Hi all....I spoke to Dave Marsh and he asked for some pics but he is going away for 7 days as of tomorrow...so it might 2 weeks before i get a reply...i will also sending the same email to the 'Carlton Enthusiast'....who might give a quicker response.....i will post all responses.
There are no markings on the track ends only on the BB shell.....the Markings are:
EO 529
According to DM EO refers to the make of BB....pressed steel [i was hoping it was cast steel].....on that evidence alone he doubts it is a Carlton.
Shaun.....when i mentioned the fastback seatstays he said it could be a Raleigh as i know some Raleigh road frames had a similar design of seatstay.
However he did agree there was a reasonable possibility that the lugs were sold at some point possibly after 1981 when Carlton shut or possibly earlier bearing in mind Carlton stopped using the Capella lugs on their frames in 1966!.....My Alec Bird dates i think from 1984...i base that on 531 decal [i looked at Nick Lloyd's 531 decal timeline].....and remember in those days you could not buy 531 decals willy nilly and if one got a frame resprayed...you only got a 531 Renovated decal and only if you went to a 531 frame builder such as Mercian....but i don't think it has been resprayed...i think it is the original paint job.
But here is another pic of an Alec Bird frame....with the legend Alf Engers.....The seatstays are different..but look at the shape of the fork.....looks identical to the one on my frame....at least i think so!