Buses in Milton Keynes

Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve the city, often via the nearby Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.
Urban Services.
Urban services in Milton Keynes have been operated by several companies under a wide range of names since the city's creation in 1967. Since 2010, the principal operator has been Arriva Shires & Essex, who acquired the independent MK Metro in 2006. The operation was initially branded as "Arriva MK Star". The Arriva urban network has continually reduced in size since then and now consists of only the busiest key urban routes, with other areas being covered by Council contract routes or by other operators such as Uno and Stagecoach. A number of independent operators have begun providing services within the urban area where the Arriva network has contracted; principal among these are Aylesbury based Z&S Transport, Red Rose, Redline and Vale Travel. Some of the longer distance routes detailed below also provide journeys within the urban area, such as Stagecoach routes 89, 40 and 52 and Centrebus route X31. Uno currently operate service C1 to Cranfield and Bedford in competition with Stagecoach service 52. Stagecoach also operate service 90 to Yardley Gobion via Old Stratford, taking over this from Centrebus in September 2014.
Bus services within Milton Keynes are complemented by a frequent train service between the major centres of Wolverton, Central Milton Keynes and Bletchley, operated by West Midlands Trains. A less frequent hourly train service also links Bletchley to Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill and Woburn Sands between Mondays and Saturdays.
Long-distance services.
A few long-distance services to Milton Keynes are operated by Arriva Shires & Essex, with others provided by Centrebus and Stagecoach East: these services interchange at the shopping centre and railway station. Other long-distance services run by National Express call at the Milton Keynes Coachway (where passengers may also interchange with east/west and London airports services), whilst Megabus services call at Kingston District Centre near the south-eastern edge of the urban area.
Arriva Shires & Essex.
Arriva Shires & Essex run route 150 to Aylesbury at a frequency of up to half-hourly. A pattern of operating a non-stop service 100 alongside a slower 150 via Leighton Buzzard began in February 2009; prior to then only route 100 had operated over the entire length of the route, with an hourly frequency. Prior to September 2007 the route had been numbered X15; in the 1980s this had operated as a through service between Reading and Northampton, and was run jointly by Luton & District and Bee Line. It was shortened to terminate at Milton Keynes in 1986, and the Aylesbury – Reading section was abandoned in 1994 following Bee Line's withdrawal from the route. In April 2013 service 100 ceased operating with service 150 returning to a route similar to the X15, due to a withdrawal of funds by Buckinghamshire County Council.
Arriva Shires & Essex also operate the hourly route 70, which links Milton Keynes to Luton via Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable, and the hourly route 32 from Bletchley via Central Milton Keynes to Buckingham, which extends to Tingewick once a day. Service X60 runs via Buckingham to Winslow and Aylesbury. Arriva formerly operated local service 33 to Northampton, but this was taken over subsequently by Z&S and then by Red Rose.
Stagecoach.
Stagecoach operate four express routes, three local services and one school service into Milton Keynes. These are run by the Stagecoach East and Stagecoach Midlands divisions of what was previously United Counties Omnibus.
Route X5 links Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Bedford and St Neots with a half-hourly service seven days a week. It serves both Central Milton Keynes and the Milton Keynes Coachway for onward connections to north-south services. The route was launched in September 1995 and used the Cross Country brand. New Plaxton Panther coaches were introduced to the route in March 2009.
Route X4, which is part of the "Stagecoach Gold" brand and was formerly branded as "Cross Country", runs from Milton Keynes to Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby and Peterborough. It was introduced between Peterborough and Northampton in 2000, with the extension to Milton Keynes introduced in 2004 to replace existing slower routes. The service between Northampton and Milton Keynes became half-hourly with the extension of the Leicester-Northampton service X7 to Milton Keynes in October 2012, bringing direct links to Market Harborough, Brixworth and other areas of Leicestershire.
Stagecoach also operate the 99 coach service linking Milton Keynes Central railway station with Luton railway station and Luton Airport. It was formerly named VT99 and used dedicated coaches in Virgin Trains livery. However the route is now operated as a normal Stagecoach service.
In addition to the express routes, Stagecoach operates route 89 from Northampton to Central Milton Keynes via Blisworth, Towcester and Stony Stratford, route 40 to Bedford via Newport Pagnell and Bromham, route 52 to Bedford via Cranfield and Kempston and the schooldays only route 83 to Silverstone via Wolverton and Buckingham.
Centrebus.
Centrebus operate route X31 from Milton Keynes to Luton via Dunstable. The route operates three per hour on the section between Luton and Dunstable, extending to Milton Keynes via Hockliffe once every two hours.
Milton Keynes Coachway.
Milton Keynes Coachway is the second busiest coach station in the United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern edge of Milton Keynes close to junction 14 of the M1 motorway on the A509 road. There has been a coach interchange at the junction of the M1 since 1989. The present (replacement) building opened in December 2010.
Most north-south National Express services along the M1 stop here, as does the east-west X5 service between Oxford and Cambridge. The local 300 service (which also serves the adjacent park and ride) provides a link between the Coachway and Central MK (and the Central railway station for other bus, coach and train interchanges).
Milton Keynes central bus station.
A central bus station for Milton Keynes was designed by Derek Yeadon of Milton Keynes Development Corporation and built in 1982/83 opposite Milton Keynes Central railway station. On 4 August 2014, the design and construction of the building was recognised by being Grade II listed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of English Heritage. The citation remarks
Since 1997, the building ceased to be used for its original purpose and the bus interchange is now in front of the railway station. The building was subsequently repurposed as a youth centre, and a skate park named the "Buszy" was built. The youth centre was closed in 2016 when its operators ("Make a Difference") and the building owners (Milton Keynes Development Partnership, an arm's length agency of Milton Keynes Council) failed to reach an agreement for its continuance.
The skate park (the "Buszy") is an important skate spot, attracting professional skateboarders from around the world and has been featured in numerous skate videos. The park is free to use by all and remains in regular use. The Buszy's cultural importance and significance in UK skateboarding is substantial. The skate park was designed by designer Richard Ferrington and professional skateboarder Rob Selley. The facility has been identified as an exemplar for local authorities around the UK.
, the upper part of the building is being used as a dance studio. The lower area of the building has been used to provide assistance to homeless people.
History.
United Counties.
From 1967 until 1986, services between the major centres in Milton Keynes were run by United Counties Omnibus. Depots in Bletchley and Stony Stratford were used until 1983, when they were replaced by a new depot in the city centre. The services were operated with a mixture of double-decker buses and some large single-deck vehicles according to the historical rural bus service model. Although they were relatively frequent and ran for most of the day, buses could not easily serve new developments as the roads were not wide enough. When it was designed, the city had been intended for every household to own a car. Bus priority schemes did not exist, and stops were often sited away from population centres, although no house was more than 400 metres from a stop. New services were often poorly used in their early years as development in each area of the city built up over time, and such routes required significant subsidies. This was partially offset by the low running costs encountered when running on the trunk roads around the city.
One area in which operations were successful was fares. A zonal system was operated with five single fares. A multi-journey ticket named Quad was offered, offering four single journeys of any length at a lower cost, and by the early 1980s was the most popular ticket in the city. Around 60% of tickets were sold off-bus. Subsidies for loss-making services were provided by Buckinghamshire County Council and Milton Keynes Borough Council. In its later years, the operation traded under the Citybus name. A new depot and the central bus station were built in 1983 at a combined cost of £6.5 million.
In 1986 United Counties was split into smaller divisions in readiness for deregulation, and Milton Keynes depot formed a new company, Milton Keynes Citybus.
Milton Keynes Dial-a-Bus.
To deal with the impracticality of a conventional staged bus service in the low-density new districts, Milton Keynes Development Corporation decided in 1973 to adopt and adapt the American Dial-a-ride concept, initially in Woughton Parish. According to this system, users who needed transport could call a central dispatch office and have a nearby (radio-controlled) Mercedes-Benz mini-bus diverted to the caller's street. The service began in 1975. Operation of the service was contracted to the incumbent operator, United Counties, which chose to operate it under its existing agreements with drivers. The service did not survive long.
Milton Keynes Citybus.
Milton Keynes Citybus (initially Milton Keynes City Bus) was formed in January 1986 to take over the Milton Keynes depot of United Counties. It was privatised on 7 August 1987 and introduced a policy of operating minibuses in an unusual two-tone grey livery. It took over a small independent, Johnson's of Hanslope, in 1990 and initially retained this as a separate operation. Other brandings introduced in 1992 were County Line and Buckinghamshire Road Car; all were run with a mixture of full-size vehicles and minibuses.
In November 1992 Milton Keynes Citybus was taken over by Cambus Holdings. The three offshoots were merged under the Road Car name, and the operation was expanded at the expense of the main company. New liveries were also introduced in 1993, with Citybus becoming red and cream and Road Car green and white. The company was officially renamed MK Metro in 1994, but this was not used as a fleet name.
MK Metro.
Cambus Holdings Ltd was acquired by Stagecoach Group in late 1995. An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) concluded that this had led to an unacceptable monopoly of bus operations in Cambridgeshire, Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford and Mid Bedfordshire. Stagecoach was ordered to sell the Milton Keynes and Huntingdon operations to avoid the deal being referred to the Monopolies & Mergers Commission. The OFT also stipulated that both depots must be sold to the same buyer.
Milton Keynes Citybus was purchased on 2 May 1997 by bus entrepreneur Julian Peddle, using a new Premier Buses Ltd company both to operate in Huntingdon and as a holding company with which to purchase Milton Keynes Citybus. The Milton Keynes operation was rebranded as MK Metro with a bright yellow and blue livery. Peddle was unable to fund new vehicles for both companies, and sold Premier to Blazefield in 1998.
In the nine years that MK Metro was owned by Peddle ridership increased by 120% and the company became profitable. Between 1998 and 2003 passenger numbers rose by 63% following the introduction of new buses and ticketing schemes. It became part of his Status Bus & Coach mini-group – an attempt to co-ordinate the resources of small independents to save money – at its formation in 1999, but the group proved largely unsuccessful and had broken up by 2004.
Arriva.
In February 2006, the operations of MK Metro were purchased by Arriva for £5.6 million, and operational control transferred to the Arriva Shires & Essex division. Peddle cited disagreement between authorities as a major factor in his decision to sell the company. The purchase was considered by the Office of Fair Trading for possible referral to the Competition Commission, but it was decided not to do so.
The Milton Keynes operation continued to use the MK Metro name until April 2010, when they were rebranded as "Arriva Milton Keynes" (temporarily using the brand name "MK Star"). The change of name coincided with a number of controversial service changes. Some services were in fact improved in frequency as part of the rebranding but others were reduced or even eliminated, and some journey times were increased.
Other Operators.
Since deregulation in 1986 there have been some competing companies in Milton Keynes, although it has seen less competition than most cities. London-based R&I Tours began competing with Milton Keynes Citybus in 1992 using the trading name Inter MK. They operated 10 single-deck buses, mostly Leyland Nationals in a two-tone blue livery, on a small number of routes in the city. They withdrew from the city in 1994 and were subsequently taken over by MTL.
In November 2009 a new competing route 44 between Central Milton Keynes and Lakes Estate was launched by coach company On A Mission. It was later extended across Milton Keynes to Wolverton, and also included a single school bus journey. However, the company collapsed on 2 August 2010 and the route no longer operates. The school bus journey was replaced by a tendered route.
EasyBus.
EasyBus, an intercity express coach operator founded by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, ran a service between Milton Keynes and London between August 2004 and February 2006 using 19-seat Mercedes-Benz Vario mini-coaches. Tickets were predominantly sold over the internet. Its parent EasyGroup first announced its intention to operate no frills express services in 2003. In August 2004 EasyBus launched its first service, connecting London and Milton Keynes. To keep costs down EasyBus originally used Hendon Central station in north London as its terminal point, with a journey time of 65 minutes and a single fare of £5. The threat of competition forced National Express to offer its own discounted fares to and from London, culminating in the introduction of a £1 single fare between Milton Keynes and London which Stelios claimed was intended to make his service non-profitable and force its withdrawal.
In Spring 2005 EasyBus changed its London terminus from Hendon to a more central location in Baker Street. The service to Milton Keynes was withdrawn in February 2006, although services from London to other destinations including Luton Airport continue to operate.
Virgin Trains.
In 1999, Stagecoach commenced operating route VT99 from Milton Keynes Central to Luton railway station and Luton Airport under contract to Virgin Trains West Coast, with coaches in a dedicated livery to provide a connection for West Coast Main Line passengers to the airport. Although no longer carrying Virgin Trains branding, Stagecoach continues to operate the service as route 99 with vehicles in its own livery.
Ticketing.
In June 2012 Milton Keynes council introduced a new multi-operator ticket, MK Moove. it is valid on all services of nine participating operators within the borough, with the exception of Stagecoach's X5.


Brush Traction

Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives owned by the American company Wabtec Corporation, and based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK, and situated alongside the Midland Main Line.
History.
Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works.
In 1865, Henry Hughes, who was a timber merchant engineer, began building horse-drawn tramcars and railway rolling stock at the Falcon Works in Loughborough. His first company was known as the Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Ltd. Records are very sparse, but it seems that he began producing steam locomotives about 1867 for the Paris Exhibition. His main business, however, was tram engines, lightweight steam engines (usually with condensers) which drew passenger cars, made possible by the Tramways Act 1870. Among these was "The Pioneer" for the Swansea and Mumbles Railway. These were distinct from those tramcars where the boiler mechanism was an integral part of the passenger car. Amongst the first steam locomotives built there was "Belmont", which ran on the Snailbeach District Railways, and three gauge 0-4-0STs for the Corris Railway supplied in 1878. The Corris locomotives are said to have been works numbers 322, 323 and 324, implying that the tram vehicles and steam locomotives were included in a single numerical sequence.
In 1881, Hughes' built two gauge 0-4-0STs for the Liverpool Corporation Waterworks Committee for use in the construction of the waterworks at Lake Vyrnwy in Wales. In 1881, the company ran into legal problems and in 1882 it was in receivership. Hughes departed, soon after, for New Zealand, where in collaboration with local engineer E.W Mills, he built small tramway engines.
Falcon Engine & Car Works.
Late in 1882 the company reformed as the Falcon Engine & Car Works Ltd. and supplied three more locomotives of the same design for the railways at Vyrnwy. Again there are few records, but the factory remained busy with both railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock. Among these were tank locomotives for Ireland, Spain and the Azores. Some were subcontracts from other firms, such as Kerr Stuart, at that time, in Glasgow.
Brush Electrical Engineering Company.
In 1889, the assets were acquired by the London-based Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation, which moved the 100 miles north into the Falcon Works at Loughborough, under the new name, Brush Electrical Engineering Company Limited.
Between 1901 and 1905 the "Brushmobile" electric car was developed using a Vauxhall Motors engine, although only six were built. One of these six featured in the film "Carry On Screaming". Nearly 100 buses, plus some lorries were built using French engines until 1907.
Brush Electrical Engineering also built some carriages that were used in the 1900s on the Central London Railway and the City and South London Railway, the respective forerunners of London Underground's Central and Northern lines.
In all, about 250 steam locomotives were built in addition to the tram engines. Production finished after World War I and the company concentrated on transport-related electrical equipment, including tramcars, trolleybuses and battery-operated vehicles.
In World War II Brush Coachworks diversified into aircraft production, building 335 de Havilland Dominies for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Wing sections were built for Lancaster bombers and Hampden fuselages were overhauled.
The coachworks continued after the war with omnibus bodies mounted on Daimler chassis using Gardner five-cylinder diesel engines and Daimler preselector gearboxes as well as AEC and BMMO Chassis for Midland Red and 100 Leyland Titans for Birmingham City Transport as well as bodies to the design of the British Electric Traction group on Leyland Royal Tigers. In 1952 the coachworks were closed and the goodwill and patents were bought by neighbouring Willowbrook.
Brush Bagnall Traction.
Close to Derby and its railway workshops, it retained its contacts with the railway. Acquired by Heenan & Froude in 1947, it was merged with W. G. Bagnall to produce diesel locomotives. In 1951, the company Brush Bagnall Traction Limited was formed. When British Railways began to replace its fleet of steam engines, Brush entered the market for main line diesel-electric locomotives.
Brush Traction.
In 1957, the Brush group were bought up by Hawker Siddeley. As part of Hawker Siddeley Electric Power Group, it then passed to BTR plc and became Brush Traction. Later it became part of FKI Energy Technologies, itself purchased in 2008 by Melrose plc).
On 28 February 2011, Wabtec announced it would purchase Brush Traction for US$31 million.
The locomotive works are still occupied by the Brush Traction Company and are in use for the building, overhaul and repair of locomotives.
In April 2021 Wabtec announced that Brush Traction would be shut down saying that reduced volumes had made the site "unsustainable". It is understood the Loughborough site could close by the end of the year with work being transferred to Burton-upon-Trent, Doncaster and Liverpool.
Locomotives.
Brush manufactured various diesel and electric locomotives for the British railway network:
It also manufactured the Eurotunnel Class 9 electric locomotives operated by Eurotunnel through the Channel Tunnel.
Brush Traction also manufactured locomotives for export:
They were also a major supplier of traction equipment to rapid transit systems, in particular, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway in the UK, and to Canada and Taiwan.
Traction equipment was supplied to British Rail for various Electric Multiple Unit trains, the Class 43 HST diesel locomotive, with similar equipment being supplied to Comeng in Australia in 1979, and used in the Class 56 and 58 freight locomotives.
Brush repowered most Class 43 HST power cars with MTU engines between 2005 and 2010.
Surviving steam locomotives.
Preserved in Salou, Spain, on a plinth adjacent to the former terminus of the F.C. Reus-Salou, a former turntable is also outside the old station. Only some 30 metres from the current RENFE station.
Surviving diesel locomotives.
Over 75 examples of Brush Traction built engines have been preserved and can be seen at heritage railways across the United Kingdom. Many more examples can still be seen in action today on the mainlines.
Preserved light rail/tramway vehicles.
Preserved Auckland, New Zealand including Museum of Transport and Technology:
Preserved in the United Kingdom:
Preserved / Operating on Manx Electric Railway Isle of Man:
Battery-electric vehicles.
In 1940, Brush required some small battery-electric tractor units, but as none were commercially available, they asked AC Morrison of AE Morrison and Sons (later Morrison-Electricar) to produce a design for one. Morrisons produced a 3-wheeled design, which Brush then used to manufacture a number of units for internal use. Subsequently, they began selling them on the open market and shipped a large order to Russia in 1941. They added battery electric road vehicles to their product list in 1945, buying the designs and manufacturing rights from Metropolitan Vickers, so that early Brush vehicles are almost indistinguishable from late Metro-Vicks. 3-wheeled vehicles were marketed as the Brush Pony, and they also produced 4-wheeled vehicles. In 1948 they added a 2-ton chassis to their range, which could be supplied with a large van, standard van, flat truck or milk float body. The welded box-section chassis was fitted with semi-elliptic springs and a Lockheed hydraulic braking system. The 36-cell 290 Ahr battery was mounted on both sides of the central spine. The electric motor was connected to a banjo-type rear axle by a Layrub propellor shaft. In common with other Brush vehicles, control was by a double-depression foot pedal, where the first depression gave two stages of control with the two-halves of the battery connected in parallel, and the second depression gave a further two stages with the batteries in series.
In early 1949, they reduced the prices of their electric vehicles by around 25 per cent, in an attempt to make them more competitive with petrol vehicles. The models affected were the 10-14 cwt chassis and the 18-22 cwt chassis, and they were hoping to see a five-fold increase in sales. Sales of their industrial electric truck had trebled between 1947 and 1948. All of their road vehicles were sold through the motor trade, in order to achieve a good standard of after-sales service.
In 1949, they offered 25 standard bodies for their chassis, including a mobile canteen or ice cream parlour, which they exhibited at the Dairy Show that year. The vehicle had a top speed of 16 mph, and a range of 28 miles, based on eight stops per mile. Production of 4-wheeled battery electrics ceased in 1950, although the company continued to manufacture the 3-wheeled Brush Pony milk float and their range of industrial trucks. They maintained enough spare parts to allow them to service 4-wheeled vehicles for a further 10 years and sold the remainder to Hindle, Smart and Co of Manchester, who made Helecs milk floats.
In 1972, Hawker Siddeley bought a 50 per cent share in Crompton Leyland Electricars Ltd (CLE), from British Leyland. CLE was the manufacturer of Morrison-Electricar milk floats, and at this point Hawker Siddeley owned Brush, R A Lister and Company, based in Dursley, Gloucestershire and Brook Victor Electric Vehicles, based in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, all of which were producing electric vehicles. In order to rationalise their operations, construction of Brush industrial trucks was transferred to the Morrison-Electricar factory in Tredegar. Although most of the vehicles involved were industrial trucks, the 3-wheeled Brush Pony milk float was also included, and a number of these were subsequently manufactured at Tredegar. Also included was the SD tractor, which was still selling well, and included a drive unit which had originally been designed for Brush by Morrisons in 1940.
An early Brush Pony 3-wheeled milk float, formerly operated by United Dairies and dating from 1947, is on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. A Brush 10/14 cwt Mark II bread van, also dating from 1947, and formerly owned by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, can be seen at The Transport Museum, Wythall. The Ipswich Transport Museum has a Brush Pony electric laundry van dating from 1967 in their collection.
Preserved aircraft.
A de Havilland Dominie DH.89 that Brush built in 1946 for the RAF is preserved at Tangmere Military Aviation Museum on the West Sussex coast.


Peripheral Distributor Road


Darren Barton

Darren Barton (born 12 November 1974) is a British professional motorcycling rider who competed in 125cc Grand Prix 1994–7 and was the 1995, 1997 and 1999 Supercup champion.


Triumph Trident 660

The Triumph Trident 660 is a naked motorcycle by manufacturer Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. Following a four year development programme, the Triumph Trident prototype was revealed at the London Design Museum on 25th August 2020. To disguise the final form, the prototype was painted all white with the exception of the engine. A further, less-disguised and fully running prototype was released to the press a few weeks later, and shows the motorcycle undergoing final testing.
Finally, the production version of the Trident was released to the press and journalists on 30th October 2020.
The Trident is intended to compete in the middleweight sector, and be a rival to the likes of the Yamaha MT-07, Kawasaki Z650, Honda CB650R, and to a lesser extent the Suzuki SV650.
Features.
Unlike the Street Triple S, the engine of which was developed to power the new motorcycle, the Trident has an all-new steel perimeter frame.
The motorcycle features:
An optional Bluetooth connectivity system is available, which allows mobile phone connection, navigation, music control, and GoPro control. This system is driven by the My Triumph app, and available for both Android and Apple iOS.
Engine.
The engine is a development of the 660cc Street Triple S unit with sixty seven new components and the following differences:
History.
BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident
Trident 750/900


Chase Brothers Motorcycle

Chase Brothers Motorcycle was a British motorcycle maker.
Origins.
Arthur Chase was a professional bicycle racer, his brother F. W. Chase a former works rider for BAT in 1902.
In 1903, the brothers co-founded a motorcycle company, relying on their racing reputation and F.W.'s well-known tuning skills. It was powered by a Soncin engine.
The company folded in 1906.
No examples are known to survive.


Carlton Carriage Company

The Carlton Carriage Company was a highly respected London coachbuilder that provided bespoke coachwork for some of the finest car makers of the 1920s and 30s. They are best known for their drophead coupes which are archetypal designs of the British Jazz Era.
History.
Carlton Carriage Company was founded in 1924 under the name of the Kelvin Carriage Company and changed its name to Carlton Carriage Co in 1925. The founders had close connections with E&B Hall, Motor Car Industries and the Waverly car company. Carlton began exhibiting at Olympia in 1926.
The firm's business offices were in Shepherd Bush, London and their manufacturing operations were originally located at Waldo Works, Waldo Rd. These later moved to Trenmar Gardens Willesden London NW 10. Albert Victor Halsall and William Pearson Biddle were part of the early & talented design / engineering team. William Biddle went on to found the Corinthian Coachwork company in the late 1930s. Carlton Coach during the 1930s was sought after for their drophead designs especially on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis. Their last designer was Cyril James Ingram who among other things specialized in reboding pre-war Rolls-Royces in the 1950s/60s.
Carlton created bodies for both European and American manufacturers. The main European manufactures for which Carlton provided bodies included: Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Daimler, Delahaye, Hipano-Suiza, Humber, Lancia, Lagonda, Mercedes, MG, Rolls-Royce, Talbot, Vauxhall, Wolseley and Waverly. The main American manufacturers that they created bodies for included: Buick, Chrysler, Essex, Hudson, Oldsmobile, Packard and Pontiac. Carlton also worked as a contract manufacturer for other coachbuilders including Connaught and Offord.
They offered a full range of designs and are best known for their drophead coupe, coupe-de-villes, continental tourer, sport salons and 2-seater sport roadster designs. Some of their more admired designs have a distinctive deco flair. Many of their designs also have elements that are similar to American styles of the period, which could be due to their work with American manufacturers and their American clientele.
Carlton's bespoke coachwork business largely ended by 1939. The company continued coachwork including re-boding pre-war Rolls-Royces until it finally closed in 1965.
Manufactures & Notable Cars.
Bentley - The Carlton Carriage Company produced bodies for both W.O. Bentleys and Derby Bentleys. They built eleven, possibly twelve individual bodies on the "Silent Sports Car" Bentley Chassis between 1934 and 1939 including B55KU, B44MR, B56JD, B203KU and B193GPJ.
Daimler - In 1939, Winston Churchill commissioned Carlton to build a drophead coupe on the Daimler DB18 chassis. Never used until post-World War II, he used it to campaign both the 1944 and 1948 general elections.
Mercedes-Benz –. One of the most famous Mercedes-Benz bodied by Carlton is the George Milligen, 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 Model SSK (Chassis 36045) which delighted visitors at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The SSK was known as the faster sports car in the world in the late 1920s.
Rolls-Royce - About 50 bodies were created for Rolls-Royce chassis (2 for the 20 hp, 27 for the 20/25, 3 for the 25/30, 2 for the Phantom I, and 16 for the Phantom II) between 1924 and 1939. Their designs included some of the most archetypal drophead coupes of the period such as 6GX, 32MS, 67GX, 127RY, GBT80, GFT78 and GGA29. The Carlton drophead body was so successful that it was used on nine of the 16 Phantom II chassis. Carlton bodied Rolls-Royces have won numerous awards and recognition at major auto shows and concours around the world.
Wolseley - 21/60 3 position drop head tourer. One notable example on photographic record is understood to have been commissioned for Lord Nuffield. Only one such example of a Wolseley 21/60 3 position drop head tourer is believed to remain , AGX 653 in which the classic Carlton early 1930s jazz era styling is clearly evident.


Rotherhithe Tunnel

The Rotherhithe Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Thames in East London, connecting Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the river, designated the A101. It was formally opened in 1908 by George, Prince of Wales (later King George V), and Richard Robinson, Chairman of the London County Council. It is an extremely rare example of a road tunnel where road traffic, pedestrians and cyclists all share the same tunnel bore. Transport for London took over ownership and maintenance of the tunnel in 2001.
It should not be confused with the nearby earlier more historic Thames Tunnel, designed and built under the supervision of Marc Isambard Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel, used by London Overground for the East London Line.
Construction.
Following the success of the Blackwall Tunnel, opened in 1897, the London County Council decided to construct another toll-free road crossing of the River Thames located in heart of the then flourishing London Docks, midway between Tower Bridge and Blackwall Tunnel. When originally opened the route served the Surrey Commercial Docks (since closed) on the south side and Limehouse and West India Docks (since closed) on the north side. This was authorised by the "Thames Tunnel (Rotherhithe and Ratcliff) Act 1900". Designed by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, the Engineer for LCC it copied closely the Blackwall Tunnel; however it is of larger diameter. At the time of its construction, the tunnel was said to be "the largest subaqueous tunnel in existence". As the area either side of the river was already developed, to construct the tunnel, especially the long approach ramps required nearly 3,000 local residents to be displaced. This generated considerable local opposition which resulted in the LCC constructing in 1903 new tenement blocks in Swan Lane (now Swan Road), Clarence Street and Albion Street in Rotherhithe and Brightlingsea Buildings on Ropemaker's Field in Limehouse. The new blocks had more modern facilities but the rents charged were significantly higher than they had been paying and many soon moved out of the area.
The work took place between 1904 and 1908, executed by resident engineer Edward H. Tabor and contractors Price and Reeves, at a cost of about £1 million (equivalent to around £ in ). The tunnel was excavated partly using a tunnelling shield and partly by cut-and-cover. Two tunnelling shields were employed, the first was used in the very challenging and difficult ground conditions encountered on the south side and under river sections, whilst a second lighter, shorter shield was employed on the north side where the ground conditions are better. The first shield was only able to be steered in a straight line, whilst the second one could be steered through gentle curves. The tunnelling was constructed under compressed air and the river-bed lined with puddle clay. The extensive precautions undertaken during its construction meant that none of the workforce were killed, a rarity at that time for a project of this size and complexity. The entrance arches have been formed from cutting edges from the second tunnelling shield, which measured in diameter, forming in effect a loading gauge for the tunnel.
Physical characteristics.
The tunnel consists of a single bore, long, carrying a two-lane carriageway below the high-water level of the Thames, with a maximum depth of below the surface. Four shafts were sunk alongside the tunnel to aid construction, later ventilation and entrance shafts. The shafts are numbered 1 to 4, south to north.
Shaft 1 is located on the corner of Brunel Road and Canon Beck Road in Rotherhithe. It contains ventilation fans that supply fresh air to the tunnel. It is a single storey circular redbrick building, originally constructed without a roof. It now has a high roof containing three large vents. Also within the shaft is a floodgate dating from 1939 which protects the nearby London Overground.
Shaft 2 is located along the river front close to Rotherhithe Street Bascule Bridge on the south side of the river. Shaft 3 is the corresponding shaft on the north side located by the river in King Edward VII Memorial Park. They are both single storey circular redbrick buildings with ornate ironwork grilles in the large side openings and granite dressings. Each contain an iron spiral staircases that were originally pedestrian access points but were closed in the 1970s due to low usage and security concerns. The shaft buildings were originally capped with a dome glass roof (similar to that at Greenwich Foot Tunnel) however these were removed in the 1930s in a bid to improve ventilation within the tunnel. New roofs were not added until 2007 to a different design. The staircases being open to the elements for more than 70 years had suffered extensive corrosion and were fully refurbished the same year. The shaft buildings and staircases for these two shafts were Grade II heritage listed in 1983. Both shafts contain ventilation fans which are primarily used to extract foul air from the tunnel however the low height of these shaft buildings prevents efficient dilution and dispersal of pollutants.
Shaft 4 is located on the corner of The Highway and Heckford Street. The original redbrick circular building was demolished in 1967 to allow widening of The Highway to four lanes which now extends over half the shaft. A plain surface building was constructed to house the fresh air supply fans.
Pedestrian access to the tunnel is now limited to the portals; however there are granite staircases topped with ornate lighting columns close to each portal as an alternative to the footpaths on the approach ramps.
The tunnel is entered via a sloping brick-lined cutting at each end leading to the entrance portal. Both portals are faced with pink granite and were given Grade II heritage listing in 1983. On the Rotherhithe side (south side) the approach road spans over the platforms of Rotherhithe London Overground station. It was originally planned the tunnel would commence before the railway was reached however during construction this was changed to be north of this instead thus shortening the tunnel by . It is followed by a short cut-and-cover section until the first of the four shafts is reached. The tunnelled section is between shafts 1 and 4, measures long and is lined with cast iron segments.
The tunnel bore was sized to the maximum that the technology of the time allowed. Even then it was recognised this would result in less than ideal lane widths with each lane only in width (modern equivalent road width is ) and footways typically wide on each side of the roadway. The tunnel is shallow, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 36 (2.8%), to cater for non-mechanised traffic. It includes sharp bends at the location of the shafts. This allowed the sections between the shafts to be straight, thus reducing the complexity of construction and avoiding the foundations of the docks. An urban myth is that the bends were installed to prevent horses from seeing daylight at the end of the tunnel too early, which might make them bolt for the exit. The sharp bends and narrow lanes do however make the tunnel unsuitable for large vehicles and as a consequence are banned from the tunnel. The speed limit is and is enforced using average speed cameras.
The tunnel bore was originally lined throughout with white glazed tiles, installed by two separate contractors, Boote's installed the tiling for north half and Edwards for the south. A band of brown tiles at the centre point of the tunnel demarcated the boundary. After repeated failures of the tiling in the southern half, these were removed in 2011 and replaced with a sprayed gunite surface, detracting significantly the look and feel of the tunnel. The shafts are lined with white glazed bricks, Shaw's installing them for shafts 3 and 4 on the north side and Stourbridge for shafts 1 and 2 on the south side. White glazed brickwork is used externally on the approach roads.
A 2003 survey rated the tunnel the tenth most dangerous tunnel in Europe due to its poor safety features. Its proximity to the river also makes it vulnerable to flooding, as happened in the 1928 Thames flood.
Usage.
Like many other London tunnels and bridges, the tunnel carries far more traffic than it was designed for. Shortly after opening 2,600 vehicles a day, mostly horse-drawn, and 14,000 pedestrians a day soon were using the tunnel — figures which were seen as easily justifying the expense of its construction. By 1955, usage had quadrupled to 10,500 vehicles a day and by 1997 usage had tripled again, to over 34,000 vehicles a day. The heavy usage, particularly during rush hours, can lead to significant congestion and tailbacks.
The junctions at either side of the tunnel are the constraints to any further growth therefore current traffic levels have remained at 1997 levels. Pedestrian numbers are now very low at around 20 per day, whilst cyclists number between 150 and 200 per day.
With the launch of the Ford Model T car only months after the tunnel opened, initiating a rapid increase in car ownership, by the late 1920s motor vehicles had all but replaced horse-drawn vehicles, which were eventually banned altogether in 1952. The original ventilation system consisted of two fans supplying fresh air in each of shafts 1 and 4 to a duct below the roadway which in turn feed via 28 grilles spaced evenly along the road into the tunnel. Following several incidents, including one where 49 people were taken to hospital, in 1930 the ventilation was upgraded, more powerful fans were added and extract fans added in shafts 2 and 3. As traffic has increased, periodically the ventilation fans have been upgraded however the underlying concept has remained the same.
Alternative crossings include Tower Bridge to the west or the Greenwich foot tunnel to the east. Rotherhithe station is almost adjacent to the southern tunnel entrance, and Limehouse (in Ratcliffe Lane) is the closest station to the northern entrance.
Local buses used to serve the tunnel in the past. Route 82 ran between Stepney East Station (now Limehouse) and St. Marychurch Street in Rotherhithe, before being withdrawn in 1968. The tunnel remained unserved until route P14 commenced in 1988 from Surrey Quays and the Isle of Dogs. This route was withdrawn and partially replaced by a new 395 route in 1999 running from Limehouse (Burdett Road) instead of the Isle of Dogs. The 395 route was withdrawn without replacement on 28 April 2006, due to high running costs and low passenger usage. By this time it was the only Transport for London bus route that still used mini-buses, which were necessary due to the tunnel's width restriction.
The opening credits of the 1970s TV series "The Professionals" feature the Rotherhithe Tunnel whilst the 1951 film "Pool of London" features a police chase scene in the tunnel and shoot-out up and around the shafts. The video for The Specials' song "Ghost Town" was partially filmed in the tunnel.


BSA Super Rocket

The BSA Super Rocket was a air-cooled parallel twin motorcycle produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at Small Heath, Birmingham introduced in 1957. It was an improved sports bike member of the BSA A10 series of motorcycles which was developed from the BSA Road Rocket. The A10 had a reputation for reliability but was struggling to compete against the Triumph engines and the Norton Featherbed frames. The model was discontinued in 1963 when the unit-construction A65 was introduced.
Development.
Launched in 1957 the BSA Super Rocket retained the Amal TT carburettor and 356 sports cam of the Road Rocket. Compression ratio was raised to 8.5:1 and a new alloy cylinder head fitted. The cylinder head had a cast in inlet manifold and larger ports and valves. The inlet valves were increased from 1.455" to 1.5". The crankshaft was stiffened compared to the previous models. These modifications increased power output to 43 bhp. A lower 1st gear ratio gave increased acceleration off the line. "Cycle World", the American motorcycle magazine, tested the Super Rocket at 116 mph.
New brakes were fitted to the model, full width hubs instead of the previous half width items. The front brake was 8" and the rear 7". Both were operated by cables.
American models had a chrome rocket ornament on the front mudguard. It used the mounting holes that other markets used for the front number plate. East Coast models had a 4 US gallon (3.3 imperial gallon) petrol tanks, wider "Twin-Solo" seat and "Laconia Bend" handlebars. West Coast models had a 2 US gallon (1.7 imp) tank for 1958/9 and 3 US gallon (2.5 imp) from 1960 on. The West Coast models also had a narrower "cushionaire" seat and "Gunter Bend" handlebars. A tachometer was standard on US models.
UK models had a headlamp cowl (nacelle), deeper valenced mudguards and a tachometer was an optional extra.
The 357 race camshaft was fitted in 1960 and the clutch was improved. A larger 1 5/32" bore Monobloc carburettor was fitted in 1962. These raised the power output to .


A429 road

The A429 is a main road in England that runs in a north-northeasterly direction from junction 17 of the M4 motorway ( north of Chippenham in Wiltshire) to Coventry in the West Midlands.
Route.
For much of its length, the A429 follows the route of the Roman Fosse Way.
It links the M4 in Wiltshire to Coventry in the West Midlands, by way of Malmesbury (bypassed), Crudwell, Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, east of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and Kenilworth.
History.
When first designated in 1922, the A429 ran from Chippenham to Warwick.
In the 1970s the route was extended from Warwick to Coventry on the old route of the A46.
In the 1990s the dual carriageway between Chippenham and the M4 motorway became part of the extended A350.
Heading northeast, the road meets the Fosse Way near the southwestern outskirts of Cirencester. Until circa 1937 this junction was some further south, near Jackaments Bottom; when RAF Kemble (now Cotswold Airport) was built, the A429 was diverted south of the airfield to follow an upgraded existing road through Kemble village, and the section of the A429 north of the airfield became a continuation of the A433.
The road breaks at the A46 junction north of Warwick and resumes some further north at a junction with the A452, in the north of Kenilworth.
The section between Warwick and Kenilworth was declassified shortly after the opening of the A46 Kenilworth Bypass to encourage traffic to use the A452 or A46 instead.


BSA A65 Rocket

The BSA A65R Rocket was one of a series of unit construction twin cylinder Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycles made in the 1960s. A version branded as the A65 'Thunderbolt Rocket' was aimed at the US market. The A65R Rocket was produced from 1964 but was stopped in 1965 when all development at BSA was halted by financial difficulties.
Development.
The A65R was a development of the old model range led by Bob Fearon, Managing Director and General Manager of BSA and Chief Development Engineer Bert Perrigo they developed the unit construction "Star twins".
To make the A65R more of a 'sports version' of the original BSA A65 Star (and in anticipation of more stringent noise control legislation) it was given 'siamesed' 2 into 1 exhaust pipes with a special baffle, as well as chrome plated mudguards and headlight brackets. Able to cruise at 85 mph (137 km/h) and with a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h) it was sold as the fastest BSA in production. A special version of the A65 branded as the A65T/R 'Thunderbolt Rocket' was aimed at the US market and featured high rise handlebars and a smaller fuel tank.
By 1965 competition from motorcycle producers such as Honda were eroding BSA's previously rising sales figures. BSA's marketing team was slow to respond and new motorcycle development contributed to substantial losses, so by 1972 the company was absorbed into Manganese Bronze Holdings in a rescue plan initiated by the Department of Industry. A plan to combine Norton, BSA and Triumph failed through poor industrial relations and the BSA factories closed.
BSA Lightning Rocket.
The BSA Lightning Rocket was a highly tuned version of the BSA A65R Rocket and featured twin Amal 389/206 carburettors and high compression pistons combined with an optional close ratio gear box to give lively acceleration.
The Lightning Rocket had a slimmer fuel tank and mudguards - with extra chrome. From 1965 the Lightning Rocket was discontinued in the UK.


Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd

Reflecting Roadstuds is the main company in the UK that manufactures cat's eyes for use on roads.
History.
Percy Shaw, of Halifax (then in the West Riding of Yorkshire) invented the cat's eye. Reflecting Roadstuds was set up a year later in 1935. It required £500 from two company directors and established a manufacturing site with 130 workers, later making a million roadstuds a year. Initially it was difficult for the company to sell their new idea to road constructors and the government. However the onset of the blackout in the Second World War saw the idea being adopted throughout the United Kingdom. By the 1960s, its products were used on lane markings, then on the edge of carriageways from the early 1970s.
Company structure.
It is situated off " Boothtown Road" (A647) in the north of Halifax.
Roadstuds, also known as raised pavement markers, are also made by Roadcraft Safety Products of Weston-super-Mare.
Products.
The products conform to the 1998 British Standard BS EN 1463, which lists standards for road markings and reflective materials, and the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.
It makes:


A3 road

The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the City of London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road and therefore managed by Highways England. Almost all of the road has been built to dual carriageway standards or wider. Apart from bypass sections in London, the road travels in a southwest direction and, after Liss, south-southwest.
Close to its southerly end, motorway traffic is routed via the A3(M), then either the east–west A27 or the Portsmouth-only M275 which has multiple lanes leading off the westbound A27 — for non-motorway traffic, the A3 continues into Portsmouth alongside the A3(M), mostly as a single carriageway in each direction through Waterlooville and adjoining small towns. The other section of single carriageways is through the urban environs of Battersea, Clapham and Stockwell towards the northern end, which has to accommodate bus lanes and parking meter bays.
History.
By the 17th century, the historic Portsmouth Road bore great strategic significance as the road link between the capital city and what became the settled main port of the Royal Navy, as well as a non-military port like nearby Chichester — a petition was passed by Her Majesty for the expansion of the bench of justices of the town of Guildford along its route, in consideration of the importance of the Portsmouth Road, in 1603. Many of the other towns and villages that the road passed through gained income and, in the case of towns, a market advantage as a result — principally in the history of Kingston upon Thames, Godalming and Petersfield. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but it bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old route for local traffic — for instance, the A307, its original course through Kingston-upon-Thames and Esher, retains its name, Portsmouth Road.
A programme of road improvements, starting in the 1920s, transformed the road, so that it is now predominantly a two or three lane carriageway, bypassing the town centres; south of the South Downs National Park, it includes a section of motorway, the A3(M), just before the road reaches the A27 at Havant. The construction of the Kingston and Guildford bypasses in the 1920s and 1930s made use of temporary narrow gauge railways to move the construction materials. The Esher bypass, between Hook from the first mentioned bypass to the M25, is three lanes with a motorway-standard hard shoulder; from there to Guildford the road has three lanes.
Lord Montagu of Beaulieu stressed the urgency of building a Kingston By-pass in 1911, but public funds were not secured before the onset of World War I and were not available in the aftermath. By the early 1920s, traffic in Kingston town centre had increased by over 160% in 10 years in the coaching town and the decision was taken in 1923 to revive the plans, with the contract worth £503,000 (). Work started in 1924, and it was opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin MP, on 28 October 1927. It ran for from the Robin Hood Gate of Richmond Park near to the outskirts of Esher. The opening ceremony concluded with refreshments for 800 guests in marquees near to the northern start/end. Its construction immediately attracted developments of housing where access was easiest. The Restriction of Ribbon Development Act 1935 came too late to prevent this private housing, which is apparent where the A3 winds through Tolworth and New Malden, where the architecture includes concrete to art nouveau apartments, Mock-Tudor gabled houses and gabled Arts and Crafts movement-inspired houses.
The road was once the haunt of highwaymen such as Jerry Abershawe, who terrorised the area around Kingston and led a gang based at the Bald Faced Stag Inn on the Portsmouth Road. Another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the wooded crest skirting the Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead, about south-west of Guildford.
The complexity of the double roundabout at the junction between the A309 Kingston by-pass and the A307 led to it being referred to colloquially as the Silly Isles, later the junction officially adopted the name The Scilly Isles.
In 2011, the Hindhead Tunnel became the centrepiece of the Hindhead Bypass, away from the winding road of the small town, where the only urban set of traffic lights on the route outside London had created a bottleneck. Until 2011, the road through Hindhead was the last single carriageway section of the route, outside London and Portsmouth.
Route.
The road follows a route roughly parallel to the Portsmouth Direct Line railway which goes through, rather than past, all of the towns which the road serves, with Havant and Woking and , respectively, off the road.
Greater London.
The A3 starts at King William Street at its junction with Gracechurch Street in the City of London, crosses London Bridge while entering the London Borough of Southwark, and goes south-west along Borough High Street and Newington Causeway to the Elephant and Castle roundabout. It continues along Newington Butts, and bounds then enters the London Borough of Lambeth on Kennington Park Road which becomes Clapham Road and Clapham High Street. The A3 then turns west (leaving as its straight continuation the A24) as Clapham Common North Side. Along this road, it enters the London Borough of Wandsworth, after which it runs concurrently with the A205 'South Circular' along Battersea Rise, Wandsworth Common North Side and East Hill, and goes through Wandsworth, and then the A205 carries on west towards Richmond. On West Hill, just east of the Tibbets Corner junction with the A219 near Putney Heath, the road increases from one lane each way to a three-lanes-each-way dual-carriageway and the speed limit increases from 30 mph (48 km/h) to 40 mph (64 km/h). The A3 then continues south-west between Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common, as Kingston Road before beginning to bypass Kingston upon Thames while going through Roehampton Vale. The A3 enters The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames just before Kingston Vale where there is a junction with the A308 for Kingston upon Thames and Richmond Park. The speed limit then increases to 50 mph (80 km/h) before going under the Coombe Flyover. The A3 then goes on a flyover by Shannon Corner in Raynes Park, before having junctions for New Malden, Tolworth and Hook along the Kingston By-pass.
Brief features of a section of road contribute to a traffic pinch-point during peak hours around the Hook underpass. The road reduces from three lanes to two in the underpass. The speed limit at this point reduces from to , with the first of a handful of Gatso speed enforcement cameras. If returning to London, traffic from the A309 also joins just before the underpass.
Surrey.
The A3's Kingston By-pass now ends sooner leaving a spur junction the A309 to the Scilly Isles junction near Sandown Park, Esher, its route instead becoming the Esher By-pass on the border of Hook, London and Long Ditton, Surrey.
After passing Claygate, the motorway-standard section has junctions with the A244 between Esher and Oxshott, then the A245 between Cobham and Hersham. The road's Wisley Interchange with the M25 enables a flyover still with a 70 mph (112 km/h) speed limit. It bypasses Wisley, Ockham, Ripley (and Burpham which is a suburb of Guildford) before cutting through the major town itself as a dual carriageway and changing to a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed limit. It returns to 70 mph (112 km/h) at the A31 and A246 junction before bypassing Godalming and Milford. It continues through a tunnel at Hindhead (constructed in 2011 to improve capacity and bypass the Devil's Punch Bowl) before leaving Surrey.
Hampshire.
The A3 enters Hampshire just after exiting the Hindhead Tunnel, passes Liphook and Bramshott, turns SSW past Liss, then passes Petersfield. The A3's original route between Hindhead and Petersfield, passing through several villages, became the B2070. At Liss, there remains an at-grade roundabout, the only such junction on the route. Over the South Downs, it passes Clanfield and Horndean. From just north of Horndean, (still heading towards Portsmouth) the A3 separates from the A3(M) (below) and continues as London Road as far as Hilsea, south of which it is Northern Parade. It runs along the west side of Portsea Island which forms Portsmouth proper, roughly parallel with the M275, into the nearly waterfront centre of the city where, after passing the Catholic cathedral, it meets with the A2030. Here, it reaches Old Portsmouth, passing the Anglican cathedral and the 15th century harbour where it comes to an end at Broad Street and Portsmouth Point.
Hindhead tunnel.
The Hindhead Tunnel is a twin bore tunnel, which cost £371 million to construct, and is the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the UK. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond conducted the opening ceremony on 27 July 2011, though the northbound tunnel opened to traffic two days later than the southbound one, on 29 July.
The new dual carriageway diverges from the original route where the old A3 began climbing sharply as it headed towards the scenic Devil's Punch Bowl. The old road now turns right and continues into Highfield Lane. From there, the remainder of the original road to Punch Bowl Common - a short distance north-east of the Hindhead traffic lights - has been completely ripped up and returned to nature. From the south, the short and largely built-up southern stretch of old A3 (now bypassed) runs up from the Grayshott exit into Hindhead and remains in use, but has been renumbered from A3 to A333.
Proposed developments.
Ham Barn roundabout, Liss.
Since the 2013 opening of the Hindhead Tunnel, the modern route (or, in the case of the southernmost section, its associated motorway section) is at least dual-carriageway, but at Liss is the sole at-grade roundabout. Widely considered the main traffic pinch-point and an accident hotspot (due to its unusual egg-shape and camber angle which can cause lorries at excess speed to tip over), there have been wide calls for its removal, the projected increase in traffic with the completion of the tunnel supporting the proposal. In November 2010, the Highways Agency announced it would discuss three options for the roundabout's future, but in December it announced that none would be commenced before 2015.:
Cathedral exit, Guildford.
The slip road exiting the A3 leading to the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the Surrey Research Park regularly creates congestion on the main A3 during peak times, when the traffic queue reaches onto the main carriageway. In May 2011, it was announced that this is to be resolved with new improvements to the traffic system directly adjacent to the A3, with work funded jointly by the University of Surrey and Surrey County Council.
Related urban proposals and developments.
Various schemes exist to manage urban traffic and economise land use, and include running park and ride services. The main such scheme along the route is in Guildford. In February 2015, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced plans to build over a short section at Tolworth, after visiting a similar site in Boston, Massachusetts; the Mayor said "rebuilding some of our complex and ageing road network underneath our city would not only provide additional capacity for traffic, but it would also unlock surface space and reduce the impact of noise and pollution." Similar plans have been proposed for other areas of London but proven cost-prohibitive.
A3(M).
This section of the road was opened in 1979 and acts as an alternative to the A3 road in this part of Hampshire.
Cycling.
There are several cycle routes which follow the route of the A3.
London.
In London, Cycle Superhighway 7 (CS7) runs either side of the A3 from Elephant and Castle to Clapham Common. The route is signposted and marked using painted blue cycle logos, carrying cyclists through Kennington, Stockwell, and Clapham. North from Elephant and Castle, CS7 runs along the A300/Southwark Bridge Road towards the City. South of Clapham Common, CS7 runs along the A24 to Colliers Wood, via Balham and Tooting.
Between Wandsworth and Kingston Vale, a shared-use path runs alongside the A3 for cyclists and pedestrians. The path is segregated from other road traffic and links to cycle paths which run alongside the A308/Kingston Hill. This provides Norbiton with a traffic-free route to Wandsworth, which is also the terminus of Cycle Superhighway 8 (CS8 to Millbank).
Surrey and Hampshire.
Shared-use paths and cycle lanes run alongside the A3 at points between the Greater London boundary and Portsmouth.
Between Thursley and Milford in Surrey, cycle crossings of the slip roads exist for cyclists travelling along the cycle lanes.
There is a cycle path between Liss and Petersfield which runs along the Portsmouth-bound (southbound) side of the A3. The route joins the A3 south of West Liss and leaves the dual-carriageway to the north of Petersfield (at Farnham Road). The route between Liss town centre and Farnham Road is part of National Cycle Route 22 (NCR 22).
South of Petersfield, National Cycle Route 222 (NCR 222) follows the route of the A3 until the route reaches Waterlooville. The route passes through the Queen Elizabeth Country Park and passes along the eastern rim of Clanfield. The main cycle route between Petersfield and the Country Park follows NCR 22 through Buriton.


Connor Behan

Connor Behan is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Great Britain. Connor has in 2013 taken to road racing competing for the KMR Kawasaki powered by Vauxhall team and has achieved many a top result including finishing in second place in the newcomers A Manx Grand Prix race. He previously rode for Emerald Road Racing aboard Kawasaki machines.
In 2019 Behan was convicted of dangerous driving offences.


The Classic Motor Cycle

The Classic Motor Cycle is a UK motorcycle magazine originally launched in 1981 with six editions a year as a spin-off from UK newspaper-format "Motor Cycle Weekly" (previously historically known as "The Motor Cycle") as under then Editor-in-Chief Mick Woollett at IPC, Surrey House, Sutton, Surrey.
Editor and driving-force Bob Currie based at Lynton House, Birmingham, was historically a senior contributor in the 1960s to "Motor Cycle" (renamed from "The Motor Cycle" in 1962) with the title of Midland Editor, and during the 1970s with the same publication, by then using the name "Motor Cycle Weekly".
Having well-established archival links to "The Motor Cycle" which itself had origins back to 1903, the first edition was dated June/July 1981.
As had occurred with (The) "Motor Cycle", "The Classic Motor Cycle" title changed hands several times, being originally published by IPC Business Press between 1981 and 1983, then by East Midland Allied Press (EMAP) from 1984. Purchased in 1998 by Mortons Media Group, it is now published by their subsidiary Mortons Motorcycle Media. Featuring all marques of classic motorcycles with an emphasis on racing and performance bikes, editor James Robinson says he is "not just interested in classics, but in all manner of motorcycles and motorcycle-related sport."
Features.
The magazines contains articles on classic motorcycles, technical articles, and regular features including:


Velocette KTT Mk VIII

The Velocette KTT Mk VIII is a British racing motorcycle made by Veloce, Ltd. who built motorcycles named the Velocette. The Mk VIII KTT was ultimate development of their "K" series of overhead-camshaft 350cc machines introduced in 1925, and the "TT" designation indicated a production racing motorcycle, and a near replica of the factory race team machines. Production continued until 1950.
Development.
The final development of the Velocette KTT, the Mk VIII KTT was introduced in 1938 at that year's Earls Court Show, and was the first motorcycle to use the now-conventional swinging-arm rear fork with a shock absorber unit (in this case, an oleo-pneumatic unit built by the Oleo Strut Co. of England). The rear suspension system was designed by Veloce development engineer Harold Willis, and was inspired by the Oleo strut landing gear on the DeHavilland Hornet he borrowed at the Midland Aero Club, while his beloved DeHavilland 'Moth' was undergoing repair. Contact with the Oleo company led to several pairs of air shocks built for Veloce in 1936, for which the factory's racing rigid-frame racers (similar to the Mark VII KTT) were adapted with a swinging-fork rear end and bolt-on subframe for the seat. The experimental first swinging-arms used an adapted steering head lug turned sideways, with the cup-and-cone bearings retained. Production Mark VIII KTTs used a more conventional bronze bush and trunnion shaft pivot for the one-piece rear fork. The first experimental swing-arm machines were raced by the factory in the 1937 season, and introduced as the Mark VIII KTT the next year, for sale to the public.
The Mark VIII KTT was offered from 1938 - 1950, after which Veloce closed its racing department.


Triumph Speedmaster

The Speedmaster is a Triumph cruiser motorcycle designed and built in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Launched in 2002 with a twin-cylinder engine, the displacement was increased to in 2005, upgraded to fuel injection in 2008, and in 2018 the displacement was increased to .
Development.
The Triumph Speedmaster was launched in 2003 as a 'factory custom' cruiser based on the Bonneville America. The original model had the air-cooled DOHC twin engine and had an extended wheelbase with the crankshaft at 270°. Main differences from the Bonneville America included black finish to the engine, shortened gearing, a flat handlebar on risers, one piece saddle and cast alloy wheels with twin front discs, in place of the single disc of the America. The 'Speedmaster' name was last used in 1965 for the Bonneville T120R by American importers but not by the Triumph factory.
The first generation 2003–2004 model had and at the rear wheel, with a top speed of . In 2005, the engine capacity was increased to (carburettor-fuelled) delivering peak power at 6,500 rpm, with maximum torque of 68 Nm available at 3,500 rpm. In 2007, a multipoint sequential fuel injection model was launched, with new design alloy wheels, a restyled chain cover, pillion footrest hanger and upper fork shrouds, as well as slash cut silencers and four new paint schemes.
A new Speedmaster marque was reintroduced in 2018 as the Bonneville Speedmaster, from Triumph's 'Modern Classics' line. Featuring the all new 2017 Bonneville's 1200cc High Torque liquid-cooled engine, the 2018 Speedmaster re-purposed the Triumph Bobber Black's faux-hardtail chassis into a light-duty tourer by adding a larger fuel tank (3.17 gal. vs. the Bobber's 2.4 gal.), larger rider's seat and pillion seat with passenger foot pegs, 'beach bar' handlebars with more pullback, forward controls, chrome exhausts and accents, and a rear fender with mounting points for optional saddlebags.
Just like the Bobber Black, the 2018 Speedmaster has a ride-by-wire throttle allowing for selectable 'Rain' and 'Road' modes that modulate throttle response, and one-touch cruise-control; ABS and traction control; LED lighting with daytime running light; twin front disc brakes with Brembo calipers; upgraded KYB front forks; and larger tires.


BSA B44 Shooting Star

The BSA B44 Shooting Star was a motorcycle made by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. Similar to the BSA C15 and sharing many of the same parts, the B44 had an uprated chassis. A weak point of the BSA 250 and most 350 unit singles were the big end bearing and timing side crank bush. The B44 and later B50 had double needle roller big end and roller bearings supporting both ends of the crank.
History.
In 1965 an off-road motocross BSA B44 named the ‘’Victor’’ was launched at the Earls Court Show. Developed from scramblers used by Jeff Smith to win the 1964 and 1965 500cc World Championships, followed by the "Victor Grand Prix" and "Victor Enduro" models, as well as a road-going version, the 1967 "Victor Roadster". The Victor Grand Prix Scrambler had a displacement of 441cc, and the Enduro model was known as the 441 Victor in the United States. BSA began offering a road version, the B44VR Victor Roadster, in 1967. When that model was exported to U.S. dealers in 1968, the name was changed to the B44SS Shooting Star. The B44VS "Victor Special" was also successfully exported to the US between 1968 and 1970.
In 1968 the B44 became BSA's top export model. The good availability of spare parts and the relative simplicity of the single-cylinder engine meant that the surviving examples are easily restored to as-new condition.
On the original 1969 footage of the Woodstock Concert, producer Michael Lang is seen riding the off-road version, the BSA Victor Special, motorcycle across the pastures.
Features.
The Victor Roadster (or Shooting Star, a name borrowed from a 1950s-era BSA twin), had a top speed of around 90 mph (only a few mph faster than the 250 BSA Barracuda). The Victor Roadster of 1967 had a fiberglass tank and side covers, a 7-inch, half-width front brake, and the square-barrel Victor engine. In 1968, an 8-inch front brake was introduced, and 1968-on US versions came with higher handlebars and reflectors both beneath the tank and on either side of the tail light. In 1969 the Shooting Star was updated with a steel gas tank and a twin-leading-shoe brake.
Victors had impressive power-to-weight ratios that made them ideal for hill climbs. The 9.4:1 compression ratio required a compression release lever for kick starting.


Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles

Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by Cyril Pullin as the Ascot Motor & Manufacturing Co Ltd. at Letchworth, Hertfordshire in 1928. An inventor and winner of the 1914 Isle of Man TT, Pullin had been developing ideas for motorcycle designs since 1920 with Stanley Groom, and had patented a two-stroke engine motorcycle with pressed sheet metal frame and forks. After leaving Douglas the first time, Pullin worked with Groom again to refine his ideas and develop and patent the Ascot-Pullin motorcycle. Fewer than 500 were built and sales were poor, resulting in the company's liquidation in 1930.
Ascot-Pullin 500.
Pullin was an innovator and the Ascot-Pullin 500 OHV single had the engine horizontally mounted and enclosed with a pressed-steel frame. As well as the first use of hydraulic brakes on a motorcycle, Pullin also designed a telescopic centre stand and an adjustable windshield with a windscreen wiper and rear-view mirror, as well as a fully enclosed chain and interchangeable wheels.
Powerwheel.
The Ascot-Pullin name was revived in 1951 by the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company, a
division of Tube Investments, who commissioned Pullin's new invention, the "Powerwheel", a , , single-cylinder rotary engine. The prototypes were scrapped after the company decided not to proceed with production, but a sectionalised example survived together with most of the drawings, and an industrialised version was developed for the Ministry of Supply.


Doug Hele

Douglas Lionel Hele (13 July 19192 November 2001) was a pioneering British motorcycle engineer with Triumph and other firms: BSA, Douglas and Norton. He was born in Birmingham in 1919 and died in Hagley, Worcestershire on 2 November 2001.
Career.
Described as an 'outstanding student' at King's Norton Secondary School. Hele started his career in engineering as an apprentice with the Austin Motor Company at the Longbridge factory in Birmingham where he worked throughout the Second World War. He moved on to Douglas Motorcycles in Bristol in 1945 where he worked as a draughtsman in the motorcycle design team under former Norton chief designer Walter Moore. Moore encouraged him to go to the Norton factory, where he helped Polish engineer Leo Kusmicki design and develop the Featherbed framed Manx Norton single-cylinder racing models that won world championships in the early 1950s.
After a short time at BSA where he worked on the 250cc single-cylinder racer with BSA chief designer Bert Hopwood he returned to Norton to continue development of the "Manx" and it is his 1961 version that is the most sought after by collectors today.
His next project was the development of the 500 cc Norton Dominator into a racing motorcycle. Hele's prototype "Domiracer" came third in the 1961 Isle of Man TT averaging over 100 mph but the project was abandoned when parent-company Associated Motor Cycles ended racing-development at Norton to cut costs. The factory race shop's larger capacity 650  "Domiracer" also showed promise, so Hele was encouraged and developed the 650 cc road bike which went on to win the Thruxton 500 production-class race for three years in a row giving Norton much needed publicity.
Norton closed the Birmingham factory in 1962 and moved production to Plumstead, South London, but Hele was ready for a change and took a job with the Ford Motor Company in their Dagenham factory. Things didn't really work out so it was with great relief when he accepted the position of Head of Development with Triumph in Meriden.
His first project was to improve the Triumph Bonneville T120. Drawing from his success with Norton Dominator twins, Hele raised the power output from 47 bhp to 52 bhp on open megaphone exhausts by careful modifications to the design of the camshafts and cam followers. Keen to keep the power gains for road and production racing use, he added a balance pipe between the two exhaust pipes where they exited the cylinder head adjacent to the ports, quieting the engine and allowing use of a less-restrictive silencer. A decrease in exhaust-gas velocity caused by linking each cylinder into effectively two silencers was addressed by reducing the exhaust pipe diameter from 11/2" to 11/4".
Hele then turned his attention to developing the 500 cc "Tiger 100" into a racer, winning the 1966 American Daytona 200 race, resulting in a new top 500 cc street-model having twin Amal carburettors being introduced in late 1966 as part of the 1967 range, named as "Triumph Daytona". The race win was repeated in 1967.
At the 1969 Belgian Grand Prix on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes, Triumph's factory tester Percy Tait led the world champion Giacomo Agostini for three laps and finished second at an average speed of 116 mph on Hele's Daytona racer.
Hele had also started work on development of the three-cylinder Triumph Trident. "Motor Cycle"'s Technical Editor Vic Willoughby concluded his 1967 interview with Hele's confirmation that "...a high-performance seven-fifty parallel twin is not exactly at the top of the desirability stakes", and the triples were developed into the most successful race bikes of their time, dominating the 750cc races in Europe and the US. Hopwood attributed the massive racing success to Hele's 'brilliance' and greatly criticised the BSA-Triumph board's reluctance to promote him to more senior positions.
Hele was offered the chance to return to Norton with their then-new F750 team for 1972, but decided to stay with Triumph. By the early 1970s the BSA-Triumph group was in financial trouble and Hele moved to the experimental team at Kitts Green in Birmingham. When Triumph finally closed Doug Hele turned down a job from a Japanese company and joined outboard motor makers British Seagull in Dorset. In his 70s Hele ended his career working as a freelance designer on the rotary-engined Norton model.
External links.
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:British automotive engineers]]
[[Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:British motorcycle pioneers]]
[[Category:British motorcycle designers]]


George Brown (motorcyclist)

George Brown (1912-1979) was born in Nottingham, England. Known primarily as a motorcycle racer, he has been called " the father of British sprinting". Brown raced a variety of bikes but is most closely associated with the Vincent brand. For a time he worked at Vincent, where he headed up their Experimental department and raced the factory-backed single and V-twin bikes. Brown left Vincent to establish his own motorcycle shop and as a sideline built high-performance sprint bikes that he rode to several national and international records.
Biography.
Early years.
George Brown was born 22 February 1912 in Nottingham, England, and grew up in Colwick, Nottinghamshire. He attended Nottingham High School and planned a career in law as a solicitor.
Brown's grandfather ran a cycle shop, and his father owned several motorcycles. Brown's father eventually bought a cycle shop in Harrow, where George spent time repairing a wide variety of motorcycles. He later inherited brother Cliff's 250 cc AJS.
At the beginning of the 1930s Brown drove a lorry and worked for Raleigh, where his father had earlier been in the Experimental Department. In 1933 Brown went to the Vincent works at Stevenage and asked Vincent founder Philip Conrad Vincent (PCV) for a job. He was given a position in the service department, where he rebuilt second-hand bikes taken in exchange for new Vincents. By 1934 Brown had moved into the factory, where he was soon promoted to the Test and Special bike department.
In 1937 Brown lapped Brooklands at over . Due to Brown's not being a member of the British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC), he was denied the usual Gold Star for the feat. The bike involved may have been the first Vincent 1000 cc twin, believed to be DUR 142, at speeds of in wet conditions. During this period he was also riding a 350 cc Velocette at grass track events.
WW II and post-war at Vincent.
At the outbreak of World War II Vincent shut down motorcycle manufacturing and converted to wartime production. Brown went to work for Percival Aircraft in Luton, building Mosquitos as assembly foreman. He applied to the RAF but his application was declined due to his being employed in a reserved occupation at Percival. When the war ended in 1945 Brown stayed at Percival for a while, but quickly got involved with Vincent again. After his release from war work he immediately returned to Vincent. Brown also married in 1946.
After the war Brown was racing privately when he was approached by Joe Craig to ride a Norton at the Isle of Man TT. Brown turned him down, and the ride went to John Surtees. Vincent opened a showroom in Chesterfield in the north, and Brown worked there as sales manager for a time before returning to Stevenage.
Brown had a successful racing season in 1946, recording 6 first and 5 second places on a modified Comet that was later known as the "Cadwell Special". In 1947 he began racing a special Rapide that was later named "Gunga Din".
Brown made his first appearance at the Isle of Man in 1948 in the Clubmans' TT. He was leading after 3 laps when he ran out of petrol. Brown then pushed his bike the remaining 6 miles, and still managed a sixth-place finish. Before running out of fuel he had set fastest lap, at . Later that same year Brown crashed badly at Eppynt trying to avoid a young girl who had fallen off the banking onto the track.
In 1951 Brown was approached by AJS with an offer to ride for them, but he turned them down as he had with Norton earlier. He continued to ride Vincents in road racing and trials events.
Post-Vincent.
Brown left Vincent in 1951. He started his own motorcycle business in part of a local Ford dealership. He was an agent for Francis-Barnett, Norman and Velocette motorcycles, as well as taking on special projects, such as developing a Trials bike for Norman. Brown also began building his own motorcycles for road racing and, later, for sprinting.
In his first outing at the TT after leaving Vincent in 1951 he placed fourth on an AJS. Returning in 1952 he placed sixth on an AJS in the Junior event and seventh on a Norton in the Senior race.
At this time Brown expanded his business, taking over a shop across the road from the old Vincent works in the High Street in the old town in Stevenage. This was also when he became an agent for Vincent motorcycles.
In 1953 Brown was seriously injured at the Junior TT when he collided with the wreckage of Leslie Graham's MV Agusta. After this Brown essentially retired from road racing, but continued to appear in hill climbs and sprints. Brown was involved in another crash at Jersey, running into a barrier at and ending up underneath a car.
In 1958 Brown was one of the people involved in the formation of the National Sprint Association. Brown served as a vice-president until he succeeded Donald Campbell as president in 1967.
In 1961 Brown planned an attempt on the World Solo Record, then held by Albino Milani. The dates were the 19th and 20 August. Brown planned to run both his Nero bike and an Ariel Arrow at Thurleigh field. Brown took three British records for both standing- and flying-start kilometre on the Ariel. For Brown's Nero Avon Rubber supplied new slick tyres; the first use of such tyres in Britain. Riding Nero he took the World Record for the Standing-start Kilometre for 1000 cc machines.
The British Drag Racing Association was formed in 1964 with Sydney Allard as President. Brown served as one of the Vice Presidents.
Brown continued to race sprints into the mid-1960s, but the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) would only grant licenses to riders up to 54 years of age. Brown's ambition was to record a run on British soil. In 1966 Brown scheduled a 4-day Castrol-sponsored attempt to exceed 200 mph on a motorcycle in Britain. The runs took place at Greenham Common in Berkshire in October, one year before he would lose his racing license. During the runs several British and World records were set, but the 200 mph goal was not reached. Brown returned to Greenham Common in November for another three days of sprints, setting several new records.
Even after reaching the cut-off age for eligibility to set International records, Brown continued to race and set British records. He also campaigned to have FIM lift their 55-year age limit, writing to FIM headquarters in Geneva. FIM relented in 1968 and lifted the 55-year age limit. At 56 Brown tried to exceed 200 mph at Elvington, but was unable to reach that goal.
In 1970 Brown had the first of several heart attacks. He died in Stevenage Hertfordshire on 27 February 1979. He was survived by his wife Ada and sons Anthony and Graham.
Memorials.
The George Brown Memorial Vintage Run is an event that started in 1979 and is organised by the Stevenage and District Motorcycle Club.
The George Brown Memorial Sprint is an event that is organised by the National Sprint Association. It was first held in 1982 at Santa Pod Raceway.
Records held.
Over the course of his sprinting career Brown held no less than 30 national and world speed records. These records included the following.
Significant motorcycles.
Cadwell Special.
In the winter of 1946/47 Brown and Vincent service foreman Norman Brewster approached PCV and proposed building a Series A Comet Special for short circuit racing until a new 500 cc model was ready. PCV agreed, but restricted them to using factory surplus parts. Brown used a Comet engine and frame with serial number TTC17 as the basis of the Special. TTC17 had earlier been ridden at Donington Park by Captain Clark. Brown and Brewster rebuilt the bike and managed to get weight down to . The bike's name came from the location of its first outing, at Cadwell Park.
Vincent designer Philip Edward Irving (PEI) was approached by the West Ham Speedway to build an engine similar to the TTC17 Cadwell unit for speedway use. PCV and PEI designed a modified engine that used a Rapide cylinder head and barrel and a Series A engine case. All of the cooling fins were sawn off the barrel and cylinder head so that the engine would warm up quickly. The first engine had a crankcase of cast Elektron metal. Eventually the Cadwell Special itself received a Speedway engine. The Cadwell Special was sold by the factory after the Grey Flash bikes became available.
Gunga Din.
PCV determined to create a racing model out of the Rapide. A rejected engine, F10AB/1A/71.1, was sent to the development department and completely rebuilt, then mounted in a frame. The bike was soon put to use as a factory racer, as well as a test-bed for performance improvements to be applied throughout the line. This bike was named Gunga Din by motor journalist Charles Markham.
Nero.
Brown wanted to continue racing, and wanted to do it on a bike like Gunga Din. He located a Rapide in Mill Hill, North London that had been damaged in a crash and subsequent fire and bought it for £5. Brown and his brother Cliff rebuilt the wreck, and as they were no longer working for Vincent, were able to make any changes to the bike they wanted. Custom camshafts were made, and the compression ratio was raised to 13:1. Brown originally built the bike known as Nero to be a road-racing machine. The bike was raced in both solo and sidecar configurations.
In 1954 more obvious changes were made, when the rear swing-arm was replaced by one fabricated out of Velocette swing-arm legs and dampers by the Browns thanks to diagrams done by George Buck, a technical adviser at Vincent. The Vincent girdraulic front end and wheel were replaced by a telescopic fork and 19" wheel from an AJS Porcupine, courtesy of Jock West, AJS' sales director. With these modifications complete the bike's wheelbase was the same as a Norton featherbed; . This caused the front wheel to lift under hard acceleration, so Brown lengthened the wheelbase by .
The bike underwent steady revision. By 1959 the compression ratio was up to 25:1, and power was approximately at 6,800 rpm. The forks were AMC "Teledraulic" telescopics. The bike retained the box-section backbone chassis of the donor Rapide, and the 998 cc 47° Vee-twin cylinder layout. One year later the bike received 1 7/32" GP carburettors. The rear end was lowered with shorter springs, and the wheelbase was stretched an additional 2½". To handle the extra power a modified Norton clutch and seven friction plates were installed.
Brown heard about a new type of tyre called a "slick" being used in America. He contacted Avon Tyres and had them duplicate the American product for Nero; the first use of such tyres in Great Britain.
Brown later extended the rear swing-arm another , and extended the front rebound springs. Brown also had a streamlined fairing made for Nero; the first such use of aerodynamics on a bike in Britain. The first one built was of aluminium, and three more were made in fibreglass. They were used on both his custom bikes as well as the factory specials he also raced.
Nero replicas.
Brown built three replicas of Nero for private owners.
One was built for Frenchman Marc Bellon. Bellon contacted Brown by telegram in September 1958 about modifying his personal Rapide, which he then delivered to Brown's workshop. The bike received an AJS 7R telescopic fork and conical brake in front, and a Velocette-based swing arm with Woodhead Munroe shocks in the rear. Front and rear wheels were 19" with aluminium rims. The engine remained stock. Bellon put on his street Nero before being called up for military duty. On his return he found the bike in an unrideable condition, which is how it remained for 20 years. In the mid-1980s he began a complete rebuild that included Mahle pistons, MkII cams and Alton generator. The Vincent backbone was replaced by a custom large-diameter tube and the steering head with a unit of solid billet. The restoration was completed in 1998.
One of the other Nero replicas was sold to a Scottish physician, who wanted to use it both on the street and in sprints. The other replica was sold to a shop-keeper in Eastbourne who kept it in regular road trim. Brown charged £450 for the conversions. Brown only built three, as most of his efforts then were going into building Super Nero.
Super Nero.
Brown's next bike was built with the goal of taking the World motorcycle land speed record. Construction started in earnest in June 1962 and the bike was first road tested in August. The team included Brown, his wife Ada, fellow sprinter Pat Barrett, and Brown's brother Cliff, who had worked on Reg Dearden's World record challenger ten years earlier.
The bike was called "Super Nero", and had a supercharged engine. To provide the forced induction, Brown obtained two 1500 cc Shorrock superchargers. The engine was a Vincent 998 cc V-twin, built to Nero specs with Picador-type ground flywheels, high-lift rocker arms and Stellite cam followers. Compression was reduced to 8:1.
The first incarnation of Super Nero used the modified Model-C Vincent frame from the original Nero, whose engine was then transferred into a new factory Model C frame. Nero's long swing-arm suspension was retained. Super Nero started racing in August. Power was estimated to be between . In early races it was determined that boost was too low, so sprocket ratios were changed on the blower drive to increase it. Problems encountered included misfiring magnetos and breaking primary chains.
The British Drag Association invited the American Drag Association to an exhibition series in England in 1964. American drag racers would complete with their British counterparts at six airfield tracks. Before the Americans arrived Brown decided to revise Super Nero in 1963. A new, lower frame was built from 5/8" Reynolds 531 steel tube. The front forks for the new chassis came from a 70 cc Honda Super Cub, and were shortened further for use on the new Super Nero. The front wheel was 17" in height. The head-lug was modified to accept the Honda ball-races. Rake was 30°. The gearbox also served as the oil tank for the engine.
In 1965 Brown's brother Cliff built an experimental engine by boring out the mouth of the crankcase and having custom liners made for the barrel mouths so that the engine could be converted from 1000 cc to 1148 cc by inserting or removing the liners and installing the appropriate barrels and pistons. Brown built a special twin-coil ignition system for the bike as well. At this time they also discovered that the cause of their chronic misfiring was due to the batteries' plates being vibrated to destruction during the high-speed runs. The customised engine was run in Nero once at Swinderby, during which a connecting rod broke and damaged the engine, after which the engine reverted to a standard crankcase.
Both Nero and Super Nero are part of the collection in the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, West Midlands UK.
Super Nero Mark II.
Prior to the start of the 1966 racing season another bike was built that is known as Super Nero Mark 2 (or Mark II). The tubular frame was the same as that built for Super Nero. The engine was an enlarged V-twin that displaced 1148 cc, and was supercharged as well.
Some references use the name "Extra Nero", which is believed to refer to this bike.


A roads in Zone 9 of the Great Britain numbering scheme

List of A roads in zone 9 in Great Britain starting north of the A8, east of the A9 (roads beginning with 9).


A75 road

The A75 is a Primary Trunk Road in Scotland, linking Stranraer and its ferry ports at Cairnryan with the A74(M) at Gretna, close to the Border with England and the M6 Motorway.
Route.
Heading west along the south coast of Scotland from its junction with the A74(M) motorway at Gretna it continues past Eastriggs, Annan, Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Gatehouse of Fleet, Newton Stewart, Kirkcowan and Glenluce before ending at Stranraer.
The majority of the road is of single-carriageway standard, although a few short dual carriageway sections exist, including a one-mile section past Gretna, a section past Collin (just east of Dumfries,) a two-mile section just west of Dumfries and a 1-mile section at Barlae (Between Glenluce and Newton Stewart.)
There are also numerous 3 lane, Overtaking sections which allow overtaking in one direction or on some occasion both directions. The road has recently been re-routed at Carrutherstown (near Dumfries) and a bypass has been constructed to avoid the village of Dunragit and the frequently struck Challoch Railway Bridge, which has earned the title of "most hit bridge in the UK."
There are only two service stations on the A75: one at Collin on the eastern edge of Dumfries, and one at Castle Kennedy to the east of Stranraer.
The road forms part of the international E-road, European route E18.
The majority of Heavy Goods Vehicles which cross the short sea route of the North Channel via Cairnryan use the A75, with a much as 90% of HGV Traffic using the A75.
In January 2020, Transport Scotland concluded a transport study of South West Scotland and outlined options for investment to the A75 and other trunk roads. In case of the construction of an Irish Sea Bridge from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (Wigtownshire to Antrim), further road widening and potentially an upgrade to motorway status may be required.
History.
The mostly single-carriageway road has been re-aligned, re-routed and bypasses most towns in recognition of the heavy freight traffic it carries between the A74(M)/M6 and the ferry ports for Northern Ireland at Cairnryan. Only two settlements are now not bypassed by it (at Springholm and Crocketford, which are situated 10 and 12 miles west of Dumfries respectively.
The 1.3 mile stretch of dual carriageway and associated one-mile westbound overtaking lane one-mile west of Dumfries opened in 1999, which replaced the previous bottleneck road which snaked up a wooded glen and afforded no overtaking opportunity by way of solid double white lines for its duration, locally known as "The Glen". The new section claimed the title after the previous road was declassified and closed at the western end, allowing only local access to residential property and agricultural land.
Transport Scotland has six completed projects announced in 2008 to improve stretches of the A75.
Previously the road ran between Dumfries & Gretna further south than its current locale, The previous road which is identified locally as the "low road" can be recognised from the B721 and B724 roads. A large majority of the remaining road previously ran through towns & settlements which have been bypassed over time, most sections of the A75 have been straightened, bypassed and re-aligned, with the majority still visible as minor roads and easily identifiable by studying Ordnance Survey maps of the area. One of the earliest bypasses on the route is that of Kirkcowan, which is believed to be the first village, town or settlement to have been bypassed by the original A75.
The previous County and Regional councils held responsibility for the A75 prior to 1996 and continually upgraded and re-aligned the A75 over several decades forming much of the current alignment. Bypasses at Glenluce, Shennanton, Newton Stewart, Blackcraig, Creetown, Carsluith, Skyreburn, Gatehouse of Fleet/Barharrow, Tywnholm, Valleyfield, Ringford, Bridge of Dee, Castle Douglas, Ramhill, Southpark, Dumfries, Collin, Raffles, Carrutherstown, Annan and Gretna along with substantial re-alignment elsewhere were built during the 80's and 90's to form much of the current standard of road seen today. The only limited improved sections still in existence but widened are between Barlae and Shennanton (Kirkcowan) and Kirkclaugh to Mossyard (Gatehouse of Fleet).
Reports of Haunting.
A four-mile stretch of the A75 known as the "Kinmount Straight" between Carrutherstown and Annan, is claimed by some to be haunted. The area near Kelhead Plantation (an effective avenue of trees), near Kinmount House, is a main site of the alleged mysterious events. Sightings have been claimed to have been seen near the Swordwellrigg hamlet on the Annan bypass.
1962
Derek and Norman Ferguson were driving along the A75 near Kinmount, around midnight, when they claim that a large hen flew towards their window screen but vanished on the point of impact. They claim that the hen was followed by an old lady who ran towards the car waving her outstretched arms. They say that she was followed by a screaming man with long hair and further animals, including 'great cats, wild dogs, goats, more hens and other fowl, and stranger creatures', who all disappeared. They further claim that the temperature then dropped, and when the brothers stopped the car, it began to sway violently back and forth. Derek got out of the car and the movement stopped. He climbed back in and then, finally, claims that a vision of a furniture van came towards them before disappearing.


Land Rover Ltd.