Donegall Road

The Donegall Road is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare that runs from Shaftesbury Square on what was once called the "Golden Mile" to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The road is bisected by the Westlink – M1 motorway. The largest section of the road, east of the Broadway junction with the Westlink, has a community which self-identifies as predominantly Protestant while the community on the other side of the Westlink – M1 motorway self-identifies as predominantly Catholic.
Overview.
The eastern side the road and the streets leading from it, are predominantly Protestant and include the well-known Sandy Row and The Village areas. The Village, an area centred on the loyalist section of Broadway and vaguely conforming to the upper half of the Protestant section of the road, was said to have been given the name by African-American GIs stationed at a base on Maldon Street during the Second World War, who described their occasional trips to the shops in the area as "going to the village". Previously the area was locally known by a number of names including Broadway, Donegall Road, Blackstaff, Linfield and Windsor but the Village name caught on and is still in common usage. The Greater Village Regeneration Trust extends the definition further to cover the entire Protestant part of the road as well as Sandy Row.
Most of the housing is of the 'two up, two down' (many of them converted) red-bricked terraced variety. The area is mostly working class, but has become a catchment area for student rental accommodation due to its close proximity to Queen's University. Across Broadway in West Belfast the demographics change as the road forms the southern border of the almost exclusively Roman Catholic St. James' area. Located where this section of the road meets the Broadway intersection is the Park Centre, a shopping centre built on the former site of Celtic Park, the home of the now defunct Belfast Celtic. The roundabout at this intersection is also home to "Rise", a huge spherical metal sculpture completed in 2011.
The road provides access to the Belfast City Hospital and the City Hospital railway station. Travelling outwards from the city centre also takes one to the Broadway entrance of the Royal Victoria Hospital. The road gets particularly congested at peak times. It is bordered by the Lisburn Road, the "Golden Mile" and Sandy Row.
A number of churches are to be found both on the road itself and the adjacent streets. Broadway Gospel Hall, St. Simon's Church of Ireland, Donegall Road Methodist Church, Donegall Road Gospel Hall, Richview Presbyterian Church, St. Aidan's Church Hall, Church of the Nazarene on Roseland Place and the William Tyndale Memorial Free Presbyterian Church on Donegall Avenue.
History.
The road is named after the Marquess of Donegall, from a prominent family in the Peerage of Ireland which have given their name to a number of locations in Belfast. It was originally known as Blackstaff Lane and subsequently Blackstaff Road before being given its current name. The Blackstaff name refers to the Blackstaff River, a waterway that flows in the area and forms one of a number of minor river networks around Belfast.
The Troubles.
During the Troubles the Donegall Road was the scene of a number of attacks by paramilitaries. In April 1972 Joseph Gold, a British Army soldier, was killed on the road after stopping a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) vehicle at a check point.
On 29 January 1973 Peter Watterson, a 15-year-old Catholic civilian, was shot dead as he stood outside a shop at the corner of the Donegall and Falls Roads whilst two days later the body of another Catholic teenager, Gabriel Savage, was found on a grass verge on the Donegall Road. Both killings are recorded as the work of unspecified loyalists. Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack however say that both killings were the work of a UDA team based in the Village area. Francis Smith was killed by the IRA in retaliation for the killings just a few days later in Rodney Drive. On 13 May of the same year, two more soldiers, Thomas Taylor and John Gaskell, were killed by a IRA explosive left in an abandoned factory on the nationalist part of the road, whilst on 5 July, Catholic Robert Clarke was killed at his place of work by the UDA. On 29 September 1974 Gerard McWilliams, a Catholic, was found stabbed to death in another UDA attack. The following year on 28 April, the UDA attempted to kill another Catholic working on railway lines close to the Donegall Road, but they mistakenly shot and killed his colleague Samuel Grierson, a Protestant.
During the 1980s, Loyalist paramilitaries from the Donegall Road also killed civilian taxi driver Paddy McAllister in Rodney Drive, while IRA volunteer James 'Skipper' Burns was shot and killed in his house in the same street by the UVF. Previously, in 1979, Sadie Larmour, a middle-aged woman was shot dead in her home. In 1984, Loyalist paramilitary figure Michael Stone killed milkman Paddy Brady, who served the area, leaving a nearby dairy. Roy Butler, an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment was killed by the IRA, whilst he shopped at Park Centre on 2 August 1988. In late 1991, the road was the scene of four killings in quick succession. On 10 August Catholic civilian James Carson was shot and killed in his shop on the corner of the Donegall and Falls Roads, in an attack claimed by the "Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group", actually a code name used by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). On 10 September John Hanna, a 19-year-old member of the UVF, was killed by the IRA at his home in the Village. The republican group struck again on 13 November, when they entered a house on Lecale Street in the Village and killed William Kingsberry and his stepson Samuel Mehaffey. Kingsberry was a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Mehaffey was with the Red Hand Commando (RHC).
On 7 September 1993 Stephen McKeag, and two other volunteers in C-Company of the UDA West Belfast Brigade, entered a hairdresser's shop on the upper Donegall Road and shot the proprietor Sean Hughes dead. Although brought to trial, McKeag – known as "Top Gun" – was not convicted after eyewitness testimony did not stand up to scrutiny. The following year, the RHC killed 31-year-old Margaret Wright at a social club on Meridi Street, and dumped her body in an empty house in the Village. Wright was taken for a Catholic although in fact she was Protestant. The most recent sectarian killing to occur on the road took place on 21 January 1998 when the UDA shot and killed Catholic Benedict Hughes, outside his place of work on Utility Street near Sandy Row.
In terms of paramilitary organization, the Donegall Road has also seen much activity. In late 1970 John McKeague, who had earlier founded the Shankill Defence Association, attempted to establish a similar "defence association" in the area amongst loyalist residents, but the plan floundered when leaders of the local branch of the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee warned their members and supporters not to associate with McKeague, whilst also spreading the rumour that he was a "fruit". The UDA would soon take root on the Donegall Road however, forming part of the movement's South Belfast Brigade. Variously commanded by John McMichael, Jackie McDonald and Alex Kerr, the South Belfast Brigade covered the largest area of any UDA brigade, including not only south Belfast but all of Lisburn and everywhere in between and, despite its name, active units as far away as South County Down, Cookstown, Lurgan and even County Tyrone and County Fermanagh. The Village area of the Donegall Road was a centre of activity for the UDA, and the unit it shared with the neighbouring Sandy Row was one of the brigade's two most active units, along with that in Lisburn. Alex Kerr would later switch from the UDA to the Loyalist Volunteer Force and his move briefly gained some support in the Village, where graffiti attacking the UDA-linked Ulster Democratic Party appeared. This however proved short-lived, and before long Kerr was forced to flee Belfast for the LVF's Mid-Ulster base of operations.
A series of racially motivated attacks, carried out on the homes of immigrants in the area in January 2004, were blamed on local members of the UVF, with even the local spokesman for the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) conceding that UVF members had been behind the attacks. He did however add that the UVF leadership had not sanctioned the attacks. Four members who were said to be behind the attacks were subsequently "arrested" by the UVF leadership, who issued claims that two of those held responsible had links to the far right British National Party. The leader of the Donegall Road UVF was subsequently stood down by Supreme Command.
Republican activity in the St. James's area of the Donegall Road is commemorated by a garden of remembrance as pictured. 21-year-old Peter Wilson, one of sixteen people believed or confirmed to have been abducted, killed and buried in unmarked graves by republicans, and known collectively as "the Disappeared", was a native of the St. James's area. Wilson disappeared in July 1973 with his body not recovered until 2 November 2010.
Sport and culture.
Windsor Park, the home of both Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team is accessible from Donegall Avenue, a street that leads off the Donegall Road. As a consequence, both the club and national team are well supported within the road's community and are celebrated by murals in the Village area. The Donegall Road also features in a popular chant that Linfield supporters often sing. A supporters club for Scottish Premier League club Rangers F.C. is located at Barrington Street, adjacent to the Donegall Road. As stated, Belfast Celtic previously made their home on the Donegall Road. However the club left the Irish Football League in 1949, after a series of sectarian incidents at matches, notably at Windsor Park. Their stadium remained as a venue for greyhound racing until it was demolished in the 1980s.
Snooker player Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins also grew up on the road, having been born on Abingdon Drive. He was a regular visitor to the local snooker hall, the Jampot Club, before he went on to win the World Snooker Championship for the first time in 1972. Higgins is commemorated by a piece of public art on the road.
Popular singer Ruby Murray was born in Moltke Street, just off the Donegall Road. Like Higgins, Murray's ties to the area have been commemorated artistically, in this case by a photographic montage on the side of the Road's Credit Union.
The Donegall Road Carnegie library opened on 5 March 1909, one of three Carnegie libraries in Belfast. Sold by the council in the early 1990s, it was restored and converted into offices in 1999.
Politics.
For representation on Belfast City Council the Donegall Road is split between the Balmoral District Electoral Area, currently represented by Claire Hanna and Bernie Kelly of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Tom Ekin of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), Ruth Patterson of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Máirtín Ó Muilleoir of Sinn Féin and Bob Stoker of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and the Laganbank District Electoral Area, an area currently represented by Kate Mullen and Pat McCarthy of the SDLP, Catherine Curran of the APNI, Deirdre Hargey of Sinn Féin and Christopher Stalford of the DUP.
It is part of the Belfast South constituency for the House of Commons, with Claire Hanna of the SDLP serving as MP, as well as the Belfast South constituency of the Northern Ireland Assembly.


Brough Superior Austin Four

The Brough Superior Austin Four was a limited-production motorcycle designed and manufactured by Brough Superior of Nottingham, UK in 1932. It was listed in the 1932 Brough Superior catalogue as the 'Straight Four' but it was commonly known as the Brough Superior Austin Four, or BS4, or '3-wheeled Brough'. The machine is unique in its design, being powered by a modified Austin 7 automobile engine and gearbox unit, from which a driveshaft emerges on the centre-line of the motor. Rather than design a new gearbox, George Brough had the inspiration to keep the central driveshaft, and use a pair of close-couple rear wheels driven by a central final drive box. This 3-wheeled design was legally considered a motorcycle as the wheel centres were within 24". The Brough Superior-Austin Four created a sensation when revealed at the 1931 Olympia Motorcycle Show.
Development.
George Brough considered the four-cylinder engine ideal for a motorcycle, given its smooth running and potential for greater horsepower than a single or twin-cylinder engine of the same capacity. Brough Superior had already revealed two prototype 4-cylinder machines before 1932, using an air-cooled sidevalve V-4 built in-house (1927), and an air-cooled inline sidevalve 4 developed by Motosacoche (1928). While these prototypes were never built in series, they generated tremendous attention at shows and in the press . In 1930, George Brough considered using an engine already in production, in this case the well-developed Austin 4-cylinder sidevalve, water-cooled motor of 747cc. Brough increased the engine displacement by 50 cc to 797 cc and added a light alloy 'sports' cylinder head for more horsepower. George Brough claimed a significant increase in the Austin's power output, but, as "The Motor Cycle" magazine observed, this was a luxury motorcycle intended for use with a sidecar, not a sports machine. Power output was actually quite low, and the performance was inhibited by the use of standard Austin rear-axle ratios. The brisk acceleration with a heavy sidecar fitted would, however, more than compensate for lack of top speed.
On sale from March 1932, the Brough Superior Four had been in development for 18 months and brought much needed publicity to the Brough works as the Depression struck the motorcycle industry worldwide. Despite the attention, however, only ten examples were actually built. Initially designed for use with a sidecar, the Austin engine was from a well-proven Austin 7 design, which was a side-valve with a low-pressure oiling system. George Brough chose to use also the standard Austin 7 three-speed gearbox, complete with reverse, driving a prop shaft to a crown wheel and pinion mounted in a specially cast housing. The twin rear wheels would possibly have been expected to make it difficult to handle, but Hubert Chantrey successfully completed the Land's End Trial on a solo version. Chantry pointed out that it really was a luxury motorcycle, as it had cost George Brough over £1,000 to develop (which equates to over £50,000 today.) The Brough Superior Four was actually sold for £188 - cheaper than the Brough Superior SS100.
Engine cooling was achieved with a pair of purpose-built radiators fixed either side of the front frame downtube. The Brough Superior-Austin Four's greatest success was the publicity generated by the introduction and imaginative marketing of such an unusual motorcycle.
Surviving examples.
Of the ten Brough Superior Austin Fours built, (eight in 1932 and one in both 1933 and 1934), a total of nine have survived to this day. Of these, two are in the US, three are owned by UK enthusiasts, two are in Germany, and one is known to have been scrapped in Anglesey, Wales. One is at the Southward Car Museum in Otaihanga on New Zealand's North Island. Recently the ninth surviving model has been discovered in the collection of the late Frank Vague near Bodmin, Cornwall.
Brough Superior Austin Four in the UK Motorcycle Museum.
The Brough Superior Austin Four in the National Motorcycle Museum (UK) is actually a replica of the motorcycle that was scrapped in Wales. Built by enthusiast Albert Wallis, who started with a few spare parts including a rear bevel box casting, and a pair of original radiators, it was completed with a standard Austin 7 engine and gearbox.


A3204 road


Chiswick flyover

The Chiswick flyover is a short elevated section of the M4 motorway in the western approaches to London, United Kingdom. The flyover in the west London suburb of Chiswick, was opened in 1959 with the intention of reducing congestion and the impact on local traffic of vehicles travelling around London on the North and South Circular Roads and between London and the west on the Great West Road. Although it was not originally built as a motorway, it was later incorporated into the M4 motorway.
Description.
The original Chiswick flyover carries the first half a mile of the M4 from its start at junction number 1. The flyover was extended to be over two miles long in the early 1960s, forming part of the M4 junction 1 to junction 5 section that was opened in 1965. The first one-and-a-half miles of the flyover tracks the course of the A4 which is directly beneath it, effectively forming a two-tier road system. It then turns approximately west north-west across Boston Manor Park before the M4 returns to ground level, and widens from two to three lanes in each direction as it heads west through the grounds of Osterley Park.
History.
The flyover, built at a cost of £6 million, was provided to relieve the congestion at Chiswick roundabout, the junction of Chiswick High Road, North Circular Road, South Circular Road and the Great West Road, caused by 40,000 cars per day using the junction. The opening ceremony for the flyover, which was performed by Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield, took place on 30 September 1959. The second section opened on 25 November 1964.
In October 2009, actress Imogen Stubbs unveiled a plaque in a ceremony in Chiswick to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the flyover. In 1964 the flyover became part of the M4 motorway and by 1969 was said to be the most dangerous road in Britain. By 2009, 97,000 vehicles per day were using the M4 over flyover.
Design detail.
The flyover was not originally built to motorway standards. The structure was half a mile long (0.8 kilometres) and wide with hard-shoulders of no more than wide. of concrete went into each of the columns supporting the road.
Folklore.
Rumours arose that the bodies of the victims of the Kray twins, notorious London gangsters, were entombed in the concrete pillars of the flyover.


Charlie Williams (motorcyclist)

Charlie Williams (born in Kelsall, Cheshire) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1974 when he finished in tenth place in the 500cc world championship on a Yamaha motorcycle. Williams was a nine-time winner at the Isle of Man TT races, although only three of those victories counted towards the world championship. In 1980, he won the Formula II Class of the Formula TT world championship.
Since racing, Williams has remained a TT personality presenting the breakfast show every week day on Radio TT as well as joining the team for trackside commentary. He owns and has taken an active role in running the Chester store Everything But Bikes since retiring from TT racing.


William Vincent Ltd.

 William Vincent Ltd., often known as Vincent of Reading, was a British coachbuilder founded in 1805 making carriages but in 1899 they made their first car body and later made bodies for commercial vehicles.
Company history.
The company, initially based in Arborfield, was founded in 1805 building horse-drawn carriages as well as agricultural equipment and railway carriages. They later moved to Castle Street, Reading.
The first car body was built in 1899 and seven years later in 1906 they supplied coachwork for a Rolls-Royce . In the 1920s Vincent claimed to have the "largest and most up-to-date works in the British Isles."
They exhibited at the London Motor Show from 1919 until 1935 making many bodies for Austin and Sunbeam. They became particularly noted however for their horseboxes making the first in 1912 for the Edwardian millionaire racehorse owner, Solomon Joel. Its bodies were particularly noted for their interiors with much use of inlaid woodwork.
When in the 1930s the demand for bespoke coachwork was declining Vincent turned increasingly to commercial vehicle work with horseboxes remaining a speciality.
During World War II the manufacturing site close to Reading station was used to make Spitfire parts.
After World War II the company exhibited again at the Motor Show with a Rolls-Royce displayed from 1948 to 1952. The last carbodies were made in the mid 1950s and the last horsebox in around 1981.
The firm was also an agent for Austin and Rolls-Royce and then BMW. They later became part of the Penta Group of car dealers.


A882 road

The A882 road is entirely within Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It has a length of about and runs generally west/northwest from the A99 in the county town of Wick to the A9 in the Georgemas area.
About from Wick the road passes through the village of Watten, where it is crossed by the B870.
The A882 is part of the most direct route between Wick and the burgh of Thurso: of the A9 complete the route.
Between Wick and Watten the traveller has Wick River to the right. The road crosses the river at Watten. Between Watten and Georgemas Loch Watten and Loch Scarmclate are to the right. The traveller who continues to Thurso on the A9 will have the River Thurso to the left.
Towns, villages and junctions.
The A882 runs through or near towns and villages listed below. Junctions listed are with other classified roads.


Charlesworth Bodies

Charlesworth Bodies Limited of Much Park Street, Coventry, owned a coachbuilding business that had been founded in 1907 by three partners: Gray, Hill and Steane.
Principal product.
The company manufactured bodies in short runs for low-volume manufacturers including MG, Alvis, Armstrong Siddeley (at Parkside by Charlesworth), Brough Superior and Lea-Francis as well as on mass-market chassis from Hillman and Singer. They also made bespoke bodies on chassis such as Daimler, and light commercial bodies such as vans.
Burlington Carriage.
The Burlington Carriage Company Limited, (associated with Siddeley-Deasy) although independent, operated from an office in Charlesworth's premises at Parkside around the time of the First World War, then became an Armstrong Siddeley subsidiary.
Sale.
When fabric bodies were in fashion in the 1920s and early 1930s they held a licence from Weymann The business was advertised for sale "as a going concern" in April 1927 "due to the death of a director". The description states that the premises are freehold and contain approximately 6,000 square yards in the heart of the city, equipped with all modern machinery for carrying on the trade. "The business shows substantial profits over a considerable period." In 1931 the company was liquidated and a new owner of the business incorporated, Charlesworth Bodies (1931) Limited, which soon was permitted to drop the (1931).
The Charlesworth house style of the early 1930s was low rooflines with compound curves and deep moulded waistlines.
Second World War.
During the Second World War Charlesworth manufactured aircraft components; their operations included a factory in Gloucestershire and Cecil Kimber was then among their staff. In early 1946 a series of small display advertisements offered "Superior Car Renovation" in the light of the postwar car shortage.
Charlesworth continued to make bodies after the Second World War, including Daimlers of various sizes. It appears the company's records have been destroyed since it went out of business in about 1950.


Longer Heavier Vehicle

Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs), also called super lorries, is a classification of large goods vehicle (LGV) (formerly Heavy Goods Vehicles, HGVs) in the United Kingdom. LHVs are not presently allowed to operate on UK roads, being longer and/or heavier than the legal limits, which as of 2009 allowed LGVs up to a maximum of 6 axles and of fully laden vehicle weight, and a maximum overall length of for articulated lorries, or for drawbar lorries.
Since the early 2000s, some haulage companies in the UK had been investigating potential LHV designs and lobbying for a change in the law. Various types of LHV exist, and most of the larger types involve using extra axles, and different trailer arrangements, forming so called road trains. LHVs are supported by some hauliers as a way to increase productivity and reduce costs. Their introduction however faces opposition from rail freight, road safety and environmental groups, who want a general reduction in road traffic, and from portions of the public over general safety and quality of life issues.
In 2005, some companies unsuccessfully applied to the Department for Transport (DfT) for permission to be able to trial their prototype vehicles. In November 2006, the DfT launched a desk based study into the potential impact of a multitude of LHV options on the UK road transport sector, and the wider economy and environment in general, looking at options ranging from simply extending existing lengths and weights of articulated and drawbar lorries, up to allowing 11-axle, long, fully laden weight vehicles. In June 2008, based on the study's conclusions, the legalisation of most types of LHV was postponed indefinitely, due to concerns over the effect on the rail freight sector, and the need for infrastructure and other changes, although a further investigation into the LHV option of extending the length of articulated lorries, to create Longer Semi-Trailers (LSTs), was begun in June 2009.
In 2011, following further desktop work, DfT launched the 10 year GB Longer Semi-trailer trial, allowing for up to 1800 longer (up to 15.65m) but not heavier, trailers to brought into operation by hauliers of all sizes, subject to a range of trial conditions, including detailed data submissions covering numbers of journeys, distances, types of goods and pick-up / delivery locations. The trial was expanded in 2018 to permit a further 1000 trailers and operations up to 2027. The analysis of trial results has been reported annually from 2012, with the latest report in November 2020, at which point DfT also published a consultation on ending the trial and the regulatory options being considered for wider use of LSTs on GB roads.
Despite the 2008 DfT ruling on LHVs, Lincoln based haulage company Denby Transport, one of the most active proponents of LHVs who had developed their own long Denby Eco-Link LHV, is attempting to have their vehicle legalised at , under an existing UK legal loophole dating from 1986.
Background.
LGVs (HGVs).
In the UK, cargo carrying vehicles were previously defined, and are still commonly known, as HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles), although for harmonisation with other European Union member states, this term was officially changed to LGV (Large goods vehicle). Articulated lorries are the more common configuration of larger LGV in the UK, where a tractor unit tows a semi-trailer through a fifth wheel coupling. The drawbar configuration is a less common example of large LGV, and consists of a rigid lorry with cargo carrying capacity, which also pulls a second cargo trailer, using a drawbar link. The UK also allows the use of long 'bendy buses' for public transport. Buses however have their own legal classification, as PSVs (Passenger Service Vehicles).
Weights and dimensions.
Since 1992, weight and axles limits for goods carrying lorries in the United Kingdom had increased in stages from and 5 axles. , vehicles are limited to a maximum of 6 axles, and limited to an overall maximum weight of and in length for articulated lorries, and and for drawbar lorries. The restriction on overall length is why the majority of UK lorries are hauled by 'cab over' tractor units, although for the minority of UK uses where the weight limit is reached before the length limit, conventional trucks are legal.
Longer, heavier vehicles (LHVs) is a classification given to any vehicle that is heavier and/or longer than these legal limits. This can involve basic extensions of the normal articulated or drawbar configuration, or can be achieved with more axles and a more complex configuration, with the largest examples being similar to so called road trains elsewhere in the world.
Turning circle.
Whatever configuration of vehicle used, to be legally operated on UK roads, vehicles must adhere to the EU defined articulated vehicle turning circle regulations, which state that any vehicle must be able to navigate a turning circle around a set-point, keeping the whole of the vehicle within a corridor bounded by two circles around that point, with the inner circle having a radius of , and the outer radius being . Vehicle turning circles are particularly important in the UK due to the historical existence of many narrow streets, and a high number of roundabouts.
European Union law.
As of 2009, some types of LHV already operate in the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, with trials also having occurred in Germany.
As of 2009, European Union member countries only have the power to raise the existing EU weight and length limits in their own countries. As of January 2009, the European Union was considering the conclusions of a European Commission (EC) instigated report, which recommended raising limits EU wide to and , for reasons of cost-effectiveness. This would require approval of the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Investigations.
Early applications.
The issue of the prospect of LHVs, at the time being called "road trains" or "super lorries", being allowed on Britain's roads came to national attention through the media in September 2005, following an application by hauliers to be allowed to trial longer trucks, and a report on the issue being prepared for the Department of Transport.
UK hauliers Dick Denby of Denby Transport and Stan Robinson from Stan Robinson Group were two of the biggest supporters of an LHV trial. Both companies had been developing their own designs, and had been lobbying the government for permission to test them on UK roads. The Robinson Group were developing the Stan Robinson Road Train, an 11 or 12 axle combination of two semi-trailers linked by a trailer dolly. Since around 2002, Denby had been developing the Denby Eco-Link, an 8 axle, , long vehicle with two trailers, known as a B-Double.
Supported by the Road Haulage Association, it was proposed that these LHVs would only be used on motorways to carry cargo between regional distribution centres. The application was opposed by Transport 2000 who believed it would eventually lead to the use of such vehicles in towns and villages. In March 2006, Transport minister Stephen Ladyman refused the Denby and Robinson applications, but also sought the results of further analysis. An application for a long trailer was also refused. The use of LHVs only on inter-modal routes was reportedly rejected due to the problems of enforcement of any such restriction.
DfT desk study.
In 2006, the DfT initiated a desk based research project into the potential use of LHVs. The study was titled "Longer and/or longer and heavier goods vehicles - a study of the effects if they were to be permitted in the UK", and it ran from 3 November 2006 to 3 June 2008. The compilation of the report was contracted to the Transport Research Laboratory, with Heriot-Watt University also involved.
The study looked at seven different scenarios for increased weight and/or length over the current arrangements:
The report had originally been due to be published in October 2007.
During 2007, the prospect of LHVs being approved sparked public debate on "road trains" for the UK, with the claimed environmental, cost and road safety benefits being contrasted with quality of life issues, and questions of perceived safety risk to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists of LHVs on British roads. An increase in the size of lorries was opposed by the rail industry, with the Freight On Rail lobby group saying in 2007 that past increases had only resulted in half empty lorries.
Conclusion.
In summary, the study concluded that LHVs could not be operated in the UK without changes to infrastructure, developing dedicated routes, and changing certain speed limits. It concluded that, depending on the industry take-up, LHV usage could lead to a net increase CO2 emissions by effecting a modal shift from rail, although it revealed that LHVs would result in a net reduction of fatalities due to the overall reduction in vehicles on the roads, and would substantially reduce freight transport costs (although capital investment costs had not been accounted for). The report found there could be several benefits to allowing the extension of existing articulated trailer lengths, creating Longer Semi-Trailers (LSTs).
On 4 June 2008 based on the DfT report, Transport Minister Ruth Kelly declared that the use of LHVs would not be trialled in the UK, but indicated support for a study into extending the length of normal articulated semi-trailers.
Ruth Kelly's decision not to allow practical investigation of most LHVs was criticised by the Freight Transport Association (FTA), but welcomed by the UK's largest railfreight operator English Welsh & Scottish. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) believed it would have been better to allow specific trials "in order to reach an objective conclusion". The FTA had also previously wanted a number of "responsible" transport companies to be allowed to carry out monitored trials of LHVs at their own expense.
Longer Semi-Trailers study.
As a result of the desk study, in June 2009 the DfT launched another study into the benefits and impact of legalising longer semi-trailers (LSTs), to investigate extending ordinary trailers by up to . The LST report was not expected to be released until December 2009, and a ministerial decision on changing the regulations would take even longer. That report was being prepared by WSP, MDS Transmodal, TRL, MIRA and Cambridge University among others and would examine safety, industry benefits, CO2 effects and effects on the rail industry. Eddie Stobart was also trialling a longer than standard trailer in 2009.
Denby 44 tonne legal challenge.
In late 2009, Lincoln based haulage company Denby Transport announced their intention to challenge the prohibition of LHVs, through the law courts if necessary. On legal advice, Denby had taken the view that, due to its manoeuvrability, and if kept to the present legal maximum weight of 44 tonnes, their Denby Eco-Link LHV would be legal to use under a loophole in the present UK laws, namely the 1986 Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations. The DfT, maintaining that it was an illegal LHV, conceded that only the courts could definitively rule on the issue. Feeling he had reached an impasse with the DfT, on 1 December the company owner Dick Denby took the Eco-Link for a test drive on the A46, intending to fight any resulting prohibition order through the courts. Having been notified by Mr Denby beforehand, police stopped the vehicle just outside the gates of Denby's depot, and Mr Denby was ordered to return the vehicle to the depot pending an inspection by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), who were expected to prohibit the vehicle from being used.
DfT GB Longer Semi-Trailer Trial.
Following the desktop studies, DfT indicated that while they did not believe a further increase in the maximum weight of HGVs should be considered, they were open to the idea of trialling an increase in length, within the current maximum vehicle dimensions already in use (18.75m Rigid+Drawbar Combinations).
In 2011/12 DfT launched a 10 year trial of high-volume, longer semi-trailers (LSTs) in the UK. The trial was designed to demonstrate whether anticipated (from desktop studies) gains in terms of carbon reduction and safety improvement (arising from reduced numbers of journeys) would be delivered in real world operations as part of existing fleets. The trailers were required to meet a range of other technical specifications, in particular, that each new chassis design be tested to show it could meet the standard GB turning circle requirements.
The trial initially allocated spaces for up to 1800 trailers with a trailer length up to 15.65m (which with the tractor unit added, fits inside the 18.75m noted above). The number of spaces on the trial was expanded in 2018 and at the time of the last Annual Report, there were 2,565 trailer licences (Vehicle Special Orders) issued to 228 haulage operators. The trial was open to operators of all sizes, as long as they could meet the data submission requirements, and the participants on the trial included companies across diverse parts of the freight industry and varied in size from the largest national operators, to single vehicle owner operators.
An independent evaluation consultant (Risk Solutions) was appointed and has been in place for the whole duration of the trial to date (2021), with all haulier data being held by the evaluators, rather than by the DfT. The consultants present an Annual Report on the trial and these, along with many intermediate special analysis documents arising from the trial, have been published on the DfT website, presenting results including an average saving on journeys of 8% (to December 2019) giving a saving of 48,000 tonnes of CO2e and 241 tonnes of NOx. The reduction in journeys also contributes to a reduction in incidents.
At the same time, analysis of the rate of safety and damage incidents on a per km basis, the trial has demonstrated that it is possible to operate LSTs as safely, or indeed more safely, than the averages for GB articulated HGVs. Qualitative analysis involving operators on the trial attributes this to good practices in not only the training of drivers before they operate LSTs, but a whole range of operational measures including route risk assessment and compliance management. Insights into the many practices adopted by hauliers in integrating LSTs safely and efficiently to their operations were published alongside the analytical results in November 2020.
Longer Semi-Trailers - GB Consultation.
The trial was initially intended to run to 2022, and was then extended (when the number of allocations was increased to 2,800) to run until 2027.
In November 2020, DfT published a consultation into ending the LST Trial and options for proceeding to wider use of the trailers under one of several possible regulatory options. DfT stated that "we believe the trial has reached a point where continuing is unlikely to provide useful results and that remaining issues, relating to the safety, can only be answered outside of trial settings". The consultation closed on 1 February 2021 and DfT's conclusions on next steps are pending.


FirstGroup

FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company operates transport services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History.
Origins.
FirstGroup originated from the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, whereby private companies purchased nationalised and municipal bus operators. In September 1986 the Somerset based services of the Bristol Omnibus Company that were rebranded in 1985 as Badgerline were purchased in a management buyout. As Badgerline Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing other formerly nationalised bus companies in England and Wales.
In January 1989, Grampian Regional Transport, the bus operator in Aberdeen owned by Grampian Regional Council, was privatized in a management buyout led by its then general manager Moir Lockhead. As GRT Bus Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing six former nationalised bus companies in England and Scotland. In April 1995, FirstBus was formed through the merger of the Badgerline and GRT Bus Groups, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland. The former King Street Barracks site in Aberdeen was selected as the headquarters. At the time of the merger, FirstBus had 5,600 buses, 4,000 of which came from Badgerline. Badgerline's Trevor Smallwood became chairman of FirstBus, while GRT head Moir Lockhead became deputy chairman and chief executive.
Expansion.
FirstBus continued the policy of growth by acquisition acquiring former council owned operations and companies formerly owned by English, Welsh and Scottish nationalized operators. FirstBus went on to acquire larger urban metropolitan operators by taking advantage of the privatisation of the PTE bus operations and the privatisation of London bus services. FirstBus acquired GM Buses North in Manchester and Strathclyde Buses in Glasgow in 1996, Mainline in South Yorkshire and CentreWest in London in 1997, and Capital Citybus in London in 1998.
The company was renamed FirstGroup in December 1997 after the company moved into railways in February 1996 with the privatisation of British Rail, through a 24.5% shareholding in Great Western Holdings that won the Great Western and North Western franchises, and a 100% shareholding in First Great Eastern that ran the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997. In March 1998, FirstGroup purchased the 75.5% shares in Great Western Holdings it did not already own and rebranded the franchises First Great Western and First North Western.
In September 1998, FirstGroup made its first overseas foray when New World First Bus commenced operating bus services in Hong Kong formerly operated by China Motor Bus. FirstGroup had a 26% shareholding in the joint venture. In May 2000 FirstGroup sold its shares to joint venture partner New World Development. In September 1999, FirstGroup purchased Ryder Public Transport Services, a provider of school bus and contracted public bus transportation in the United States. In May 2000, FirstGroup began operating the London Tramlink concession under contract to Transport for London.
In August 2003, FirstGroup purchased GB Railways which owned Anglia Railways and GB Railfreight and held 80% of the shares in Hull Trains. Having not been shortlisted for the Greater Anglia franchise, this gave FirstGroup another chance to bid. However, it was unsuccessful and the franchise was awarded to National Express from April 2004, including the services operated by First Great Eastern. In November 2003, FirstGroup purchased a 90% shareholding in Irish coach operator Aircoach.
In February 2004, FirstGroup's joint venture with Keolis commenced operating the First TransPennine Express rail franchise, FirstGroup having a 55% shareholding. In April 2004, FirstGroup commenced operating the First Great Western Link franchise and in October 2004 the First ScotRail franchise. In December 2004, the remainder of First North Western passed to Northern Rail, some services having already been transferred to Arriva Trains Wales and FirstTranspennine Express.
In April 2006, FirstGroup commenced operating the First Capital Connect franchise and a renewed First Great Western franchise that had been expanded to include the Thames Trains and Wessex Trains franchises.
In February 2007, FirstGroup agreed to buy the US-based firm Laidlaw, an operator of inter-city coaches and yellow school buses across North America, for £1.9 billion (US$3.7 billion). This also gave it a controlling stake in Greyhound Lines, the largest bus operator in North America. The Greyhound name and the names of Canadian subsidiaries of Greyhound Canada were retained, and all other Laidlaw-owned services in the United States and Canada were rebranded under the First or Greyhound names, except for Voyageur Colonial and Grey Goose in Canada. In January 2009, DSBFirst, FirstGroup's joint venture with Danish State Railways commenced operating the Oresundtrain rail franchise from Helsingør and Nivå in Denmark along the Kystbanen line and over the Øresund Bridge to Malmö, Växjö, Kalmar, Karlskrona and Gothenburg in Sweden. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in the Danish business and 20% in the Swedish business. By March 2011 this was 30%.
In June 2009, FirstGroup made a takeover offer for fellow transport operator National Express, which was struggling with debt at the time and was struggling to hold onto its National Express East Coast rail franchise. This was rejected, National Express which said it did not "consider it appropriate" at the time to discuss a takeover. FirstGroup believed that there was "significant industrial and commercial logic" for a merger, but National Express wished to focus on its own initiatives.
Recent years.
In June 2010, FirstGroup sold its railfreight business First GBRf to the Eurotunnel Group for £31 million, ending the group's involvement in rail freight transport. In September 2010, former London Underground managing director Tim O'Toole, already a board member since May 2009 and chief operating officer and Deputy Chief Executive since June 2010, was announced as the successor to retiring group chief executive officer Moir Lockhead with effect from 31 March 2011.
In September 2011, FirstGroup's German bus operations were sold to Marwyn European Transport. In December 2011, DSBFirst ceased operating the Swedish part of the operation after difficulties encountered by Danish State Railways over cross subsidies.
In July 2012, First Travel Solutions provided bus and coach services for the London 2012 Olympic Games as First Games Transport. This involved the provision of venue shuttle and park and ride services, services connecting the peripheral park and ride sites on the M25 with the Olympic Park and Ebbsfleet, and a nationwide network of express coaches to the Olympic Park and the Weymouth and Portland sailing venue. The services required around 900 vehicles in total, although some were sub-contracted. In June 2013, most of the First London bus operations were sold to Go-Ahead London, Metroline and Tower Transit. In April 2015 FirstGroup was unsuccessful in bidding for the ScotRail franchise, which is now run by Abellio ScotRail. In December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the next TransPennine Express franchise. The new franchise commenced on 1 April 2016 with a commitment to introduce new trains, routes and faster journey times.
In May 2016, East Coast Trains was granted a 10 track-access agreement to operate services on the East Coast Main Line from 2021. In October 2016, First Transit commenced operating the A-train under contract to the Denton County Transportation Authority, its first rail operation in the United States. In August 2017 FirstGroup's joint venture with MTR Corporation commenced operating the South Western franchise, FirstGroup having a 70% shareholding in South Western Railway.
In May 2019, FirstGroup announced it would sell it UK bus operations. The only sales completed were parts of First Greater Manchester to the Go-Ahead Group and Rotala. In May 2020, FirstGroup announced it would retain its UK bus operations and sell its North American assets instead.
In April 2021, FirstGroup agreed terms to sell the First Student and First Transit businesses to EQT Partners. Subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal is scheduled to close in the second half of 2021.
Operations.
FirstGroup is Britain's largest bus operator, running more than 20% of all local bus services. A fleet of nearly 9,000 buses carries some 2.9 million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities. FirstGroup also runs passenger rail services in the UK. Passenger rail franchises consist of Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and TransPennine Express. It also operates Hull Trains, a non-franchised open access passenger train service. FirstGroup operates tram services on the London Tramlink network carrying approximately 24 million passengers a year on behalf of Transport for London.
In North America, FirstGroup owns Greyhound lines.
FirstGroup owns and operates the Aircoach service in Dublin, linking Dublin Airport with the city centre, the south side of Dublin, Greystones and Bray as well as long-distance express services runs to Cork and Belfast.
Corporate branding and liveries.
FirstGroup has always had a consistent brand and uses the First brand for most of its operations. FirstBus began to apply a standard corporate typeface to its fleet names in the late 1990s, introducing the stylized "f" logo depicting a road. A corporate white, pink and blue livery nicknamed "Barbie" was introduced to new buses, while further bus company acquisitions continued. Inherited bus fleets were initially left in their original colours with First fleet names, with the intention that the Barbie scheme would stand for a set service quality. Later older buses received a modified "Barbie 2" livery.
As part of its corporate branding, First subsequently removed all local branding for its bus services, buses simply carried the 'First' brand, although each company still operated independently. In 2012, the group began to introduce a new purple, white and lilac livery to its bus fleets, which also reinstated local branding. In January 2014, the company rebranded its First Somerset & Avon operations in Bridgwater and Taunton as The Buses of Somerset, using a two-tone green livery.
Hull Trains carries a predominantly blue livery, including white, pink and purple. This was also used by First Great Western until 20 September 2015, when the franchise was rebranded as Great Western Railway, with a new logo and dark green livery paying homage to the original Great Western Railway.
London Tramlink operations are painted in white, green and blue as per Transport for London requirements. In Scotland, First ScotRail operated with a blue livery with white saltire markings on the carriage ends, as mandated by the Scottish Government's transport agency Transport Scotland.
In North America, all FirstGroup owned and operated services are operated under the First or Greyhound brands except in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Manitoba for regulatory reasons, and vehicles operated under contract to public agencies, which carry the branding of the agency that owns the particular bus. All American subsidiaries of Greyhound Lines are now operated under the Greyhound name.
Current operating businesses.
Current operating businesses include:


Brockmore Classic Replicas

Brockmore Classic Replicas Limited was a British automotive manufacturer.
Company history.
The company from Brierley Hill, West Midlands took a project for Grand Illusions Motor Company. The production of automobiles and kits began. Their brand name was "Brockmore", after Brockmoor in Brierley Hill. Production ended in 1994. The company produced about four replicas.
Vehicles.
The company offered replicas of the Triumph TR 2 and TR 3 models. The chassis and suspension were re-designed. Many parts were from Ford. Various motors types of Rover V8 engines from Rover were used to power these cars.


Capital City Green

Capital City Green was the branding of the bus service "27" Cardiff, operated by Cardiff Bus. The route ran from the city centre to the north of the city, serving the Maindy, Heath, Birchgrove and Thornhill districts.
The service formed part of the wider Cardiff Bus network and was one of three services to have a unique branding, along with Baycar and Capital City Red.
The upgraded service was introduced in 2007 when Cardiff Bus deployed on the route six out of 15 new Scania OmniCity vehicles which it had purchased at a cost of £2.5 million.
History.
Prior to the 1940s, Cardiff trams ran as far north as Gabalfa from the city centre. The trams were replaced with Cardiff trolleybuses in the 1940s until the 1960s when the transition to motor buses began and was completed by 1970. At the time, routes to areas in the west of Cardiff such as Caerau and Culverhouse Cross carried the number "27". Birchgrove and Llanishen were served by the 28(B) and Thornhill by the 29, which still exist today, running on a different routse the 27, making the 27 a newer route.
Vehicles.
The Scania OmniCity vehicles have their own red and green livery, are equipped with seats with leather headrests, air-conditioning, reserved spaces for buggies and wheelchairs, CCTV, on-bus screens with local travel information and BBC News 24 bulletins, hearing induction loop and next stop information. When introduced, the backs of six of the vehicles featured images and stories of regular commuters.
Route.
The 12.1 mile long route circles the city centre anti-clockwise before heading north past the Civic Centre and Cathays railway station, through Maindy, Heath, Birchgrove. It passes through Thornhill and Llanishen in a clockwise route and returns south to the city centre via Blackweir instead of Cathays.
Amongst the place served (from south to north) are:
During city centre closures on Friday and Saturday nights, the route does not circle the city centre, but instead operates directly between The Hayes and Queen Street Station, not stopping at Kingsway, Dumfries Place or Westgate Street.


Ascari Cars

Ascari Cars Ltd. was a British automobile manufacturer based in Banbury, England, and founded by Klaas Zwart. The company was named after Alberto Ascari (1918–1955), the first double winner of the World Championship of Drivers.
The company stopped its activity in 2010.
History.
Ascari Cars was established in Dorset in 1995. Its first limited-edition car, the Ascari Ecosse, was launched in 1998.
In 2000 Ascari Cars built a new facility in Banbury in northern Oxfordshire. Ascari Car's second car, the Ascari KZ1, was developed at Banbury, which also housed Team Ascari's racing assets. The premises are now occupied by Haas F1 Team.


Ariel W/NG 350

The Ariel W/NG 350 is a motorcycle based on the well-proven Ariel Red Hunter singles built by Ariel Motorcycles for the British military, and designed by the firm's chief designer Val Page in 1932 around an engine he had developed six years earlier. Although the Ariel was not initially selected by the War Department, they were in great demand after the evacuation of Dunkirk when much of the British Army's materiel had been left behind.
Development.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, Ariel submitted the 1939 VA overhead valve single for evaluation against the War Office's Norton 16H. The 1939 W/VA 497cc side-valve single was also tested. Both performed well and Ariel developed the W/NG specifically for military use. This was a OHV single based on a Scottish six-day Trials winning model and went into production in 1940.
Although the French military immediately placed orders for the W/NG, the British War Office rated it as "fair – for use only in emergency purposes". Following the loss of equipment resulting from the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940 the "emergency purposes" became necessary, and Ariel turned over as many motorcycles as possible to the war effort, including converted civilian machines – many of which still carried an Ariel badge painted over with green or sand paint. VH & VG (500 OHV singles), NH & NG (350 OHV singles), and even the VB ( SV single) models were put into military service, although most were used for training and civil defence. The British Army, Royal Air Force, Admiralty, Ministry of Agriculture and Women's Land Army all used Ariel W/NG 350s.
Production.
W/NG motorcycles were supplied from 1940 to 1945 and featured dual triangular tool boxes, pannier frames for bags, rear carrying racks and headlamp masks. Rubber items were impossible to source from 1942 because of a shortage of rubber, therefore handgrips were made from canvas and footrests from steel. As the war progressed, aluminium also became scarce and pressed steel was used for the primary chaincase and timing covers.
Post war.
After the war over 800 W/NG motorcycles were supplied to the Danish Army between 1946 and 1947. The remaining W/NGs that survived were mostly converted back into civilian specification for resale by dealers, so good examples of the military model are now rare.
In popular culture.
An example attached to a sidecar appears in the film, "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang". The motorcycle, ridden by the title character, also appeared in versions of the advertising poster upon release.


Morrison-Electricar

Morrison-Electricar was a British manufacturer of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles (BERV). Their first vehicle was built for a bakery in 1933, and the company ceased to exist when it was finally sold to M & M Electric Vehicles in 1983.
History.
In the 1890s, Alfred Ernest Morrison started a small engineering company in Dover Street, Leicester, using £22 of capital given to him by his father. Products included bicycles, motorcycles, and carriages to fit on the front of tricycles. He also patented and manufactured an independently sprung wheel which was fitted to motorcycle sidecars. Gradually, he diversified into gas-powered stationary engines, which were used to power water pumps, compressors and generators for lighting systems. By the early 20th century, the company was known as AE Morrison & Co, and they started to build Tiger motorcycles, but stationary engines provided the main focus. During World War I, the company repaired agricultural machinery, but reverted to making stationary engines when hostilities ceased. Expansion led to a move to Grace Road, Leicester in 1921-22, and the company began marketing chargers for vehicle batteries and also for radio batteries. When talking pictures were introduced to the cinema in the late 1920s, the business moved into the manufacture and installation of cinema equipment. One important innovation was an electric motor that ran at a constant speed. It was DC powered, with a nickel frame, rather than the more usual iron frame, and the constant speed ensured good sound reproduction.
The company became AE Morrison & Sons in 1929, as the founder was joined by relatives including his eldest son, AC Morrison. Following a discussion with a baker while playing golf in 1933, AC Morrison built a prototype electric vehicle suitable for delivering bread within a month. Trials suggested that the vehicle needed a stronger chassis and a longer wheelbase to enable it to carry loads of 10 or 12 cwt, and the baker took delivery of the first production vehicle later in the year. It was registered as JF 4231, and the company soon built up a large order book for such vehicles. These small vehicles were marketed as "Terriers", and the company produced a larger model, called the "Mastiff", capable of carrying 25 or 30 cwt. As sales of electric vehicles increased, the manufacture of stationary engines was phased out. Vehicles were exported to Australia, New Zealand and Finland, generally as a kit of parts, with bodywork and batteries being sourced locally, and a left-hand drive option was also available.
Production moved to a new factory on Brunswick Street, South Wigston in 1935 and this allowed them to build complete vehicles, whereas the manufacture of bodies had previously been outsourced to the Brush Electrical Engineering Company in Loughborough. They also bought in axles and braking systems, but the chassis, motor, and controller were made in-house. One early failure was the Trilec, a 3-wheeled vehicle with two steerable wheels at the front and a fixed motorised wheel at the back. It suffered from a lack of weather protection for the operator, who sat over the rear wheel, and this also restricted forward visibility. However, more conventional vehicles sold well, and were available in six chassis types by the mid-1930s, suitable for payloads of 5/8 cwt, 10/12 cwt, 18/22 cwt, 25/30 cwt, 40 cwt and 60 cwt. They could be fitted with an open-deck body for milk delivery, a closed van body, or a flat deck lorry body, while more specialist designs were produced for the collection of refuse. Each vehicle was fitted with a clock, and came with a lapel badge for the driver to wear.
In 1936, the company built a prototype 3-wheeled articulated vehicle for the Midland Railway Company (MR), but no production vehicles were manufactured, as the MR felt it was not robust enough for their needs. The design was not wasted, however, as in 1940 Brush Electrical Engineering asked them to design a small battery tractor unit for use within their factory. The result was a scaled-down version of the Midland Railway vehicle, which Brush manufactured. Having built several for their own use, they then started selling them to other customers, and branched out into battery electric road vehicles in 1945, effectively becoming a competitor to Morrisons. Another development was a low-speed mobile platform which was used for transferring goods from railway trucks to road vehicles. The platforms were also fitted with buffers, so that they could be used to push railway wagons along their tracks.
Associated Electric Vehicle Manufacturers.
Following the formation of the business group Associated Electric Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (AEVM) in 1936, AE Morrison worked closely with Electricars. Electricars had been in business since 1919, and were based in Birmingham. They had initially bought electric road vehicles from the American Edison Manufacturing Company, and their product range was based on the imported vehicles. They were designed for payloads of up to , and were chiefly sold to local authorities. They were soon producing lighter vehicles, but experienced a period of difficulty in the early 1920s. Sales improved later in the decade, and they moved to a new factory on Lawley Street in 1929. They moved again in 1938/39, to Webb Lane in Hall Green, South Birmingham. The two companies rationalised their products, with Morrison concentrating on vehicles with a payload of 40 cwt or less, and Electricars building heavier vehicles. Between 1936 and 1939, Morrison's output increased four-fold, but was dramatically reduced during the Second World War when Morrison and Electricars were both involved in war work. Although some electric vehicles were built during this period, production was hampered by a lack of raw materials. Electricars ceased to produce electric vehicles in 1944, and their last batch of vehicles were assembled at the Morrison factory in Leicester, rather than in Birmingham.
Organisation.
The company went through a series of amalgamations and takeovers between 1933 and its demise in 1983. On 11 January 1936, they became part of a newly created business group called Associated Electric Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (AEVM). Other members were Electricars, who had been making battery electric road vehicles since 1919, and were based in Birmingham; Young Accumulators, who made traction batteries, and were based at New Malden in south-west London; and Hants Electric Chassis, whose location is less certain, but was probably at Andover, Hampshire. Morrison and Electricars worked more closely with one another, and the two ranges of vehicles were rationalised. The battery manufacturer became Crompton Batteries Ltd., and in 1941, the electrical manufacturing company Crompton Parkinson took over AEVM. Following the takeover, Morrisons made vehicles up to capacity, and Electricars made larger vehicles, but a year later, all vehicles were marketed as Morrison-Electricars.
The next change occurred in 1948, when the Austin Motor Company bought a 50 percent share in AEVM, and the company became Austin Crompton Parkinson Electric Vehicles Ltd., but production vehicles still carried the Morrison-Electricar badge. Austin merged into the British Motor Corporation in 1952, which in turn merged with Leyland Motors in 1969, to become British Leyland. The electric vehicle business became Crompton Leyland Electricars Ltd. In 1972, British Leyland sold their share of the business to Hawker Siddeley, better known for aircraft manufacture, and the company became Crompton Electricars Ltd. Ten years later, Hawker Siddeley decided to sell the business, and it was bought by M & M Electric Vehicles, who were based in Atherstone, Warwickshire. This was effectively the end of Morrison-Electricar, although M & M subsequently adopted the Electricars name for the vehicles that they manufactured.
Preservation.
The Transport Museum, Wythall has a collection of battery-electric road vehicles which includes two Electricars and six Morrison-Electricars. There is an Electricars model CY2, dating from 1935, with a streamlined van body, originally used as a demonstrator, but then sold to Fowlers Forest Dairies, and a 1946 model TU20 platform truck, supplied to Metro Cammell. The Morrison-Electricar collection comprises a 1953 model D1 20 cwt bakery van, a 1954 model D1 30 cwt van, which was rebodied in the 1980s, and a 1954 D1 30 cwt milk float, all of which were operated by Birmingham Co-operative Society. A 1955 model MD20 20 cwt milk float, rebodied in the 1960s, which came from Midland Counties Dairy, a model D1 30 cwt dating from 1956, which was owned by the Ten Acres and Stirchley Co-op, and a model D5 15 cwt milk float dating from 1964 and run by Ivy Farm Dairy, complete the line-up.
The Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry owns an Electricars model DV4 4-ton refuse collector, one of a fleet of 72 such vehicles bought between 1938 and 1948 by Birmingham City Council, and used until 1971. The Ipswich Transport Museum has a Morrison coal lorry dating from 1951 in their collection, which was used to deliver coal by the Ipswich Co-operative Society until 1983, and was presented to the museum in 1989.


Terry Shepherd

Terry Shepherd was a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1958 when he finished the year in eighth place in the 350cc world championship.
Terry died on 5 October 2012.


Triumph Speed Four

The Triumph Speed Four is a standard or streetfighter motorcycle made by Triumph from 2002 to 2006 as the naked, or non-faired brother of the TT600 sport bike introduced in 1999.
Design.
The Speed Four has similar twin round headlights to the Speed Triple, but a different frame and engine. The Speed Four has the clip-on handlebars of the TT600, rather than the motocross-inspired handlebars of the Speed Triple and other streetfighters.
The Speed Four is mechanically similar to its predecessor, the TT600, with the exceptions of the cam profiles, ignition and fuel injection mapping, front spring rate, and other minor concessions to its streetfighter style; the frame and fully adjustable suspension are race-ready.
The engine is a 599 cc inline-four-cylinder engine, as used in the TT600. The bike has a top speed of and a time of 4.5 seconds. "Motorcyclist" tested the 2002 Speed Four's time at 11.65 seconds @ and time at 3.71 seconds.
Reception.
The Speed Four was voted No.1 for handling and suspension in "Ride" magazine's 2008 Rider Power Survey. The Triumph Daytona 675 was second in the same category.
Productions Totals.
Triumph UK After Sales has confirmed that 4,606 Speed Fours were produced from 2002 through 2006. Of those 1,011 were produced for the US market with a further 54 for Canada.
See also.
This motorcycle has been compared to the following:


List of Triumph motorcycles

Motorcycles produced under the Triumph brand, by both the original company, Triumph Engineering Co Ltd, and its later incarnations, and the current Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.
Triumph Engineering Co Ltd.
Known as the Meriden, West Midlands, UK era, 1902–1983.
Triples.
For full detail see BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident (for corresponding BSA models see BSA Triples)
Triumph Motorcycles Limited.
Known as the Hinckley, Leicestershire era, 1990–.


Hoyal (coachbuilders)


Bernard Docker

Sir Bernard Dudley Frank Docker (9 August 1896 – 22 May 1978) was an English industrialist. Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, he was the only child of Frank Dudley Docker, an English businessman and financier.
Career.
Docker was the managing director of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) group of companies from the early 1940s until 1956. He also chaired The Daimler Company Limited and the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company. He became noted during the 1950s for producing show cars, such as the "Golden Daimler" (1952), "Blue Clover" (1953), "Silver Flash" (1953), and "Stardust" (1954).
He was succeeded by Jack Sangster as Chairman of BSA, following a 1956 boardroom coup. He also served as the chairman of the British Hospitals Association.
First marriage.
Docker's first wife was Jeanne Stuart (née Ivy Sweet), a British actress. They married in 1933, but the marriage was soon dissolved after pressure from Docker's parents. His father had her tracked by private detectives, and after finding her with actor David Hutcheson, Docker divorced her.
MY "Shemara".
Docker commissioned John I. Thornycroft & Company to build a yacht to his specifications. The yacht was completed in 1938 and christened MY "Shemara".
MY "Shemara" was requisitioned by the Royal Navy at the start of the Second World War in 1939 and used as a training vessel for anti-submarine warfare. It was during a training exercise with HMS "Shemara" that the submarine HMS "Untamed" was lost with all her crew. "Shemara" left RN service in 1946
Green Goddess.
Docker commissioned Hooper & Co. to build a drophead coupé on a Daimler DE-36 chassis for display at the first post-war British International Motor Show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in 1948. Named the "Green Goddess" by the press, the car had five seats, three windscreen wipers, and hydraulic operation of both the hood and the hood cover. After the show, the car was further tested and refined, after which it was kept by Docker for his personal use.
Six other chassis were bodied with similar bodies. These were all called "Green Goddesses" after the original, which was exhibited with jade-green coachwork and green-piped beige leather.
Second marriage.
His second wife was Norah Collins (née Norah Royce Turner), a former showgirl that he married in 1949 as her third husband. She was the widow of Sir William Collins, the president of Fortnum & Mason, and also the widow of Clement Callingham, the head of Henekeys wine and spirits merchants.
The Dockers were often objects of ridicule because of the ostentatious flaunting of their wealth. In the 1950s, they bought and lavishly redecorated Glandyfi Castle in Wales. The comedian Frankie Howerd often referred to people as "looking a bit like Lady Docker".
Docker Daimlers.
Sir Bernard Docker commissioned a series of Daimlers that were built to Lady Docker's specifications for the show circuit.
"The Gold Car" was a touring limousine on the Thirty-Six Straight-Eight chassis. The car was covered with 7,000 tiny gold stars, and all plating that would normally have been chrome was gold. This car was taken to Paris, the United States and Australia.
Also on the Thirty-Six Straight-Eight chassis, "Blue Clover" was a two-door sportsman's coupé.
The "Silver Flash" was an aluminium-bodied coupé based on the 3-litre Regency chassis. Its accessories included solid silver hairbrushes and red fitted luggage made from crocodile skin.
based on the DF400 chassis. In 2014, the Star Dust limo, "finished with 5,000 sterling silver six-pointed stars" was sold after having been found in a barn in Wales in the 1980s.
The "Golden Zebra" was a two-door coupé based on the DK400 chassis. Like the "Gold Car", the "Golden Zebra" had all its metal trim pieces plated in gold instead of chrome, and it had an ivory dashboard and zebra-skin upholstery.
Separation from Midland Bank.
In January 1953, the chairman of Midland Bank asked Docker for his resignation from the board of directors. Docker, who had been a director of Midland Bank since 1928, refused to resign. The board of Midland Bank notified its shareholders that they were to be asked to remove Docker from the board at the annual general meeting being held that February.
The chairman stated that it was not in the bank's best interest to be associated with the publicity surrounding Docker, who replied to the shareholders that the publicity stemmed from three court proceedings, all of which had been either settled or found in his favour. In late January, Docker resigned from the board of Midland Bank with immediate effect, claiming there was a rumour of an impending charge for a currency offence.
Separation from BSA.
At the end of May 1956, Docker was removed from the board of Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), and he was replaced as chairman of BSA by Jack Sangster. The company, which owned the Docker Daimlers, had the Dockers return them.
The issues leading to the removal of Docker stemmed from the extravagant expenses he presented to the company, including the show cars made available for Lady Docker's personal use, a £5,000 gold and mink ensemble that Lady Docker wore at the 1956 Paris Motor Show that she tried to write off as a business expense as she "was only acting as a model" at the show, and Glandyfi Castle, bought with £12,500 of BSA's money and refurbished for £25,000, again with company money.
Decline and death.
Without their main source of income, the Dockers began to run out of money. In 1965, Docker put "Shemara" on the market for £600,000; it was eventually sold for £290,000. In 1966, the Dockers sold their estate in Hampshire and moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands, becoming tax exiles.
A BBC News report described their situation as follows: "Following a 1958 falling-out with close friends Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, the Dockers lived out the rest of their lives in disgrace and near poverty".
Docker was placed in a nursing home in 1976, where he died on 22 May 1978. He was buried beside his wife's grave site in the Callingham family plot in the churchyard of St James the Less, Stubbings, near Maidenhead in Berkshire. Clement Callingham, Lady Docker's first husband, had been buried on the other side of her grave site.


Norman Hyde

Norman Hyde (born February 1945) is a British motorcycle development engineer, racer and world record holder.
Hyde joined Triumph motorcycles as an apprentice in 1964. Following the closure of the factory at Meriden in 1973, Norman moved to the Kitts Green site run by Norton Triumph International. When that shut down in 1975 he used his redundancy payment to establish his own business, designing and selling performance parts for Triumph twins and triples.
Having passed his mechanical engineering diploma with flying colours in 1968 Norman secured a position in Triumph’s racing development department, working under Doug Hele, the legendary Chief Development Engineer. As a result, Norman was directly involved in the development of the T120, T140, T150, T160 and T180 twins and triples, as well as projects that never made it into production, like the four-cylinder Quadrent, OHC Triple and 350cc Bandit twin. He and his colleagues also supported the factory’s racers, including Percy Tait. Hyde is particularly proud of the Triumph Trident triple, launched in 1969, which, along with the Honda 750/4, redefined the sportsbike sector of that era.
Hyde also used his engineering skills to compete in drag racing and sprinting. In 1968 he took the World Record for a standing start 1/4 mile in his Triumph 350cc sidecar outfit and in 1969 he beat the World Record for a standing start kilometre on a Triumph 500cc twin (set by the works Gilera two years previously). In 1972 Norman captured the World Sidecar Land Speed Record on his Roadrunner III 850cc Triumph Trident powered outfit, at an average speed of 161.8 mph, a record that remained unbeaten for over 35 years.
Having started his own performance parts business early in 1976, Hyde used his engineering experience to design his own bikes and in 1987 he introduced the Hyde Harrier, a café racer kit for Bonneville and Trident engines using a frame developed with Harris Performance in Hertforsdshire. This was followed up in 1995 by the Hornet, a 126 mph single-cylinder motorcycle, also Harris-framed, powered by a 600cc Rotax engines tuned to produce 70 bhp. Following the rebirth of Triumph at their new Hinckley factory and the introduction of the retro-styled Bonneville, Norman introduced a wide range of performance and styling parts for the new British twins.
Hyde retired in 2018 and was recognised for his contribution to the British motorcycle industry by the Triumph Motorcycle Owners Club, who appointed him as their patron.


Daniel Cooper (motorcyclist)

Daniel Cooper is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from United Kingdom. He currently races in the National Superstock 1000 Championship, aboard a BMW S1000RR.


BSA Spitfire

The BSA Spitfire was a high-performance BSA motorcycle made from 1966 to 1968 with model designations of MkII, MkIII and MkIV. Announced at the Brighton motorcycle show held during September 1965, it was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a power-upgrade achieved by higher compression-ratio 10.5:1 pistons and two large-bore Amal GP carburettors with velocity stacks it was one of the first BSAs to have 12-volt electrics. At introduction in 1966, it was the fastest standard BSA ever produced and the fastest standard motorcycle tested by Motor Cycle with a best run at 123 mph and average of 119.2 mph The Spitfire was used for travelling Marshalls' course duties at the 1967 Isle of Man TT races.
Development.
Spitfire Mark II.
The first A65S Spitfire of 1966 was confusingly designated "Mark II" and had a number of new features including two-way damped front forks, Girling shocks and a brace between the downswept exhaust pipes. A 190mm front drum brake improved braking and lightweight alloy rims reduced the weight to 174 kg.
The bike was supplied as a sports-tourer with raised handlebar, forward-mounted rider footrests, a large dual seat with race-styled hump, and the glass-fibre fuel tank and side panels covering the oil tank/tool compartment and battery were finished in "Peony Red". The UK Spitfire had a conventional four gallon tank, with a large five gallon option from 1967.
A selection of factory extras were available to enable the model to enter Production Races, including a fairing and single racing seat.
Two large-bore Amal GP carburetors with velocity stacks improved acceleration but made the Spitfire hard to kick start when the engine was hot, so owners chose to replace them with Amal Concentric carburetors with more conventional round air filters and this became the factory supplied specification in 1967. Keen to boost sales in the US market BSA produced a Spitfire with a two gallon fuel tank following the trend set by the Harley Davidson Sportster.
Spitfire Mark III.
For the 1967 Model Year (MY) the Spitfire was upgraded and designated as Mark III. The racing Amal GP carburettors with open-intakes (bellmouths) were replaced by Amal Concentrics with individual chrome filters which enabled better low-range engine response.
The fuel tank was enlarged to five UK gallons, which hampered both spark plug and carburetor accessibility. Both Mark II and Mark III UK models carried the traditional BSA 'flash' side-panel badges inset in the side cover gelcoat. The export Mark III, a majority of the Spitfires, had a transfer on the side covers similar (but not the same) as the other '67 model year machines.
Other modifications were Amal alloy (aluminium) control levers with click-stop cable adjusters, production of which BSA took over from Amal, marketed under their 'Motoplas' accessories branding, and the Zener diode voltage regulator was installed in an aluminium heat-sink mounted high on the front frame tubes to benefit from the cooling airstream.
Spitfire Mark IV.
The 1968 Mark IV Spitfire was the last year of the 'Mark' Spitfires made. Amal's Concentric carburetors were combined with twin-leading-shoe front brakes and independently adjustable Lucas ignition points for easier starting and tuning. Engine power output was increased to . A total of 1291 true 1968 model year Spitfires were produced, not counting the 478 'hybrid' 1968 Spitfires that have 1967 style numbers. The 'hybrids' were dispatched in March to May 1968 near the end of the 1968 model year.


A78 road

The A78 is an A road in Scotland. It connects Greenock and Prestwick on a route which follows the northern section of the Ayrshire coast.
Route.
The A78 begins in Greenock, Renfrewshire as a continuation of the A8 road at the Bull Ring roundabout, and runs in a southerly direction through the Spango Valley, Inverkip, Wemyss Bay, Largs, Seamill and then bypasses the major towns of Ardrossan, Irvine and Troon amongst others before terminating near Prestwick, Ayrshire, where it forms a junction with the A77.
Infrastructure.
Much of the road is single carriageway – both for a short distance through Greenock and a 21-mile stretch between Inverkip and Ardrossan.
The rest is dual carriageway – between the Eglinton and Warrix interchanges there are in fact 3 lanes in each direction, and the road is constructed to motorway standard (with full grade separation at junctions) save for a lack of hard shoulders. The road very rarely appears busy on this stretch – the adjacent New Town development area of Irvine, North Ayrshire (which includes Kilwinning, Dreghorn and Girdle Toll) had a population of just over 50,000 in the 2001 census; the town planners designed the infrastructure for a population more in the region of 120,000.
Recent improvements.
Until December 2004, the route of the A78 went through the "three towns" – namely Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston. The result was a highly congested section with numerous traffic lights making progress slow. To counter this a bypass was constructed with two additional entrance/exit points other than the ends in the form of roundabouts.
The section at the Ardrossan end is a single carriageway road with a climbing lane. The other two sections are dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction.
The existence of the bypass meant that the section through the towns previously labelled A78 became a continuation of the A738 which previously formed a concurrency with the A78 through Stevenston before diverging to form Boglemart Street and subsequently many other streets in Saltcoats and Ardrossan. Many sources available today still don't acknowledge these changes, for example "Google Maps".
The new road can easily take 10 minutes off any journey which would otherwise involve travelling through the three towns and as a result has proven very popular amongst people who make such journeys – for example people from Largs and West Kilbride to the north who now have swifter access to the shopping facilities of Irvine and Ayr and the Morrisons supermarket at Stevenston, as well as any football fans who may be travelling to watch Kilmarnock FC.
Flooding.
Flooding is common during periods of high winds combined with a high tide on the coastal stretch between Largs and Skelmorlie. For this reason, closure gates are located at both the north end of Largs and the south end of Skelmorlie.
When the road is closed traffic between Largs and Greenock is often diverted along narrow country lanes with little room to pass any oncoming traffic. This has been known to cause widespread delays.


Stagecoach in Preston

Stagecoach in Preston was a network of bus routes running within the city of Preston, Lancashire and into the surrounding area. It was founded in 2009 after Stagecoach Group acquired Preston Bus that was founded in 1904. The company operated from the main depot on Deepdale Road and their other depot on Selbourne Street. In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which now operates the services under the Preston Bus brand.
History.
Preston Bus was founded in 1904 as Preston District Travel, and as was bought from the local authority by its employees in 1993 as part of deregulation. It became a limited company.
In 2006, Stagecoach North West set up various services using a fleet of new & old Optare Solos, Dennis Enviro 400s, and new & old Dennis Dart SLFs in order to compete with Preston Bus. They were branded as "Preston Citi". Competition grew into a bus war with Stagecoach offering lower fares on the busiest routes.
Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour, with some Stagecoach drivers reported to have thrown eggs at Preston Buses.
On 10 June 2008, both companies were agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner. Competition continued, Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus operating a route between Preston and Penwortham.
On 30 December 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach had approached Preston Bus to negotiate a possible sale. This was agreed and on 23 January 2009 Stagecoach North West purchased Preston Bus for £10.4 million. From March 2009, the combined network of routes was rebranded as Stagecoach in Preston.
On 28 May 2009, the Office of Fair Trading announced that it was referring the purchase of Preston Bus by Stagecoach to the Competition Commission. Their provisional findings were that the purchase has reduced competition and may potentially harm the interests of passengers. Possible remedies involved the sale of part or all of the business and measures to encourage new entry by other operators, as well as controls on fares and requirements to maintain service levels. The final report was due by 12 November 2009.
On 12 November 2009, the Competition Commission submitted that Stagecoach would have to sell a "reconfigured" (i.e. profit making) Preston Bus. Stagecoach had some freedom over what it sells, although it had to be approved by the Competition Commission.
Stagecoach appealed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, stating that the Competition Commission's decision was "perverse and irrational" and that the Commission had committed an error in law with its use of the counterfactual argument and handling of Stagecoach's responses.
When the Competition Appeals Tribuneral announced their verdict, Stagecoach began actively looking for a buyer. The result was that Stagecoach retained route 11. Things reverted to how they were before the takeover, with services transferring between Stagecoach and Preston Bus. Service 7 was withdrawn, and service 4 revised among other changes. Services 19, 22 & 8 reverted from giving change to fast fare. The 19-22 system was replaced by the original system operated by Preston Bus, and smaller buses were now used on the 19.
From the moment the Competition Commission announced it was investigating, Stagecoach stopped repainting buses out of Preston Bus livery. Some of those that were painted in Stagecoach colours were later returned to Preston Bus livery before the sale.
In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which now operates the services under the Preston Bus brand.
Routes.
Below are the routes operated by Stagecoach in Preston in March 2010:
Preston park and ride.
All park and ride buses are Easy Access
Services 1 & 2 primarily use Optare Solo SRs, Optare Solos are additionally used at peak periods. The Orbits are 88A & 88C and therefore use Optare Solos.
School services.
Stagecoach in Preston also provided school buses to secondary school and colleges in Preston and the Wyre, running as far as Cabus and Garstang to the north, Accrington to the east, Chorley to the south and Blackpool to the west.
Depots.
Stagecoach in Preston use two depots.
The main one is the one previously owned by Preston Bus, on Deepdale Road. This can hold over 150 buses and holds all buses in Preston Bus Livery, Citi Livery and Stagecoach in Preston livery.
The other smaller one is on Selbourne Street. This holds buses in the liveries of Fylde Coastliner, Network Ribble Valley, 113, those still in Stagecoach in Lancashire and Boomerang Livery. It is also where the outstations at Fleetwood and Clitheroe report to. This was previously owned by Stagecoach in Lancashire, and before that Ribble Motor Services. Before 2005 this had been rated as one of the worst Stagecoach depots in the UK for timekeeping, because at the time it mainly relied on interurbans.
Fleet.
At Stagecoach Takeover.
The Preston Bus fleet was originally all double deckers, but latterly the company moved to single deckers and midibuses, with the most common vehicle as of 2008 being the Optare Solo midibus.
When Stagecoach took over Preston Bus in 2009, the fleet comprised
When sold to Rotala.
When Preston Bus was sold to Rotala in January 2011, the fleet comprised:
Easy Access Bus.
The majority of buses in the Stagecoach in Preston fleet are Easy Accessible. Optare Solos, Dennis Tridents, Optare Esteems, Optare Solo SRs, Optare Versas, MANs, Enviro 400s, and Dennis Dart SLFs are all Easy Access. Services 2, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 19A, 22, 23, 29, 35, 44, 68, 81, Orbits, 113, 150, 151, and X2 are all completely Easy Access. All the others except service 89 are often Easy Access. Service 7 has specified times that aren't Easy access, four times a day.


James Autocycle

The James Autocycle was a two-stroke, autocycle manufactured by the James Cycle Co from 1946 to 1953.
A pre-World War II design, the autocycle continued in production until late 1953 with a Villiers Engineering Junior De Luxe 98cc engine in a typical autocycle frame. The bike was available in Deluxe and Superlux models.
Deluxe.
The James Deluxe Autocycle was manufactured from 1946 to 1949 and has a engine fed with a Villiers Junior carburettor and driven by one gear and a clutch. The frame was a single downtube and rigid frame. The front fork is a central undamped spring. Original tyres were Dunlop Carrier 26 inch by 2 inch (oversized) and rims are Dunlop WMO 36 hole in a silver argenized color. The drive train was chain and sprocket. Braking was through front and rear four inch drum brakes. Lighting provided by a six volt lamp on the front and four volt for the tail light.
Superlux.
The James Superlux Autocycle was manufactured from 1950 to 1953. The engine was a single speed Villiers Mk 2F with 98cc displacement at . The frame was a single tube rigid type, front fork was like that of the Deluxe. Tyres were 21 x 2.35 inches, rims were the colour the same as the Deluxe. Drive train, braking and lighting were identical to the Deluxe.