Lomax (kit car)

The Lomax is a British kit car based on mechanical components of the Citroën 2CV. It has been in production since 1982 when it was introduced by the Lomax Motor Co of Willoughton, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. In the late 1980s the production was transferred to the Mumford Motor Co. of Gigg Mill, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, where it was produced until the early 1990s. From then it was built at Cradley Motor Works in Cradley Heath, West Midlands. By 2009 the car was being made by Cradley Motor Works of St Leonard's-on-Sea, East Sussex. It was designed by Nigel Whall. From the early 1990s the Lomax has also been sold in the Netherlands and Germany.
Design.
The design is slightly reminiscent of the legendary Morgan Three Wheeler of the 1930s. The car consists of a fibreglass body mounted on an un-modified Citroën 2CV or Dyane floorpan. Later a steel tube chassis was introduced.
A Lomax is usually an open roadster, which is driven completely without a roof.
The original 1982 prototype had a bespoke four-wheel chassis which was specially constructed, and of shorter wheelbase than the donor car, a Citroën Ami. Early "3-wheel" variants were actually four wheeled, with two rear wheels closely paired as in some Heinkel bubble cars of the 1960s, but this arrangement was soon dropped to allow the 3-wheel road-tax rates which in the UK are lower than for 4-wheel vehicles. Later versions were genuine trikes, three wheels with two wheels in front and one at the back. This was later followed by a four-wheel variant using an unmodified 2CV chassis. The model designations are 223 (2 cylinders - 2 seats - 3 wheels) or 224 (2 cylinders - 2 seats - 4 wheels). A few examples used the engine from the contemporary Citroën GS or GSA. These were designated 424 (4 cylinders, 2 seats, 4 wheels).
The Lomax has usually 29-35  bhp, weighs approximately , has 2 seats and a top speed of .
Petrol consumption is -.
A 4 wheeled version of the Lomax was also available, called 224. The naming convention was the number of seats, the number of cylinders and the number of wheels.
In media.
The Lomax 224 was used as a car produced by a company in the UK TV series "Frank Stubbs Promotes" starring "Timothy Spall"
External links.
Flymall Wheels & Wings Tech Tip Page http://flymall.org/magento/index.php/tech-tips/lomax.html


A403 road

The A403 is a main road linking Bristol with the Severn Estuary. It runs from junction 1 of the M48 at Aust to the docks at Avonmouth. After the Severn Bridge was opened in 1966, the A403 was constructed in 1969 and 1970 to provide a direct route between the M4 motorway and Avonmouth. It is an important route for the local industries, allowing easy access between Wales and this part of England. It was financed by Gloucestershire County Council with a £387,000 grant from the Ministry of Transport and was initially known as the Avonmouth Aust Coast Road.
Route.
The road is running through South Gloucestershire and the City of Bristol. Between the M4 at Aust and Pilning it replaced the B4055 on a realigned route. Between Pilning and Chittening it followed a new route beside the ICI Severnside plant, and from Chittening to Avonmouth it followed the route of an existing unclassified road, St Andrews Road. At Avonmouth it connects with the A4, leading to the Portway. The road disrupted local communities, with Pilning being split in two sections. It runs near the proposed Avonmouth and Severnside Enterprise Area, planned for expansion by Bristol City Council. When completed, the road will have a junction with the M49 motorway (Junction 1) reducing the amount of heavy traffic heading passing through local communities.
Safety.
Around 8,000 vehicles a day use this road. Although this is relatively low, a high proportion of traffic consists of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs); over five times the average. The A403 has had a poor safety record with numerous accidents. A particular problem has been HGVs parked at laybys along the road obscuring the view ahead, leading to several fatalities. South Gloucestershire Council reduced the speed limit on their section to 50 mph in 2007. Bristol City Council have announced plans to install better facilities for cyclists along the road.


BSA Lightning Clubman

The BSA Lightning Clubman was a 650cc British motorcycle made by BSA at their factory in Birmingham between 1964 and 1965. Finished in gold and black the Lightning Clubman is now a highly sought after classic motorcycle. Due to the very limited production numbers replicas are created by enthusiasts from the BSA Lightning.
The equivalent 500cc version was called Cyclone.
Development.
The BSA Lightning Clubman was developed from the BSA Lightning and designed as a Production racing motorcycle, with a special gold and black paint scheme, 'drop handlebars', rearset footrests, a cranked kick-start, twin carburettors, 'siamese' two into one exhaust system (with a less restrictive silencer), a single seat and close-ratio gears fitted as standard. With a top speed (in the right conditions) of 120 mph, it competed against the Triumph Bonneville as the top bikes of the 1960s.
Launched in September 1964, the Lightning Clubman was only in production until October 1965, resulting in a limited production run of 200 machines, so original Clubman models are highly sought after. The BSA Spitfire replaced the Lightning Clubman as BSA's highest-performance machine in 1966.
Racing success.
World motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood won the 1965 Hutchinson 100 Production race at the Silverstone racecourse on a BSA Lightning Clubman in heavy rain, beating the Triumph racing team's Bonnevilles. The 'Hutch' was the main production race of the season, so it was very important to manufacturers to establish the racing credentials of their latest range. Triumph Bonnevilles were ridden by World Champion Phil Read and Triumph employee/works rider Percy Tait. BSA Lightning Clubmans were ridden by Grand Prix champion Hailwood (with a large number 1 on the fairing) and factory rider Tony Smith. Conditions were poor and Smith was out of the race at slippery Stowe Corner. With little regard for the rain Hailwood was achieving laps of 83 mph to establish his winning lead.


Ross Auto Engineering

Ross Auto Engineering was a British manufacturer of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles. The company was formed in 1949 by Victor Electrics, another manufacturer of milk floats. In 1955 they took over the production of Helecs battery electric road vehicles, and also introduced their own models. With the rapid demise of home milk deliveries, production of vehicles ceased in the 1980s, by which time the company had diversified into mobility services, and began trading as Ross Care.
History.
Ross Auto Engineering Ltd was established in 1949 and were based in Southport. It was set up by Victor Electrics, a manufacturer of milk floats who were based at Burscough Bridge, Lancashire.
Their involvement in a major project in 1955 is a little unclear. TH Lewis of London built Lewis Electruk milk floats for Express Dairies, but in 1955, the demand for "Rider Pram" models exceeded Lewis's production capacity. An order for 168 extra vehicles was therefore placed with Ross, who were given the plans for the Lewis 10 cwt model. When delivered, the vehicles were almost indistinguishable from the Lewis model. However, they all carried chassis plates indicating that the chassis at least had been built by Helecs Vehicles Ltd, who were based in South Manchester. Helecs Vehicles had been formed in early 1955 when Hindle Smart re-organised, but Ross took over the production of all Helecs vehicles later that year, and the Helecs companies ceased trading in late 1956 and were liquidated in early 1957.
In 1956 they launched the Ross Auto 25, which could carry a payload of 25 cwt when fitted with a milk float body, but with a low frame height of just , could also be fitted with a refuse collection body, or could be used as a tractor unit, when it could carry 1 ton and pull a 1-ton trailer. It was wide, and came fitted with a motor, which was mounted on Metalastic rubber bushes, to reduce shock loads to the transmission system. Two racks of batteries were mounted either side of the chassis, and battery capacities of 161 Amp-hours to 240 Amp-hours could be accommodated, depending on the use to which the vehicle would be put. The batteries were designed so that they could easily be replaced with fully charged batteries if they became flat. Control was by a two or three speed fully automatic controller and contactor assembly. The vehicle was extremely manoeuvrable, having a turning circle of only , and depending on the gear ratio of the back axle, had a top speed of .
Ross exhibited a four-wheel ride-on float with a vertical steering wheel at the 1958 Dairy Show. It was the first time they had attended the show, and the 20 cwt vehicle had a range of 12 – 20 miles and a speed of 10–12 mph.
In the 1960s, they introduced a model called the Stallion. By 1971, this was available in a number of formats, covered by seven variations of the chassis, and bodywork suitable for use as an ambulance, delivery van, general-purpose vehicle, interworks transporter, milk float, mobile shop, and refuse loader. Payloads varied from 15 to 25 cwt, speeds of from were achievable, and the vehicles had a range of between . For an additional cost, electronic control could be fitted. Besides the Stallion, they also manufactured minibuses, general purpose vans, platform trucks, ambulances, and dairy vehicles suitable for payloads up to 3 long tons.
Diversification.
Despite carrying articles about the vehicles that Ross were producing, "Commercial Motor" magazine failed to list Ross in its summary of electric vehicle manufacturers in both 1956 and 1960. Electric vehicle production ceased in the late 1980s, by which time the company had used its electrical and mechanical engineering skills to diversify into mobility services, and began trading as Ross Care. They supply and maintain mobility equipment for some 80,000 customers, and have outlets in Ellesmere Port, Leeds and Sunderland.


Triumph Triple

The Triumph Triples are a family of modern DOHC inline three-cylinder motorcycle engines made from 1990 onwards by the Triumph Motorcycle Company at their Hinckley, Leicestershire factory. The inspiration for the later triples was the pushrod Triumph Trident, produced from 1968 to 1974 at the Triumph factory at Meriden Works.
The Triumph Triple motorcycle engine has been used in the Trident, Thunderbird, Adventurer, Legend, Tiger, Speed Triple, Sprint ST & RS, Sprint Executive, Trophy, Street Triple, and Daytona models. "Bike" magazine ranked the Hinckley Triumph Triple as the 10th best motorcycle engine of all time.
First generation.
The first generation motor from the reborn Triumph company in 1989 was available as an inline 3-cylinder carburated 4-stroke of either called "750", or 885 cc called "900". The primary difference between the two engines was the stroke. The shorter stroke, higher revving 750 used a bore/stroke of 76.0 x 55.0 mm while the 900 used a longer stroke of 65.0 mm. The 750 engine with its eager revving performance was initially believed to be the finer machine, but the longer-legged 900 proved more popular. As a result the smaller 750 became a budget model and was eventually phased out. Both the 750 and 900 were sold as roadsters called "Tridents". The Sprint 900, a sport tourer with a cockpit fairing, joined the Trident range.
1990s variants.
The first variation on the 900 triple theme appeared in 1992 with the Tiger 900. This made use of softer cam profiles to produce a less powerful engine but with an even broader spread of torque. Further changes appeared a few years later with the Daytona Super III. This time Triumph collaborated with the tuning gurus at Cosworth to produce the first high performance variant of the triple. Using higher compression pistons and a redesigned cylinder head claimed power was increased from to .
In 1995 another variation of the "900" triple engine was introduced in the Thunderbird 900, a model intended for Triumph's first foray back into the US market. It had softer cam profiles and new carburettors, so power dropped again in favour of docility. The engine also received a cosmetic overhaul, by adding polished alloy covers and fake cooling fins on the barrels. In 1997 a sportier machine was produced, the Thunderbird Sport, using the Thunderbird engine with 6 speed gearbox and unrestricted air intake to give more power, as opposed to , twin front discs and other details changes to produce an engine in a remarkably similar state of tune to the original Tiger.
Fuel injection redesign.
The triple received its first major update in 1997 with a ground up redesign to produce the fuel injected T595 Daytona engine, and the T509 Speed Triple engine, the latter using the original bore and stroke of the first generation engine. The claimed power outputs for these engines were respectively. Over the next few years the 885 engine grew to 955 cc and was used in the newly launched Sprint ST and the later Sprint RS. In this updated form it was still claimed to produce , the more powerful being kept for the Daytona. The injected 885 cc triple lived on for another couple of years in an updated Tiger. Triumph made minor updates until 2001, when it performed a major update, first appearing in the Tiger 955i and soon spreading across the rest of the range. Power and torque was increased across the range and this updated model was meant to remedy the faults apparent with the earlier 955 engine. The most lively performer to use this updated triple was the Daytona 955i, in this form claiming , the most powerful triple to emerge from Triumph. The 900 triple in its original form lingered on until 2002 in the form of the Trophy 900, being outlived by its four cylinder relative, the Trophy 1200.
1050 cc redesign.
In 2005 the next generation of the triple emerged in the form of the Sprint ST 1050, swiftly followed by the Speed Triple 1050. The last of the 955 engined bikes – the Tiger – was updated, receiving the cases of the 1050 engine and other small changes although staying at 955 cc capacity until replaced by an all new Tiger 1050 in 2006. 2006 also saw the last year for the Daytona 955i, ending the production of big bore sporting triples. Coincidentally, this year the Sprint 1050 engine received a higher state of tune by lifting the max torque to occur at 7500rpm, closer to the now discontinued Daytona's 8200rpm point.
2.3 litre Rocket III engine.
In mid-2004, Triumph introduced an entirely new triple for use in a new heavyweight cruiser motorcycle, the Rocket III. The engine is 2294 cc, the largest purpose-built mass-produced motorcycle engine in existence. It is liquid-cooled and mounted inline with the frame. As a first for Triumph it was paired with a shaft final drive. It produces at 6000 rpm and of torque. In 2006, the Rocket III was joined by the Rocket III Classic, a more conservatively styled cruiser.
Middleweight 675 cc engine.
In 2006, Triumph abandoned its earlier flirtations with four-cylinder middleweight bikes, and unveiled a 675 cc triple engine to power the all new Daytona 675 sport bike. The engine is liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, transversely-mounted and produces at 12,500 rpm and of torque at 11,750 rpm. The Daytona 675 has competed very successfully with the Japanese 600 cc inline fours that had dominated the market.
In 2007, a de-tuned version of this engine, with a less severe cam and a slightly lower redline, was used in Street Triple 675 roadster.
Middleweight 765 cc engine.
In 2017, Triumph introduced a 765 cc engine, designed for Moto2 (2019 onwards) and the new Street Triple line (not yet Daytona).
Middleweight 660 cc engine.
In October 2020, Triumph introduced a 660 cc variant of the 675 cc triple for the new 2021 Triumph Trident budget bike.
1160 cc redesign.
In January 2021, Triumph introduced an all-new 1160 cc engine (inspired by the 765 platform and Moto2), designed for the Speed Triple 1200 RS. Bore was increased to 90mm and stroke was decreased to 60.8mm with peak power at the crank increased to 178hp and 92ft-lbs. The redline increased to 11,150 rpm, compression ratio was increased to 13.2 with engine weight reduced by 7kg and powertrain inertia decreased by 12%.


Motor Cycling (magazine)

Motor Cycling was the first British motorcycle magazine. It was launched in 1902 by Temple Press as an offshoot of Motor magazine. It was withdrawn after a few months but relaunched in 1909. The Motor Cycle—which was launched by Iliffe in April 1903—coined the slogan on its masthead: "Established in 1903 and for over six years the only paper soley devoted to the pastime". the front covers often had varying degree of green background, green or contrasting text and B&W illustrations or photographic images. This common theme resulted in almost a 'trademark' appearance, being called "The Green 'un", distinguishing it from its rival publication "The Motor Cycle" which had variation on blue background colouring with contrasting text and images ("The Blue 'un").
Early years.
Graham Walker edited the magazine from 1938 to 1954. He was a dispatch rider in the First World War and had a successful racing career with Rudge, Sunbeam, and Norton, winning the Ulster Grand Prix in 1928. He rode many times in the Isle of Man TT, winning the lightweight (250cc) class in 1931, and became president of the TT Riders Association. He was also the father of racing commentator Murray Walker.
Many issues throughout the 1940s and 1950s had the strapline "Read wherever motorcycles are ridden!"
Later years.
In 1959 it became "Motor Cycling with Scooter Weekly". The magazine continued until 1962 when it changed to newspaper format, later merging in 1967 with "Motor Cycle" which had hitherto remained as magazine format.
Traditionally, Motor Cycling had a sporting-bias whilst Motor Cycle had more of a technical grounding. In his first-page article of the last magazine-format of Motor Cycle dated 3 August 1967, Editor-in-Chief of the new venture Harry Louis stated:
""Besides bringing two famous, long-established publications together, we are uniting the star writers on both into one team operating from Dorset House."
"These enthusiasts who, basically all-rounders but with specialized interests when they punch their typewriters, form the most experienced, knowledgeable and liveliest bunch of motor-cycling journalists ever in our field."
The two publications continued as one in the newspaper format, initially using the name "Motor Cycle Incorporating Motor Cycling" under Motor Cycle publishers Iliffe Specialist Publications Ltd.
""The printing will be by the latest process, web-offset, which gives much brighter reproduction of pictures than has been possible in the past. With about twice as much space as in this issue, the new "Motor Cycle" brings you all the features you expect plus much more extensive coverage of sport and news"."
"Motor Cycling" was dropped from the title. Some staff had transferred over to the new venture, whilst others went freelance, such as former staff-writer and racing enthusiast Bruce Main-Smith who had a very successful career including as a publisher of his own motorcycling books which business he sold, including rights to use the name, in 1991 when retiring. This business operated using the name "Bruce Main-Smith & Company Ltd." up to 2013, with the business becoming associated with The National Motorcycle Museum during 2014.
Mick Woollet stayed, becoming Sports Editor, eventually progressing to Editor of Motor Cycle which was later renamed "Motor Cycle Weekly" prior to closure in 1983. Woollett was already involved in The Classic Motor Cycle and went on to other projects under IPC magazines and IPC Press.
A publication having a similar name – "Motor Cycling Weekly," in the newspaper format – was established by some former staff after closure of Motor Cycle/Motor Cycle Weekly including Nick Harris, who later became a motor sport television commentator. Several issues only were sold in the UK during late 1983 and early 1984 before abandonment of the project.


Alex (automobile)

The Alex was a prototype light car produced by Alexander and Co., Edinburgh, in 1908. The sole car made utilized a 14/18 hp 4-cylinder Gnome engine and a Rubery Owen chassis. Production was stopped after the solitary prototype, after costs were found to be too great.
References.
^Bill Emery, "Ales", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885-1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974), pp. 33.


Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel

The Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel (ART) is a tunnel at Heathrow Airport. It connects the airside roads around Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to those around Terminal 5. The tunnel was opened to traffic in March 2005 and is used only by vehicles with security clearance to drive airside.
The ART is long, consisting of of twin-cell cut and cover box at each end, linked by a pair of long bored tunnels. The ART was designed and built between 1999 and 2004 by a team of engineers from the BAA (the tunnel's owner), Amec, Laing O'Rourke, Morgan Est-Vinci and Mott MacDonald.
The bored tunnels have internal diameter of and were driven by a diameter Herrenknecht earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine. The excavations were lined with a bolted concrete lining thick: these are unusually strong tunnel segments, required because the ART is so close to the surface and, at one point, passes over the top of the Heathrow Express tunnel to Terminal 4.
Each bore contains an unusual road layout, consisting of a single carriageway wide; just wide enough to allow an airport bus (Cobus 2700) to drive past another bus stopped at the side of the road. The two tunnels are linked by escape cross-passages at intervals of .


BSA A65 Star

The BSA A65 Star was a Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycle aimed at the US market for unit construction twins. As well as giving a clean look to the engine, with the pushrod passages part of the cylinder block casting, unit construction reduced the number of places oil could leak from. A range of A65 Star twins was produced between 1962 and 1972.
Development.
The decision by Lucas in the late 1950s to switch production of motorcycle electrical components (from magneto/dynamo systems to alternators/coil systems) forced British motorcycle manufacturers to completely redesign their engines. Triumph and BSA took the opportunity to move from pre-unit and semi-unit construction to full unit construction, that is, with the engine and gearbox together in an integrated casting. At the same time, Bob Fearon, managing director and general manager of BSA, recognised the need for a new look that built on the best features of the A10s but would succeed in the potentially lucrative, but competitive, US market. Working with chief development engineer Bert Perrigo, he developed the unit construction "Star twins".
A range of these Star twins were produced between 1962 and 1972, and improved on the old pre-unit A7 and A10 series, being lighter and easier to manufacture, with more up to date styling. Not enough time was spent on testing and development as BSA were struggling to remain competitive with Triumph models and the emerging Japanese motorcycles. Large side panels were fitted to cover the space behind the engine but they contributed to a dated look. This was reinforced by engine vibration, but acceleration was good to a top speed of .
Twelve volt electrics were introduced in 1966 and the top of the range BSA Spitfire with a claimed top speed of . In 1967 BSA won a special Queens Award to Industry and by 1969 80% of the BSA factory production was going to America. In the US the 650 Star twins were selling well with styling changes including high rise handlebars and more streamlined fuel tanks. In 1970 a new 'oil in frame' design was adopted but this proved unpopular with shorter riders, as it increased the seat height. This was sorted out by 1972 but by then BSA were facing serious financial problems and stopped production of the outdated 650 Star twin.


Quantum Sports Cars

Quantum Sports Cars was founded by Mark and Harvey Wooldridge in 1987.
Early models.
Quantum's first car was the Mark 1 hatchback (also referred to as the Mk 1 Coupé) which was based on the Ford Fiesta Mark 1. It reused all of the donor's mechanical and trim components in an elongated, more rounded shape. Due to its reduced weight over the donor vehicle, performance was significantly improved. The Coupé is unusual for low-volume car manufacturer in that it has a glass-reinforced plastic (grp) monocoque rather than a separate metal chassis. This approach relied upon the use of computer analysis to ensure that structural rigidity would not be compromised, offering the strength of a steel chassis but without the weight penalty.
The first Mark 1 Quantum, bearing chassis number 001, was a development mule and was subject to so much adjustment that the Wooldridge brothers eventually decided the car would be too dangerous to keep on the road. This car was therefore disposed of in landfill. Chassis 002 was later believed to have been damaged beyond repair in a head-on collision, so chassis 003 is now the oldest surviving example of a Quantum model and the first to be sold, after a short period being used for magazine tests and promotional materials. To ensure this historic car survives, the Quantum Owners Club has acquired this car and are in the process of restoring it.
The club also owns the last Mark 1 Coupé produced, chassis number 017. In 2015 a club member claimed to own chassis 002, which was believed to have been exported to the Isle of Man, and hence removed from the DVLA records. At the National Kit Car Motor Show in 2017 chassis number was validated by the Committee Members in the Quantum Owners Club who can now confirm this is the oldest surviving Quantum.
In 1991 a restyled version was introduced, now based on the Ford Fiesta Mark 2 with the rear-end shape changed from a hatchback to a saloon. This and other styling revisions led to far greater sales success: a total of 215 saloon models were produced before that model also ceased production.
2+2 Convertible.
By 1993 the firm was also offering a 2+2 convertible, also based on the Ford Fiesta Mark 2, which has been Quantum's most successful model with 431 examples built to date. Since the previous model had evolved, at the time the Wooldridges considered this to be their second model: numbering therefore began "Q2-001", which is now owned by a long term club member. One 2+2 (numbered Q2-275: pictured), with a two-litre engine rather than the more common Fiesta XR2 one, was featured in magazine articles and also loaned to the BBC's "Top Gear" for testing. Jeremy Clarkson and his wife drove the car and compared it favourably with mass-market alternatives such as the Mazda MX-5 during the test. The only criticism was based on the smell of new fibreglass.
The 2+2 is a practical open top sports tourer, with a large boot and spacious interior, while remaining light and sporty. The prototype, and a handful of early customer cars, had round headlights but the alternative nose with the drop down flaps was offered as production started and proved far more popular.
Another 2+2, number 013, built by its owner in Pinner, Middlesex in 1993, the only one outside Europe, is now in New Zealand. A Ford 1800cc diesel was substituted for the original XR2 petrol engine, and a turbocharger has been added. The vehicle is in daily use, both as a family car and – with or without a trailer – for some of the parcel carrying trade of Allbays Transport, an Auckland North Shore passenger and courier goods transport business.
A handful of 2+2 LHD cars are in The Netherlands and one is in Germany. One owner has converted his car to full electric drive using a HPEVS AC50 motor with Curtis 1238 controller with Li battery pack front and rear. It also has power steering, Mk4 fiesta dash, electric heating and many other upgrades.
The 2+2 is no longer made but plans had been mooted by the previous owners of QSC to further revise the design to offer more spacious rear seats, although to date this has not happened. About 455 2+2 cars were built.
H4.
By the time this model emerged, Harvey Wooldridge now considered this to be the fourth car he had designed, hence the name H4. The H4 was based on the Mark3 Fiesta and used what is often erroneously referred to as a "surrey top" roof panel (which could be stored in the boot) and a rear section which could rotate into the bodywork to make a full convertible. At the beginning of development the curved glass for this rear section proved hard to source but eventually an Italian supplier was found. The completed H4 was reviewed by Top Gear magazine in March 1999.
The H4 was produced from 1998 until 2003, when the Wooldridge brothers announced that they were looking to sell the rights to manufacture Quantum cars. As part of the sale, the H4's moulds were sold to Iranian speciality vehicle manufacturers Renus (producing mainly ambulances and fire trucks, they also build other vehicles such as gully trucks). The company meant to produce the car as the "Renus Anna H4," equipped with various Ford Zetec engines of . The car was shown at the third International Auto Show in Tehran in 2002 and was also advertised by being used in the 2002 movie "", but the company was unable to get the requisite licenses and production never started. Rights to build the H4 outside the Middle East were retained by Quantum, but without the costly moulds it is unlikely that production will be resumed in the UK. Only 215 H4 cars were made.
Sunrunner.
There was a change of ownership and a move to Devon in 2001, and around the same time the Sunrunner and XTreme models were introduced. The Sunrunner was a beach-buggy style of car based on the Mk 3 Fiesta and brought in to add to the Quantum portfolio rather than designed in-house. It was rear-engined and rear wheel drive. It is still in production as Quantum Sports Cars showed a slightly revised car at the Stoneleigh National Kit Car Motor Show in May 2018.
Xtreme.
The Xtreme is still in production. It is a modern interpretation of the Lotus 7 two-seat sports car theme. Unusually for this type of car it has practical features such as a sizeable lockable boot and more generous cockpit space. It has a stainless steel monocoque chassis and is the first Quantum to have rear wheel drive. It uses a Mk2 or newer Ford Sierra as a donor car.
Recent developments.
In December 2010 it was announced that another change of ownership would move part of the business to Bristol under the ownership of Eddie Ruskin while XTreme production would remain in Devon. In February 2014 production moved again to Wrangaton, near Ugborough in Devon. As of May 2017 Quantum Sports Cars is under the ownership of Phoenix Automotive Developments and will be based in South Brent, Devon. This change in ownership has brought the various Quantum vehicles back to a single owner, with Saloon, 2+2, H4 and Xtreme parts being provided and Xtreme and Sunrunner kits.


Conway tunnel


A72 road

The A72 road is a major route in Scotland connecting Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, with Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. It travels for over in a south-easterly direction, along the Clyde and Tweed valleys, passing the towns of Larkhall, Lanark, Biggar and Peebles.
Route.
Hamilton to Lanark.
Starting at the junction with the A724, the road parallels the M74, following the original A74 (now B7078) before descending into the forested Clyde Valley as it skirts around the town of Larkhall. The road follows the River Clyde, with some tight bends, sheer drops and adverse cambers, and meets the A73 just north of Lanark.
Lanark to Causewayend.
This section of the road follows the course of the A73 through the town of Lanark and, just before Symington, again becomes the A72. It meets the main A702, Edinburgh to Abington, South Lanarkshire road; this short section of road is narrow as it passes through Symington.
Causewayend to Kaimrig End.
This section of the road follows the course of the A702 for approximately 3 miles through the town of Biggar. The A72 enters the village of Skirling before ascending onto higher moorland. This section of road is notorious for accidents due to its high elevation, poor weather and winding route.
Kaimrig End to Galashiels.
On this last section of A72, it is the secondary route on the A701. Just south of Blyth Bridge, it meets the A721, and less than a mile further, it leaves the course of the A701. The A72 ascends a high plateau, then descends into the valley of the River Tweed at Stobo, and parallels the Tweed for the remainder of its length.
The road passes through Peebles and then Innerleithen and Walkerburn towards Galashiels. It comes to an end at a junction with the A7, which leads on to the Galashiels Ring Road.


Beattock Summit

Beattock Summit is a high point of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) railway and of the A74(M) motorway as they cross between Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire in south west Scotland.
Railway history.
The highest point on the Caledonian Railway Main Line north of the border (built by the Caledonian Railway and opened on 15 February 1848), it is located 52 miles (83 km) south of Glasgow Central and 349 miles (558 km) north of London Euston stations. The height of the summit is 1,033 feet (315 m) above sea level. The signboard by the rail track records the elevation as . The summit is the watershed between the River Clyde to the north and Evan Water, a tributary of the River Annan to the south.
Steam locomotives frequently required banking assistance in getting their heavy trains up the incline, particularly in the northbound direction, which had steeper gradients. There was an engine shed at Beattock which had banking locomotives on standby twenty-four hours per day to minimise train delays.
The severity of the climb to the summit is referenced in W. H. Auden's poem "Night Mail", written in 1936 for the G.P.O. Film Unit's celebrated production of the same name.
Electric locomotives, as far back as the Class 86, as well as today's Avanti West Coast services, climb the gradient without assistance.
Private station.
The summit was the location of a private halt from 1900 to around 1926. 1966


Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group is a Scottish transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. It previously had extensive operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
History.
Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early 1980s, though its roots can be traced back to 1976 when Ann Gloag and her husband Robin Gloag set up a small recreational vehicle and minibus hire business called "Gloagtrotter" in Perth, Scotland. Ann's brother, Brian Souter, an accountant, joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. In 1982, with the collapse of his marriage to Ann, Robin Gloag sold his ownership stake in the business and ceased any involvement. The Transport Act 1980, which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the company and services were launched from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches. For a while, the company offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag making up sandwiches and snacks for the passengers.
Successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Citylink, the company grew significantly between 1981 and 1985, when Stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of McLennan of Spittalfield, near Perth. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from London Regional Transport, the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing ex NBC and SBG bus companies that had been purchased via management buyouts and employee-owned corporations when privatised. Stagecoach left the long-distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express.
During the privatisation of British Rail, Porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives, multiple units and coaching stock running on Network Rail's system which is leased to various train operators. It was sold to a management buyout before being purchased by Stagecoach in August 1996. In April 2000 Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to Abbey National for £773 million.
In 1997 Stagecoach won the franchise to operate the Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, who own the system. Stagecoach bought the remaining 27 years of a 30-year franchise, which expires in 2024, and run the operation under the Stagecoach Supertram brand, having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the tram system. When Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers, but it is now an extremely popular and successful operation. Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased Scotland's Prestwick Airport for £41 million. By the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. They sold the airport in January 2001 to concentrate on surface transport.
On 21 November 2005 Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil. On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group (Yorkshire Traction) for £26m, and also assume Traction's £11m debt. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier), Lincolnshire (RoadCar) and Angus (Strathtay Scottish). Traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK.
Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options. In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. After a competition enquiry, in October 2006 Stagecoach was instructed to sell some of the Scottish coach services. Stagecoach were also active in the rail industry,having a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group. In 2007 the group were successful in their bid for the new East Midlands franchise which had been created by amalgamating the previous Midland Mainline franchise with the eastern part of the former Central Trains franchise.
In July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. In January 2009, Stagecoach bought Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area. In November 2009 the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area.
In October 2010, Stagecoach expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent, Stagecoach's former London bus operations. In August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate the network. In December 2013, Stagecoach bought King's Lynn based Norfolk Green. In March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise. The franchise was terminated on 23 June 2018 after it was revealed that Stagecoach had overbid.
In December 2018, it was announced that private equity house, Variant would acquire Stagecoach Group's US division for $271 million. The sale was completed in April 2019.
In April 2019, Stagecoach was disqualified from participating in three rail franchise competitions by the Department for Transport after it submitted non-compliant bids for the East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchises.
Operations.
Key people.
Stagecoach Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Founder Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag are the largest shareholders with a combined 26% shareholding at April 2019.
UK operating companies.
The following is a breakdown of the Stagecoach operating divisions. The centre of each operating region is shown in parentheses. Legal company names are listed alongside the trading names for that company.
Bus division.
Bus division operations are as follows:
Brands.
Apart from the ordinary bus operations and no-frills services, the UK bus division has the following brands that extend across operating divisions.
Former operations.
Manchester Metrolink.
In July 2007 Stagecoach took over the operation of Manchester Metrolink on a 10-year fixed-term management contract, beating competition from Keolis, Serco and Transdev, to make it the biggest tram operator in the UK. This system was the first modern tram system in the United Kingdom, opening just before the Sheffield system in 1992. Nearly 18 million people ride on the system a year. Stagecoach sold the Metrolink business to RATP Group in August 2011.
Stagecoach Rail.
In 1992, shortly before the privatisation of British Rail, Stagecoach Rail briefly operated a modest InterCity operation between Aberdeen and London. Two British Railways Mark 2 passenger carriages were re-branded in Stagecoach colours and attached to a scheduled British Rail InterCity sleeper service.
Virgin CrossCountry.
Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997 until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva.
Virgin Trains East Coast.
Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, operated the InterCity East Coast franchise from March 2015 to June 2018.
Australia.
In 1999 Stagecoach purchased the school bus operations of Sunbus in the Cairns, Ipswich and Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland. These were sold in 2002 to:
Hong Kong.
In 1994 Stagecoach created a bus-operating subsidiary in Hong Kong which operated residential bus services. It ceased operation in April 1996.
In 1999 Stagecoach planned to become the largest bus company in China through joint ventures, equity stakes and partnerships, and confirmed the £181m acquisition of Hong Kong's Citybus. Stagecoach acquired control of Citybus Group, which provided franchised bus services on Hong Kong Island and to and from Hong Kong International Airport as well as non-franchised services throughout Hong Kong, in March 1999 and then completed the privatisation of Citybus on 17 July 1999.
In June 2003 the operation was sold to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the parent company of the major rival operator New World First Bus.
Kenya.
In November 1991 Stagecoach Holdings Limited (as it was named then), bought United Transport's shareholding in Kenya Bus Services Limited. During its tenure, Stagecoach rapidly expanded the fleet, introducing the Express Services and the modern double decker buses back on Kenyan roads. In October 1998 a consortium of investors led by Karanja Kabage as chairman acquired Kenya Bus Services Limited from Stagecoach Holdings which owned 95% of the business.
New Zealand.
Stagecoach New Zealand was a wholly owned part of the Stagecoach Group, which provided bus services in Auckland, Wellington and the Hutt Valley and nine ferry routes in Auckland. It was the largest bus company in New Zealand when sold. Stagecoach NZ started operations when the firm acquired Wellington City Transport, including the Hutt Valley suburban bus operations of the New Zealand Railways Road Services, branded "CityLine", in the 1990s. Following this initial acquisition Stagecoach also purchased Eastbourne Buses, The Yellow Bus Company in Auckland and a controlling interest in Fullers Auckland. In November 2005, the business was sold to Infratil and rebranded as NZ Bus.
North America.
Stagecoach carried out bus operations in the northeastern and midwestern United States and in eastern Canada. Businesses were focused on commuter services, and included tour and charter, sightseeing, local, and school bus operations:
In December 2018 Stagecoach announced it had agreed to sell all of its North American operations to Variant Equity Advisors with the deal concluded in April 2019.
Portugal.
Stagecoach Portugal had its origins in the reprivatisation of Portuguese bus and coach operation, which had been nationalised after the 1974 Revolution. In 1990, the nationalised Rodoviária Nacional was split into ten components. In the capital, Lisbon, Rodoviária de Lisboa was the chief operator outside the city itself, where Carris provided city bus and tram services. The name of Rodoviária de Lisboa survived as part of the Barraqueiro bus company, but another part, serving the area to the west of Lisbon, became Stagecoach Portugal in 1995. A further portion still operates as Vimeca – Viação Mecânica de Carnaxide. In June 2001 Stagecoach announced the sale of their Portuguese operations to ScottURB for £14 million.
Nordic countries.
In October 1996, during Stagecoach's International buying spree, it made its most important international acquisition at the time, buying Swebus AB, the bus-company arm of the Swedish State Railways (SJ), for 1.2 billion kronor ($164 million), which also included operations in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The operations in Norway included only city and regional traffic in three minor cities around lake Mjøsa, but several unsuccessful bids on operators in the Oslo area led to Stagecoach selling out to Norgesbuss in April 1997. The Danish operations never proved profitable, and were sold to Combus in autumn of 1997. The operations in Finland were more successful, and were in April 1998 renamed Stagecoach Finland. In spring of 1997, Swebus Express was started as an intercity coach service between several cities in southern parts of Sweden, sporting the Stagecoach livery of the time. Stagecoach in 1998 announced that it had bid for several rail franchises in Sweden. On 27 October 1999, Stagecoach revealed that it was going to sell Swebus to Concordia Bus for £100m, to refocus its bus operation on the United States and Asia.
No-frills brands.
Stagecoach operate a number of so-called "no-frills" services across the United Kingdom and the United States. Applying the business model of the low-cost carrier air lines, these services aim to offer cheaper alternatives to the established operators in the bus, coach and rail markets, by reducing costs, and offering extremely low fares for the earliest bookings, rising nearer the journey time:
Magic Bus.
Magic Bus was the first no-frills brand of Stagecoach. It was first used in red lettering on ex London Regional Transport AEC Routemasters, otherwise painted in Stagecoach stripes, in competition in Glasgow. Later, an allover blue with yellow lettering was adopted, on older service buses with simple fares and no travel passes, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators, most notably on the Manchester Piccadilly to East Didsbury Wilmslow Road bus corridor route in Manchester, but also in Newcastle upon Tyne and East Scotland (as Magic Mini). In 2008 Stagecoach Merseyside introduced a Magic Bus service competing with themselves and Arriva North West on the busy route 14 corridor, Magic Bus 14C runs every 7/8 minutes between City Centre and Broadway. By 2012, only the Manchester Magic Bus remained, these being upgraded from Volvo Olympians and Dennis Dragons to Alexander ALX400 and East Lancs bodied Dennis Trident 2s.
Megabus.
Megabus is a low cost, "no-frills" intercity bus service launched in the United Kingdom by Stagecoach in 2003, on 10 April 2006 in the United States, and in 2009 within Canada. Its main rival in the UK is National Express, who have had to lower their prices to compete with Megabus. In the US, Megabus/Eastern Shuttle's main rival is BoltBus, which is 50% owned by Stagecoach rival FirstGroup. In the UK, the Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. Originally operated using high capacity but older coach seated buses, most services are now operated with new modern single or double deck coaches. In the United States, services radiate from Chicago and New York City, but the networks are not connected. In both the UK and the US, to cut costs, most services use on-street bus stops rather than pay for access to coach stations (except in cases where pre-existing routes were converted to Megabus lines). A notable exception to this is the use of London Victoria Coach Station.
Megatrain.
On 14 November 2005, the Megabus concept was extended to certain rail services, with the introduction of Megatrain between London and Southampton, and London and Portsmouth, using a dedicated carriage on selected South West Trains services. It was later extended to some Virgin Trains services (since withdrawn) and to selected East Midlands Trains services. In 2009, the Megabusplus concept was introduced, under which certain trips are begun on a train and are then completed on a bus. Unlike the original Megatrain concept, this service is available seven days a week.
Scottish Citylink.
In September 2005 Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro announced a joint venture in the provision of express coach services in Scotland, ending intense competition between ComfortDelGro's subsidiary Scottish Citylink and Stagecoach subsidiaries Megabus and Motorvator. Under the terms of the joint venture, the Stagecoach Group acquires a 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd, with Citylink assuming certain rights to the Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland.
The Competition Commission ruled in October 2006 that the joint venture substantially reduced competition and that evidence suggested some routes were already experiencing higher fares as a result. Though no firm conclusion was drawn, regulators are to consult the two companies about what they need to do to comply with competition regulations and they have indicated that this will likely lead to the forced divestment of some services to an independent operator. The ruling was criticised by Stagecoach as leaving vital services in limbo and jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network, making it unable to compete effectively with rail and private car journeys.
To satisfy the commission, some Citylink routes were sold to Parks Motor Group in early 2008.
Controversy.
Competitive strategy.
Following the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom, Stagecoach bought a number of the newly emerged small bus companies and ran free or low fare buses to put local rivals out of business. In Darlington, Stagecoach subsidiary Busways offered bounties to recruit drivers away from the existing bus service and offered free buses to deter the rival preferred bidder from taking over the existing bus service. This was "predatory, deplorable and against the public interest" according to findings from the Monopolies & Mergers Commission.
In 2000 Stagecoach Manchester was found to have been employing bus inspectors to usher passengers away from competitor's services. In 2005 alleged aggressive behaviour by Stagecoach drivers, seeking to compete with Scotbus, resulted in an arson fire at a Stagecoach East Scotland garage.
In 2006/07 Stagecoach Manchester and UK North engaged in a bus war on route 192 and on the Wilmslow Road bus corridor that caused traffic chaos in Manchester. In November 2009 the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area. Preston Bus was sold in January 2011.
Controversial chairman.
The Stagecoach Group has also indirectly attracted criticism through controversial statements and actions made by its chairman and co-founder, Brian Souter, regarding certain public statements and his funding of a campaign to block the repeal of the Section 28 law. In 2000, OutRage! spokesman Peter Tatchell, called for a boycott of the bus and rail group.
Fleet numbers.
The Stagecoach Group number their buses using a system that applies for the life of the bus or until it is sold, as follows:
Guided Busway.
Stagecoach operate buses along the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. The Guide wheels on the side of the buses, combined with a specially built track mean that hands free driving is possible. The main advantages of a guided busway, versus a normal road are higher speeds (meaning increased capacity) and increased safety as traffic of differing directions is physically separated.


A446 road

The A446 is an A road in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme.
History.
The 1922 route of the A446 was Leamington – Kenilworth – Coleshill – Lichfield, which over the years has been curtailed to its current route.
Route.
Stonebridge – Bassets Pole.
The A446 starts as a dual carriageway south of Coleshill off the A452. It crosses the M6 at junction 4, almost immediately the road takes the course of the Coleshill bypass, the former route going through the centre of the town. There are 2 roundabouts on the bypass, one of which is the former route of the A47. North of Coleshill the route becomes single carriageway and runs parallel to the M42, eventually crossing it at junction 9. From here to Bassets Pole, the route is single carriageway, running alongside the M6 Toll. The road terminates at the Bassets Pole roundabout, meeting the A38 and A453.


Neval (motorcycle)

Neval Motorcycles imported into Great Britain a two stroke 125cc motorcycle based on a pre-World War II DKW RT 125 design made in Minsk in the former Soviet Union (now Belarus) by Motovelo. This model was initially tradenamed as "Neval".


A835 road

The A835 is a road in the Scottish Highlands linking Inverness to Ullapool and the Far North of Scotland.
Route.
The A835 starts at Tore on the Black Isle, seven miles north-west of Inverness at a junction with the A9. The A835 crosses the Black Isle to Conon Bridge, where the A832 crosses, linking Muir of Ord to the west and Fortrose to the east, on the Moray Firth. From here the A835 follows the River Conon upstream through Contin, past Rogie Falls and Loch Garve to Garve Junction, where the A832 forks left through Strath Bran to Achnasheen.
The A835 turns north through the Strathgarve and Garbat Forests, then turns again to the north-west and climbs to the Glascarnoch Dam of Loch Glascarnoch. The road then passes through Dirrie More, a high and wide mountain pass at 279m asl between Sgurr Mòr (Fannichs) and Beinn Dearg, before descending to Braemore Junction where the A832 returns after making a vast circuit around the mountains of Wester Ross and across to the west coast at Gairloch.
The A835 descends from Braemore Junction through Strath More to the head of Loch Broom and then follows the lochside to Ullapool. From here it continues north through Strath Canaird to Ledmore Junction on the A837 road between Lochinver and Bonar Bridge which is where the A835 ends.
The A835 is one of several trunk routes in Scotland where bilingual road signs (in English and Gaelic) are in use.
The A835 formerly commenced at Garve, where the A832 now branches off west. On completion in the 1970s of the new road system from the Kessock Bridge across the Black Isle, including a spur from Tore to cross the R Conon at Maryburgh and continue past Brahan to join the old A832 before Contin, the entire route from Tore to Garve was designated A835, including the former A832 between Contin and Garve. This creates in effect an Inverness-Ullapool trunk road, Ullapool being the ferry terminal for Stornoway. However, it leaves the A832 falling into two widely separated parts, with the resulting illogicality aggravated by the eastern half (Cromarty-Fortrose-Muir of Ord-Contin) intersecting the A9/A835 at Tore.


List of motorway service areas in the United Kingdom

Motorway service areas, also known as service stations and commonly abbreviated to MSAs are places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. Some also incorporate or adjoin hotels. Only 20 motorway services in the UK remain in the ownership of the Department for Transport and let on 50-year leases to private operating companies. The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef and a developing chain of stations being constructed by Extra.
Some of the 94 service areas on this list are on major A-roads rather than motorways. These share the defining properties of motorway service areas, being named service areas operated by a single company with a range of facilities including food & drink providers, toilet facilities and vehicle servicing facilities. Such service areas are rare on most A-roads, where basic filling stations with a single shop are more common.


James Haydon

James Richard Barnaby Haydon (born 2 November 1973 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire), is a British former motorcycle racer. He raced in 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix, MotoGP, British Superbike and the World Superbike Championship. He retired in 2008.
He now works in media, presenting shows and race commentating on ITV and British Eurosport for World Superbike Championship and British Superbike Championship coverage, and he covers some Moto GP races when the regular commentators are unavailable. He has worked for the BBC, Sky Sports, Motors TV, Al Jazeera and Radio 5 live and is seen as a rising talent within the media side of the sport. He is also the guest test rider for Britain's biggest motorcycle monthly - Bike Magazine.
Biography.
James got his passion for speed through his father David, a Doctor who loved fast cars and motorcycles. He bought James his first motorcycle aged eight which he would ride in his parents garden. He quickly moved into Motorcross and worked his way up into the top 40 in Britain in Schoolboy Motorcross. But instead of pursuing a career in that sport he swapped to road racing at 16 in 1990. He finished 2nd in the British 125 Ministock Championship in his first year. Also starting in Ministocks that season was Neil Hodgson who immediately became (and still is) a great friend of James'). James then moved straight into The British 125cc Championship in 1991 (grabbing a pole position, some top 10 finishes and also winning the EMRA 125cc Championship). He was then spotted by Ron Haslem for a ride on Team Great Britain in 1992 after a disappointing finish in the 1991 Superteen championship. He raced a Yamaha TZ250 and won his first British Championship race at Silverstone that same year. The next season in 1993 he just missed out on winning the British 250cc Championship (which he had dominated) after the camera he was carrying for TV came loose and jammed his back wheel in the final race causing him to crash. The same season at 19 (having already won 4 British Championship 250cc races) he competed in the 1993 British 500cc Grand Prix, finishing 11th to become the youngest ever British points-scorer in a top-division World Championship race. He managed to finish well ahead of his mentor, the legendary Ron Haslam adding more prestige to his great performance. In 1994 he won his first British Superbike Championship race along with two more national 250cc victories that year.
For 1995 he then jumped straight into the top level 500cc world championship as a privateer (1995 for Harris and 1996 for WCM). He took some stunning top 10 results and impressed many with his speed on a privateer bike. He had offers to stay in G.P.'s but he decided to move to the WSBK in 1997. But this was with GIACO MOTO, a poorly run Team who struggled with finance and an old motorcycle. James quit after the bike broke down 14 times. His best result was a 9th-placed finish.
After three years in the World Championship for 1998 he returned home to the ultra competitive British Superbike championship. He surprised many with a podium in his first race before going on to have many years of success. He quickly became a crowd and sponsor favourite with his exciting all action style, never give up attitude and screen presence. He raced for Team Suzuki, Team Red Bull Ducati, Team Yamaha and Team Kawasaki. Never the luckiest rider many felt one of his best chances for the Championship came in 2000 for Ducati. Whilst leading the Championship a terrible mid season car accident (in which he was a passenger) damaged his neck and nerves badly. This caused him serious problems when racing and training and ruined his season. He twice finished 4th in the standings and was always one of the fastest riders, with multiple lap records and fastest laps throughout his BSB career. He won a total of 12 British Superbike Championship races and had over 30 podiums in the series.
In 2002 he joined Carl Fogarty's Foggy Petronas in the WSBK, developing the new bike for the first year. It proved unreliable with multiple blow ups, a lack of parts supply and other problems dogging it throughout the year. James had to leap from the motorcycle twice when it blew up and engulfed him in flames and fuel. One of the lowest points came when the gearbox locked up in Germany and caused a horrific accident (putting him out for the middle of the season). His high point was a best result of 7th in the world in Japan.
In 2004 he nearly retired after the mentally and physically draining previous season and started it without a ride. But his pedigree could not be ignored and he was soon called up to stand in at Virgin Mobile Yamaha in the British Superbike series. He immediately turned the Teams season around taking the bikes and Teams only win of the year and also putting it on the podium. Despite missing many rounds he beat all the other riders in the team and finished top Yamaha in Britain. It was also the only season in his career that he never crashed, not even in practice. At the end of the season he also raced in the last few MotoGP's ( World Championship) for Kenny Roberts Proton team. His best result an impressive 12th place in Qatar.
2004 had been such a good season that he signed a prestigious two-year deal for Airwaves Ducati (one of the top teams in Britain). He should have spent 2005 and 2006 on an Airwaves Ducati but an unlucky pre-season testing injury at Albacete saw Gregorio Lavilla take over his ride and then keeping it after a promising start (and eventually winning the championship on it). With no ride he became 'Super Sub' once again, filling in for various teams throughout 2005. Eventually ending up at Team Suzuki (after John Reynolds was injured). He immediately beat his new teammate (Scott Smart) and when the injured John Reynolds returned, the Team kept Haydon not Smart and he rewarded them with some strong results including a podium.
This was good enough for an offer to stay with the Team for 2006 alongside 2003 champion Shane Byrne. After a strong start at Oulton Park on identical bikes, James was made to run a different development bike to Byrne with a changed weight balance. He disliked the new bike immediately and blamed his sudden poor form and crashes on the change of machine. But with his ally the experienced Paul Denning (ex- Suzuki Team Manager) off in MotoGP and a new Team manager who had never worked in motorsport before, James struggled. After a heavy crash at Mallory he missed round 6 through injury then returned at Snetterton for Round 7. In race 2 a serious brake problem at the end of the Revvit straight caused him to run off the track at high speed. Unable to slow properly he shot across the track and collided with Dean Thomas. This caused an unfortunate crash which left Thomas and Haydon injured. Both riders soon recovered although only Haydon returned to race that season. Afterwards the incident was reviewed by an RAC panel and Haydon was cleared of all responsibility when the data logging proved the problem had been completely outside his control.
For 2007 he returned to Virgin Yamaha alongside Tommy Hill in a Team he had excelled with in the past. But he parted company with the team stating that he had "lost confidence in the development Pirelli tyres they were forced to run and that showed in (his) riding. Lacking extra funds the Team said that there was no possibility of a testing programme to help (him) rebuild that confidence so it seemed impossible to continue". N.B. Virgin Yamaha were the only team in Britain to run the then new Pirelli tyres that year against the established and mighty Michelin and Dunlop. Later that year he signed as 'Super Sub' for Hawk Kawasaki and in his first race with them he beat his teammate and finished top Kawasaki. He continued that form for most of the season.
For 2008 Hawk Kawasaki offered Haydon a season contract. However two weeks before the start of the race season they were forced to pull out when one of their main sponsors withdrew. So he was once again without a ride.
But he was quickly contacted by Eurosport and decided he would leave racing and go and work for them instead. He has never raced at the top level since.
Says James "After a long career my time had come to retire from racing bikes. It was a difficult choice for sure as there is never a 'right' time as such. You normally find riders only retire after really bad injuries and I've been very fortunate to avoid those. Amazing really and I'm thankful for that. Especially as I have been racing bikes most weekends for 25 years now. From a small kid on a dirt field all the way to the best circuits in the world in front of millions of people. I've had an amazing time too! I've travelled the world and spanned some really cool era's in bikes. From 165 Bhp 500cc V4 2 Strokes to 240 Bhp 1000cc 4 strokes. I've raced them all. From the likes of Schwantz, Doohan, Criville, Cadalora up to Bayliss, Biaggi and Rossi. Wish I had beaten a few more of them mind you! But seriously, I feel blessed to have done something I really loved and been paid well for it. Thank you everyone! Now however, it's time for the next chapter of my life. I can't wait for the challenge!"
James now presents for British Eurosport, mainly on the British Superbike Championship. He is also a regular studio guest on the live World Superbike Championship rounds. For the first time in 3 years James got back on a modern bike at the 2010 British Superbike Championship round at Brands Hatch, James joined the select few and rode some fast demo laps on the 2010 Rizla Suzuki Moto GP bike.
Personal life.
James' parents David and Beverley are both retired and live close by. His Dad still owns and rides many motorcycles. James also has three sisters Annabelle, Susannah and Charlotte. James is married to Jo and they have three children, Zac, Maya and Lexi, and the couple lived in Andorra for many years but now reside back in England close to their families. James is the nephew of designer Zandra Rhodes.
Former BSB and WSB Champion Neil Hodgson said of James "For sure he was one of the fastest riders I've ever seen who never managed to win a British or World Championship. But he has his head screwed on and a good view of life, so I am sure he will succeed in whatever he chooses to do now. Go get 'em James".
External links.
JamesHaydon.co.uk


List of road junctions in the United Kingdom

This is an alphabetical list of road junctions in the United Kingdom.


A4240 road

The A4240 is a main road in Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales.
Route description.
The A4240 begins at the roundabout at the Loughor side of the Loughor bridge. The road heads east through Loughor, then onwards through Gorseinon, where it forms the east–west main road intersecting with the B4296 in central Gorseinon. The A4240 then continues through the Garngoch Industrial Estate and then through Penllergaer after which it continues along a single carriageway shared with the A48 until it reaches the roundabout which forms Junction 47 with the M4 Motorway.


Weston Hills Tunnel

The Weston Hills Tunnel is a 230m twin road tunnel under the Weston Hills near Baldock in Hertfordshire. It was constructed as part of the A505 Baldock bypass.
A public inquiry was held in 1995, and in 2002 the government granted permission to build the road. Construction started in April 2004 and the bypass and tunnels opened on 16 March 2006
The bypass as a whole, including the tunnel, cost £43 million.
The tunnel itself was constructed using a cut and cover method, during which the hill was cut away and the concrete tunnel structure then put in place. The hillside was then re-filled in over the top - see Bypass Construction Gallery.
The purpose of the tunnel at this position is to reduce the gradient of the road, and to preserve the visual line of the hills and provide crossing points for wildlife such as deer. The chalk cuttings for the tunnel have become a haven for butterflies which are native to the area.


Kevin Mitchell (motorcyclist)

Kevin Mitchell (born 24 October 1961) is a former British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1987 to 1994. He achieved his highest ranking in 1992, riding for Harris Performance Products on a Yamaha 500cc bike, when he had 12 starts and finished 27th; his highest point total was 4, in 1988, on a 250cc Yamaha. Two Time North West 200 winner in 1984 & 1989.


AJS Porcupine

The AJS 500 cc Porcupine was a British racing motorcycle built by Associated Motor Cycles (AMC), which débuted in 1945 with a horizontal-engine designated E90S. A later E95 model was developed with an inclined-engine. AMC produced AJS and Matchless brands at the time.
Racing history.
The motorcycle was originally designed by AJS to be supercharged, as were a number of pre-war racing bikes, but the FICM banned supercharging in 1946. The motor was then worked on to allow it to perform without a supercharger. Jock West first rode the machine at the 1947 Isle of Man TT where he experienced teething problems relegating him to a 15th place, although he recorded the third fastest lap time of the race. Leslie Graham then rode the bike to victory in the inaugural 1949 FIM 500cc world championship. This was the only World Championship win for AJS. Despite this victory, the bike is often cited as unreliable, and not living up to its promise.
Mechanicals.
Engine.
The E90S Porcupine engine was a unit construction, aluminium alloy, 500 cc, DOHC twin, with horizontal cylinders and heads, to give the bike a low centre of gravity. A later version of this motor was named the E95, re-engineered to have its cylinders inclined at 45 degrees for better cooling and easier carburettor installation, and is claimed to have produced 55 bhp @ 7600 rpm
The gear drive for the camshafts was on the right of the motor, while the gear primary drive was on the left. The geared primary drive meant that the motor ran "backwards". The cam gear drive also drove a jackshaft at the rear of the cylinders, which drove an oil pump, a fuel pump, and (via a chain drive) a Lucas magneto. The four-speed gearbox output was on the right.
As originally designed, the E90S was to be supercharged, with the blower mounted above the gearbox, and driven by the clutch. The loss of the supercharger meant that the design was compromised, lacking sufficient flywheel effect, which caused problems with magneto failure. The main initial change was to reduce the valve angle to 90 degrees for a more compact combustion chamber.
It had rubber mounted twin GP carburettors, inclined at 49 degrees, with an unusual float tank system used rather than float bowls. Plain bearings were used for the big end bearings and the centre main bearings. The outer main bearings were rollers. One problem cited for the engine is the use of non parallel valves with conventional rockers.
The 1947 model engine was mostly made of alloy, but, as an experiment, the head was cast in silver for increased thermal efficiency. Due to the softness of silver, it had to be alloyed to make it hard enough for racing use. By the time this was achieved the thermal efficiency gains were lost, and the experiment was abandoned. There is dispute as to whether the silver cylinder head went beyond feasibility-study stage.
Frame.
The Porcupine used "Jam-pot" shocks and Teledraulic race forks. The E90 model had an open frame. The E95, introduced in 1953, had a loop type frame with the motor mounted lower.
Only four E95 Porcupines were built.
The AJS Porcupine today.
Team Obsolete have restored a 1954 AJS Porcupine E95, using an ex-Tom Arter MKII motor, which features a unique Jack Williams built up roller bearing crankshaft. They use it for exhibition and historic racing.
Tom Arter put a complete 1954 E95 AJS Porcupine up for auction, and it sold for $228,620.
A 1954 AJS E95 Porcupine was sold post-auction at Bonhams in 2011, for $675,000 (plus fees).


Barker (coachbuilder)

Barker & Co. was a coachbuilder, a maker of carriages and in the 20th century bodywork for prestige cars.
History.
Founded in London in 1710 by a guards officer it more recently traded as Barker & Co. Limited. After the 1920s Barker & Co seemed to be unable to keep up with advances in the use of light alloys for framing. Requests for sturdier bodies were met by using heavier components which hampered the finished product's performance. The company fell into receivership in 1938 and its brand name and business were taken over by its long-term rival Hooper & Co which in its turn was taken over by Daimler in 1940 and so became part of the BSA group.
Barker was the recommended bodywork supplier for early Rolls-Royce cars, although the choice was the customer's and there were several other prominent builders. One such Rolls-Royce with Barker bodywork was The Silver Ghost built for Rolls-Royce for use in their publicity activities.
Some idea of the scale of their operations may be gauged from their advertisement in The Times on the opening of the 1912 Motor Show at London's Olympia. They described themselves as Coachbuilders to H.M. The King, London Retailers and Body Specialists for Rolls-Royce Cars. They advised the reader that Barker Bodies on Rolls-Royce chassis may be viewed on their own stand 146 as well as on Rolls-Royce Stand 72. The note is added: "Nearly 100 Rolls-Royce Cars, with Barker Bodies, of various types to order, can always be seen in course of completion at our Works. Complete Rolls-Royce Cars ready for immediate delivery". 66-68, South Audley Street, London W. Telephone Mayfair 5435.
Rolls-Royce did not provide their own bodywork until early 1946 when they introduced their Bentley standard steel saloon using components made by Pressed Steel Limited of Coventry in place of a coachbuilder's hand-formed shapes. These pressings were assembled and finished and the bodies fitted out at their former aero-engine factory at Crewe. However Park Ward, another coachbuilder which had come to specialise in Rolls-Royce and Bentley bodies, had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce since 1939.
As well as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, Barker also constructed bodywork on chassis by other manufacturers including Daimler, Napier, Packard, Cadillac, Duesenberg, and Mercedes-Benz.
Locations.
From the announcement of their opening of new factory premises in Willesden 2 January 1939.


Kieft Cars

Kieft Cars, founded by Cyril Kieft, was a British car company that built Formula Three racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, Wolverhampton.
Cyril Kieft was born in Swansea and spent his early working life in the steel industry. After the second World war he started up his own company Cyril Kieft and Co Ltd in Bridgend, Glamorgan making forgings and pressings including components for the motor industry. He had an interest in motor racing and when the Marwyn company, who had built Formula Three cars, failed he bought the designs and used them as a base for his own 500cc car. Several of these were sold and some competition success resulted. Publicity was gained by successful attempts on a series of records at Autodrome de Montlhéry in France. One of the drivers was Stirling Moss who explained the shortcomings of the cars. As a result of this a new design was acquired, Moss and his manager Ken Gregory became directors, whilst the company moved to new premises at Reliance Works in Derry Street, Wolverhampton.
A new design by Gordon Bedson, who had joined the company from the aircraft industry, was produced in time for the 1951 Whit Monday Meeting at Goodwood where it won the Formula Three event driven by Moss. Don Parker was employed as works driver and won the British Formula Three championships in 1952 and 1953.
In 1954 Kieft started to make a two-seater sports car which could also be used as a road car. Using a Coventry Climax FWA engine, all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the rear and a lightweight glass fibre body the car was really a racing car and at £1560 it is doubtful if any were bought just as road cars.
The company was losing money and at the end of 1954 Kieft sold the company to racing driver Berwyn Baxter.
Kieft Cars left Wolverhampton in 1956 and moved to nearby Birmingham where they concentrated on preparing and tuning other makes of cars. There were plans for a return to making Kieft cars but these failed to materialise. The company was sold again in 1960 and changed its name to Burmans.


Peter Williams (motorcyclist)

Peter Williams (27 August 1939 – 20 December 2020) was a British former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1966 to 1973. He also competed at many levels on home short-circuit races. He raced many times on the Isle of Man TT course from 1966 to 1973. His father was Jack Williams who ran the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) race department. Williams trained in mechanical engineering and introduced via racing alloy wheels, an innovation which is commonplace on today's road bikes, and was also an early pioneer of solo-motorcycle disc brakes.
Riding career.
Williams was born in Nottingham, England. He started his racing on UK race circuits in 1964 and won the 250 cc class of the 1964 Thruxton 500 race on an AJS model 14 CSR partnered by Tony Wood.
He first entered the Isle of Man Manx Grand Prix in 1964 on a Norton In 1965 he entered the Senior race on his Dunstall Norton Dominator 500 cc twin suffering con-rod breakage of the left cylinder when lying 3rd but scored a third place in Lightweight 250 cc category riding an "Orpin Greeves Silverstone".
Williams entered selected Grand Prix races from 1966. He also regularly competed in TT races from 1966, scoring one 1st place and seven 2nd places. He won the 1966 North West 200 500 cc race in Northern Ireland on a Matchless, and placed 2nd in the 250 cc class on a Greeves Silverstone
His best Grand Prix season was in 1967 when he finished in fourth place in the 500cc world championship on a Matchless G50 motorcycle. In early 1967, Williams marketed an engineering solution to enable a proprietary disc brake assembly produced and merchandised by Rickman Motorcycles to be fitted to Manx Norton and AJS 7R/Matchless G50 racing machines.
He had a long-standing relationship with sponsor Tom Arter, riding his Arter-AJS (350 cc) and Arter-Matchless (500 cc) machines which were later developed with special lightweight frames, disc brakes and six-spoke, solid-cast (non wire-spoked) Elektron wheels dubbed "cart wheels" and "artillery wheels" by the UK press.
In 1969 Williams and Arter started a new project intended to replace the 1950s Matchless G50-engined machine, with a prototype Weslake twin-cylinder 500 cc engine which was abandoned due to failure of the engine project.
As a Norton employee from 1969, Williams entered larger-capacity races on Norton Commando twins. He teamed with Charley Sanby to win the 1969 Thruxton 500 endurance race and was placed second in the 750 cc class Production TT race in 1970.
Williams won his only world championship race in 1971 in the 350 cc Ulster Grand Prix, and also won the 1973 Isle of Man Formula 750 TT race on a John Player Norton Special with a semi-monocoque frame, in the role of team designer/rider. The machine was designed as an integrated package with a Peel-type fairing incorporating handlebar blisters which helped to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.39.
His competitive riding career was ended by injuries suffered in a racing accident at Oulton Park in 1974, when the fibreglass one-piece fuel tank/seat/tail unit became detached. Williams agreed to an out of court settlement with Norton.
Career after racing.
In the 1970s, Williams presented the intelligent face of bikers at public appearances giving open lectures at Universities. He provided insight into the engineering issues of racing the restricted-budget works Norton against multi-cylinder bikes from Japan, highlighting the pros and cons of using the 1940s-designed Norton engine. The crank shaft of the 360-degree parallel twin was supported on only two main bearings and as more power was developed from the engine a noticeable flex could be measured using a dial gauge placed on the end of the shaft.
In the later 1970s, Williams operated a Kawasaki motorcycle dealership in Southampton.
More recently Williams was involved in the development of a carbon-fibre monocoque designed superbike at Lotus Cars and an electric-powered racing bike, the EV-0 RR, planned for an outing at the TTXGP Zero Emissions race at the Isle of Man TT in June 2009. He has a number of patents relating to frame and engine design.
In 2013, Williams established a new business "Peter Williams Motorcycles" to recreate a limited number of his 1973 Norton Monocoque race bikes.


The Motor Cycle

The Motor Cycle was one of the first British magazines about motorcycles. Launched by Iliffe and Sons Ltd in 1903, its blue cover led to it being called "The Blue 'un" to help distinguish it from its rival publication "Motor Cycling", which, using a green background colour, was known as "The Green 'un". Many issues carried the strapline "Circulated throughout the World".
The covers eventually used a variety of different background colours after 1962, with a name-change to "Motor Cycle".
Features.
Noted for detailed road tests of contemporary motorcycles and articles on readers' bikes, the magazine had regular features, including "Current Chat" and "Letters to the Editor" where many of the key issues relating to British motorcycling of the day were debated. The contributors often signed their pieces with pseudonyms such as "Torrens" (Arthur Bourne, one of the Editors) and the famous "Ixion" (Canon B.H. Davies).
Recent history.
From 1962, 'The' was dropped from the title, being then simply known as "Motor Cycle". Regular features developed such as 'On the Four Winds' by "Nitor" and 'Racing Line' by David Dixon in addition to many different trends, with a readers' write-in 'Help Club', technical articles, stripdowns and repair sequences, new model analysis, practical road riding, accessories, clubs and rallying.
As a magazine-format, space was limited and although road-race and off-road sport reportage was always present, Motor Cycle enjoyed a reputation more as a technically based periodical.
1967 saw a merger with some elements of underperforming rival "Motor Cycling" which had already changed to broadsheet newspaper format in 1962, leaving Motor Cycle as a compact magazine with limited page-space.
With the merger came the opportunity to change into newspaper format. Harry Louis, Editor of Motor Cycle, stated in the last magazine format dated 3 August 1967:
"You'll get it a day earlier, on Wednesdays. The printing will be by the latest process, web-offset, which gives much brighter reproduction of pictures than has been possible in the past.
With about twice as much space as in this issue, the new "Motor Cycle" brings you all the features you expect plus much more extensive coverage of sport and news."
Traditionally, Motor Cycling had a sporting-bias whilst Motor Cycle had more of a technical grounding. Under the new venture "Motor Cycle incorporating Motor Cycling", former Motor Cycling Editor Norman Sharpe was installed as the new Editor with Harry Louis enjoying the title of Editor-in-Chief
Louis stated in his first-page article of the last magazine-format of Motor Cycle:
"Besides bringing two famous, long-established publications together, we are uniting the star writers on both into one team operating from Dorset House.
These enthusiasts who, basically all-rounders but with specialized interests when they punch their typewriters, form the most experienced, knowledgeable and liveliest bunch of motor-cycling journalists ever in our field."
Some staff transferred over to the new venture. Particularly successful was Mick Woollett who became Sports Editor, eventually progressing to Editor of Motor Cycle which was later renamed Motor Cycle Weekly. Woollett then was involved in The Classic Motor Cycle and other projects under IPC magazines.
The two publications continued as one in the newspaper format, initially under the name "Motor Cycle Incorporating Motor Cycling" under Motor Cycle publishers Iliffe Specialist Publications Ltd.
Stalwart 'Motor Cycle' staffman David Dixon (1933–2013) – a specialist road-race and road-test reporter and successful endurance racer – continued-on with the merged staff from 1967 bút left by 1971 to establish a road-race school – "Dixon Robb Racing" – in conjunction with successful 1950s and 1960s racer Tommy Robb.
By 1973 Dixon had established his own retail concern – "Dixon Racing" – with a shop at High Street, Godalming. Specialising in importing to the UK tuning products for the rapidly expanding Japanese superbike range, he established a long-standing arrangement with Yoshimura, with products initially concentrated on the Honda CB350, CB500 and CB750 machines. By the end of the same decade, Dixon Racing became the UK concessionaires (importer) for the early Bimota frame kits – 'KB1' for Kawasaki 1000, 'SB1' for Suzuki 1000 and 'HB2' for Honda 900 donor engines. Dixon died in 2013.
Fate.
Motor Cycle Weekly continued as newspaper-format until 1983 when it reverted to magazine-format. After less than a year as a 'glossy' it was closed.
Some former staff established "Motor Cycling Weekly", in a newspaper format, during late November 1983. Echoing the change in 1967 when Motor Cycle ceased as a Thursday publication to match rival Motorcycle News on Wednesdays, Motor Cycling Weekly was pitched to reach the newsstands on Tuesday, having the strapline "First with the news...and first every week!".
Issues were sold in the UK during late 1983 and 1984 before abandonment of the project.


Aberdale

The Aberdale Cycle Company was founded in 1919. The company concentrated on high volume, popular bicycles. In the mid-1930s the company moved to a modern factory in London and also acquired the Bown Manufacturing Company. Bown brought experience of building motorcycles and with rising demand for motorised transport after 1945, the company began producing mopeds and light-weight motorcycles at their London plant and in Wales. In 1958 Aberdale were acquired by the British Cycle Corporation while the Aberdale management went on to found Trusty Manufacturing Co Ltd.
History.
Aberdale Cycle Company was founded in 1919 by the father of Joseph and Leslie Levy. Joseph joined the company when he was 14 and within a few years was selling the company's bicycles from a wheelbarrow. He progressed to become sales manager when he was only 23.
Evidently the company was thriving and in 1934 it moved to a newly constructed Bridport Works at Edmonton, London. Around this time, the company acquired another bicycle manufacturer, Bown Manufacturing Company appointing the owner, William A.R. Bown, to the board. Bown's personal expertise was in engineering and it seems the Levy brothers preferred to focus their energies on the commercial aspects of the business. By 1936 the company boasted a range of 50 bicycles at the Olympia Show. The "Bown" name was already established as a marque of quality and bicycles such as the Bown Xtralite were produced in 1937. In 1941, Joe was appointed Managing Director.
During World War II commercial production ceased as the company committed itself to the production of war materials including small generating sets for use in aeroplanes.
After the war, the demand for economic, personal, motorised transport blossomed. Using Bown's technical expertise in motorcycle manufacture, the company launched the Aberdale Autocycle in March 1947. The autocycle was powered by a 98cc Villiers Junior de Luxe engine. It was a typical machine of the period but included a custom toolkit and a Smiths speedometer placing it in the higher end of the market, certainly compared to their usual high-volume products. One special machine was created, painted with Post Office livery of bright red in an attempt to gain a contract from the Royal Mail; it looked so good, a "limited edition" was offered as an alternative to the traditional black with gold piping. Joseph Levy also toured North America promoting both the autocycle and the company's Gresham Flyer child's tricycle. Less than 2,000 autocycles were eventually produced overall by 1948.
Late in 1948, Villiers announced the introduction of their "2F" engine; Aberdale, like most of their rival manufacturers such as Francis Barnett, began to redesign their cycle to accommodate the new engine showing a prototype at the Earls Court Show in November 1948. However, the new machine never materialised. In 1949 the company was provided with a factory in Llwynypia, Wales under the government's "Advanced Factories Scheme". W.A.R.Bown was charged with developing the new production facility consequently delaying the immediate development of the 2F machine. It took until 1950 before a 2F-powered machine came to market as the Bown Auto-roadster again exploiting the "Bown" marque with the epithets "Hand Built" and "Since 1860". William Bown continued to develop motorcycles for the company releasing the Bown 1F in 1951. Some 3,000 of autocycles were produced.
In 1952, a Villiers powered 122cc motorcycle was introduced. It too was marketed under the Bown marque and also built at the factory in Wales. It was raced at the Isle of Man TT permitting it to be legitimately marketed as the Bown "Tourist Trophy". Only 200 machines are believed to have been built.
In 1954, sales plummeted for Aberdale, along with other autocycle manufacturers, as the market for autocycles collapsed. High production costs of their motorised products added to the company's difficulties and in the winter of 1954/55 the factory in Wales closed. By this time, the company's product licences were being progressively transferred to the British Cycle Corporation.
The company limped on, assembling a German manufactured moped. In 1955 the Bown marque made its final appearance at the Earls Court Show with a Bown-branded Zweirad Union moped powered by a Sachs 49cc engine called the Bown "50". The machines were manufactured in Germany and assembled at the Edmonton plant although minor modifications may have been added in London. The last moped left the factory in 1958 though they continued to appear in sales lists until all stocks were cleared in 1959.
The company formally closed in early 1959 as the Edmonton plant shut and remaining assets were transferred to the British Cycle Corporation in Handsworth, Birmingham. Aberdale remained a subsidiary of Raleigh until 1976.
The Levy brothers, William A.R. Bown and former colleagues from Aberdale went on to form Trusty Manufacturing Co. Ltd to manufacture scooters & cycles for children.
Motorcycles.
Aberdale built autocycles and lightweight motorcycles between 1946 and 1959. Engines used were 98cc and 123cc Villiers units and Sachs two-stroke engines.
External links.
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JBA Motors

JBA Motors was a company based in Norwich, Norfolk that makes the JBA Falcon. The company was originally named JBA Engineering and the name came from the first letter of the surnames of the three partners who founded the firm, Kenneth Glyn Jones, John Barlow and David George Ashley. They were all engineers at British Leyland. John Barlow later left the company, but it was run by Ken Jones and Dave Ashley until 2004.
History.
The first car was the JBA Falcon Roadster that went into production in 1982. In 1985 the JBA Javelin was introduced and the Falcon range was expanded with the JBA Falcon Plus Two. In 1988 the Falcon Roadster was replaced by the Falcon Sports. In 1990 the Falcon range was expanded with the Falcon Tourer that replaced the Falcon 2+2. In 1991 the JBA Falcon Sports SR, the first JBA car to use Ford Sierra as donor, was introduced. In 1994 the Falcon Tourer was replaced with Falcon TSR using Sierra parts.
Until end of July 2004 the company was run by Ken Jones and Dave Ashley and based in Standish, Greater Manchester. Tim Banwell bought the factory on 1 August 2004. In 2006 he announced that the company was for sale. In 2007 JBA Engineering went into administration.
Models.
JBA Sports SRi.
The SRI is a two-seater sports car in the traditional British pre-World War II style. It uses Ford Sierra mechanical parts.
JBA Falcon TSR.
The Falcon is a four-seater version of the SRI. The rear seat can be used for children up to about eight years old. It also is based on the Ford Sierra.
JBA Javelin.
The Javelin came into existence in 1985, and was an attempt to create a more up to date looking car. The car was an open four seater with roof panels that were removable at the front and a foldable hood at the rear. It was based on the Ford Capri. In 1985, the kit cost £2,290. The Javelin disappeared again in 1989.


Triumph Bonneville Bobber

The Triumph Bonneville Bobber is a bobber-style cruiser motorcycle based on the Bonneville series from Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. It was announced late 2016 and began selling in February 2017.
The Bobber's differences from the Bonneville T120 include:
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In 2020, Triumph introduced a limited edition Triumph Factory Custom (TFC) version of the Bobber. Globally, only 750 of these bikes were produced and each is numbered in the series.
The Bobber TFC features: