart-dray-1475716967 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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