The cars were, however, very heavy, being built on a 9-inch chassis, and extremely expensive – the cheapest was around £440 and the most expensive nearly £1,000, and within a few years other makers were selling similar vehicles that weighed only 3/4 ton and cost around £120–200 – and never reached the hoped-for production volumes. Two versions were made, a 15.9 hp with a Dorman 2614 cc engine and a larger 20 hp model with 3308 cc engine of their own manufacture. The Ruston-Hornsby car Īfter the First World War the company attempted to diversify and one outcome was the Ruston-Hornsby car. After running into financial difficulties the development was sold in 1925 to Swanpool Garden Suburb Ltd, a private company, but only 113 of the planned 2–3000 houses had been constructed and no more were built. The vision for the new suburb included a technical institute, church and schools. Architects Hennell and James of London created the designs for the houses, which were built between April 1919 and September 1920. Ruston purchased 25 acres of the Boultham Hall estate and established the Swanpool Co-operative Society. His vision was to provide affordable houses for his workers, with easy access to healthy outdoor recreation, such as a pleasure ground, cricket ground and swimming baths. Ruston was inspired to create a garden suburb in Lincoln – the Swanpool Garden Suburb. Neighbouring manufacturer Clayton & Shuttleworth also built planes. Captain William Howard Livens was sent to Lincoln, where he developed the Livens Projector and the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector. One of the directors, Frederick Howard Livens, had a son who was an army officer on the front line. The company, as Ruston & Proctor, was the largest British builder of aero-engines in the war, and built the largest bomb of the war. The company built around 1,600 Sopwith Camels, 250 Sopwith 1½ Strutters, and 200 Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s. The 1,000th Sopwith Camel (B7380), built at the plant in 1917, was named the Wings of Horus. In the First World War, the company made around 2,750 aeroplanes and 3,000 aero engines. The firm were builders of steam engines and portable steam engines for many years, mainly for the agricultural market however, they also created steam rollers which were used for making roads and owned by contractors and councils. It is now an exhibit in a park in the town. This ran the irrigation pump to draw water from the Murray River for the Coomealla Irrigation Area. The coke gas producer is at left, that feeds the 2cylinder 128 horsepower (95 kW) engine with 6 ton flywheel. Rushton 2cyl gas engine, at Dareton, New South Wales (Wentworth Region).

Ruston engines specifications