George Dick (footballer)

 George White Dick (1921–1960) was a Scottish Guardsman, B.A.O.R. cruiserweight boxing champion, and professional football player and manager.
After leaving the army, while making up his mind whether to take a letter of recommendation to a London club, Dick worked as a waiter in Blackpool. He asked Joe Smith, Blackpool F.C. manager, for a trial in August 1946, and within ten minutes was signed on. He played in the 1948 FA Cup Final for Blackpool against Manchester United. He also wrote training manuals and was one of the first qualified FA coaches. He managed Galatasaray in Turkey on two occasions. His life was cut short when he was killed in a road accident in 1960.
Football career.
Playing.
Dick began his professional career in 1946 with Blackpool. He made his debut for the club in their tenth league game of the 1946–47 campaign, against Arsenal at Bloomfield Road on 5 October 1946. Wearing the number 8 shirt, he scored the hosts' second goal (Stan Mortensen scored the first).
Dick went on to make a further 30 league and one FA Cup appearances that season. He scored eleven goals in the league, and finished second-top scorer behind Mortensen. Aside from his debut goal, his other strikes came against Manchester United (home, 3–1, 19 October); Stoke City (away, 1–4, 7 December); Huddersfield Town (home, 2–1, 28 December); Derby County (home, 2–1, 1 February 1947); Preston North End (two goals) (home, 4–0, 15 February); Chelsea (two goals) (away, 4–1, 8 March); and Sheffield United (two goals) (home, 4–2, 15 March).
In the 1947–48 season, Dick made sixteen league appearances, scoring two goals. Both goals came in a 5–0 victory over Everton at the seaside on 3 January 1948, which was George Farrow's last game for Blackpool. He also played in each of Blackpool's six FA Cup ties, including their unsuccessful appearance in the final against Manchester United, in what proved to be his final game for the club. He scored one of their goals in the 4–0 victory over Leeds United in the third round.
In August 1948, Dick was sold to West Ham for £7,000. He remained with "the Hammers" for a season, at the end of which he moved north to sign for Carlisle United. Two years later, in October 1951, he joined Stockport County for a short spell.
In late 1951 he signed for Workington. He retired, as captain, from the playing side of the game two years later.
Coaching.
Ghent (Belgium), U.S. Army (Germany), Galatasaray, B.1909 (Denmark)
1953–55 July 1953 Royal Racing Club de Ghent (Belgium)
1956 U.S. army coach based in Germany, 5 August travelled for interview for position with Galatasaray
1957 Boldklubben.1909 Denmark
1958–59 Galatasaray
1959–60 Boldklubben 1909 Denmark, won championship Danish Champions 1959


Roundabout Appreciation Society

The Roundabout Appreciation Society (UKRAS) is a group of people in the United Kingdom that discuss traffic roundabouts. The main topic of discussion is the architecture of the roundabouts, including their design and safety features. Other topics have included the approaches people take when driving towards and around a roundabout, and the wildlife present on some of the larger junctions. Their aim is to promote safe driving and consideration towards other road users.
The society was formed by Kevin Beresford after the success of a calendar that showed photographs of 12 roundabouts in Redditch – it sold 100,000 worldwide.


BSA Model E

The BSA Model E was a British V-twin motorcycle manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at their factory in Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham from 1919. It was often used with the matching BSA sidecar.
Development.
After having been turned over to weapons production for World War I, BSA returned to producing motorcycles again which were sold as affordable with reasonable performance for the average user. BSA stressed the reliability of their machines, the availability of spares and dealer support. The BSA Model E was the first of a series of successful V-twins based around the reliable 770cc side valve engine with cylinders at an angle of 50 degrees. The modest 6hp produced by the engine was able to provide a top speed of 55mph and it had BSA's own design of three speed gearbox with the drive chain enclosed in an aluminium casing. There was an increased demand for affordable transport after the end of the war and the Model E became popular with BSA's matching green and cream painted sidecar option.
Designed for easy servicing the valves were interchangeable and had quickly adjustable tappets. The constant-loss oil pump was supplemented by a hand-operated pump, and the wheels were also quickly detachable and the same size so that they were interchangeable.
Although the BSA Model E was produced until 1924, it had been largely replaced by the more powerful 986cc Model F in 1922, which continued in production as the BSA Model G, with continual modifications, until just after the outbreak of World War II.
Three-wheeled taxi.
Between 1920 and 1925 BSA produced a 100 small three-wheeled taxi cabs using the Model E 770cc V twin engine.
Media appearances.
A 1919 BSA Model E complete with matching sidecar featured in a car chase in the 1965 movie "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines", where it was ridden by lead actor Stuart Whitman who played American cowboy Orvil Newton.


List of AMC motorcycles

This is a partial list of motorcycle models produced by the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) from its foundation in 1938 to incorporations as Norton-Villiers-Triumph. Many models were produced to the same specification under the badge names of AJS and Matchless.


Triumph Scrambler

The Triumph Scrambler is a British motorcycle made by Triumph Motorcycles. Launched in 2006, it was the last Triumph styled by designer John Mockett, who had begun working with the small factory team at Triumph in 1989, rationalising existing models based on a very successful modular design plan, including the concept and styling of the unfaired Trident triples for their 1990 IFMA launch. Mockett subsequently served as principal stylist for most of the bikes introduced up to 2006.
Development.
The Scrambler was designed as a Bonneville with off road styling and limited off road capability.
The TR6C Trophy Special was the major influence on the new Scrambler, and the new bike shared the same key features – most obviously including the high level stacked twin exhausts and crossover exhaust headers, though Triumph had to swap sides (from left to right) with the stacked pipes because the battery box got in the way for running them on the left hand side.
The Scrambler also featured a high, wide handlebar, a higher seat position, twin chromed Kayaba rear shock absorbers (with increased 106 mm travel), 41 mm Kayaba front forks with 120 mm travel and rubber fork gaiters, a small single headlight with a simple speedo, and chunky, knobbly Bridgestone tyres on the thin 36-spoke 19 x 2.5-inch front wheel and the 40-spoke 17 x 3.5-inch rear wheel.
A whole range of Triumph Factory accessories was designed for the Scrambler, including a skid plate to protect the underneath of the engine, engine bars, a headlamp grille, number boards for the sides, an optional tachometer on early models (twin side by side speedometer and tachometer became standard from 2010 model year), a handlebar brace and pad, and even a single seat with fixed rear luggage rack behind. A popular aftermarket addition is a two-into-one performance exhaust system from Arrow.
The engine was the 865 cc parallel twin from the Bonneville (but using the 270° crank from the America/Speedmaster cruiser models) with twin carburetors, detuned to boost torque at low engine speeds, with peak power at 7,000 rpm, and maximum torque of available at 5,000  rpm. Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection with SAI was introduced in 2008 (2009 in the USA) necessitating the fitting of a larger fuel tank that housed the new pump unit. Throttle bodies were disguised to look like carburetors to maintain the Scrambler’s retro looks.


British Motor Holdings

British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following the BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and the Pressed Steel Company in that year.
Thirteen months later, on 17 January 1968, under direct pressure from its national government, BMH merged with (Standard-Triumph, Rover and Alvis cars, Leyland trucks and buses, Alvis fighting vehicles) to form British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
History.
1964 The Wilson government takes control.
The Wilson Labour Government (1964–1970) came to power at a time when British manufacturing industry was in decline and decided that the remedy was to promote more mergers, particularly in the motor industry. Chrysler was already buying into the Rootes Group, Leyland Motors had acquired Standard Triumph in 1961 (and would buy Rover in 1967) and had become a major automotive force. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) was suffering a dramatic drop in its share of the home market. Tony Benn, appointed Minister of Technology in July 1966, brought pressure to bear on the industry and one result was BMH's merger with Leyland to form British Leyland.
Pressed Steel.
In 1965 BMC had purchased Pressed Steel, Britain's major car body manufacturer, and in the third quarter of 1966 it purchased Jaguar Cars. Three months later, to recognise the changed nature of their business, the company name was changed to British Motor (Holdings) Limited on 14 December 1966.
Jaguar.
From the perspective of Jaguar, the sale to BMC which became firm in September 1966 (when BMC took control of Jaguar) came about for two principal reasons; First, Sir William Lyons, the managing director and co-founder of the company, saw the merger as the best way for Jaguar to ensure supplies of bodies from Pressed Steel, which supplied the company and was now owned by BMC. Second, Lyons, by now 65 and without his son John, who had been killed driving to Le Mans in 1955, did not have a long term succession plan. From the perspective of the BMC, a takeover of Jaguar was attractive because it was successful in the US market, and was thereby profitable at a time when BMC lacked the funds to invest sufficiently in modern production facilities or new models.
At the annual statement to shareholders for 1967, BMH chairman Sir George Harriman reported on Group Overseas Operations that the company had delivered to world markets (i.e. exported) 313,790 cars, commercial vehicles and tractors, including 72,049 manufactured overseas.
The marques.
British Motor Holdings inherited a plethora of British automotive marques but by now they were the (famously) badge-engineered unified range of one manufacturer incorporating three sports cars, MGB, MG Midget / Austin-Healey Sprite, Austin Healey 3000 plus Jaguar saloons and sports car and its badge-engineered Daimlers, Coventry Climax industrial engines and Guy trucks.
Estimated production of cars and commercial vehicles in the UK 1965.
In 1965, the year prior to the merger, BMC and Leyland's annual production had reached one million vehicles per annum. By contrast, Jaguar's total production in 1966 was 15,690 vehicles.
Merger with Leyland.
On 17 January 1968 BMH merged with the smaller prosperous Leyland Motors to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) on a one-for-one share exchange, valuing BMH at £201 million. BMH had reported a £3.4 million loss for 1966/7.


Norton Dominator

The Dominator is a twin cylinder motorcycle developed by Norton to compete against the Triumph Speed Twin. The original Dominator was designed in 1947 and 1948 by Bert Hopwood, who had been on the Speed Twin design team at Triumph.
Available for sale from mid 1949, this design set the pattern for Norton twins for the next 30 years.
Model 7.
The first Dominator, the Model 7, had a 497 cc parallel twin engine with iron cylinders and cylinder head and a Lucas K2F magneto. The crankshaft was of 360-degree layout with two main bearings. A single camshaft at the front of the engine was driven by gears and chain. The rocker box was integral with the head, so there were fewer gasket faces to leak and less valve noise. The engine was a long stroke design with bore and stroke and mild tuning, resulting in more torque low down. For the first few years a plunger frame was used, but in 1953 the Model 7 was upgraded with a single downtube swinging arm frame, 19-inch front wheel and 'pear shaped' silencers, still known as a Model 7.
The Model 7 continued in production through to 1955 and was often used with a sidecar, which could not be fitted to the later Featherbed frame Dominators.
Model 77.
The first Model 77 was a rigid-framed telescopic-forked Dominator version of 500 cc produced from 1950, and supplied to the Australian market only. This used the all-iron Dominator 500 cc twin engine, with an oil pressure gauge in the ES2 style but flat-bottomed petrol tank. About 240 were made, from 1950 to 1952.
The 596 cc Model 77 Dominator was introduced in late 1956. Essentially the cycle parts of the ES2 and a 600 cc Dominator 99 engine, it was in production at the same time as the Dominator 99 as a sidecar motorcycle but was dropped from production after 1957, when sidecar Featherbeds were introduced.
Featherbed frames.
Duplex cradle frames known as 'featherbed' were introduced in two types; the initial design was discontinued from 1960, becoming known as "wideline" when followed by an updated-version introduced during the 1960 model year (known as slimline) until eventual discontinuation circa 1970 on the low-specification 650 cc Norton Mercury.
Model 88.
The Featherbed frame was first designed and raced by the McCandless brothers in Ireland with the design bought by The Norton Motorcycle company who had the frames made by the Reynolds company because the Norton works did not have the necessary welding capacity for its manufacture.
The Featherbed frame led to the Model 88 Dominator, also called the Dominator De Luxe, which used the same 497 cc engine and was developed in 1951. Originally developed for export it was sold on the home market from 1953. The 88 suffered from oil leaks from the primary chain case but it was the outdated and inefficient Norton works that resulted in quality control problems for the 200 Model 88's produced each week.
Model 99.
The 597cc featherbed framed Model 99 Dominator was introduced in september 1955, as a larger capacity version alongside the 500 cc Model 88 version. Due to the increased engine capacity, the 99 had a power output of 31 bhp, partly due also to a higher compression ratio possible with the alloy head introduced a year earlier. Full width alloy hubs with improved brakes had also been introduced a year earlier, preparatory for the capacity increase from 500 cc to 600 cc
Slimline Featherbed frames from 1960.
From 1960 model year, the featherbed frame for all Dominators was altered so that the frame tubes in front of the seat were narrower, for improved rider comfort. The seats and tanks and indeed the whole styling of the Dominator was redesigned to suit. A large metal tank badge completed the look, along with some two-toned paint schemes. And some optional enclosed body styling on the "Deluxe" Models of the 88 and 99, along the lines of the 'bathtub' Triumph models.
1960 Manxman 650 and 1961 Dominator 650SS.
A new 650 cc model was added to the lineup late in 1960. The frame was altered so that the top rails were closer together at the front of the seat area to create what became known as the 'slimline' featherbed. A 650 cc engine was installed to create the Norton Manxman. First built from 7 November 1960 to September 1961, these machines were a Limited Edition for the USA only, in custom-cruiser style - with high handlebars, all polychromatic blue paint and bright red seat with white piping round the edge. In September 1961 the 650SS was introduced. It had USA cafe bar style and twin carburettors. The SS stood for Sport Special and the 600 cc models were discontinued to concentrate on production of the 650SS, which quickly earned a reputation as the "best of the Dommies".
Norton Atlas 745 cc.
A development of the Dominator with enlarged engine was available from 1962.
Racing.
Engineer Doug Hele had joined the Norton factory in 1956 under parent company AMC – instead of combining the two race shops, the AJS/Matchless facility was closed to Grand Prix development, and Hele was briefed to secretly develop an engine intended to ultimately compete at Daytona under AMA race regulations, requiring machines to be based on production roadster designs with a compression ratio no greater than 8.5:1, and using a kick starter mechanism.
Dennis Greenfield and Fred Swift won the 500 cc class in the Thruxton 500 event for road-legal production machines in 1960.
Norton briefly used race-tuned Dominators from circa 1960, but they were still outclassed by the Manx Norton which was used for general purpose racing. The highly developed 500 cc Dominator engine intended as a successor produced and revved to 8,000 rpm. The overall weight was less than the Manx, when mounted in a special lightweight-frame (dubbed "lowboy"), creating the factory "Domiracer".
In the 1961 Isle of Man TT Tom Phillis took the bike to third place and lapped at over , a first for a pushrod engine and a first for any twin. Norton abandoned the Domiracer project a year later when the Bracebridge Street race shop closed and the Domiracer and factory spares were sold to Paul Dunstall, who continued with development and began producing Norton performance parts, eventually selling complete Dunstall Norton bikes to customers including Steve McQueen.


A8 road (Scotland)

The A8 is a major road in Scotland, connecting Edinburgh to Greenock via Glasgow. Its importance diminished following the construction of the M8 motorway which also covers the route between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Route and relationship to M8.
Edinburgh.
The A8 begins at the West End of Edinburgh, in the New Town. The road originally also included Princes Street, but this stretch was declassified, as Princes Street is no longer open to all traffic.
The road continues westwards into the suburbs of the city passing Murrayfield and Corstorphine, often with an accompanying bus lane. Only once the road reaches the A720 City Bypass does it become a primary route, leading out past the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston, and Edinburgh Airport.
At Newbridge, the A8 meets the start of the M8 and M9 motorways. From here the A8 is interrupted; it has been renumbered A89 until Bathgate, A7066 to Whitburn and then B7066 Harthill, until it resumes at Newhouse.
Glasgow.
From Newhouse it runs parallel to the M8. Until recently there was no road of motorway standard between Newhouse and Baillieston in the eastern suburbs of Glasgow, and the A8 still carried all through traffic here, having been progressively upgraded to meet demand. However it was finally replaced in 2017 by the last section of the M8. It is now the principal non-motorway access between the Eurocentral business park and the settlements of Chapelhall and Calderbank, south of Airdrie.
Just prior to Junction 8 of the M8 it diverges from the motorway, and meets the A89 at Bargeddie while co-existing as the interchange for the M8 and M73. At a roundabout near Swinton it briefly merges with the A89 and heads towards central Glasgow. The A8 now passes through suburban Garrowhill, Barlanark, Wellhouse, Springboig, Cranhill, Carntyne as Edinburgh Road - much of which is a two/three-lane dual-carriageway, but an urban restriction is still applied - and Haghill and Dennistoun as Alexandra Parade into the city centre at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Glasgow Cathedral, where it follows the High Street and then the Saltmarket running north–south - meeting the A89 (Gallowgate) and the A749 (London Road) at Glasgow Cross. It splits for the complex one-way system, recombining before crossing the Clyde near The Gorbals, where it meets the end of the A74.
From there the A8 leads out of town through Tradeston, Kingston (passing under the M8's Kingston Bridge) Kinning Park, Cessnock and Ibrox as Paisley Road West, changing to Edmiston Drive past Ibrox Stadium, then through Drumoyne and Shieldhall as Shieldhall Road, Braehead as Renfrew Road and the town centre of Renfrew as Glasgow Road, Glebe Street and Inchinnan Road, passing to the rear of Glasgow Airport at Inchinnan, crossing over the M8 east of Bishopton and meeting it again at the motorway's western end, Junction 31 between Bishopton and Langbank.
The A8 becomes the primary route again and takes traffic through Port Glasgow. Its terminus is in Greenock at a large roundabout with the A78 road and the A770 to Gourock, which was the former terminus of the A8.
Euroroute designations.
Three short stretches of the A8 are part of three different Euroroutes, as follows:


Cosmos Engineering

Cosmos Engineering was a company that manufactured aero-engines in a factory in Fishponds, Bristol during World War I. Sir Roy Fedden, the company's principal designer, developed the 14-cylinder radial Mercury engine during this period. The company was taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1920.
Company origins.
In 1918 the Anglo-American company Cosmos bought Straker-Squire (also known as Brazil Straker), a car and bus manufacturing firm which had branched out into aircraft engine repair and manufacture. This began by first reconditioning, then substantially redesigning and re-manufacturing Curtiss OX-5 engines. Due to the quality of this work, they were the only company permitted to manufacture Rolls-Royce aircraft engines under licence, building Hawk and Falcon engines, major components for the Eagle engine and also 600 Renault 80hp 8Ca engines. Over 1,500 engines were produced in total. The company was one of the first to be brought under Admiralty control, and Fedden and his draughtsman Leonard Butler designed two engines during the war; the 14-cylinder Mercury and the larger, 9-cylinder Jupiter.
Aero-engine range.
In 1919 the range consisted of the 450 hp Jupiter, the 300 hp Mercury and the smaller 100 hp Lucifer. On 9 April 1919 a Bristol Scout F fitted with a Mercury engine set two British records at Farnborough achieving the time to 10,000 ft and 20,000 ft records.
Car production.
Despite selling off the engineering side of Brazil Straker, which continued to successfully build cars, Cosmos Engineering also produced a small number of Fedden-designed cars. The Cosmos 10.5 of 1919, featured an air cooled 3cyl radial layout 994cc engine of 16 hp and was significantly innovative for its time. Only a limited number were made, and it was followed up by the larger 10.5 CAR which never got beyond prototype stage.
Fate.
Soon afterwards the company went into liquidation and was taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1920. Operations then moved to a former flying school located on the northern edge of Filton Aerodrome. The factory on Lodge Causeway was subsequently taken over by Parnall & Sons for shop and ship fitting and aircraft component manufacturing.


Ariel Square Four

The Square Four is a motorcycle produced by Ariel between 1931 and 1959, designed by Edward Turner, who devised the Square Four engine in 1928. At this time he was looking for work, showing drawings of his engine design to motorcycle manufacturers. The early engine with "two transverse crankshafts" was essentially a pair of 'across frame' OHC parallel twins joined by their geared central flywheels, with a four-cylinder block (or "Monobloc") and single head. The idea for the engine was rejected by BSA, but adopted by Ariel. Thus it became the Ariel Square Four.
In 1966 Phil Vincent wrote in "Motor Cycle": "Alas, in 1959 the Square Four went out of production, a victim of the modern trend towards small, high-revving modern power units. The demand had tailed off a bit, and with reduced output, the price would have had to be hoisted excessively high. At the time it was approaching £350—out of reach of all but a few of the potential buyers."
A further development was the Healey 1000/4 based on an updated Square Four, produced between 1971 and 1977.
4F (1931–1936).
The first Ariel Square Four 4F was shown at the Olympia Motorcycle Show in 1930, in chain driven overhead-camshaft 500 cc form. Early Square Fours used a hand-change, four-speed Burman gearbox.
In 1932, the cylinder bores were enlarged by 5 mm to give a capacity of 601 cc, specifically to accommodate owners who wanted a sidecar. This model was used for the Maudes Trophy test, covering in 700 minutes, followed by a timed lap of . (In 1923 a Mr George Pettyt, of Maudes Motor Mart, had donated a "challenge trophy" for the ACU to award each year for the most meritorious, observed endurance test for motorcycles, known as the Maudes Trophy).
4G (1936–1949).
The "Cammy" engine gained a reputation for overheating the rear cylinder heads, so in 1936 the engine was completely redesigned, emerging as the 1937 OHV 995 cc model 4G. In 1939 Ariel's patented Anstey-link plunger rear suspension became an option.
In 1946, the plunger rear was available again, and oil damped telescopic front forks replaced the previous girder type.
Mark I (1949–1953).
In 1949, the Ariel Square Four Mark I saw the cast-iron cylinder head and barrel replaced by alloy head and barrel. This saved about in weight. The 1949 machine weighed around dry, produced at 5,500 rpm. The Mark I was capable of 90 mph-plus.
Mark II (1953–1959).
In 1953, the 'four pipe' 997 cc Ariel Square Four Mk II was released, with separate barrels, a re-designed cylinder head with four separate exhaust pipes from two cast-aluminium manifolds and a rocker-box combined with the inlet manifold. A redesigned frame provided clearance for the high-mounted, tall, car-type, SU carburettor. This Square Four was capable of . It weighed and cost £336.16.6.
In 1954, Ariel built prototypes of a Mk3 with Earles forks, but the model was never put into production.
In 1959, Square Four production, along with that of all other Ariel four-stroke models, ceased.


List of numbered roads in the British Isles

This is a list of numbered roads in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


Jack Sangster

John Young Sangster (29 May 1896 – 26 March 1977, more commonly known as Jack Sangster) was a British industrialist and philanthropist. He was an important figure in the British motorcycle industry, where he was involved with Ariel, BSA and Triumph.
Early life.
Sangster was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England. He was the second of three sons of Charles Thomas Brock Sangster, an engineer and the owner of Cycle Components Ltd, which became known as the motorcycle brand Ariel in 1902.
After his education at Hurstpierpoint College, Sussex, Sangster started an engineering apprenticeship. It was interrupted by the First World War, in which Sangster served with the City of Birmingham battalion of the 14th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. His elder brother Fredrick Charles Sangster was killed in action in 1916.
Career.
In 1918 Sangster joined the Cycle Components Manufacturing Company, where his father was managing director. He designed a small low-cost car that the company began manufacturing. The car's design was later sold to the Rover Company in Coventry, and Sangster joined Rover to manage the production of the car which became the Rover 8.
In 1923 Sangster returned to his father's company, and by 1930 was joint managing director with him. In 1932 Cycle Components went bankrupt. Sangster bought most of the company's assets and started a new company, Ariel Motors, which he developed with some of CC's former designers and engineers, including Val Page and Bert Hopwood, and later Edward Turner.
Sangster developed a motorcycle with a 4 hp White and Poppe engine which proved extremely successful. He added 586 cc and 992 cc machines to the company's line, setting the standard for competitions at the time.
In 1936 Sangster bought the financially struggling Triumph Cycles company renamed it Triumph Engineering Co., and brought in Edward Turner from Ariel to improve its product range. The Triumph Speed Twin, with a parallel-twin engine designed by Turner, was introduced in 1938, and was followed by a series of successful Triumph motorcycles until the early 1980s.
In 1944 Sangster sold Ariel to the BSA company. In 1951 he sold Triumph to BSA for £2.5 million, a good return on his initial £50,000 investment in1936.
Sangster joined the board of BSA following their acquisition of Triumph. He became chairman of BSA in 1956, after a series of boardroom battles which ousted the previous chairman, Sir Bernard Docker. He appointed Turner as Chief Executive of the Automotive Division (comprising BSA, Ariel, Triumph, Daimler, and Carbodies, makers of London taxicabs). Sangster retired as chairman of BSA in 1961.
He took in two London evacuees, Gordon and Jean Rookledge, in 1944. He declined a peerage in 1962.
Sangster died in Belgravia, London, from cancer on 26 March 1977.


BSA Victor Trail 250


Ivy (motorcycles)

Ivy was a motorcycle manufacturer between 1907 and 1934 in Birmingham, England. It was run by various brothers from the Newman family. Ivy built about 6,000 motorcycles of various models. Most used two-stroke engines made by either J.A.P. or Precision, but there were also 225cc and 296cc engines designed and manufactured by Ivy. The company also made its own suspension forks, carburettors and sidecars.
The company was heavily involved in motorcycle racing, with several of the Newman brothers entering races themselves. The race bikes were kept as standard wherever possible to demonstrate the build quality and specification of the production machines. The Newman brothers believed that this was the best way to prove their designs and advertise their products. H. C. Newman was especially successful, winning many local events and finishing well in the Isle of Man TT races several times.
Models.
Various different models were made during the company's existence. These included:
Designed to be a cheap and reliable vehicle for getting around town. Powered by the Ivy engine.
References:


British Superbike Championship

The British Superbike Championship (BSB), currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom, and was once widely acknowledged as the premier domestic superbike racing series in the world.
The championship is managed and organised by MotorSport Vision, who also own many of the circuits the series meets at. The Series and Race Director is Stuart Higgs, with event marshals provided by the Racesafe Marshals Association.
The series typically races over twelve rounds from April to October, with the series concluding in a three-round 'Showdown,' where the top six riders are awarded points based on their podium finishes from the previous nine rounds and then compete over three rounds and seven races for the title. The Showdown format was introduced in 2010 in order to prevent a rider from making a runaway victory in the championship.
From 2008, the championship followed the Superbike World Championship in appointing Pirelli as the single control tyre supplier.
History.
The British Superbike Championship began in 1988, with bikes conforming to 750cc TT Formula I regulations, which the championship used through to 1993, when Superbike regulations were adopted.
Niall Mackenzie was the most successful rider of the 1990s, with three titles. Other past champions include Neil Hodgson, Australian Troy Bayliss and Steve Hislop. Chris 'the Stalker' Walker has finished as runner up 4 times. Many riders from the series have gone on to race in the Superbike World Championship or MotoGP.
The 2006 British Superbike Championship was won by Ryuichi Kiyonari, in what was one of the most exciting climaxes to a British Superbike season in years. Kiyonari fought off the challenge of Ducati powered Leon Haslam and Gregorio Lavilla at the final round in Brands Hatch in front of a capacity crowd and a reported 1.5 million live TV viewers, with Kiyonari and Haslam each winning one race, and Lavilla crashing and having an engine problem in both races.
The 2009 British Superbike Championship was mainly dominated by the Yamaha of Leon Camier who set a new record of 14 race wins in a season at event eight of twelve, such was his domination of the championship, beating the previous record of 13 by Niall Mackenzie in the 1997 season. Guintoli, Brookes and Richards all missed races, allowing Stuart Easton of Hydrex Honda and Simon Andrews of MSS Colchester Kawasaki to challenge.
It was claimed that BSB was the biggest supported British racing series,
During 2009, 368,000 people attended BSB events across the country and 8,000,000 fans watched 310 hours of television on the live Eurosport and delayed ITV coverage
For 2010, the Privateers cup was replaced by the Evolution Class. MSVR stated that "It will be open to anyone in the series from the official manufacturer-backed teams through to independent entries and will allow homologated machines with full Superbike racing rolling chassis to retain the very important visual impression but engines will have to be built to very stringent "Stock" regulations. Along with standard engines a series specified control ECU device that eliminates any form of traction control, launch control and anti-wheelie devices will be compulsory"
Qualifying was also altered, with the "Roll for Pole" only setting the grid for race one of each weekend. This is due to the race two grid being set by the fastest laps of each rider in race one. Also introduced is a "second chance" system if a rider crashes on lap one, that rider will only drop eight places from where they started the first race. At the pair of triple-race meetings, the same rules apply for race two, but will also be applied for race three.
Playoff Era (2010–present).
Perhaps the biggest rule change was the dividing of the championship into two parts, similar to the system used in two major automobile racing series in the United States – the NASCAR Playoffs, and National Hot Rod Association's Countdown to the Championship.
The first nine meetings (19 races) form the "Main Season" of the championship, before the final three meetings (seven races) make up "The Showdown". The championship change has been introduced after Leon Camier clinched the 2009 title with four races to spare, thus introducing a crescendo of competition.
The normal FIM point-scoring system still applies, with 25 for the winner and a single point for 15th. At the end of the Main Season, all riders then drop their two worst scores, which must be from events they have at least qualified for. From this points order, the first six riders in the championship standings will be elevated to a new base level and become the Title Fighters for the final three events and seven races of the championship.
The playoff format is similar to the 2007-10 NASCAR Playoff format used in their premiership, based on a six-rider format, but offering bonus points for any finish first to third, unlike NASCAR's format which only rewards wins. Each Title Fighter will start The Showdown with 500 points, plus additional points for each podium position they have obtained in the Main Season; 3 for a win, 2 for a second, and 1 for a third, termed "Podium Credits". Using the first nineteen races of Camier's 2009 campaign, Camier would have had 547 points due to his fifteen wins and a second place out of the first nineteen races of the season.
The standard points scoring format from the Main Season then continues for The Showdown, with all points scores from the final seven races counting. All riders outside of the Title Fighters continue to race for the BSB Riders' Cup, continuing to add to their points total from the end of the Main Season. This also applies to the new Evolution class.
For the 2012 season, MSVR announced a number of changes to the technical regulations to enhance the spectacle of the British Superbike Championship. The championship was to be limited to 32 entries, 16 two-bike teams. This was intended to be a way to reward the teams that have raced in BSB, year in, year out. Teams within the current BSB were invited to enter their two bike teams initially, with teams who wish to graduate to the BSB class having to buy an entry.
Circuits.
Being a national championship, the British Superbike Championship has visited circuits throughout the United Kingdom, as well as European venues, over its history. In 2014, the series visits nine different tracks in England, Scotland and the Netherlands. These tracks are: Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Knockhill Racing Circuit, Thruxton Circuit, Cadwell Park, Donington Park, TT Circuit Assen and Silverstone Circuit.
In the past, the BSB has visited Croft Circuit, Mallory Park and Rockingham Motor Speedway in England, Mondello Park in Ireland and Pembrey Circuit in Wales.
Types of motorcycles used.
Superbike racing motorcycles are derived from standard production models. In the past, however, manufacturers took advantage of loopholes in the rules to create "homologation specials" — motorcycles with low production numbers made especially for racing.
Motorcycles that raced in the British Superbike Championship include:
Withdrawn Motorcycles
Support classes.
Currently, the BSB is supported by four main support series. These being:
TV coverage.
The move to ITV vastly increased the viewing figures by a reported 450% over the figures for 2005.
During the 2006 season ITV1's BSB coverage attracted an average UK adult audience of 962,000 per round with a peak audience of more than 1.5 million for the cliff-hanger final leg at Brands Hatch
Races were covered live by ITV and Sky Sports. Over the twelve BSB rounds, the 'live' ITV1 coverage attracted an average adult audience of some 11,552,000, which equates to an average viewership of 962,000 per round and 10.68% audience share with 317,100 attending the twelve rounds, with 270,000 viewers on "delayed" Sky Sports transmission
For the 2008 championship, the series was now live on British Eurosport, with highlights on Channel 4 within the next few days. This was a step down from where the BSB had previously been having an effect on the viewing figuresThe total UK BSB TV audience in 2008 was 7 million compared to 11 million in 2007 – which averages at 600,000 per round which was basically split 50:50 between Eurosport and Channel 4


A27 road

The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish (near Salisbury) in the county of Wiltshire. It closely parallels the south coast in Hampshire, then passes through West Sussex and terminates at Pevensey (near Eastbourne and Bexhill) in East Sussex.
It is the westernmost road in Zone 2 in the UK road numbering system.
Between Portsmouth and Lewes, it is one of the busiest trunk roads in the UK.
History.
Historically, for longer distance movement along the south coast, the M25 in combination with the M2, M20, M23 / A23, A3 / A3(M) and M3 has provided an attractive alternative to the actual south coast route of A259, A27 and M27. In 2002 an offpeak journey between Margate and Southampton via the M25 took 2 hours 30 minutes, and via the coastal route using the A259, A27 and M27 took 3 hours 50 minutes. The reason the coastal route is so much slower than the M25 alternative is largely due to a series of bottlenecks on the A27. These include Chichester, Arundel, Worthing and Polegate.
The British government announced, in its 2013 spending review, that it would go ahead with improvements to the Chichester bypass. The Highways Agency said that the proposals would be subject to public consultation in July 2015. The preferred route would then be announced in September 2015 and the plan would be to start construction in February 2018 with a completion date of December 2019. However the timescales were then revised. There was a six-week public consultation period during Spring 2016. The proposed construction would then commence in March 2019 with a completion date of March 2021. After five options were published and two dropped the government cancelled the whole project on 28 February 2017, citing lack of support from local authorities as the main reason. Chichester Bypass is now scheduled to be included in "RP3".
A proposed scheme to bypass Lancing and Sompting (as well as other sections) was dropped in 1988.
A proposed scheme to bypass Arundel was dropped in 2003, although the junction at the end of the dual carriageway has been partly made into an underpass. However, the scheme was relaunched in Spring 2018 when Highways England announced their preferred route, choosing a "a modified version of Option 5A". Although the document claims 48% of respondents support this option, there are worries that the new road may damage ancient woodland in the South Downs National Park. With lots of protests about the western end destroying an ancient woodland, Highways England did further consultation in October 2019 and in October 2020 announced a new preferred route that is 8.8 km long and avoids the South Downs National Park & ancient woodland entirely. It is due to be put before the planning inspectorate in Summer 2021, if successful construction will begin in Spring 2022 & be open in 2026.
At Worthing, where the possibility of a bypass has often been discussed since 1967, even getting as far as passing the inspector's report at a public inquiry, the plan was dropped in 1996 following rising costs. Arundel and Worthing are both areas of known traffic congestion during times of peak usage. Improvements to Worthing and Lancing are now committed under RP2.
A bridge over the level crossing at Beddingham was completed on 22 August 2008. The original proposal called for a dual carriageway standard link with a bridge over the crossing. However, the actual project involved improving the original single carriageway road by providing two lanes westbound and one lane eastbound between the Southerham and Beddingham roundabouts. More works are taking place in 2019-2021 between Beddingham and Polegate to improve the safety at junctions and provide an off-carriageway cycle track for the entire length. Lewes-Polegate has been included in RP3 for a new offline limited access route.
Despite the limited improvements to the A27, it is still substantially quicker (usually more than an hour difference) to travel from Southampton to Margate via the M25 route compared to the coast route of A259, A27 and M27.
Because of all the delays along its route, according to West Sussex County Council, the A27 is the most unreliable all purpose trunk road in England.
Further, it is widely considered by businesses on the coast to cost money and inhibit economic performance due to its unreliability and frequent congestion.
Highways England commissioned a report by "Transport Focus" to undertake road user priorities. The South Central route, that is largely the A27, was one of the lower rated routes with 50% of users experiencing problems. Out of a list of strategic routes across the whole of England only two were rated worse than the South Central route: the M25 to Solent route (61%) and the London Orbital and M23 to Gatwick (58%). Further Highways England identified the A27 between Lancing and the A24; between Arundel and the A284; between the A23 and Polegate; also around Chichester as being some of worst performing links in the country for safety issues. One accident victim was Actor Desmond Llewelyn, who portrayed Q in a large portion of the James Bond film series and was fatally injured in a car accident on the A27 in 1999, at Firle, on the A23 to Polegate section.
There are several sections of the A27 that fall inside the Highways Agency nationwide top 250 collision rankings:
Shoreham Airshow crash.
At the Shoreham Airshow on 22 August 2015, a Hawker Hunter crashed into the A27, striking several vehicles and killing eleven people. The road was completely closed for eight days and did not fully reopen until 16 September 2015.
Description.
The road starts at its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish. It runs through Romsey, Chilworth, at which point it follows a Roman Road, Swaythling, West End and Bursledon. It then closely parallels the south coast and travels on via Fareham, Cosham, Havant, Chichester, Arundel, Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham-by-Sea, Hove, Brighton, Falmer, Lewes and Polegate where it then terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.
A section of the A27 running from the eastern end of the M27 to the end of the road at Pevensey forms part of, what was known as, the "South Coast Trunk Road". Much of the road has been improved to dual carriageway standard, with the westernmost section of the trunk portion even having as much as four lanes plus a hard shoulder in each direction, and on a motorway alignment with grade-separated junctions. This is perhaps a reflection that the M27 was once proposed to run as far as Chichester.
The road runs east from Portsmouth to Havant then on to the Warblington/ Emsworth exit. Beyond Warblington the dual carriageway east has no junctions in it until it reaches Chichester, where the by-pass has five roundabouts and one traffic signal controlled junction, that disrupt the mainline flow of the road. The Chichester by-pass is regularly subject to congestion and although a public inquiry has proposed improvements, those improvements are currently on hold.
East of Chichester the road largely retains a two-lane dual-carriageway standard. There are, however a couple of sections of single-carriageway; at Arundel and at Worthing. These are both areas of known traffic congestion during times of peak usage.
At the junction of the A27 and the A24, the A27 has a brief section where the road is designated 'A27' and 'A24' before continuing from the 'Grove Lodge' roundabout where the road is named "Upper Brighton Road".
After Worthing, the A27 passes Sompting on the Sompting Bypass before passing through Lancing where there are traffic lights and a roundabout which disrupt traffic flow. Just before the road crosses the River Adur near Shoreham via the 'Shoreham flyover' (constructed 1968-70), there is a traffic light-controlled intersection close to Lancing College and the headquarters of Ricardo plc which was the scene of a fatal aircrash during the Shoreham Airshow 2015 on 22 August 2015, killing eleven people on the ground. After the 'flyover' over the Adur, the A27 then runs past the Holmbush interchange (Shoreham-by-Sea) and on through the Southwick Hill Tunnel, at that point entering the City of Brighton and Hove, traditionally (though no longer administratively) part of East Sussex.
Later, it passes Brighton — where it is known as the Brighton Bypass  — and around the South Downs. The junction of the A23 and the A27 is often slow in the morning rush hour.
It then passes around Falmer with this section of road having three lanes in each direction but loses the third lane later. When Brighton and Hove Albion play at home this section can become congested due to its proximity to Falmer Stadium. The road passes into East Sussex proper just to the west of the Falmer junction.
Afterwards, it passes south of Lewes where it meets the A26 road to Newhaven.
Here, the road becomes a single carriageway standard and formerly crossed a level crossing until it was bypassed by a bridge which opened in 2008. The South Coast Multi-Modal Study (SoCoMMS) recommended a dual carriageway, but the Highways Agency built it to a cheaper single-carriageway standard. Plans are still proposed for upgrading this later.
The road afterwards reverts to a dual carriageway with access to the A22, which provides links to Eastbourne and Hailsham.
The road then once again becomes a single carriageway near Pevensey, where the road ends, and the South Coast Trunk Road transfers over to the A259; this coast road starts in Emsworth and shadows the route of the A27.
Bexhill to Hastings link road.
Work on the contentious Bexhill to Hastings link road commenced in early 2013 and was completed in late 2015. The road provides a more direct link from the A27 to the A28 road via the A259 road.


Phoenix (British automobile company)

Phoenix was an English manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and tricars (motor tricycles) active from 1903–1926. It was founded by a Belgian, Joseph van Hooydonk, at his factory in Holloway Road, North London, and named after the Phoenix Cycle Club.
The company moved from its London base to Letchworth, Hertfordshire, in 1911, but failed to survive the 1920s going into liquidation in 1924 but assembling a few more cars in the following two years.
The Letchworth factory went on to be used for car manufacture by Ascot and Arab.
Production.
The first product was a motor tricycle called the Trimo with an engine imported from the Belgian Minerva company. This was followed in 1905 by a single seat four wheeler the Quadcar with 6/7hp twin cylinder Fafnir engine.
A proper four wheel car was introduced in 1908 as the 8/10 with 8hp engine and chain drive to a three speed transmission with further chain to the rear axle.
After the move to Letchworth a larger 11.9hp model with 1496 cc 4 cylinder engine, three speed transmission and worm final drive. It had the radiator behind the engine, Approximately seven cars a week were being made by a workforce of 150 at the outbreak of World War I.
The 11.9 was re-introduced in 1919 still with the scuttle radiator but changing to a more conventional front radiator in 1921. For 1922 the 11.9 was replaced by the 12/25 with Meadows 1795 cc and four speed transmission.
A small number of six cylinder cars were made in 1925.
Other Phoenix car companies.
The Phoenix name has been used by several British car makers including:
Phoenix Motor Works in Southport (1902-1904)
Phoenix Carriage Co in Birmingham (1905)
Phoenix Automotive of Moreton-in Marsh, Gloucestershire
Phoenix Car Works Ltd in Pluckley, Kent


A37 road

The A37 is a major road in south west England. It runs north from the A35 at Dorchester in Dorset into Somerset through Yeovil and Shepton Mallet before terminating at the Three Lamps junction with the A4 in central Bristol. The road is entirely single carriageway, except in the Yeovil and Bristol built-up areas, at Ilchester (where it multiplexes with the A303), and north of Dorchester.
The road today.
The road is subject to a stream of speed restrictions where it winds through a number of small villages. These parts of the road can be dangerous, especially where wide vehicles pass on sections where buildings are close to the road.
History.
The original A37 in 1922 started in Weymouth, however, the section to Dorchester
was soon renumbered A354, presumably to create a link between the major port of Weymouth and the A30 at Salisbury, from where the route would continue to London. Such a route has now been superseded by the M27 and M3.
From the Podimore roundabout northeast of Ilchester to Shepton Mallet the route traces that of the Fosse Way.
One of the worst accident spots on the A37 was the A371 junction just south of Shepton Mallet. The junction was always very busy and suffered long traffic queues due to the nature of the road. The junction was also a point where traffic would converge or pass through from multiple locations, this was further exacerbated by the A361 Glastonbury junction which backed right onto the first junction. This muddled configuration resulted in numerous road traffic accidents, many of which were fatal.
After a long campaign for the junction to be replaced, a roundabout was constructed in 1999 significantly improving road safety and traffic flow. There have been few other construction schemes on the road in recent decades.
In recent years most of the overtaking lanes, provided on steep stretches just south of Bristol, have been blocked out with chevrons.
A potential extension of the Avon Ring Road (A4174) from the Hicks Gate Roundabout between Keynsham and Bristol to the A37 south of Whitchurch would provide a direct link to the M32 and M4 north of Bristol.


Triumph Thunderbird 900

The Triumph Thunderbird 900 is a British motorcycle that was manufactured between 1995 and 2004 by Triumph Motorcycles at the Hinckley factory. Launched in 1995, the Triumph Thunderbird 900 was styled to create the impression of an air-cooled triple combustion chamber although the radiator up front shows it is clearly a liquid-cooled machine. Fed by three 36 mm flat slide carburettors, the engine was lively and could cope easily with all riding styles. The swinging arm was upgraded to an oval section in 1996; in 1997 chromed plastic radiator end covers and grill were provided as standard along with chromed engine cases. In 1998 a 'king and queen' seat was added as an option,
Several variants were produced, namely the Triumph Legend TT, Triumph Adventurer 900 and the Triumph Thunderbird 900 "classic" and then the Triumph Thunderbird Sport, which produced , had a second front disc added, and a six-speed gearbox. Engines are the same 885cc triples. The Thunderbird was produced until 2003 and the Thunderbird Sport until 2004.
Triumph Thunderbird Sport.
Introduced in late 1997, this was a more sporting version of the Thunderbird 900 with power increased to @ 8,500  with 36mm flat side Keihin cv carbs and six-speed gearbox.
Also included was slightly revised styling, including a 'cheese grater' air filter, twin disc front brakes and fully adjustable sports suspension, added to this were the twin silencers on the one side. Its styling was intended to recall the early 1970s Triumph X-75 Hurricane.
The six-speed gearbox was used on all later variants of the Thunderbird along with Keihin carburettors. The earlier Mikuni carburettors initially suffered from premature needle and jet wear in its first year of release; this was rectified with a factory recall soon after. All later Thunderbirds with the speedometer and Keihin carburettors should have six speed gearboxes fitted along with chrome engine cases.
Media Appearances.
Upon its introduction, the Triumph Thunderbird received prominent press coverage due to its use by then- highly popular actress Pamela Anderson in her film, Barb Wire. Other prominent media appearances were by Hugh Laurie in British film, Maybe Baby and, with a sidecar, in the BBC TV cookery series Two Fat Ladies.


A370 road

The A370 is a primary road in England running from Bath Road, near Temple Meads railway station in the city of Bristol to Weston-super-Mare before continuing to the village of East Brent in Somerset. A more direct route from Bristol to East Brent is the A38.
Route.
Within Bristol urban area, the road begins at Bath Road roundabout, at the busy junction with A4 near Temple Meads. It then follows the new cut of River Avon west to Cumberland basin, via Bedminster.
From here on, it begins to head south-westwards out of the City. It first bypasses Long Ashton, then passes through Flax Bourton, Backwell, Brockley, Cleeve, Congresbury and Hewish, beyond which it crosses the M5 motorway at Junction 21.
The road then enters Weston-super-Mare: a dual carriageway extends most of the way, by passing the built-up area, including Junction 21 Enterprise Area to the east of the town. On reaching the waterfront, the road turns south to run partly along the beach, then leaves Weston at Uphill. It passes Bleadon and Lympsham before meeting the A38 road at East Brent.
Condition.
The A370 can get extremely busy during rush hour. Congestion points include the approaches to the M5 motorway, the traffic lights in Congresbury and the Long Ashton bypass—which now has a high-occupancy vehicle lane solely for use by buses, taxis, motorcycles, and cars with two or more occupants.
Future.
As part of the "Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study", a link road is under consideration to the south of Bristol. This is in part due to the congestion at Winterstoke Road and Barrow Gurney, both of which are very busy, especially the latter where the road can only accommodate travelling at one direction at a given time); and the incomplete Bristol Ring Road (A4174).
By 2017, A370 Long Ashton By Pass will be connected to the South Bristol Link (SBL) road, currently under construction as part of the MetroBus rapid transit scheme, providing a new road linking Hengrove to Long Ashton By Pass and the Long Ashton Park & Ride.


MetroBus (Bristol)

MetroBus (stylised as metrobus) is a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England. It is a joint project between Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils. The first route, service m3, began operations on 29 May 2018, followed by m2 on 3 September and m1 on 6 January 2019.
Overview.
MetroBus is part of a package of transport infrastructure improvements in the West of England which have been designed to help unlock economic growth, tackle poor public transport links in South Bristol, long bus journey times and high car use in the North Fringe of the city and M32 motorway corridor.
MetroBus vehicles have priority over other traffic at junctions and use a combination of segregated busways and bus lanes. They are double-decker Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania biogas buses with two doors, one for boarding and one for exiting, to shorten stop times.
Three routes will be initially served by MetroBus:
The m3 route will be extended at a later date from Emersons Green to Bristol Parkway railway station, following works at the station to increase access for buses and other vehicles.
The South Bristol Link section, between Long Ashton park & ride and Hengrove Park, is not currently operated as no operator will run services without a subsidy. It is anticipated that when a large development of new homes is built near the route, the service will become commercially viable.
In central Bristol, The Centre was re-modelled and partly pedestrianised as part of the project.
History.
The £200 million project started in 2006, developed by the West of England Partnership, a partnership between South Gloucestershire, Bristol and North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset councils. Three routes were originally proposed:
From its announcement, MetroBus (originally called 'BRT') proved controversial. Responding to a campaign, described below, in 2014 incoming directly elected mayor George Ferguson decided to change the route of the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads service. Instead of travelling along Bristol Harbour and over Prince Street Bridge it would now follow Cumberland Road and Redcliff Hill, calling near Temple Meads station and around the inner ring road before reaching the city centre. This change would have important implications for the route and its potential patronage. As the city centre was projected to be the most frequent destination, journey times for most passengers were significantly lengthened. As a result the revised economic appraisal in 2014 projected significantly lower passenger numbers than the original appraisal in 2011.
An addition to the North Fringe package was proposed in 2015. The Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) will provide a more direct route from Bristol Parkway railway station to Cribbs Causeway, via housing developments at Filton Airfield.
The scheme's promoters claimed in 2014 that it would reduce journey times by up to 75% between Long Ashton park & ride and Hengrove Park. In 2015, services were expected to begin in 2017, although this date subsequently slipped. The first route (M3) commenced on 29 May 2018.
Route M2 commenced on 3 September 2018 and route M1 in January 2019.
Construction cost.
The total estimated cost of the scheme initially was £200 million. The Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route was £49.6 million, of which the Department for Transport (DfT) would contribute £34.5 million. DfT would contribute £27.6 million, more than half of the total cost, to the South Bristol Link Road scheme which extends the A4174 ring road, with Bristol City Council contributing £8.4 million and North Somerset Council contributing £5.3 million. The cost of the North Fringe to Hengrove package was estimated to be £102 million, with DfT contributing £51 million, £30.5 million from South Gloucestershire Council and £20.5 million from Bristol City Council.
In 2016 estimated costs had increased to £216 million, and in 2017 to £230 million.
Objections.
MetroBus has faced opposition from environmental groups who claim a new bus-only junction over the M32 (North Fringe to Hengrove section) would mean the loss of 12 smallholdings, loss of long-held allotments, expansion into green belt land, and loss of Grade 1 soil and land at Feed Bristol, a community food growing project.
The scheme proposes mitigation for loss of allotments, soils etc but the Report to the Development Control Committee for the meeting of 27 August 2014 states, "Despite the proposed off-site mitigation, the NFHP scheme would result in the loss of 1.79 hectares of best and most versatile agricultural land."
The 'Alliance to Rethink Metrobus' produced a 'Metrobust Green Capital 2015' calendar and a map showing planned destruction of green spaces across Bristol for the Metrobus scheme.
The campaign to save the allotments was ultimately unsuccessful but an earlier campaign did succeed in changing the route of the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads Metrobus. This campaign focussed on a claim that buses would be routed in front of the M-Shed museum, damaging the environment of the waterfront. In fact, as this video made in 2008 makes clear, the claim was inaccurate. The buses would have run "behind" M-Shed, on what is now a road open to all traffic (albeit a no through road). The claim was repeated on many occasions by the media helping to sway public opinion against Metrobus in the run-up to the Mayoral elections in 2012. This contributed to the decision of the mayor to change the route, as described above.
Approval process.
All planning permissions for the MetroBus network have now been granted. The Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route was approved by the DfT in November 2013. The South Bristol Link part of the MetroBus scheme was approved in January 2015.
Construction.
As of April 2016, construction had begun on all three routes.
Ashton Vale to Temple Meads (AVTM).
Construction started in early 2015 on the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route. Works for the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads MetroBus route include:
North Fringe to Hengrove (NFHP).
Work began on the Stoke Gifford Transport Link (SGTL) and Bradley Stoke Way in August 2015 as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package. The work includes the construction of new roads, widening the carriageway, a bus only junction on the M32 and the creation of new bus lanes on the A4174, Coldharbour Lane, Stoke Lane and SGTL.
The widening of the A4174 required the replacement of the Church Lane bridge for pedestrians and horses, near Emersons Green. The concrete bridge was demolished in December 2015 and replaced with a steel truss bridge in June 2016. Also in June 2016, the M32 was closed to allow the installation of a bus-only bridge.
South Bristol Link (SBL).
Work on this westward extension of the A4174 began in summer 2015 and involved the construction of:
The South Bristol Link Road was completed and opened to traffic in early January 2017. The initial Metrobus network will not, however, run along the buslanes of the Link Road, although the road is used by services between the city centre and Bristol Airport.
Operators.
As of February 2017, an operator for MetroBus services had not been found. An operator should have been in place 12 months prior to commencement of services (planned for Spring 2017), but bus companies were reluctant to invest in new buses to meet the requirements for MetroBus, whilst having a cap on fares. They suggested that the services would not be viable on a commercial basis. MetroBus had said in 2016 that public subsidy might be needed to attract an operator.
In June 2017, it was announced that First West of England would run services on the first route to open – at that time expected to be the M2 from Long Ashton – and would not receive any public funding. In April 2018, it was announced that the M1 route would be operated by Bristol Community Transport, under contract to First West of England, with the M2 and M3 services operated by First.
Future expansion.
The West of England Combined Authority's Joint Local Transport Plan has outlined the ambition for future expansion of the MetroBus network to link Bristol city centre to Bath via Keynsham, Clevedon via Nailsea, Yate, Thornbury and Avonmouth; along with an orbital service linking Emersons Green to South Bristol. A service in Weston-super-Mare is also proposed.
Criticism.
The current MetroBus network has shown signs of bus rapid transit creep; primarily not fully operating on dedicated bus lanes for much of its routes, operating in mixed road traffic and being subject to traffic jams.
In an open letter published in January 2020, James Freeman, managing director of First West of England, said services could not operate properly because buses were delayed by roadworks and congestion. He stated that the £230m of public money had been "largely wasted".


Featherbed frame

The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to the British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time, and the best handling frame that a racer could have. Later adopted for Norton production motorcycles, it was also widely used by builders of custom hybrids such as the Triton, becoming legendary and remaining influential to this day.
The Featherbed inspired other frame builders who based their own products on similar principles, including the 1960s heavyweight Münch Mammut, a lightweight version for a 250 cc BSA C15 engine, and the 1970-conceived "Dresda" frame.
The Featherbed was replaced by the Norton Isolastic frame in 1967 for the then newly-developed Norton Commando which used a rubber-mounted engine and gearbox, although Norton continued to offer the "Mercury" with a Featherbed frame until production ceased by 1970. Replicas of the frame continue to be produced by specialist companies.
Origins.
In 1949 brothers Rex and Cromie McCandless offered Norton a new frame to support their successful 500cc race single. Rex McCandless was a self-taught Belfast motorcycle engineer and raced competitively with his brother on a Triumph Tiger 100. He had made several improvements to the Triumph, notably an innovative new frame with a swinging arm fitted with vertical hydraulic shock absorbers from a Citroen car. BSA bought several of his converted motorcycles but Norton saw the real opportunity and contracted him to work exclusively for them from 1949. The Norton Motorcycle Company were concerned at the reliability of their plunger (or "Garden Gate") frame, as several had broken through the stress of racing. Norton engineer Joe Craig solved the problems by making the frames heavier but handling suffered as a consequence.
Norton commissioned the McCandless brothers to design a complete frame, incorporating a swinging arm. McCandless' finished design was expensive, as it required over forty feet of the best Reynolds steel tubing. It was a welded twin loop with a swinging arm fitted with their own design of shock absorbers, with a heavily braced cross-over headstock. In two months a prototype motorcycle with the new frame was on the test track and it was tested on the Isle of Man in the winter of 1949. It performed well and Norton decided that the Norton works team would have motorcycles with the new frames. The Norton works was not well equipped so the sif-bronze welding was undertaken by the McCandless brothers who produced the eight frames for the racing team by hand. Production featherbed frames were made under Ken Sprayson's direction at Reynolds, who became known as 'The Frame man'
The patent.
Norton applied for a patent for the design on 13 October 1949 and it was granted as reference 664,667 but the completed specification was not published until 9 January 1952. The Featherbed frame was simply constructed:
This invention relates to a new or improved frame for a motorcycle which comprises two substantially parallel rectangular loops each formed from a single length of tubing, and the ends of the tube forming each loop cross and are welded to each other at the top front corner of the loop, the free ends of the tube which extend beyond the crossing point being welded to the side of an inclined head tube adjacent to the top and bottom thereof. The assembled frame is extremely strong for its weight and designed to provide the maximum resistance to any stresses applied to the frame by road shocks or by the driving torque of the power unit.
The Featherbed name.
Harold Daniell was a successful Isle of Man TT racer with three victories and several placings in the Tourist Trophy races and the Manx Grand Prix. After testing the new Norton frame in 1950 he declared that it was like "riding on a featherbed" compared with riding the "garden gate"—and it has been called the featherbed frame ever since.
The term feather bed was used in the 1933 to 1938 Brough Superior catalogs in their press section. As printed in the 1933 Brough Superior catalog: The "Brough Superior" Rear Spring Frame, to quote "Castor" of "Motor Cycling," renders "pitching or wobble non-existent, impossible. A feather bed could scarcely be safer"—and this in relating his experience on a Special "Brough Superior" S.S. 100, on which he did 106 m.p.h. in second gear on the road !
Racing success.
Further testing took place at Montlhery race track with four motorcycles running flat-out for two days. The new frame stood up well to tests and saw its UK launch at Blandford Camp in Dorset in April 1950. Geoff Duke had won the Senior Clubmans TT and the Senior Manx Grand Prix in 1949 on the earlier type Nortons, so was a clear choice for Norton to really put the new Featherbed-framed race bikes to the test. Duke won the race on the new design and several racing successes followed with Norton winning first three places in the 1950 Senior and Junior TT's. In the Friday Senior TT Duke set a new lap record of 93.33 mph and also broke the overall race record, finishing in two hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds; he had previously finished second to Artie Bell (Norton) in Monday's Junior TT. (Harold Daniell's Norton was third.) When it came to the bends on the twisting Island course the new frame gave the Nortons a distinct advantage.
Featherbed frames were also successfully modified for use in off road racing or motorcycle scrambling. In the 1950s, Ron Hankin designed a featherbed-inspired Moto Cross frame for Les Archer junior, having curved downtubes to allow for greater front suspension movement without fouling the wheel on the frame, and with heavy bracing around the steering head tube. The frame was used with Manx Norton engines prepared by tuner Ray Petty, and also with a 500 cc Norton Dominator engine.
Featherbed variants.
Manx racer in Reynolds 531.
Weight and strength were key factors in the design of the featherbed frame for the Norton racing team's Manx. 16-gauge Reynolds 531, a high-tensile manganese-molybdenum steel alloy, was used as it allowed the frame tubes to be made thinner for the same strength, as well as making for a more responsive frame. All the joints were Sifbronze welded, – a relatively low-temperature flame-braze – except for the sub frame which was initially bolted-on but welded in later versions.
Norton International.
In 1953 the Norton International was relaunched with a new version of the Featherbed frame made from grade A mild steel.
Domiracer 'Lowboy'.
In 1956, Norton development engineer Doug Hele was tasked with creating a 500 cc overhead valve road-based racing machine to challenge the larger-displacement side valve 750 Harley Davidsons run in the same class at AMA-organised Daytona 200 races. Initially unsuccessful, the project was turned into creating a road-based race engine as a replacement for the ageing Manx Norton racer engine. Hele designed a lighter-weight, lower frame with slightly shorter wheelbase, based on Featherbed principles having slightly altered frame runs and shortened telescopic front forks which became known as "Lowboy". The project was named "Domiracer", and one was successfully raced to third-place by Tom Phillis in the 1961 Senior TT race. In 1962 the factory developed a Lowboy with a 350 cc Manx Norton single-cylinder engine and a 650 cc version using the Dominator 650SS engine but with a full-height Manx frame, both as tried by Derek Minter.
In 1962 the race shop closed and was sold to Paul Dunstall, who had already developed his own Norton Dominator-engined race machine campaigned by Fred Neville (deceased 1961) and Dave Downer (deceased 1963). Dunstall successfully developed 500, 650 and 750 versions, later producing a Lowboy frame kits sold to the general public. After the Dunstall organisation closed in the early 1980s, other specialists offered the Lowboy frame.
Single and Twin cylinder roadsters in Featherbeds.
Having earlier installed the Dominator twin-cylinder engine of 500 cc and 600 cc, in 1959 Norton put the old single cylinder Model 50 (350 cc) and the ES2 (500 cc) into the Featherbed frame to rationalise production. Using grade A mild steel, the size of this engine determined the space between the top and bottom rails of the full duplex cradle. In 1960 the top rails were installed at the rear of the tank. Riders complained that these "wideline" Featherbed frames were uncomfortably wide at but it was not until 1960 that the top runs of the frame were narrowed towards the front of the seat, with corresponding overall styling changes including tank and seat to create the "slimline" frame.
The slimline was used until the last of the vertical twin cylinder models in the late 1960s, the Norton Mercury, a limited-production run of single carburettor 650 cc machines based on the Dominator; the Norton Commando with its new frame design and angled-forward engine having been launched at the Earls Court show in 1967 took over as the 750 cc range-topper, later enlarged to 830 cc, but badged as '850'.
Dresda.
Dave Degens created his first hybrid motorcycle of a Triumph engine/Norton rolling chassis in 1961 when working for former racer and motorcycle race shop owner Geoff Monty, using a racing Manx Norton with a blown engine. The bike was sold before it was finished, and realising there was a potential business, in 1963 Degens bought into "Dresda Autos", a small scooter shop in South London together with business partner Richard 'Dickie' Boon, keeping the existing name.
Degens created what he termed as "Dresda Triton" from 1963, with the "Motorcycle Mechanics"' road test of June 1964 stating "The firm has sold well over fifty to date ...", naming two mechanics/bike builders in addition to Degens, who was a regular short-circuit road racer, having ridden for Monty and Paul Dunstall on his ex-works 500 cc Norton Domiracer with lowboy frame designed by Doug Hele in the 1963 and 1964 Manx Grands Prix.
In 1970, racer and bike shop owner Dave Degens produced his first bespoke "Dresda" frame, after his business name "Dresda Autos". Based on the geometry of the smaller-capacity (250 cc/350 cc) Aermacchis he had previously raced, the new frame had tube runs and layout based on the Featherbed, but with upscaled proportions to allow for the use of taller, heavier, more-powerful 650 cc parallel twin cylinder engines, similar to his 1965 Barcelona 24-hour endurance race-winning "Dresda Triton". The new bike used Degens' later development of a unit construction race-prepared Triumph engine, unlike the earlier models having a separate engine and gearbox.
The new configuration won the 1970 Barcelona 24-hour race, reprising Degens' 1965 win. After this success, French motorcycle dealer Japauto commissioned Degens to build a bespoke race-frame for the still-new Honda CB750 four-cylinder engine that had been specially enlarged for racing to 900 cc. This machine won the 1972 Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race.
Degens subsequently offered frame kits for self-builders using Triumph and Honda engines, and also produced complete machines for road-use, named "Dresda Triumph" and "Dresda Honda".
Special hybrids.
In addition to the better-known Triumph-Norton and Vincent-Norton, a small number of other hybrid motorcycles, sometimes known as 'specials', have been created using the featherbed frame, mostly with associated Norton-sourced, matching running gear:


Dick Creith

Dick Creith (born 28 August 1938) was a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Bushmills. He competed in only two Grand Prix races during his career, the 1964 and 1965 500cc Ulster Grand Prix. He won the 1965 500cc Ulster Grand Prix. He was also a two-time winner of the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland.


East London Transit

East London Transit (ELT) is a part-segregated bus rapid transit, operated as part of the London Buses network. The East London Transit opened in phases between 2010 and 2013. The scheme for this system was developed by Transport for London to meet the existing and anticipated demand for public transport in East London caused by the Thames Gateway redevelopment, and has been planned to allow for a possible future upgrade to tram operation.
It connects National Rail, London Underground, TfL Rail and London Overground stations in the London boroughs of Havering, Redbridge, and Barking and Dagenham with major population centers, such as Barking Riverside, that are currently only served by bus routes. The first stage of the scheme opened on 20 February 2010. There are proposals for a variety of extensions.
History.
The East London Transit (ELT) was developed by Transport for London as an integrated public transport system in conjunction with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge and other stakeholders.
There are three routes in the East London Transit system. EL1 replaced the previous route 369 bus service and operated 24 hours a day, initially between Thames View Estate and Ilford, and has since been extended from Thames View Estate to Barking Riverside. EL2 operated over the whole length of the phase 1 route between Dagenham Dock and Ilford until March 2016, when it was amended to run to Becontree Heath after leaving Barking. EL3 replaced the previous route 387 operated between Little Heath and Barking Riverside, the route change through Barking Town Centre. As a result of these changes, route 179 was withdrawn between Ilford and Barking and was diverted to terminate at Ilford (Hainault Street) bus terminus.
Each route operates five buses an hour on Monday to Saturday daytimes and three buses an hour during the evenings and on Sunday; this gives a combined frequency of ten buses an hour over the core route from Barking to Thames View Estate during the day.
Delivered phases.
Phase 1 commenced on 20 February 2010.
Construction of phase 2 began in 2011 and was completed in 2013. It received funding from the Homes and Communities Agency.
Extension to Barking Reach.
In 2013 it was proposed to extend route EL1 from Thames View Estate to Barking Reach and a consultation was held. The extended service started on 7 September 2013.
Current routes.
Route EL1 operates via these primary locations:
Route EL2 operates via these primary locations:
Route EL3 operates via these primary locations:
Vehicles.
All services are operated by Blue Triangle using New Routemaster double-deckers. In February 2017, Blue Triangle commenced a new contract on routes EL1 and EL2 along with new route EL3 (which replaced the similarly routed 387). These routes gradually introduced New Routemasters.
Future developments.
Proposed destinations.
Early proposals for extensions have included Gants Hill for the Central line, Rainham, Barkingside, Romford, Elm Park and Collier Row and Harold Wood. Havering London Borough Council has voiced support for the extension to Rainham through London Riverside.
In a bus network development paper from 2016, a new route EL4 was proposed between Barking Riverside and Becontree Heath bus station via Becontree Underground station. Additional proposals include services to Gallions Reach for the Docklands Light Railway, East Ham, Silvertown and Stratford.
Thames Gateway Transit.
The East London Transit formed part of a plan for a much larger Thames Gateway Transit service, which would use the Thames Gateway Bridge to connect to the Greenwich Waterfront Transit on the south side of the River Thames. However, construction of the bridge and the Greenwich busway was cancelled in 2008.
See also.
• Red Arrow


Hindhead Tunnel

The Hindhead Tunnel, opened in 2011, is part of the dual-carriageway Hindhead bypass that replaced one of the last remaining stretches of single-carriageway on the A3, the London to Portsmouth road. The bypass was constructed to improve road safety, reduce congestion and improve air quality. At in length, the tunnel is the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the United Kingdom, and takes the road beneath the Devil's Punch Bowl, a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
History.
A naval dockyard has existed in Portsmouth since at least Tudor times, giving significant importance to the road linking that city with London. The original route skirted the north-western limits of The Weald climbing to the summit of Gibbet Hill close to Hindhead. In 1826 the road was rebuilt around the Devil's Punch Bowl to ensure that the gradient was no more than 5%. The road became part of the A3 when road numbering was introduced in the 1920s.
By the start of the new millennium most of the A3 had been dualled; of the route from Southfields to Havant, only the section that passed through Hindhead and the Devil's Punch Bowl was still single carriageway. This section, which passed through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), operated at or above capacity for much of the day and had an accident rate 40% higher than the national average for that class of road.
Design.
By 2000 the A3 between Southfields and Havant had been built to dual carriageway standards for its entire length apart from the Hindhead section (there are still sections of single carriageway within London and Portsmouth). The termini of the northern and southern sections of dual carriageway were at altitudes of and above sea level respectively and the single carriageway linking them followed a winding route around the Devil's Punch Bowl, reaching an altitude of . The Hindhead Tunnel project shortened the route by about and routed the road through a tunnel whose northern and southern portals are at altitudes of and above sea level respectively.
Assessment of proposals.
The need for improvements to the A3 through Hindhead had been recognised for many years with a route study being undertaken between 1970 and 1976. In 1983 some nine alternatives for the A3 were investigated by the Department for Transport, but assessment showed that only one which went around the north and west side of the Punch Bowl (the "Red Route"), crossing the Smallbrook Valley was viable. A public consultation on the route met with opposition and two
alternatives were suggested both of which drew less support than the proposed route which in 1988 became the preferred route. Subsequent environmental surveys showed that this route would have substantial adverse impacts resulting in the proposal to adapt an earlier scheme by including a tunnel to avoid the most sensitive parts of the route. The scheme entered the government's targeted programme of improvements in 2001.
A public inquiry was held in September 2004 to hear objections and to consider alternatives to the proposal. Among the alternative proposals was one for a surface route following a more westerly line that would avoid building a tunnel (an adaptation of the "Red Route"). Despite being significantly more expensive than building a surface road, a tunnel was preferred after two alternative surface schemes were rejected on environmental grounds.
The decision to put part of the road in a tunnel pushed the cost of the project to £371 million, with the underground section costing £155,000 per metre (£142,000 per yard) making that section of road the second most expensive road in the UK per unit distance, after the Limehouse Link tunnel.
Geology.
The Hindhead tunnel runs through a sequence of fine grained strata of the Lower Greensand Group, which were laid over Weald Clay during the Lower Cretaceous period (70140 million years ago) on the margins of the subsiding Weald Basin. The Greensand group consists of the Hythe Beds, which overlay a layer of Atherfield Clay. The Hythe beds consist of the Upper Hythe bed, which has a four substrata identified by the letters "A" to "D", and the Lower Hythe bed, which has two strata which are identified by the letters "A" and "B". Originally that whole area was covered by the Bargate Beds, but when the Weald was uplifted, the Bargate Beds were eroded away.
Most of the tunnel passes through the Upper Hythe C and D layers and the Lower Hythe A layer, which are described as "Weak, locally very weak to moderately strong, slightly clayey fine-to-medium sandstone with occasional thin beds of clayey/silty fine sand" and typically has Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) values of 2–5 MPa. The rock is heavily fractured and has mean fracture centres varying from . The southern end of the tunnel however passes through the "less competent" Upper Hythe A and B layers which are described as "medium-dense thinly bedded and thinly laminated, clean-to-silty and clayey fine and medium sand with subordinate weak-to-strong sandstone, cherty sandstone and chert". Most of the tunnel is above the predicted water table.
Access and the old A3 road.
Access to the new section of road from the north is via the original A3 with access to the old A3 being provided from the Thursley Junction, completed in 2005, about one kilometre beyond the northern limit of the Hindhead Tunnel works. The new road can be accessed from the south using the original A3 with new access points being provided by new junctions at Hazel Grove.
After the construction was completed, the section of the previous route of A3 from the A287 intersection in Hindhead southwards was renamed the A333 and the section from the intersection northwards up to the National Trust car park has been retained for access to the car park and other properties. The section from the car park in the London direction, which was created in 1826 to follow the Devil's Punch Bowl contour, has been returned to nature. From the end of that section, the remainder of the old A3 as far as Thursley Junction is used as a local road.
The higher level pre-1826 "Old Portsmouth Road" route across the Devil's Punch Bowl still exists, and is used a pedestrian and cycle path, and as a bridleway. Besides providing a route across the Devil's Punch Bowl, it also provides access to Gibbet Hill, with its extensive views of Southern England.
Tunnel description.
In order to meet the predicted traffic capacity, each tunnel required a carriageway with a traffic gauge and verges on either side. In addition a space had to be left above the traffic gauge to protect overhead equipment from loose ropes, tarpaulins and the like.
The tunnel was excavated using mechanical diggers rather than a tunnel boring machine (TBM) as the TBM would only have been cheaper if tunnel was longer than . As a result, the excavated part of the tunnel was horse-shoe in shape rather than circular, and the amount of spoil removed was 20% less than would have been the case had a TBM been used. Each tunnel has an approximate excavated diameter of . A shotcrete primary lining provided the initial support for the tunnel. At the southern end, where tunneling passed through the Lower Hythe sands, the primary lining was supplemented with "pins" to provide more support.
Emergency interconnecting cross passages are located at intervals of to facilitate movement of pedestrians between tunnels in case of emergency.
Ancillary works include a deep cutting to the south of the tunnel with a new junction for Hindhead and Hammer at its southern end. An equestrian and pedestrian bridge, the Miss James Bridge, crosses the cutting between tunnel and junction, and includes heathland planting to link the habitats on either side of the cutting.
Construction and opening.
Advance works started in January 2007, and main construction works, including the tunnelling, started in 2008.
Excavation work from the north portal began on 1 February 2008. Two Liebherr diggers were employed, one on each tunnel with work being carried out around the clock, seven days a week. Work from the south portal began on 14 May using a single Liebherr digger to dig both tunnels. Since the south portal was close to housing, work was restricted to a single shift five days a week. The poorer ground at the southern end of the tunnel also slowed progress. The primary linings were sprayed onto the tunnel with the spraying operation following the excavation operation by about two metres when digging through sandstone and about one metre when digging through sand. Breakthrough was achieved on both tunnels on 26 February 2009, 250 m from the south portal. The extraction rate for the southern portion was 1.2 m/day and for the northern portion 3.9 m/day.
Prior to breakthrough, only the part of the tunnel - the semicircular cross-section above the bench - was excavated. Excavation of the bench in the southbound tunnel began on 9 July 2008. This work progressed much quicker than the initial excavation work as several faces could be opened up at once. Again, the primary linings were sprayed onto the workings as digging progressed. The excavation and primary linings were completed on 31 March 2009 with a total of 737,000 cubic metres of spoil having been excavated.
The application of the waterproof membrane and the installation of the secondary lining only started once all the excavation and primary lining were complete. The waterproof membrane was sprayed onto the primary lining and the pre-cast invert and side section installed. Spraying of the secondary lining onto the crown of the tunnel was scheduled as part of the finalisation of the excavation works.
On Sunday, 14 May 2011, one and a half months before the tunnel was due to open the contractors staged an open day when 7,000 pedestrians were able to walk the full length of the tunnel while local music groups performed at the north end of the tunnel. These included the Haslemere Town Band, who performed the "Devil's Punch Bowl March" as the first VIPs emerged from the tunnel. This had been composed especially for the occasion by 16-year-old Band member, Eric Foster. The opening ceremony itself, to which the public was not invited for safety reasons, was performed by the Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond on 29 July 2011.
Safety.
Fatal fires in the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1999 and 2001 respectively, resulting in the temporary closures of these tunnels, led to a re-evaluation of road tunnel safety throughout Europe. An EU directive passed in 2004 laid down the minimum safety requirements for road tunnels within the EU and EFTA that exceed 500 m in length and that are part of the Trans-European Road Network (TEN). Although the Hindhead tunnel is more than 500 m in length, it does not carry part of the TEN road network so legally does not need to comply with the directive.
The tunnel approaches have cross-over systems that enable the police to direct all traffic through one of the tunnels should the other be closed as a result of an incident or for maintenance. Due to part of the original A3 having been returned to nature, it is not possible to use the old road in an emergency. However the South East of England has a comprehensive road network, and redirection of traffic from the A3 to the M3 would increase the Kingston to Portsmouth journey from to .
Cross-connection tunnels have been constructed at 100 metre intervals to allow for emergency evacuation to the other tunnel should there be an incident. Although the EU directive requires laybys at intervals not exceeding 1000 metres for TEN-T tunnels that do not have emergency lanes, the Hindhead tunnel does not have any laybys, but it does have 1.2 m verges on either side of the carriageway. The tunnel has two power supplies, one via the north portal and the other via the south portal, each backing the other up in the event of failure. Ventilation is provided by fans mounted above the traffic, though in normal circumstances they will not be operational.
Electronic equipment includes linear heat detectors, radar coverage and 104 CCTV cameras that can pinpoint incidents, intelligent lighting and LED cat's eyes and comprehensive fire-fighting systems.
Environmental considerations.
From the outset a tunnel was built rather than a cutting being dug to avoid spoiling an area of outstanding natural beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, much of which is owned by the National Trust. Before digging started an environmental survey was carried out. Common lizards, adders and slow-worms found at Boundless Valley were relocated to National Trust land at Highcombe Edge while grass snakes were taken to Hurthill Copse.
Tree felling was scheduled to minimise disruption to nesting birds and to other wildlife and in certain instances, animals such as dormice were removed to similar habitats elsewhere. After the works were completed, 200,000 trees were planted on the route of the old road. The restoration of the old road to nature removed a barrier that prevented the migration of ground-nesting birds, such as woodlarks and nightjars from one part of the nature reserve to the other.
Among the artefacts found was an old milestone that was discarded during the rebuilding of the road in 1826. The 1811 Ordnance Survey map was used to identify the original position of the stone where it has since been re-erected. The pre-1826 road is now a pedestrian way to Gibbet Hill. Other artefacts of archaeological interest included two lime kilns found near the Thursley side of the works dating from the 18th or 19th centuries. It is probable that lime produced by the kilns used limestone or chalk from Petersfield away and would have been used to counteract the acid nature of the soil.
The main contractors received the Preservation Award at the 2011 Tunnels and Tunnelling Awards ceremony.