PETER Burt can still remember his job interview at Albion Motors in Scotstoun, more than 65 years ago.

“I got the 240 SMT bus from Lanark to Glasgow and the number 26 tram from Central to Scotstoun,” he recalls.

“As I got off the tram, I could see the big sign on the railway bridge above me – Home of Albion Motors, Sure as the Sunrise, and through the big double doors of the factory, I could see the trucks, ready to be shipped out.”

He adds, with a laugh: “How I wish I’d had a camera with me that day. It was quite something - and that was where I was going to work.”

During two world wars and into the late twentieth century Albion Motors – with its slogan ‘sure as the sunrise’ – was a significant employer of generations of local people, producing and developing engines and vehicles near the River Clyde at Scotstoun.

The area between Earl Street and South Street was always busy with employees walking and cycling to and from work. When the Albion Motors building was demolished in 1988, Balmoral Street became an empty and grey post-industrial link route for traffic movement between Dumbarton Road and South Street business sites.

In 2011, a long-held community dream was realised and Heart of Scotstoun opened its doors. The large area of derelict space was transformed into a community hub, complete with stunning community garden.

This Doors Open Day, Heart of Scotstoun is inviting people to see the transformation that has taken place over the last eight years, and to browse an impressive archive exhibition of photographs from Albion Motors.

Peter Burt, and fellow former employees Colin Hall and Brian Lang, will also be on hand to chat to visitors about what it was really like to work there.

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June Mitchell, of Heart and Scotstoun, explains: “Our Doors Open Day celebrates the transformation that has taken place here - a new sunrise for an old site. Last century Balmoral Street linked the historic Albion Motors site to workers’ homes; now Heart of Scotstoun supports community connections by bringing residents together.”

For Peter, now 81 and living in Bearsden with his wife Agnes, started at Albion in 1953 as a mechanical engineering apprentice. After becoming time-served, he joined the company as a toolmaker and over the next 50 years worked his way up through the ranks, from machine shop foreman to tooling operations manager before retiring in 2003.

“I loved working at Albion, it was a great place, with fantastic camaraderie,” he recalls. “Most people lived locally and the whole community was proud of the factory.”

Even in his retirement, Peter’s fondness for Albion Motors has never left him.

“I build scale models of Albion trucks - I have about 100 of them,” he explains. “In my garage, I have a little workshop where I repair spare parts for people who own Albion vehicles - there are around 400 of these vehicles still in existence.”

Getting involved in the Doors Open Day event at Heart of Scotsoun has been a great experience, he says.

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“Coming in to talk to other former employees has been really interesting - and we found we all knew each other,” he laughs. “I spent hours talking about those old days. I was very happy at Albion - people were friendly and helpful, it was a wonderful job.”

Glasgow’s Doors Open Days Festival runs from September 16 to 22. The Heart of Scotstoun Open Day takes place on Saturday (September 21) from 10am until 4pm and entry is free.Visit www.glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk for more information.

*Did you work at Albion Motors in Scotstoun? Share your memories by emailing ann.fotheringham@heraldandtimes.co.uk