The following article was published by Eddie McRorie on 7th May 2025 on the Johnstone History Facebook page and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Detailed below is a collection of newspaper articles on the company, dating from a time when Loudons and other local firms were supplying countries all over the world.

1895 – Local Newspaper Report

"The engineering trade in the town is at the present time fairly busy, and the prospects seem to be good. Messrs. Loudon Brothers, of the Peockland Engine Works, are just now so busy that they have had to intimate their intention of starting a night shift."

This upturn in orders would continue into the next century, as shown in later articles.

Argentina – 1913

Planing machines are obviously a necessity for locomotive shops, and the illustration given herewith is one of the patent "Highest Speed" type supplied by Messrs. Loudon Brothers, of the Clyde Engineering Works, Johnstone, to the Cordoba Central Railway—a British-owned railway company founded in 1887.

They operated a network in Argentina that extended from Buenos Aires, northwest via Rosario and Cordoba, to Tucumán. Financial problems forced the sale of the company to the Government of Argentina in 1938.

New Zealand – 1926

Messrs. Loudon Brothers (Ltd.), Clyde Engineering Works, Johnstone, secured further important orders for large planing machines and other machine tools for the New Zealand Government Railways, in connection with their new workshop extensions.

Russia & British Government Armaments Machinery – 1939

Scottish Machine Tool Corporation

The Scottish Machine Tool Corporation recently received large additional orders, and all their works were expected to be fully employed for a considerable period.

The machinery under construction was of a varied character, comprising heavy machine tools for armament production, including:

• Exceptionally large planing machines

• Gun boring machines

• Powerful lathes

• Bending and flattening machines

• Guillotine shears

These were destined for British Government works, the works of armour plate manufacturers, as well as for the Admiralty and shipyards engaged in warship construction.

Russia

In addition, large orders were being executed for Russia for machine tools suited to general industrial work. Many powerful wheel lathes were also under construction for both domestic and overseas railway companies. One of the Corporation’s works was engaged on a large order for power presses for the new aeroplane factory at Castle Bromwich.

1913

1914

Factory building in John Lang street adjacent to Peockland Garden

1895

1913

1939