Postbus

A postbus is a public bus service that is operated as part of local mail delivery as a means of providing public transport in rural areas with lower levels of patronage, where a normal bus service would be uneconomic or inefficient. Postbus services are generally run by a public postal delivery company and combine the functions of public transport and mail delivery and collection. A standard passenger fare is payable to the driver or mail carrier.
History.
Horse-driven mail coach and public transport services were frequently combined prior to the advent of motorized transport. The travel writer Anthony Lambert describes the concept in Switzerland, "the Swiss postbus system ... evolved from the 19th century mail coach service..." and further that "the Swiss believe ... that the only sensible way to organise public transport services is to achieve the maximum integration between modes." The service became used widely in Europe by the 1960s, though in recent years there has been a progressive separation of services in some countries.
By country.
Austria.
In Austria, the postbus system is known as . From 1907 onwards power-driven vehicles were operated by the Imperial-Royal "Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung", gradually replacing the former stagecoach service. In the course of the privatisation of the Österreichische Post, the Österreichische Industrieholding sold the postbus branch to the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) group in 2003.
Today the ÖBB-Postbus GmbH is the country's largest bus company serving regional and interurban traffic with about 4000 employees and 2100 buses. The corporation also comprises the ÖBB's former railway bus service (KÖB) as well as the Czech ČSAD Autobusy company in České Budějovice acquired in 2004.
Czechoslovakia.
The first postbus lines in Bohemia started in the days of Austria-Hungary, in 1908. The first lines were Pardubice – Bohdaneč (11 km, 64 minutes) and Pardubice – Holice, other lines came later. In 1914, bus transport in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia consisted of 23 lines in all, at which operated 33 postbuses and 13 private buses. During the World War I, bus transport was interrupted, vehicles were requisitioned by the army and rebuild to trucks.
Since 1918, postbus transport continued in Czechoslovakia. The post transport had its main base place at Citadela, a former army depot in Vyšehrad, Prague, and in 1926 it had 216 buses in the whole Czechoslovakia. In 1927, the Citadela base with many equipment and material was burned by fire. The second main base place was built in Vršovice, Prague (currently Veolia Transport resides there). In 1927 the Czechoslovak state railway company ČSD began its state bus lines but the post lines continued. In 1933–1934 state postbus lines were transferred and merged with railway bus lines into ČSD railway company.
Finland.
In 1921, The Finnish Post and Telegraph Authority (Posti- ja lennätinlaitos, now Itella Corporation) started a bus service carrying both mail and passengers in Finnish Lapland from Rovaniemi to Sodankylä and soon all the way to Ivalo in the very northern part of the country. The same year, another postbus route was started in southwestern Finland between Turku and Mynämäki and in 1922 a third service began between the northern city Oulu and Taivalkoski. By 1939 there were over 60 postbus routes around Finland. In addition to that, many private bus companies also carried mail on their buses.
The busiest year for the Finnish Postbus network was 1971, with 222 bus lines around the country run by more than 420 buses famous for their bright orange colour. Then the posts authority decided to concentrate postal transports on trucks, and the postbus services started to decline. In 1999, the remaining postbus lines and vehicles, now organised under a separate company Gold Line Oy, were sold to a private bus company, Koiviston Auto Oy. Gold Line remains Koivisto's subsidiary operating from Rovaniemi.
Germany.
In Germany, a postbus system for passenger and freight operation, run by the Reichspost authority and its post-war Bundespost successor, existed until May 1985. It was formerly known as "", from 1965 as "Postreisedienst".
A first postbus route was set up on 1 June 1905 connecting Bad Tölz and Lenggries in Bavaria. The first Reichspost line ran from 16 June 1906 between Friedberg and Ranstadt in Hesse. Soon after it operated numerous bus routes. With mailboxes on board, the buses contributed greatly to open up rural areas in the 1920s and 30s in addition to the Reichsbahn railway lines. While rail was quicker and more convenient, the buses were a low-cost alternative.
After World War II, post bus service was resumed by the Bundespost authority in West Germany, running more than 4,000 vehicles in the mid-1950s. Later years saw a significant decline in demand, with the increasing prosperity of society in the "Wirtschaftswunder" period and the growing use of the automobile for private transport. Many lines were abolished in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1971, the Bundespost agreed to build up a joint venture cooperation with the Bundesbahn rail bus network and from 1981, the service was split into regional transport companies under the umbrella of the Bundesbahn authority, running bus lines in major cities and metropolitan areas associated with each other. By 1995, the newly established Bundespost successor, the privatized Deutsche Post stock company, had retired completely from bus service and the yellow vehicles disappeared from public roads. However, there are foreign postbuses in Germany with international scheduled services (e.g. from Austria in the Berchtesgadener Land area and in Oberstdorf; from Switzerland in southern Baden-Württemberg).
In 2013, after a substantial liberalization of the German intercity bus market, Deutsche Post created a "Deutsche Post Mobility" subsidiary. Initially run in cooperation with the ADAC automobile club it was first branded "ADAC Postbus". It connected several large cities nationally and internationally. Deutsche Post DHL Group sold its long-distance bus unit, Postbus, to the German market leader Flixbus on 3 August 2016.
Ireland.
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, John Wilson, initiated a postbus service in County Clare, one of the most scenic areas of Ireland. Ennis post office was the start of the 68-mile route around the county. It ran twice on weekdays at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. carrying mail and passengers to towns like Kilfenora and Lisdoonvarna with the postman-cum-driver. The bus was originally in an orange and black livery but in 1982 changed to a green livery when An Post became a state-owned postal service provider instead of being a Irish government department.
Passengers were accommodated on a first come first served basis in the small bus and paid an average fee of £5. Soon after its introduction tourists discovered the postbus that took them through the breath-taking County Clare scenery to visit The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.
The postbus service was terminated in September 2004 and was never extended to other parts of the country. An Post axed the service for economic reason and claimed the bus was too old and beyond repair. Clare council member, Martin Lafferty, accused An Post of allowing the service to deteriorate so they could axe it.
Sweden.
In some parts of rural Sweden, especially the sparsely populated northern inland, mail is delivered by bus. Formerly this service was handled by the postal service themselves in their own buses and livery. As Postens Diligenstrafik (lit. the Post's stagecoach traffic) between the years 1923–1991. In 1991 this became a part of the Swebus company. Nowadays it is handled by the local councils own public transportation buses by appointment of the postal service. Due to deregulations since the early 1990s some lines are run as public service obligations by private contractors. In addition to that there is an association of local bus companies called "Bussgods" which works as a courier for bulkier goods between bus stops and/or terminals. Unlike the British postbuses these vehicles are built on full-size coaches chassis with a box body and a tail lift in the rear end to accommodate heavier goods and even pallets sent along with the mail. This unusual truck/bus combination is nicknamed "Skvader".
Switzerland.
In Switzerland, the postbus system is known as "Postauto" in German, "Car postal" in French and "Autopostale" in Italian. Although the combination of mail and passenger transportation had been self-evident in the past, the needs of each diverged towards the end of the twentieth century, when the conveyance of parcels was progressively separated from public transportation. This was also so on private bus and rail lines. This division became official with the conversion of Swiss PostBus Ltd into an independent subsidiary of the Swiss Post. The company operates 869 bus lines with 2,193 buses in Switzerland, transporting over 140 million passengers annually on its 11,869 km long network.
United Kingdom.
In the United Kingdom postbus services by Royal Mail began in 1967 to replace rapidly declining local bus and rail services in rural areas and provide a community service. In 2006 more than 200 services were operated by Royal Mail, often only once or twice a day but in some areas the only form of public transport available. Key areas included the Yorkshire Dales and South West Scotland.
In April 2009 the Royal Mail ended its postbus services in much of the Scottish Highlands and Islands region. Five "unprofitable" routes were cancelled. The move proved very unpopular with campaigners. Discussions between the Highland Council and Royal Mail broke down after the Royal Mail refused to respond to the Highland Council's emails. The services were subsequently replaced by a service operated by the Stagecoach Group.
After March 2016 only one postbus remained in the United Kingdom, route 134 from Tongue to Lairg in the Scottish Highlands and this last ran on 19 August 2017.
Ireland.
Between 1982 and 2004 An Post operated a 70-mile postbus route linking Ennis with parts of County Clare. It was introduced as an experimental service that was to be extended to other parts of the country though other routes were never opened. Tourists were the main users of the service. Upon termination the company were accused of letting the bus become run down so they could abolish the service.


Roman roads in Britannia

Roman roads in Britannia were initially designed for military use, created by the Roman Army during the nearly four centuries (AD 43–410) that Britannia was a province of the Roman Empire.
It is estimated that about of paved trunk roads (surfaced roads running between two towns or cities) were constructed and maintained throughout the province. Most of the known network was complete by 180. The primary function of the network was to allow rapid movement of troops and military supplies, but it subsequently provided vital infrastructure for commerce, trade and the transportation of goods.
A considerable number of Roman roads remained in daily use as core trunk roads for centuries after the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410. Some routes are now part of the UK's national road network. Others have been lost or are of archeological and historical interest only.
After the Romans departed, systematic construction of paved highways in the United Kingdom did not resume until the early 18th century. The Roman road network remained the only nationally-managed highway system within Britain until the establishment of the Ministry of Transport in the early 20th century.
Overview.
Prior to the Roman conquest of Britain, pre-Roman Britons mostly used unpaved trackways for travel. These routes, many of which had prehistoric origins, followed elevated ridge lines across hills, such as the South Downs Way. Although most routes were unpaved tracks, some British tribes had begun engineering roads during the first century BC.
Beginning in AD 43, the Romans quickly created a national road network. Engineers from the Roman Army, in most cases, surveyed and built them from scratch. Key locations, both strategic and administrative, were connected by the most direct routes possible. Main roads were gravel or paved, had bridges constructed in stone or wood, and manned waypoints where travellers or military units could stop and rest. The roads' impermeable design permitted travel in all seasons and weather. Following the withdrawal of the Roman legions in 410, the road system soon fell into disrepair. Parts of the network were retained by the Anglo-Saxons, eventually becoming integral routes in Anglo-Saxon Britain, but large sections were abandoned and lost.
Historical development.
The earliest roads, built in the first phase of Roman occupation (the Julio-Claudian period, AD 43–68), connected London with the ports used in the invasion (Chichester and Richborough), and with the earlier legionary bases at Colchester, Lincoln ("Lindum"), Wroxeter ("Viroconium"), Gloucester and Exeter. The Fosse Way, from Exeter to Lincoln, was also built at this time to connect these bases with each other, marking the effective boundary of the early Roman province.
During the Flavian period (AD 69–96), the roads to Lincoln, Wroxeter and Gloucester were extended (by CE 80) to the legionary bases at "Eboracum" (York), "Deva Victrix" (Chester) and "Isca Augusta" (Caerleon). By 96, further extensions were completed from York to Corbridge, and from Chester to "Luguvalium" (Carlisle) and "Segontium" (Caernarfon) as Roman rule was extended over "Cambria" (Wales) and northern England ("Brigantia"). Stanegate, the military road from Carlisle to Corbridge, was built under the Emperor Trajan (ruled 98–117) along the line of the future Hadrian's Wall, which was constructed by his successor Hadrian in 122–132.
Scotland ("Caledonia"), including England north of Hadrian's Wall, remained mostly outside the boundaries of "Britannia" province, as the Romans never succeeded in subjugating the entire island, despite a serious effort to do so by governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola in 82–84. The Romans maintained a system of forts in the lowland region –220 to control the indigenous population beyond Hadrian's Wall and annexed the Lowlands briefly with the construction of the Antonine Wall in 164. This barrier, across the 'neck' of Scotland, from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth, was held for twenty years.
The Romans' main routes from Hadrian's Wall to the Antonine Wall, built by , were:
There was also a certain road beyond the Antonine Wall to Perth ("Bertha") from the Antonine fort at Falkirk. Indeed, it has been thought that the Roman road to the north of the Forth, to Stirling and Perth, dates from the expedition of Severus to beyond the Dee in 209; it may be doubted whether there was time in that campaign for such a work, and the road may well belong to a period before the construction of the Antonine Wall in 140.
The core network was complemented by a number of routes built primarily for commercial, rather than military, purposes.
Examples include: in Kent and Sussex, three certain roads leading from London to the important iron-mining area of the Weald; and in East Anglia, the road from Colchester to Norwich, Peddars Way and the Fen Causeway. These eastern and southern routes acquired military importance from the 3rd century onwards with the emergence of Saxon seaborne raiding as a major and persistent threat to the security of "Britannia". These roads linked to the coastal defensive line of Saxon Shore forts such as Brancaster ("Branodunum"), Burgh Castle ("Gariannonum") near Great Yarmouth, Lympne ("Portus Lemanis") and Pevensey ("Anderitum").
Construction and maintenance.
Standard Roman road construction techniques, long evolved on the Continent, were used. A road occupied a wide strip of land bounded by shallow ditches, varying in width from 86 "pedes" () on Ermin Way in Berkshire to 338 "pedes" () on Akeman Street in Oxfordshire. A trunk road in Britain would typically be in width, with a gauge of being the most common. Watling Street was wide while the Fosse Way was little more than half that. Several unnamed roads were wider than Watling Street, such as the Silchester to Chichester road at .
In the centre a carriageway was built on a raised "agger" after stripping off soft topsoil, using the best local materials, often sand or sandy gravel. The two strips of ground between the "agger" and the boundary ditches were used by pedestrians and animals, and were sometimes lightly metalled. The "agger" was sometimes, but not always, bordered by deep ditches to take rainwater and keep the road structure as dry as possible.
The metalling was in two layers, a foundation of medium to large stones covered by a running surface, often a compacted mixture of smaller flint and gravel. About one quarter of road pavements were "bottomed" with large stones, mostly in the north and west where stone was more readily available. Some high-status roads in Italy were bound together by volcanic mortar, and a small minority of excavated sites in Britain have shown concrete or limestone mortar. Road surfaces in the iron-producing areas of the Weald were made from iron slag. The average depth of metalling over 213 recorded roads is about , with great variation from as little as to up to in places, probably built up over centuries.
The main trunk roads were originally constructed by the Roman army. Responsibility for their regular repair and maintenance rested with designated imperial officials (the "curatores viarum"), though the cost would probably have been borne by the local "civitas" (county) authorities whose territory the road crossed. From time to time, the roads would be completely resurfaced and might even be entirely rebuilt, e.g. the complete reconstruction and widening of the "Via Aemilia" in northern Italy by the Emperor Augustus (reigned 37 BC – AD 14), two centuries after it was first built.
After the final withdrawal of Roman government and troops from Britain in 410, regular maintenance ended on the road network. Repairs became intermittent and based on "ad hoc" work. Despite the lack of any national management of the highways, Roman roads remained fundamental transport routes in England throughout the Early, High and Late Middle Ages. Systematic construction of paved highways did not resume until the building of the first turnpikes in the early 18th century.
Archaeological evidence.
Extant remains of Roman roads are often much degraded or contaminated by later surfacing. Well-preserved sections of structures sometimes identified as Roman roads include Wade's Causeway in Yorkshire, and at Blackpool Bridge in the Forest of Dean, although their integrity as original Roman surfaces is not certain. In many places, Roman roads were built over in the 18th century to create the turnpikes. Where they have not been built over, many sections have been ploughed over by farmers and some stripped of their stone to use on turnpike roads. However, there are numerous tracts of Roman road which have survived, albeit overgrown by vegetation, in the visible form of footpaths through woodland or common land, such as the section of Stane Street crossing Eartham Wood in the South Downs near Bignor (Sussex). This and others like it are marked on Ordnance Survey maps with dotted lines. Peddars Way in Norfolk is a Roman road converted into a long-distance footpath.
Wayside stations have been identified in Britain. Roman roads had regularly spaced stations along their length – the Roman equivalent of motorway service areas. Roughly every – the most a horse could safely be ridden hard – there would be a "mutatio" (literally: "a change"), essentially stables where mounted messengers could change horses and a tavern to obtain refreshment. Cavalrymen from auxiliary mixed infantry- and cavalry- regiments ("cohortes equitatae") provided most of the army's despatch-riders ("dispositi"). Relays of fresh riders and horses careering at full gallop could sustain an average speed of about . Thus an urgent despatch from the army base at York to London – , a journey of over a week for a normal mounted traveller – could be delivered in just 10 hours. Because "mutationes" were relatively small establishments, and their remains ambiguous, it is difficult to identify sites with certainty.
Approximately every – a typical day's journey for an ox-drawn wagon – was a "mansio" (literally: "a sojourn", from which derive the English word "mansion" and French "maison" or "house"). This was a full-scale wayside inn, with large stables, tavern, rooms for travellers and even bath-houses in the larger establishments. "Mansiones" also housed detachments of troops, primarily auxiliaries, who regularly garrisoned and patrolled the roads along their whole length. These would check the identities, travel permits and cargoes of road users. "Mansiones" may also have housed the agents of the imperial procurator (the chief financial officer in the province) who collected the "portorium", an imperial toll on goods in transit on public roads that was charged at 2 to per cent of the value. The tax would be exacted when the goods crossed fixed toll points along the roads, which likely were located in or near "mansiones". At least half a dozen sites have been positively identified as "mansiones" in Britain, e.g. the excavated "mansio" at Godmanchester ("Durovigutum") on Ermine Street (near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire).
"Mutationes" and "mansiones" were the key infrastructure for the "cursus publicus" (the imperial postal and transport system), which operated in many provinces of the Roman Empire. The "cursus" was primarily concerned with the carriage of government or military officers, government payload such as monies from tax collection and for military wages, and official despatches, but it could be made available to private individuals with special permission and for a fee. In Britain, the Vindolanda tablets, a series of letters written on wooden tablets to and by members of the garrison of Hadrian's Wall, show the operation of the "cursus" on the island.
Milestones, of which 95 are recorded in "Roman Inscriptions of Britain". Most of these date from the later part of the Roman period (AD250 onwards), since it was the practice to replace a road's milestones when a major repair was carried out. Milestones were usually cylindrical and in height. Most contain only the customary dedication to the current Emperor and the number of miles to a particular destination. Only three provide additional information: two are dedicated by the public works departments of a "civitas" (county) ("Dobunni") and a city (Lincoln), showing the involvement of local authorities in road maintenance; and the third records that the Emperor Caracalla (reigned 211–217) "restored the roads, which had fallen into ruin and disuse through old age".
Maps and Itineraries of the Roman era, designed to aid travellers, provide useful evidence of placenames, routes and distances in Britain. The most important is the Antonine Itinerary, dating from the later 3rd century, which contains 14 itineraries on the island.
Road naming in post-Roman Britain.
The original names of the Roman roads in Britain are not known due to the lack of written and inscribed sources. This is in contrast to surviving routes in Italy and other Roman provinces within western Europe. In Britain most major such routes bear Welsh, early Anglo-Saxon or later Middle English names. All were ascribed after the end of Roman rule in Britain (during the period known as the Early Middle Ages). This means that the toponym of a road is not based on the original Roman nomenclature for naming highways within "Britannia Superior" or "Britannia Inferior".
For example, the Anglo-Saxons called the entire route from Dover/Portus Ritupis to Wroxeter, via Londinium (London): Watlingestrate (it is one of four former Roman roads named as public rights of way under the Laws of Edward the Confessor in the early 11th century.).
The Romans may have given each section of Saxon "Watling Street" different names as the route was built sequentially over several decades in relation to the territory taken by the Romans as they subjugated Britain.
Official road names were usually taken from the Emperor in whose reign they were completed, such as the Via Traiana from Rome to Brindisi in southern Italy was named after the Emperor Trajan (98–117). As the Dover to London section of Watling Street was begun in the years following the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, it may have been known to the Romano-Britons as the "Via Claudia" in honour of Emperor Claudius (41–54) who led the military campaign.
The only well-documented name which might be etymologically linked to an original Roman name is the Fosse Way between Exeter and Lincoln. "Fosse" may derive from "fossa", the Latin word for "ditch". But this is likely to be attributable to a popular, rather than official, Roman name for the route. Generally those Roman roads in Britain which are named look to Anglo-Saxon giants and divinities. For instance, Wade's Causeway in North Yorkshire is taken from Wade of Germanic and Norse mythology.
English place names continue to reflect the settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons. As these Germanic Pagan peoples advanced westward across the British isles, they encountered the decaying infrastructure of the former Roman Empire. Many settlements were founded on or near Roman roads (suffix "-street" e.g. Watling Street). The prefix "strat-, strait-, streat-" was employed to name settlements located near these former imperial highways. "Stretham" means "homestead or village on a Roman road" and likewise "Stretford" means "ford on a Roman road". There are seventeen places in England named "Stretton".
Main routes.
The initial road network was built by the army to facilitate military communications. The emphasis was therefore on linking up army bases, rather than catering for economic flows. Thus, three important cross-routes were established connecting the major legionary bases by AD 80 as the frontier of the Roman-occupied zone advanced:
Later a large number of other cross-routes and branches were grafted onto this basic network.
After Boudica's Revolt, London ("Londinium") commanded the major bridge across the Thames connecting the final northern and western legionary bases with the Kentish ports communicating with Boulogne ("Gesoriacum") and the rest of the Empire. Six core roads were constructed tying the new capital to the existing network. Ignoring their later English names, they are as follows:


BSA B50

The BSA B50 was a single-cylinder ohv motorcycle, produced by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. The last of the big capacity unit-construction singles from the Birmingham Small Arms company, it had an alloy engine with a bore of and a stroke of . As well as the road version, special models were produced for off-road competition use.
Development.
BSA's earlier 500cc single was the BSA Gold Star, a pre-unit machine with a duplex frame similar to that of the Golden Flash twin. The Gold Star was not considered suitable for the progression to unit construction. The name was revived when the 250 cc BSA C15/Starfire was eventually developed into the 500 cc B50 (via the B40 & B44). The dry sump B50 included features such as "oil in the frame" and the electrics in a single removable 'pod'. BSA kept production costs down by using parts across a range of models, launched in 1971. About 5,700 were built. Some B50s were modified for off-road use by specialist builders such as Eric Cheney.
Racing success.
B50 bikes were successful in both road-racing and off-road events. A modestly modified B50 Gold Star 500 entered by Mead & Tomkinson of Hereford, England and ridden by Nigel Rollason and Clive Brown won the 500cc class in both the Thruxton 500 miler and the Barcelona 24 hours ( at the Montjuïc circuit), and won the Zolder 24-hour race outright. Also, a B50 fielded by Mead & Tomkinson once held the class lap record in the Production Isle of Man TT.
After the demise of BSA, Alan Clews bought up remaining B50 part stocks and set up Clews Competition Motorcycles, producing successful CCM motocross bikes based on the B50.
B50SS (Gold Star).
The BSA B50SS 'street scrambler' Gold Star was designed for road use and was partly aimed at the US market and proved its credentials by winning the 500cc class in the Thruxton 500 miler and the Barcelona 24-hour endurance race.
B50T (Victor Trail).
Trail version
The B50T was specifically designed with the fast-growing trail riding boom in mind in the US, with the bike using many parts common to both the SS and MX versions.
B50MX (Moto Cross).
The B50MX was designed for off-road competition and produced between 1971 and 1973. The very last MX's produced were therefore coming off the production line after the demise of BSA and were 'badged' as the Triumph TR5MX.
Triumph TR5T Trophy Trail/Adventurer.
In an attempt to make new models from existing BSA/Triumph parts, a Triumph T100C engine was fitted into modified B50 cycle parts. Launched in late 1972 (1973 model year), the new model was called the Triumph Adventurer in the UK and the Trophy Trail in the US, where most of the machines were sold on the East Coast. The model used Lucas electrics, Nippon Denso Speedo and rev counter and handlebar switches from Yamaha. Production continued into 1974, after which the model was dropped. A British team finished second in the 1973 IDST on these machines.
Norton P92.
As part of an attempt to produce new models from existing parts, NVT produced a few prototype P92 models. This model comprised a B50 engine in a BSA Fury/Triumph Bandit frame using Isolastic mountings from the Norton Commando. The US DOT had mandated that all motorcycles sold in the US should have a left hand gear change. The B50 had the gear lever on the right, so to comply with this requirement, the engine was tilted forward in the frame and a gear linkage run under the gearbox to provide a left hand gear change. The model never progressed to production.
B100 V-Twin (with two B50 cylinders ).
Specialist motorcycle designer Gerald Fitzpatrick created a 1000 cc BSA V-twin using parts from two B50 engines in 1977. The frame was a slimline featherbed Norton Atlas. Triumph considered putting the B100 into production but were not able to finance re-tooling costs.
The B100 prototype was ridden for two years and has been stored since but was featured in the magazine "British Bike Mechanics" in April 1978 and January 1988.


Capital City Red

Capital City Red is the branding of bus services "17" and "18" in Cardiff. The route runs from the city centre to the west of the city, serving the Canton, Ely and Caerau districts.
The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network and is one of three services to have a unique branding, along with Baycar and Capital City Green.
The service was introduced in 2006 to improve infrastructure on the route, and with the aim to make the corridor the first Statutory Quality Bus Partnership in Wales.
History.
Nika Turković 1955, the furthest and final extension of Cardiff's trolleybus system came to Ely, where city trams had never run. In 1959, the Cardiff Corporation Transport trolleybus routes that were operating in Ely and Caerau were the 10 A/B (Ely – Canton – City Centre) and the motorbus service 39(A) (Ely Bridge, City Centre – Rhiwbina).
The transition to motorbuses began in Cardiff began in 1962 and was completed by 1970 and the city has been served by motor buses ever since.
Vehicles.
The Scania Omnicity articulated 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. Cardiff Bus has 19 of such vehicles in their fleet valued at £235,000 each.
In the past, the vehicles have become stuck on the route due to heavy snow.
Before the 17 and 18 routes became branded as Capital City Red, Cardiff Bus operated its double decker orange Volvo Ailsa vehicles on the route.
Route.
The 9.4 mile long route stops outside Cardiff Central bus station and Westgate Street in the city centre before heading westbound towards the suburbs. It follows Cowbridge Road East through Canton, Cardiff into Ely and Caerau. The services diverge at Ely Library with the 17 following a clockwise route and the 18 following an anticlockwise route before the two routes meet again and return to the city centre via Canton.
Amongst the place served (from east to west) are:
Police operations.
South Wales Police have used vehicles on this route as a decoy in an attempt to catch people who throw stones at the buses, after an increase in such attacks had made Cardiff Bus think about ceasing operations on the route. Six undercover officers posed as ordinary passengers on the bus, and since the operation began two youths have taken into custody and 17 have been referred for anti-social behaviour orders.


Operation Overdrive (transportation)

Operation Overdrive is the name of a series of improvement programmes carried out by Arriva in their UK bus operations. The original Operation Overdrive was done by Arriva Southern Counties in the Medway Towns (Kent) in 2004, with further operations occurring in Maidstone (Kent), Merseyside, Leicestershire, County Durham, and Southend-on-Sea (Essex).
Medway Towns.
The original operation Overdrive involved the purchase of 61 new buses, upgrading 40 existing buses, upgrades to the route network, introducing GPS Brand new interactive timetables for every bus stop, depot upgrades including a vehicle wash, and introduction of a yellow liveried school fleet.
New buses.
The new vehicles were 12 Dennis Dart(8.8m) single deckers with Plaxton Pointer MPD bodies and 49 Volvo B7TL double deckers with Alexander ALX400 bodies. The new buses feature interior, linked to GPS tracking systems provided by Medway Council used for real time display at bus stops. Many of the buses have since been moved after further new vehicles arrived in later years.
Existing fleet upgrade.
Other existing vehicles in the Medway fleet were modernised to bring them into line with the new vehicles. This entailed refurbishment and repainting, fitting CCTV, changing destination displays from traditional roller blinds to scrolling LED displays and the introduction of GPS tracking systems to all vehicles.
School buses.
Six buses were painted in an allover yellow scheme for use on school services, although the vehicles are often used on non-school services. These are double-deck Northern Counties bodied Volvo Citybuses
Network upgrade.
Arriva significantly upgraded services in the Medway area with the rebranding and timetabling of routes and the introduction of new buses. The network was upgraded with five routes being increased to 10-minute frequencies and branded as the Red, Green, Purple, Blue and Orange Lines, with appropriately branded buses allocated to these routes. All but the purple line use double deck buses.
The specific colour branding of buses to a particular coloured line was later dropped in favour of a single "Medway Mainline" branding showing all of the coloured route numbers.
Launch day.
On the day of the new network launch, a convoy of 20 of the new buses was organised for the press, running from the depot at Gillingham to the Historic Dockyard in Chatham.
Maidstone.
"Overdrive 2" involved the refurbishment of several buses at the Maidstone depot in 2004/5. In 2008, four VDL DB250/East Lancs Myllennium Lowlander have arrived for route 71.
County Durham.
In 2005 some new Alexander ALX400s and 14 Scania CN94UB Omnicitys were introduced in Durham and Darlington. Most vehicles have since been moved elsewhere.
North West.
Between 2005 and 2006, 42 Wright Cadet midibuses were delivered to Runcorn (39) and Speke (three) depots, with Runcorn's receiving "Strider" branding. Fleet investment continued in 2006, with the company ordering 30 Volvo B7TLs and 28 Wright Commanders for its Speke depot, whilst Green Lane depot received six Commanders. A second batch of Commanders, for Southport and Wythenshawe depots, was delivered in 2007.
Arriva North West purchased a total of 231 Wright Pulsar/Pulsar 2s for the majority of its North West depots between 2008 and 2011, with 68 of these being allocated to Green Lane depot. Other depots which received brand new Pulsars include Birkenhead, Bootle, Southport and St Helens. The Pulsar soon became Arriva North West's standard vehicle type, primarily replacing vehicles which had been acquired from the takeovers of MTL and North Western.
In 2009, 35 Alexander Dennis Enviro400s were ordered for "Cross River Express" and Liverpool cross-city services respectively. Two years later, a batch of 47 Wright Gemini 2 was ordered, with the majority of these allocated to Speke depot for routes in south Liverpool.
Leicestershire.
In May 2006 Arriva launched Operation Overdrive on services in Leicestershire which saw 54 new buses delivered to Arriva Midlands (Fox County) and numerous buses refurbished. All but eight of the buses were double deckers on VDL DB250 and Volvo B7TL chassis. The eight single deckers delivered were VDL SB200s. All buses delivered were bodied by Wrightbus.
Southend-on-Sea.
In July 2008, Arriva Southern Counties sent some of Arriva Southend's Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers to their Gillingham, Kent depot for refurbishment, entailing repainting, fitting CCTV, and changing their destination displays from traditional roller blinds to scrolling LED displays.
In mid-2009, the remainder of the older double decker fleet will be replaced by low-floor buses.


Eric Williams (motorcyclist)

Eric Williams DCM FIMI (1893-1963) was a British pioneer of motor cycle racing, motor vehicles and automated agricultural harvesting equipment. He was a two-time winner of the Isle of Man Junior TT race in 1914 and 1921 and also gave distinguished military service in First World War as a despatch rider, receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for bravery. In the Second World War he served as an advisor in Ministry of Agriculture working on mechanical production in Worcestershire. He raced professionally for AJS, NUT and Sunbeam. After his racing career he established a motor trade business, Eric Williams Ltd, in Worcester which operated between 1920-1960. He had a lifelong passion for racing activities, which he passed to his younger son, Henry ‘Don’ Williams, who also raced cars and motorcycles competitively.
Sporting career.
After joining the fledgling AJS motorcycle company in 1914, Williams was soon appointed as head tester, tuner, and factory driver as a result of his motoring proficiency. He achieved early successes in his career, winning the Isle of Man TT at his first attempt in 1914 in the Junior category aged 20 setting a then record lap time of 47:18 (47.5 mph). This was the last Isle of Man TT before the outbreak of the First World War, which interrupted competitive racing between 1914-1918.
The cessation of hostilities saw a renewal in domestic and international racing, with Williams returning to the racing scene as a freelance rider, although predominantly racing on AJS and Sunbeam motorcycles. Williams was still recovering from wounds sustained in the war when he participated in both the junior and senior 1920 TT races, however mechanical failures led to his withdrawal from both whilst mid-race, despite being in a leading position in the Junior TT, again setting a new lap record of 44:06 (51.3 mph).
The following year, in what was his third season of competitive racing, Williams was again successful in the TT, where he won the 1921 Junior TT on an AJS machine with an average speed of 52.21 mph. Upon winning, he became the first two-time winner of the junior competition. Due to his intermittent rheumatic condition resulting from his wartime actions Williams did not pass the medical to drive the senior race that year. This was to be Williams’ last entrance in the TT, as he focused more on his family and business interests; however he continued his commitment to riding in other time trial and hill climb competitions
To this end, Williams participated successfully in several British and international competitions, including the 1919 London-Edinburgh time trial where he won a gold medal, victory in the 1920 Colmore Cup, and receiving an individual gold medal for riding without loss of marks as part of the British team in the 1921 International Six Days Trials held in Geneva, Switzerland. He was also awarded a prize for “best performance by a foreign visitor” at this event; an accolade which he was awarded again the subsequent year. He was also the recipient of number of medals as a result of competitive trials organised by his club, the Worcester & District MCC.
Personal life.
Eric Williams was born at Holmer, Hereford in May 1893, the seventh child of James and Mary Williams who were farmers and hop growers and adopters of steam threshing equipment. His skills as mechanical apprentice at the Commercial Autocar Company (1908-1911) were spotted and he was asked to become one of the first employees of the then nascent A J Stevens & Co., Wolverhampton where he became head of testing and competition driving. After the outbreak of war in 1914 Williams joined the Royal Engineers and was sent to France as part of the Expeditionary Force serving as a despatch rider, where he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for acts of bravery at Neuve Chapelle in 1915. He was gassed on the Somme in 1916 and following a year in hospital he was discharged as invalid in 1917 and recommended to pursue open air life. Williams joined the Food Production Department and was responsible for importing thousands of tractors to coordinate a national effort in land ploughing in an effort to make barren farmland fertile and productive in 1917-18. He maintained his connections with his farming birth right and passion for mechanisation of the land. In 1919 he opened a motor business in Worcester selling cycles, motorcycles and three-wheeled cars and cars and in 1920 Eric Williams Ltd was established adopting its branding “for anything on wheels”. Eric also recommenced his racing and competition activities travelling extensively in UK and Europe.
He married Margaret Gwendoline Lewis (of The Haven, Dilwyn) in September 1921 and retired from racing but retained participation in international trials. Focusing on business he traded Raleigh, Royal Enfield and Sunbeam makes and expanded Eric Williams Ltd into a second location in Pierpoint Street Worcester for car vehicles. He had two sons Eric (1926-1988) and Henry (“Don”) Williams (1928-2018). With the arrival of the Second World War he served in the Ministry of Agriculture for the Worcester Agricultural Committee (1939–45) and was operating over 250 tractors to cultivate new land for production. His business premises were used as part of the war effort for servicing tractors and catering for servicemen.
Following the war his business represented Jaguar, Austin, Morris, Standard and Ford and Reliant Motors. His elder son, Eric Williams, followed an agricultural career farming near Leominster. His younger son, Don, followed a motoring career with a five-year apprenticeship with the Standard Motor Company, then serving in the Royal Navy before taking up competitive racing for Norton and car racing with Emerson and Cooper. Don Williams took over the motor business when Eric retired in 1952. Eric Williams was a director of The Fisheries (Flint) Ltd and MacFisheries (1948), Lower Hill Farms Ltd (1949) and Eric Williams Ltd. He was a member of British Automobile Racing Club and a Fellow of the Institute of Motor Industry . He enjoyed creative writing and journaled his life delivering new cars from the production line to different places across Europe and Africa and the people he met. He also wrote about agricultural technology and mechanised systems.


Articulated buses in the United Kingdom

Bendy buses were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to the UK preference for the quintessential double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. As of June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the UK, although they are still heavily outnumbered by double deckers. The majority of this fleet was used in London, although these buses would be withdrawn by end of 2011.
History.
Until 1980 articulated buses were illegal for British roads due to their length. Following an exemption, the first trials in the UK used vehicles by MAN and Leyland-DAB.
MAN Bendibus, 1979.
The first to carry passengers on a scheduled service (albeit without charge, due to regulations) was a MAN Bendibus demonstrator with City of Oxford Motor Services in late 1979.
Leyland-DAB, 1979.
Leyland-DAB articulated buses, built by the British-Danish joint venture, Leyland-DAB bus, in Denmark, were the most intensively trialled first-generation vehicles introduced to the UK. Four models of their National bodied buses were imported, and used on extended trial by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), purchased in 1979. These vehicles wore a green, red and cream livery, and, as well as Yorkshire, were demonstrated to other UK operators including Maidstone Borough Council Transport. An example was also exhibited by private London operator Capital Citybus with route blinds and markings for Red Arrow service.
Two of these National types were later sold to McGill's Bus Services of Barrhead originally for its Barrhead-Paisley-Renfrew service, and later for its Barrhead-Glasgow service after a weight limit prevented their continued use on the Paisley service, with the others going to Hampshire Bus in Winchester. Some later saw use as airport buses with British Airways, and then as non-PSV exhibit buses (in 2008); at least one of these buses was undergoing preservation by 2003.
Following the trials and demonstrations, no UK operators decided to place orders for the Leyland DABs, except for South Yorkshire Transport in 1985, the bus operating company now divested from the SYPTE. SYT placed an order for 13 buses of the DAB bodied type, which saw service in a blue and cream liveried "City Clipper" circular service and the X91 "Fastline" route. These buses survived privatisation of the passenger transport executives and saw service with the privatised operator Mainline in Sheffield and Rotherham lasting in Mainline service until 1999. They were also loaned for demonstration to London Buses, with one seeing service with the Selkent division in 1992.
Mercedes Benz O405, 1992.
A single November 1992 built articulated Mercedes-Benz O405G was bought by Grampian Regional Transport, the forerunner of FirstGroup, as their bus RT1 ("K1 GRT"). This bus survived into 2008 as a unique member of the First Aberdeen fleet as fleet number 10046.
Modern era.
Towards the new millennium, interest was revived in the more advanced, lighter, low-floor designs being introduced, and the first second-generation articulated buses were introduced by First Greater Manchester in 1998/1999 on route 135. Articulated buses were first introduced in London in the early 2000s. Later, FirstGroup, in collaboration with Volvo and Wrightbus, developed the Wright StreetCar. FirstGroup branded this the FTR concept, for use in the introduction of new bus rapid transit schemes. The FTR was used in York, Leeds and Swansea.
Use of conventional articulated buses has extended beyond London, into the other English regions, as well as Scotland and Wales. Cardiff Bus secured the first Statutory Quality Bus Partnership in the UK which prompted the introduction of high technology artics. While Arriva London had the largest single fleet, in London, First operated the most artics in the UK, across its subsidiary companies. Many articulated buses in operation across the United Kingdom are exiles from London.
In 2020, 21 new Mercedes-Benz Citaros entered service at Stansted Airport.
Use in London.
The majority of UK articulated buses were based in London, driven by the tendering specification system of Transport for London, the regulation authority responsible for bus services in London. The introduction of articulated buses in London caused several issues, including safety and fare evasion.
By 2008, the London fleet stood at 393 buses. In August 2008, following the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, it was announced the articulated buses would be withdrawn as their five-year operating contracts came to an end, starting from May 2009. Route 207 was the last route to operate articulated buses on 10 December 2011.
With the main London operators of articulated buses (Arriva and the Go-Ahead Group) also having significant provincial fleets in the UK, many were cascaded to regional fleets. Arriva exported 68 to Malta in 2011 for use by its Arriva in Malta subsidiary.
Use in Cardiff.
In 2006, Cardiff Bus took delivery of 19 Scania OmniCitys for use on the Capital City Red services to Ely to increase capacity on a route previously operated by Super Pointer Darts and to improve infrastructure on the route, and the aim is that the Ely corridor will become the first Statutory Quality Bus Partnership in Wales. The buses operate every five minutes.
The buses also operate every 10 minutes on the Baycar route between Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay in a blue livery.
Use in the West Midlands.
In early 2000 Travel West Midlands (TWM) took delivery of 11 Mercedes-Benz O405 articulated buses for its route 67 between Castle Vale and Birmingham. In late 2003 Travel Coventry bought 10 articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaro vehicles for Primeline routes in Coventry; the earlier O405s joined the Citaros in Coventry, although one was scrapped after a depot fire. To replace the previous articulated vehicles on route 67 NXWM purchased eleven Scania OmniCitys branded for the route. The O405 vehicles were withdrawn from service in late 2011, and the last of the Citaros were withdrawn in March 2018.
Types.
The majority of articulated buses in the UK are Mercedes-Benz Citaros, with the remainder being standard Scania and Volvos, and the Wright StreetCar.
The types in use are:
Volvo have demonstrated a Hispano-bodied articulated bus in London, as have Scania with the OmniCity, but neither had secured any orders.


Goodwood plant

The Goodwood plant serves as the headquarters, design, manufacturing and assembly centre for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Officially opened on 1 January 2003, the plant is situated on a site covering . The plant has been expanded since. Over 1,700 workers are currently employed at Goodwood. At present (2017) the plant produces approximately 20 cars a day.
History.
After BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand as applied to motor cars from Vickers plc, it required a new manufacturing plant in which to build the new cars. Rolls-Royce cars had until this time been built at the Crewe plant, but both the plant and the Bentley brand had been sold to the Volkswagen Group.
BMW came to an agreement with the Earl of March to buy a greenfield site on his Goodwood Estate, near Chichester, West Sussex. The original plant, located close to Goodwood Circuit and Westhampnett village, cost £65 million. BMW engaged architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect of the Eden Project in Cornwall. Designed to fit into its environment, the plant cannot be viewed from the road, in part thanks to a 3.5 ha "living roof" planted with sedum plants, the largest such roof in the UK. Other features help the 42-acre site blend in with the surrounding countryside, such as the planting of 400,000 plants and over 120 species of trees, as well as limestone and cedar cladding on the buildings. The plant is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which may make further expansion difficult.
Technology and Logistics Centre.
Rolls-Royce opened its new Technology and Logistics Centre (TLC) in January 2016. The facility is located in Bognor Regis, eight miles from the Goodwood plant. The TLC provides logistics support to the manufacturing plant for current and future models, and consolidates three operations: an inbound warehouse for production parts, a distribution centre – including an inbound body store and finished car store – and a workshop. The TLC will be extended in late-2017 by almost to meet growing demand and in readiness for future models, such as the Cullinan. The expansion will give the TLC the same overall footprint as the Goodwood plant.


Great North Road (Great Britain)

The Great North Road was the main highway between England and Scotland. It became a coaching route used by mail coaches travelling between London, York and Edinburgh. The modern A1 mainly parallels the route of the Great North Road. Coaching inns, many of which survive, were staging posts providing accommodation, stabling for horses and replacement mounts. Nowadays virtually no surviving coaching inns can be seen while driving on the A1, because the modern route bypasses the towns in which the inns are found.
Route.
The traditional start point for the Great North Road was Smithfield Market on the edge of the City of London. The initial stretch of the road was St John's Street which begins on the boundary of the City, and runs through north London. Less than a hundred metres up St John's Street, into Clerkenwell, lay Hicks Hall, the first purpose-built sessions-house for the Middlesex justices of the peace. The Hall was built in 1612, on an island site in the middle of St John Street (where St John's Lane branches to the west); this building was used as the initial datum point for mileages on the Great North Road. Its site continued to be used for this purpose even after the building was demolished in 1782.
In August 1599 during the performance of a puppet play in a house in St John's Street the roof fell and killed five people. The Red Bull Theatre was on St John's Street between 1604 and 1666, when it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714–1799) lived at 13 St John Street. He held "learned suppers" at his house, with guests including James Boswell, Robert Burns and Samuel Johnson.
The Great North Road followed St John Street to the junction at the Angel Inn where the local road name changes from St John Street to Islington High Street.
When the General Post Office at St Martin's-le-Grand was built in 1829, coaches started using an alternative route, now the modern A1 road, beginning at the Post Office and following Aldersgate Street and Goswell Road before joining the old route close to the Angel. The Angel Inn itself was an important staging post. The next important stages were at Highgate, Barnet, Hatfield, Baldock, Biggleswade and Alconbury, all replete with traditional coaching inns.
At Alconbury, the Great North Road joined the Old North Road, an older route which followed the Roman Ermine Street. Here a milestone records mileages to London via both routes: 65 by the Old North Road and 68 by the Great North Road. From Alconbury the Great North Road follows the line of Ermine Street north, through Stilton, and crossed the River Nene at Wansford. Ermine Street crossed the River Welland about a mile to the west of what is now the town of Stamford. The Great North Road passed through the centre of Stamford, with two very sharp bends, re-joined the alignment of Ermine Street just before Great Casterton and continued as far as Colsterworth (at the A151 junction). Inns on this section included the George at Stamford and the Bell Inn at Stilton, the original sellers of Stilton cheese.
At Colsterworth the Great North Road diverges west of the Roman road and continues through Grantham, Newark, Retford and Bawtry to Doncaster. North of Doncaster the Great North Road again follows a short section of Ermine Street, the Roman Rigg or Roman Ridge. Further north the Great North Road crossed the Roman Dere Street near Boroughbridge from where it continued via Dishforth and Topcliffe to Northallerton and then through Darlington, Durham and Newcastle, on to Edinburgh. A road forked to the left at the bridge in Boroughbridge to follow Dere Street, and Scotch Corner to Penrith and on to Glasgow. Part of this route was the original A1, with a local road from Scotch Corner via Barton to Darlington making the link back to the old Great North Road.
In the first era of stage coaches York was the terminus of the Great North Road. Along the route, Doncaster–Selby–York was superseded by Doncaster–Ferrybridge–Wetherby–Boroughbridge–Northallerton–Darlington, the more direct way to Edinburgh, the final destination. The first recorded stage coach operating from London to York was in 1658 taking four days. Faster mail coaches began using the route in 1786, stimulating a quicker service from the other passenger coaches. In the "Golden Age of Coaching", between 1815 and 1835, coaches could travel from London to York in 20 hours, and from London to Edinburgh in 45 hours. In the mid-nineteenth century coach services could not compete with the new railways. The last coach from London to Newcastle left in 1842 and the last from Newcastle to Edinburgh in July 1847.
Cultural references.
The highwayman Dick Turpin's flight from London to York in less than 15 hours on his mare Black Bess is the most famous legend of the Great North Road. Various inns along the route claim Turpin ate a meal or stopped for respite for his horse. Harrison Ainsworth, in his 1834 romance "Rookwood", immortalised the ride. Historians argue that Turpin never made the journey, claiming that the ride was by John Nevison, "Swift Nick", a highwayman in the time of Charles II, 50 years before Turpin who was born and raised at Wortley near Sheffield. It is claimed that Nevison, in order to establish an alibi, rode from Gad's Hill, near Rochester, Kent, to York (some ) in 15 hours.
The "Winchelsea Arms", an inn on a long straight section of the Great North Road near Stretton, Rutland, was reputed to be another haunt of Dick Turpin. It is now called the "Ram Jam Inn" after a story from the coaching days. A coach passenger undertook to show the landlady the secret of drawing both mild and bitter beer from the same barrel. Two holes were made and she was left with one thumb rammed against one and the other jammed into the other; the trickster then made off.
In literature Jeanie Deans of Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Heart of Midlothian" travels through several communities on the Great North Road on her way to London. The road features in "The Pickwick Papers" by Charles Dickens. Part of the J. B. Priestley novel "The Good Companions" mentions the road, which represented to protagonist Jess Oakroyd (a Yorkshireman) the gateway to such 'exotic' destinations as Nottingham. The Lord Peter Wimsey short story "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" by Dorothy L. Sayers features a motorcycle chase along it. Similarly, "Ruined City" by Nevil Shute features an all night drive from Henry Warren's house in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, along the road as far as Rowley and then to Greenhead near Hadrian's Wall, where Warren is dropped off to go walking. His chauffeur, keen to get home for a date with the maid, is killed near Retford. In Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Princess", the third volume of The Infernal Devices trilogy, Will Herondale takes the road after leaving London on his way to Wales to find Tessa Gray. The road also features in "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, as the protagonists' brother tries to cross the Great North Road somewhere near Barnet through a frenzied exodus of refugees from London, driven north by the approach of Martians from the south.
"Dick Whittington and His Cat" is an English story adapted for the stage in 1605, that, since the 19th century has become a pantomime, is loosely based on the historical Richard Whittington, a medieval Lord Mayor of London.
The road is mentioned in Mark Knopfler's song, "5:15 AM", from the album "Shangri La". The High Road mentioned in "Loch Lomond" is also a reference to it. The song "Heading South on the Great North Road" on Sting's 2016 album 57th & 9th refers to the Great North Road in paying tribute to artists from the North East who found success in London. The character of Lord Grantham references the Great Northern Road in the television series "Downton Abbey".


Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum

The Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum is an independent museum in New Milton, Hampshire, England. It was set up in 1964, after the former championship winning trials rider Sammy Miller set up a parts business in New Milton.
The business started after Miller put a few of his old racing motorcycles in the corner, which eventually became the catalyst of the present day museum.
The museum is now held in trust, houses some 300 machines including motorcycles and 3-wheeled vehicles and is affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust.
The collection includes Vincent/H.R.D., BSA, Zundapp, Norton and Moto Guzzi motorcycles.


Meadows Frisky

 Meadows Frisky is the name of a series of small British cars manufactured at the factory of "Henry Meadows Ltd" at Fallings Park in Wolverhampton between 1958 and 1961, during which time, production was under the control of a number of companies.
History.
The Frisky car project was conceived by Captain Raymond Flower, racing driver and Managing Director of the "Cairo Motor Co Ltd.", Nuffield distributors in Egypt. Flower operated the company with his two brothers, Derek and Neville, all of whom were part of the brewing dynasty of Flower & Sons of Stratford on Avon. From February 1955, under the auspices of the Cairo Motor Company, a number of projects for the manufacture of cars in Egypt under the general name of Phoenix, were mooted in the press, possibly as a way of gaining favour with the government of President Nasser. However, as the relationship between Egypt and Britain deteriorated with the onset of the Suez Crisis in 1956, little of substance materialised.
As the potential for manufacture within Egypt dissipated, Raymond Flower took his idea of a small, mass produced, economical lightweight car for every-man to manufacturers in the UK, eventually reaching agreement with Henry Meadows Ltd to proceed with the project.
Henry Meadows (Vehicles) Ltd.
The Meadows company was a well-established supplier of automotive, marine and industrial engines and was a part of the Associated British Engineering Company.
Gordon Bedson, formerly a design engineer for Kieft Cars and the Vickers aircraft company, had joined Meadows as Export Sales Manager in 1954.
Bedson, whose work at Kieft had included the design of their first sports car, and who had also designed a saloon car prototype for the Phoenix project, was called upon to bring his design experience to the Meadows car alongside Keith Peckmore, a project engineer who had also joined Meadows from Kieft.
Commencing around July 1956, in a back room at the Meadows factory, a prototype vehicle, nicknamed "The Bug" was constructed and developed. This small, four-wheeled, two-seater, utilized a moulded fibreglass shell with gull-wing doors and a Villiers air-cooled two-cylinder engine fitted to a brazed ladder-type chassis. To make a differential unnecessary, the car used a very narrow rear track, with drive to the solid rear axle by roller chain. The car was fitted with a four-speed motorcycle manual gearbox, with reverse obtained by running the engine backwards through the Dynastart unit.
Whilst "The Bug" was under development, the Italian coachbuilding company Vignale of Turin, was commissioned by Flower to design the bodywork for the production version, a task they allocated to Giovanni Michelotti. On 5 December 1956, "The Bug" which had been taken to Oulton Park motor racing circuit, commenced a seven-day 24-hours a day test run, completing with a fastest lap of . Although "The Bug" had nothing to do with the Egyptian "Phoenix" project, because of the attendance of Raymond Flower at the circuit with his "Phoenix SR150" sports racer and an embargo on the use of the Meadows name in connection with "The Bug", Press reports of the test run erroneously referred to the Meadows project as the "Phoenix minicar" or "Phoenix Frisky".
The disclosure of the Meadows company involvement and the correct nomenclature Meadows Frisky was announced by the press on 11 March 1957 just prior to the Geneva Motor Show. The press release included information about the Oulton Park test run and information about the involvement of Raymond Flower in the project and Michelotti in the design. The release also stated that the Frisky would be priced at "under £400".
Vignale delivered the body of the new car directly to the Geneva show. As this left no time to install the engine, it was displayed separately in front of the car. The design retained the gull-wing door concept from "The Bug" and the car attracted widespread interest and acclaim.
Two of these bodies were produced by Vignale, however it quickly became clear that the design would be too expensive for mass production and so work began on completely redesigning the car in time for the Earls Court Motor Show in October.
In June 1957, a new subsidiary of the Meadows company - Henry Meadows (Vehicles) Ltd was registered in anticipation of the production of the car.
Amongst the design changes that took place before October were the replacement of the gull-wing doors with a more conventional suicide door type and the fitting of a larger Villiers engine of . Immediately before the show it was reported that the prototype had now covered over and pre-show publicity stated that there would be two cars on show, the Frisky Saloon and the Friskysport, a convertible version. Brochures displaying artists impressions of both vehicles were printed. However at the show, only one design, the convertible Meadows Friskysport appeared. Once again this new design met with an enthusiastic reception from the press.
Reports from the show stated that the car was "not yet in full production", in fact, production of the car did not commence until five months later in March 1958.
In February 1958 a controlling interest in Henry Meadows (Vehicles) Ltd. was acquired by the Flower Group of companies. Raymond Flower was appointed chairman and managing director.
Frisky Cars Ltd.
In September 1958 production of the Friskysport was taken over by The Marston Group of Companies; they acquired a controlling interest in Henry Meadows (Vehicles) Ltd and the name of the production company was changed to Frisky Cars Ltd.
The Marston Group were a diverse range of interests including car dealerships, caravan manufacture, vehicle body manufacture and Regency Covers Ltd., who were at the time the largest manufacturers of car seat covers in the country.
The Chairman of the newly formed Frisky Cars Ltd was Henry R Stone. Raymond, Neville, and Derek Flower were made directors. Distribution of the car was to be handled by The Arneston Motor Company Ltd. London, which belonged to Henry Stone. The franchise was also taken up by other companies of his such as The Pointer Motor Co. of Norwich.
In September 1958, it was announced that production of the Friskysport was "being supplemented by a hard-top". This "hard-top" car, a saloon version of the Friskysport named The Frisky Coupe went into production in August and made its public début at the 1958 Earls Court Motor show in October. Alongside were two other new models, The Frisky Family Three and The Frisky Sprint.
The production versions of the Friskysport and Frisky Coupe were very similar and used identical chassis, but there are differences to the bodywork. Early versions of the Friskysport are fitted with a separate chrome Reliant Sabre windscreen frame, they have a detachable tail section and dummy air intake scoops just behind the doors whilst later cars have the same lower body as the Coupe. The Friskysport has overriders, whilst the Coupe has plain bumpers. The Coupe initially used the Friskysport body with an integral, glassed-on roof and steel framed front windscreen, until the Family Three one-piece body became available in 1959, which was then used for both cars.
The Frisky Family Three was basically a three-wheeled version of the coupe fitted with a smaller Villiers 9E engine and MacPherson strut front suspension. Having three wheels instead of four meant the car qualified for lower vehicle excise duty and also meant that it could be driven with a motorcycle licence. It entered production in about February 1959.
The Friskysprint was a prototype sports racing car built at the Meadows factory and said to be capable of . Press reports stated that on production versions the front suspension and probably the chassis and running gear would be made at the Vickers–Armstrongs (Aircraft) factory at South Marston. The prototype was finished in the American national racing colours of white with a blue stripe. It featured two bucket seats and a three-cylinder air-cooled Excelsior engine mounted transversely in the frame with final drive by roller chain. Unlike all other Friskys, the rear axle was full width and fitted with a differential. The car was also independently sprung using a swing axle layout. It was expected to sell for between £675 and £750 including purchase tax. The Friskysprint never reached production and Gordon Bedson who designed and built the prototype left to join Lightburn in Australia the following spring to produce the Zeta Sports. The Friskysprint and Zeta Sports had some similarities in styling but were otherwise unconnected and despite Lightburn advertising to the contrary, Giovanni Michelotti was not involved in the design of either car.
In June 1959 Frisky Cars Ltd experienced financial difficulties, and an order was made by Hills Fibre Glass Developments, who produced the bodies for the Frisky, for a debt of £3,500. Despite being in poor health at the time Henry Stone vigorously defended the order and with the support of his employees and all the other creditors put forward an alternative plan. Because of the insistence of the creditor, the judge, Mr Justice Valsey, had no alternative but to grant the order saying that "he did so with some regret". All production ceased and the company was wound up.
Frisky Cars (1959) Ltd.
In August 1959, Mr C. J. Wright a Wolverhampton business man with garage and haulage interests, bought the stock, jigs, tools, fixtures and fittings, along with the rights to manufacture and the trade name of Frisky from the Official Receiver. He formed a new company Frisky Cars (1959) Ltd. and he and E F Wright became directors. A Mr G A Stuart was made general Manager. The company announced that they hoped to restart production in September at Fallings Park with a target of 30 three-wheeled cars a week, also that a deluxe version would follow and that it was hoped the Friskysprint would be built later. Also announced was the intention to build a new production plant on a site in Penkridge but this never happened.
In September 1959 a new version of the Family Three was announced. The Frisky Family Three Mk2, dropped the MacPherson strut front suspension of the original car replacing it with the Dubonnet system used on the Friskysport. The chassis was lengthened to allow the engine to be moved back out of the cabin and it was now offered with the choice of either a or Excelsior Talisman twin engines giving the advantage of an Albion gearbox with a true reverse gear. Twin front seats replaced the original bench seats and production commenced in early 1960.
In October 1960, a new model, The Frisky Prince was shown at the Earls Court Motor Show. This was basically a re-bodied Family Three with front hung doors. Around the same time, a deal was done with a company called Middlesbrough Motorcraft and kits to build your own Frisky became available from them. Anthony Brindle, who had become joint managing director of Frisky Cars took part in a publicity run attempting to visit five European capitals, Paris, Luxembourg, Brussels, Amsterdam and London not spending more than £5 on fuel.
A four-wheel version of the Prince was announced for 1961 but never reached production.
Frisky Cars (1959) Ltd Sandwich Kent.
In February 1961 the company was purchased by Mr R Bird, the chairman of Petbow Ltd. of Sandwich, Kent. Petbow were one of the world's largest manufacturers of engine-driven power plant, including welding and generating equipment. All Frisky production and stocks were moved from the Meadows factory and a production line within Petbow's existing factory was set up.
Unfortunately the Frisky Prince, with strong competition from the BMC Mini, was not proving popular and chassis problems meant increasing time was spent rectifying customers' cars rather than producing new ones; despite valiant efforts by staff and management all work ceased towards the end of 1961 so bringing to an end the production of the Frisky car.
Frisky Spares and Service Ltd Queenborough Kent.
In 1962 a group of Petbow employees set up Frisky Spares and Service Ltd in Queenborough, Kent and all remaining stocks of Frisky parts were moved there from Petbow's works. This company mainly supplied spares for existing car owners. No real production took place, they would assemble a car for a customer if required, but preferred to provide a kit so customers could construct their own. They ceased trading around 1966.
Specifications.
a. The 324 cc Villiers 3T engine was also available as an option in these two cars.
The Frisky Register.
The Frisky Register was set up in 1978 by John Meadows, grandson of Henry Meadows, offering assistance and advice to owners to encourage the preservation and restoration of these unique cars.


A823 road

The A823 is a road in Scotland which goes from south of Crieff to Dunfermline. It joins onto the A823(M) and the A822 which runs to Crieff.


Mulliners (Birmingham)

Mulliners Limited of Birmingham was a British coachbuilding business in Bordesley Green, with factories in Bordesley Green and Cherrywood Roads. It made standard bodies for specialist car manufacturers. In the 19th century there were family ties with founders Mulliners of Northampton and the businesses of other Mulliner brothers and cousins but it became a quite separate business belonging to Herbert Mulliner.
A Northampton coach building family founded this business in Leamington Spa for the prosperous custom attracted to the newly fashionable spa town early in the 19th century. Direct ownership and control by Mulliner family interests was lost in 1903 when it was sold to Charles Cammell, which then merged into Cammell Laird. H H Mulliner ceased to be a main-board director of Cammell Laird in 1909. Mulliners Limited continued under various ownerships until the end of 1960, when Standard-Triumph International closed it down.
Herbert Hall Mulliner.
Henry Mulliner (1827-1887) of Leamington Spa, second son of Francis Mulliner (1789-1841) of Leamington Spa and Northampton, had six sons and six daughters. Henry published his book "Carriage Builder's Tour in America" in Leamington in 1883. Henry's Leamington Spa coach building business in Bedford Street and The Parade later had its carriage works in Packington Square and showroom in Chapel Street. Henry's second son Arthur Felton Mulliner (1859-1946) on Henry's death took over the family's Northampton business.
Henry's third son, Herbert Hall Mulliner (1861-1924), in the light of the decline in quality of the Spa's visitors moved in 1885 to Birmingham. Following his father's death in November 1887 and consequent rearrangement of family ownership he made his home in Rugby and took up other interests including in 1895 the manufacture of scientific instruments. In 1897 he converted the coach and carriage making part of his business to motor vehicle bodies and was then employing 200. Used as well as new carriages were sold from the Mulliner showrooms in Broad Street, Birmingham, and H H Mulliner was the first to offer insurance of his carriages against accidents.
Meanwhile continuing with scientific instruments he began producing in Birmingham with F. Wigley, tools for making the more complicated parts of ordnance and they formed companies: Mulliner Wigley Company Limited formed 1895 and Wigley-Mulliner Engineering Company Limited formed 1897. In April 1899 he married. The demands of the South African War led to major developments and the scene of operation was moved to Coventry to a site of some sixty acres. All the companies were amalgamated with Charles Cammell & Co Limited. In 1903 these companies merged into the newly blended armaments and shipbuilding business, Cammell Laird, of Birkenhead and H H Mulliner joined their main board. The ordnance operation became Coventry Ordnance Works and was separated out and jointly owned by Cammell Laird, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Glasgow and John Brown & Company of Clydebank with Mulliner as managing director, Wigley was responsible for the technical side.
A special article detailed the background of the origins of H H Mulliner's involvement in the ordnance works in a supplement to "The Times" 9 June 1909. The main workshop at the Coventry Ordnance works was claimed by "The Times" in 1909 to cover a greater area under its single (110 feet to the apex) roof than any other factory in the country. The travelling cranes were of 110 tons capacity. It was also notable for the arrangement that machines were brought to the work instead of the work to the machines and several machines could work on the same piece at the same time. The cost of the oil alone to fill the well to harden the largest guns approached £5,000.
In 1908-1909 there was a very public "Mulliner scandal" because H H Mulliner was shown to have embellished reports of German rearmament in the hope of improving their order book for large naval guns. He was asked to tender his resignation from Cammell Laird's board and it was accepted. However he received a settlement of £100,000 which was in addition to the payment of £142,566 for the shares on the merger of the businesses in 1903.
Among H H Mulliner's benefactions were gifts to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1913 and the purchase in 1920 and "complete modernisation at considerable expense" of Rainham Hall built 1729 in the London Borough of Havering as a setting for part of his outstanding collections of English furniture and English pottery.
Cammell Laird.
H H Mulliner's carriage building business, now part of Cammell Laird, built a few bodies for Daimler before it was decided the future lay in making relatively large production runs for motor companies that did not have their own facilities.
Calthorpe.
An early contract was gained from Calthorpe, then a booming company, leading to probably the entire output going to them and eventual close financial and corporate links between the two. Mulliners was taken over by Calthorpe Motor Company in 1917.
Mulliners Limited.
After Calthorpe failed in 1924, the managing director of Mulliners, Louis Antweiler, who was also on the Calthorpe managing board, arranged to buy the coachbuilding company which he renamed Mulliners Limited. He obtained contracts with Clyno and Austin for whom he made many Weymann style fabric bodies for the Austin 7. When the fashion for fabric bodies declined, the business with Austin went but was replaced by orders from Hillman, Humber, Standard and Lanchester.
Listed company.
In 1929, the company went public. The main business was now with Daimler and Lanchester, making the bodies for the cheaper range of cars with, confusingly, Arthur Mulliner of Northampton making the up-market models. Alvis was added to the list of customers.
During World War II they made bodies for military vehicles and troop carrying gliders.
Bus and coach body building.
Military contracts for aircraft and vehicles were given to the company with the advent of World War II. These included the supply of single-deck austerity bus bodies for Bedford OWB chassis. Duple Coachbuilders designed and built a few bus bodies after the war, but were up to capacity in building their Duple Vista coach body, so they sub-contracted their bus body building to Mulliner in 1947, built on the OWB successor, the OB chassis. Vauxhall dealers also ordered bodies direct to Mulliners and the body was built until 1950, of which many were exported, some to oil companies in the Middle East and South America. In the 1950s they secured large contracts for utilitarian bus bodies for the three armed services and government agencies (on the Bedford OB and later Bedford SB and Bedford SBG chassis) and also some for some municipal bus operators, such as Douglas, IOM who, in 1957, had bodies built on Guy Otter chassis, at least one surviving into preservation.
One of its last efforts was an adventurous coach body appearing on a modified Guy Warrior chassis , registered 647BKL, displayed at the 1958 Commercial Motor Show and now preserved. Later that year, when Standard-Triumph purchased the company, it sold the bus-building division to Marshall’s of Cambridge.
Standard-Triumph.
After the war, body-building for cars resumed with Aston Martin, Armstrong Siddeley and Triumph joining the list of customers. Standard-Triumph had, by then, a shortage of body-building capacity and this led them to buy the company in 1958, by which time Mulliners were building 700 car bodies each week.
Closure.
On 7 December 1960, a shock announcement by Standard-Triumph International, which was about to be sold to prosperous trucks and buses manufacturer Leyland Motors Limited, revealed that the factory would close. "Mulliners Limited, one of the oldest body firms in the motor trade, employs about 800 workers having recently laid off some 750 as redundant because of a shortage of orders". Their products would "continue to be made by other Midlands factories within the S-TI group".


A4063 road

The A4063 links the town of Bridgend with Cymer in Wales.
Settlements served by the route include:
Geohash Coordinates: gcjmmqdnqp2


Raw Striker

Raw Striker Ltd. (formerly Raw Engineering) is a kit car manufacturer established in 1999. In 2002 they acquired the rights to the Sylva Striker kit car, which they have since modified and on which the Fulcrum is based. It is based in Shelwick, just north of Hereford. In August 2010 the company was purchased by Callum and Jeremy Bulmer from the original owner Mel Coppock.
Cars.
Raw manufacture three models, which use very similar chassis and layout. The Striker, Fulcrum and Phoenix.
Striker.
The Striker can be bought as a self-build kit, or as a partly or fully built car.
The original Raw Striker was substantially the same as the Sylva Striker, with minor changes. It is a lightweight, spartan, sports car, with a FMR layout. There is a large range of suitable engines, though Raw themselves specialise in the Toyota 4AGE engine.
The Striker is a successful racing car with particular success in 750 Motor Club races. Additionally, there is a race series only for Strikers in Ireland and another single-make series is being launched by the 750 Motor Club for Raw Strikers.
Fulcrum.
The Raw Fulcrum was introduced in 2008 and is substantially the same car as the Striker. It has different bodywork without the open wings of the Striker. This closed bodywork improves aerodynamics significantly.
Phoenix.
The Raw Phoenix, the latest addition to the Raw range was originally designed as an aerodynamic enhancement for the Striker chassis. The Phoenix, a smooth lined retro styled full bodied car was added to the Raw range at the beginning of 2011 to complement the others in the range.
Dealers.
In addition to the Headquarters in Shelwick there are the following representatives:


Triumph Thunderbird (disambiguation)

Triumph Thunderbird may refer to a number of different motorcycles produced by Triumph Engineering and Triumph Motorcycles Ltd:


Triumph Tiger 900 (2020)

The Triumph Tiger 900 is a middle-weight dual-sport motorcycle introduced in 2020 by British manufacturer Triumph Motorcycles. While there was a motorcycle called the Triumph Tiger 900 (T400) manufactured from 1993 to 1998, this model is a completely new design intended as a successor of the Triumph Tiger 800 (which it has a similar appearance to).
The Tiger 900's upgrades included a higher-capacity engine, a larger 5.3-gallon fuel tank, and LED lighting. Additionally, major updates were made to the suspension, and new Brembo disc brakes were added. "Rider Magazine" described its "T-plane" triple crankshaft as "a first in the motorcycling world, near as we can tell". On the GT, GT Pro, Rally, and Rally Pro, there is also a TFT display, cornering anti-lock brake system, and cornering traction control system. The manufacturer's price for the base model is $12,500, for the GT Pro is $16,200, and for the Rally Pro is $16,700.
There are six variants: the base model, GT, GT Low, GT Pro, Rally, and Rally Pro.
The "street-oriented" GT models (the GT, GT Low and GT Pro) were intended to be "way more of a road bike", and were designed for "urban adventures" including long-distance touring; like the base model, they come with cast wheels. The GT Low (short for "Low Ride Height") has a specialized suspension and lower seat height. "ZigWheels" called it "beautifully balanced", although not "as adept as the Rally on a trail". The GT Pro's front wheel is .
The "dirt-oriented" Rally models (the Rally and Rally Pro) were intended to be "way more of an off-road bike"; they come with tubeless spoke wheels. They were described by "ZigWheels" as "the all terrain conquering variant of Triumph's middleweight adventure series", and a "massive upgrade" over the Tiger 800 XCx. The Rally's seat is higher than the GT. The manufacturer's claimed curb weight for the Rally Pro was . The Rally Pro's front wheel is .


Triumph Daytona 955i

The Triumph Daytona 955i is a sport bike manufactured by Triumph from 1997 to 2006. It was powered by a liquid cooled, inline three four stroke engine. The bike was launched in 1997 as the Triumph T595 Daytona and renamed Triumph Daytona 955i in 1999.
History.
The Triumph Daytona T595 was introduced in 1997 in an attempt by Triumph to tap into the sports bike market. Despite the T595 name, the bike featured a 955 cc displacement in-line three-cylinder engine designed in part by Lotus. Along with the other triple-cylinder Triumphs, the Daytona helped to establish the newly managed manufacturer and its distinctive and unique three-cylinder motorcycles.
The T595-model name concatenated the new engine series "T5" and the first two numbers of the "955 cc" displacement. In 1999 the bike was renamed 955i because the T595 model name gave the impression that the bike's engine displaced 595 cc.
Large-scale changes were made in 2001, with a complete restyling of the bodywork by designer Gareth Davies, a newly designed engine raising the horsepower to 149 with internal performance upgrades included Forged steel crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods, and forged aluminium pistons. Focussed on reducing weight and better handling, the 2001 955i used a more common double-sided swing arm (DSSA) as opposed to the single-sided swing arm (SSSA) of the previous Daytonas. The DSSA version weighs less than the SSSA due to the lighter weight swing arm, and it is argued that the DSSA version handles better than the SSSA as it has less flex in the swing arm. The 2001+ 955i version had a more compact and advanced Sagem MC1000 electronic engine management system (2-plug) instead of the original Sagem MC2000 controller (1-plug).
In 2002, a limited-production Centennial Edition (CE) Daytona 955i was offered. The 955i CE had several noteworthy additions to and differences from the non-CE '02 DSSA Daytona 955i:
In 2002 a limited-production Special Edition (SE) Daytona 955i was offered. The 955i SE model similar to the CE, except with red body work and the deletion of the centennial logos.
In 2004, some minor changes were made including the deletion of the Union Jack logos.
In 2005 the bodywork was revised to include a horizontally-split headlamp, a more streamlined upper fairing, and a reduced tail 'hump'. The frame was also painted black instead of the silver of all previous models. The fuel-injection system was changed from a bypass-regulated-rail to a returnless-rail system.


B roads in Zone 9 of the Great Britain numbering scheme

B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind the numbers allocated.


A426 road

The A426 road is a road in England which runs from the city of Leicester to the market town of Southam in Warwickshire via the towns of Lutterworth and Rugby.
History.
Until the M1 motorway was completed in the 1960s this route formed the main route between Rugby and Leicester, now much quieter as all but local traffic uses the motorway. However, the local traffic has increased as Magna Park, a prominent East Midlands warehouse facility, has developed close to Lutterworth. Broughton Astley, a couple of miles north-west of Dunton Bassett and other local villages can often become congested with goods vehicles en route between Magna Park, the M1 motorway and the M6 Motorway. At rush hours the road can become gridlocked and reduced to less than 40 mph, particularly as agricultural traffic frequently uses the stretch. For this reason, journeys between Blaby and Rugby during rush hour can take much longer than anticipated.
The A426 crosses the route of the former A45 in Dunchurch, this would have formed one of the main routes between the Midlands and South East. Dunchurch is now bypassed to the South by the M45 motorway, and the A426 no longer meets the A45
Route.
The A426 starts on the Leicester Inner Ring Road, heading South through the suburbs of the City, crossing the Outer Ring Road and bypassing the village of Blaby. It crosses over the M1 which it runs parallel to for the next or so. The road becomes rural in nature until entering the small town of Lutterworth and crossing the A4303 Southern Bypass. A further south and it crosses the A5 Watling Street at a roundabout and eventually the M6 junction 1. It starts a descent into Rugby as a dual carriageway with 5 local access roundabouts. Approaching the Town Centre the road becomes single carriageway again and crosses under the West Coast Main Line. It passes the main Town Centre to the West and heads Southwards out of the town towards Dunchurch after which it passes over the M45 and once again becomes a rural road for its final length to terminate on the A423 Southam bypass.
Former routes.
The A426, compared to other routes is a relatively untouched road, with only a single bypass:
Bus corridor.
A controversial decision to allow a bus corridor to be constructed on the A426 from Blaby into Leicester was given the go ahead despite heavy local opposition.


A3054 road

The A3054 is an A-Class Road on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. It forms the Northern half of the "circular" around-the-Island A-class loop, the southern half being the A3055. It connects Newport and Ryde, the two largest towns on the Island, as well as continuing to West Wight.
Because of the road's relatively short length, there are no confirmatory signs with distances, although on a few direction signs at junctions there are distances to the next town. The final destination of the road (Freshwater/Totland or Ryde), in common with most UK roads, is not always signed along the whole length of the route.


Mary Bowers (journalist)

Mary Bowers is a journalist for "The Times" newspaper in the United Kingdom. She was seriously injured and left with severe brain damage after being crushed by a lorry on 4 November 2011, and her case became the focal point for "The Times" Cities Fit For Cycling campaign.
Career.
Born in 1984, Bowers attended Queens' College, Cambridge, where she was editor of the Varsity student newspaper. After she attained a degree in History, she studied journalism as an O'Hara-Forster scholar at Columbia University, New York.
Bowers began her career as a freelance journalist, with articles in "The Guardian" and "The Observer". She then became a news and multimedia reporter for The Times of India in Delhi. She joined The Times as a graduate trainee in September 2009, and spent some time as a freelance researcher on the Comment and Foreign desks. In August 2011, she was promoted to a news reporter and feature writer. Some of her more noted articles are about the London riots and the Julian Assange extradition hearings, as well as covering major music festivals such as Bestival, Latitude, and the Glastonbury Festival.
Bowers also had a keen interest in folk music, and performed with a guitar as part of Mary Bowers & The Wrong Collective, as well as playing as a solo musician at smaller folk music events in London.
Incident.
At 09.30 on 4 November 2011, Bowers was cycling to work at the News International building. from her workplace, on Dock Street, a Lynch Haulage aggregate lorry pulled up behind her. The driver, Petre Beiu, was having a hands-free phone conversation at the time, and drove over her twice after forgetting to put the handbrake on.
Emergency services arrived at the scene within three minutes of the incident, and Bowers was still conscious at the time. However, she soon fell into a coma as a result of a severe brain injury, two severely broken legs, a severed artery, a punctured lung, a broken arm and a broken pelvis.
Bowers is now in a minimally conscious state and will spend the rest of her life in a care home.
Beiu was found guilty by a jury of careless driving, and was fined £2,700 and banned from driving for eight months.


Archer (automobile)

The Archer was a British cyclecar designed by M Archer and made in 1920.
It was powered by a two-cylinder JAP engine rated at 8/10 hp. The two seats were placed one behind the other.
The designer was more famous as the inventor of a trench mortar.


Rudge Ulster

The Rudge Ulster was a British motorcycle manufactured by Rudge-Whitworth from 1929 until the outbreak of World War II.
Development.
Rudge-Whitworth's last production racing motorcycle was named after Graham Walker's 1928 race win in the Ulster Grand Prix, only the second time a road race had been won at over . Graham was the father of racing commentator Murray Walker and was made Rudge Sales Manager in 1929. His win was particularly welcome as he had been unlucky in the Isle of Man TT on the same motorcycle two months earlier, when he narrowly lost the Senior TT race due to oil flow problems on the last lap.
Originally developed as a racing prototype, the production model was essentially a race replica. Various modifications and improvements were made over the ten years of production. Early models had a 'pent roof' four-valve head, with two pairs of valves operating on parallel slopes like a 'pitched roof', which was replaced in 1932 with a radial four-valve head and an option of a foot-operated gear change. This foot pedal operated both the front and rear brakes, with a hand lever also operating the front brake. With a top speed of over , the Rudge Ulster was advertised as "probably the fastest 500cc motorcycle in production".
1933 was the era of the Great Depression and Rudge, struggling to make the sales needed to further develop the Ulster, went into receivership. In 1936 EMI (previously the Gramophone Company Ltd. and maker of HMV records), who were a major creditor, took over and resurrected the Rudge Ulster and moved production to their works in Hayes, Middlesex in 1937. The valve gear, which had always been exposed to the elements was sorted out in 1937, when a cast alloy cover was added - although the bronze cylinder head remained until it was replaced with a light alloy example in 1939. Production ended with the outbreak of the Second World War, when EMI had to put all their resources into the manufacture of Radar and electronic equipment for the war effort. From the days of the Gramophone Company, EMI, had had a policy of diversifying productions into other fields, like typewriters, as a strategy to avoid downturns and recessions.
Racing success.
As well as Walker's 1928 Ulster Grand Prix win, in the same year Ernie Nott secured the world two-hour record at over on the Rudge and set further records in 1929. In 1930, under the guidance of team boss George Hack, Nott, Walker, Smith and Wal Handley were on Rudge 500 cc motorcycles for the Isle of Man TT Senior race, Handley winning at a record speed of with Graham Walker coming second, Smith 6th and Nott 7th, winning the Team Prize for Rudge.