# Thistle Bicycle by Lines Brothers Canada



## Brian R. (Jul 30, 2017)

I picked up this smart little Thistle today. It has big bike features like a coaster brake, rack, and drop stand, and yet has solid tires. I believe it dates from the late 1940s, early 1950s. My 8 year old son enjoyed riding it on the grass in the park today.

Lines Brothers was a British toy company with its roots going back to 1850. The younger generation of Lines Brothers set up their company in 1919 and later registered Tri-ang Toys as their brand name. They got into bicycle production in England between the wars with the acquisition of The Unique and Unity Cycle Co. Then... "In 1947 Lines Brothers founded a company in Canada. The trademark in Canada was the thistle which had first been used by their father Joseph Lines so many years before." The factory was on St. Patrick Street in Montreal by the Lachine Canal. During the 1960s, Lines Brothers owned Meccano and Dinky Toys. In 1971 the parent company collapsed. Lines Bros. Montreal was taken over by Tube Investments Ltd. UK.

Below are photos of my new Thistle, the Lines Bros. factory in Montreal, and a Thistle retail showroom in Vancouver, Canada.


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## ridingtoy (Aug 3, 2017)

Your Thistle is certainly in very nice original condition, especially for it's age. It must have been stored away somehere not subject to a lot of dampness for the chrome parts to still shine brightly. Nice acquisition!

Dave


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