J&M Murdoch's Transport Museum

The Neilston Men's Group's first outing was to J&M Murdoch's Transport Museum, which has its home in what was originally Neilston's Crofthead Mill, which was built in 1881. The mill and surrounding buildings are now called Crofthead Industrial Estate.

Crofthead Mill

The mill is now home to J & M Murdoch & Son Ltd., a family business who provide road haulage, waste management, disposal and recycling services across central Scotland and are the biggest employer in the area.

Our group were met by brothers John and Drew Murdoch who explained that, trucking being their main business, it sparked a love of restoring older vehicles. That interest has spread among their workforce and it's not unusual to find people working on restoring vehicles long past going home time.

Just behind the reception, they have a wee museum housing a few large trucks, a collection of very nice motorcycles, a golf cart, a big American muscle car, an old tractor and even an electric train carriage and more. The lads are great recyclers so have also collected a range of industrial tools like scales and lifts and they even have the bell from an old Neilston school, rescued as it was being demolished.

Trucks

We were treated to a very nice sandwich lunch (there was cake as well) and we were shown a range of videos showing some of the things the company had been doing, including their aggregate reclamation facility on the braes opposite the village. All of it was interesting and the brothers and staff proved to be very affable and hospitable hosts. We even had a visit from their father John, one of the founders of the business back in 1965, who proved just as friendly and welcoming.

Most of the serious restoration work happens in another building so we all trooped over there for some more truck porn. I think one of the lads said it used to be a paint shed in the old days but it seemed pretty happy housing a collection of elderly trucks and other vehicles.

More Trucks

The group would like to thank the Murdoch's for allowing us to visit their facility, which isn't normally open to the public, and hear about their love of restoring old vehicles. We'd also like to thank Christine for organizing the lovely lunch. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The Neilston Men's Group is a group of local men who get together regularly to socialise and participate in activities. They are committed to making a positive contribution to the local community, and they believe that visiting the transport museum was a valuable way to learn about our local heritage and the workings of our largest local business.

There are some more photos taken on the day here:

If you're interested in learning more about the history of Crofthead Mill, then take a look at this information on the Bobbins & Threads web site:

• The History of Neilston Mill