Whitney (City Road, London)
| Industry | mechanical and electrical engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1875 |
| Defunct | c. 1941 |
| Headquarters | London, England |
|
Key people
|
Edward Whitney Snr., Edward Whitney Jnr., Charles Whitney |
| Products | small engines, dynamos, pumps, boilers |
Whitney was initially a shop established in 1875 in City Road, London, for the buying and selling of scientific apparatus, also using the name The Scientific Exchange. It later developed to include the sale of small engineering items including model steam engines, boilers, gas engines, steam pumps, electrically driven water fountain pumps, and water powered turbines (the Whitney Water Motor), most of which were marked Whitney, City Road, London. The electrical side of the business was considerable and included installing telephone systems and electric lighting, as well as selling generators and batteries.
The early history of the business was captured in the Model Engineer magazine in 1919. Edward Whitney created the business trading in scientific equipment as a sideline to his existing business, and so placed it under his son Edward Elgar Whitney in 1875. When Edward Whitney Snr died in 1888 the business was consolidated under the control of his sons Edward Elgar Whitney and Charles Crapnell Whitney at 129 City Road, later expanding to include 131 City Road (and c.1905 to 1911 also at 117 City Road). A substantial part of the business became model and small scale engineering particularly related to small-scale generation of electricity for charging batteries and lighting, and ways of driving other light loads including gas, oil and steam engines.
One product that was to have a particularly long run was the Whitney Water Motor, a small (8.5 inch) enclosed Pelton water wheel. Connected to a water supply this could be used to drive light loads via a pulley and belt. Water motors had uses such as laboratory stirrers, charging batteries, and driving sewing machines. It was reported in 1905 that the Whitney Water Motor was rated at 1/4h.p. with 60psi water pressure, which they felt was conservative. It was still advertised in 1931, available as a complete unit, or as a set of castings.
There was a substantial electrical side to their business including generators and batteries, but also extending to installing telephone systems, and lighting, for businesses. In the 1890s they had a very visible advert in City Road as they had erected an arc lamp enclosed in a large elaborate globe. This was driven by current from their own Atkinson twin-cylinder gas engine driving an electric generator, and was at the time the only electric light in the neighbourhood.
During the war the engineering side of Whitney was involved in the production of gunmetal bevel wheels for aircraft use, and pressure safety valves that were modified for use on aircraft fuel tanks. The electrical side of the business was involved in the production of field telephone sets, and accumulators (electrochemical cell batteries) for war purposes.
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Wikipedia