All articles in Transport & Industry
14th November, 2017 in Local & Family History, Transport & Industry
Voices of Sunderland’s industrial past
‘I wish I’d asked questions while I’d had the chance.’ Having worked closely with history groups and those interested in historical research, this is something I’ve heard time and again. It got me thinking about my own life. My Gran is almost 80 and would often mention snippets o…
25th October, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, Transport & Industry, Women in History
The Honourable Mrs Victor Bruce’s quest for more horsepower
From a somewhat privileged background, Mildred – known in later life as the Hon. Mrs. Victor Bruce, the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Japan – was given her first pony at the age of six. The beast was a Shetland, appropriately named ‘Dinky’; he was used to pull a ‘g…
8th June, 2017 in Transport & Industry, Trivia & Gift
Animals on bicycles
Looking for a distraction? Try these images of animals on bicycles. You’re welcome! A young girl takes her pet dog for a ride Marquis the chimpanzee carrying 2-year-old Baron on his shoulders in the West End of London, 1948 (not even a chimp could do this with today’s volume of t…
20th April, 2017 in Local & Family History, Transport & Industry
Recollections of the Sapperton Canal Tunnel
The Sapperton Canal Tunnel is on the Thames and Severn Canal near Cirencester in Gloucestershire. A very historically important structure, the tunnel was completed on 20 April 1789 after five years of construction and being 3,817 yards in length (2.17 miles, 3.39 km) was the long…
8th March, 2017 in Society & Culture, Transport & Industry
Top tips for narrowboat life
With rising rents and huge deposits required for mortgages it’s perhaps no surprise that an increasing number of people are exploring the potential of a life afloat. Already, over 15,000 people live on our waterways, the equivalent of a town the size of Reigate, and the numbers a…
8th December, 2016 in Military, Transport & Industry
The British Army’s vehicles: From tanks to transporters
The roads in Britain in the 1930s were seeing increasing numbers of motorised vehicles, particularly cars that were being driven at speed. At the same time, the storm clouds of war were once again gathering over Europe as ever more aggressive noises came out of Germany. The polic…
8th December, 2016 in Maritime, Society & Culture, Transport & Industry
The Atlantic Telegraph Cable: Communicating across the sea
2016 saw the 150th Anniversary of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable; from Newfoundland to Valentia, Ireland, enabling telegraph communications from New York to London. One of the links in the chain could be found at the secluded Pembrokeshire beach of Abermawr which was the landi…
8th December, 2016 in Local & Family History, Transport & Industry
33 years in the making: Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge
An international symbol of the city of Bristol since its opening in 1864, Clifton Suspension Bridge was Brunel’s first major project. And it remains one of Britain’s best-loved – and most useful – landmarks. However, its journey into being was not a smooth one. The funding, desig…
7th December, 2016 in Transport & Industry
Top speed – true or false? Testing carmakers’ claims
Top speed has been an eternal ranking for car buyers plus small and large boys, but who tests it? The first official road test by British car magazine The Autocar was in 1928 when the humble Austin 7 achieved a whole 47mph flat out. But for the wealthy owner a Bentley 3-litre had…
21st November, 2016 in Transport & Industry
Road testing the Mercedes 300B and the 250
On 22 November 1900 the first Mercedes motor car was taken for a road test. The car was specially commissioned from Daimler for a man called Emil Jellinek who was so impressed he bought 36 of them. In return for this order, the company agreed to name the car after Jellinek’s daug…
23rd September, 2016 in Transport & Industry
The Reliant Robin and nine other great British three-wheelers
The Reliant Robin is one of the most famous three-wheelers of all time, but there are also at least nine other British-made three-wheelers you should know about. 1. Reliant Robin The Reliant Robin is undoubtedly one of the most famous three-wheelers of all time, and in Britain it…
8th September, 2016 in Military, Transport & Industry
How the motor industry helped win the Second World War
During the Second World War the British Army underwent a complete transformation as the number of its vehicles grew from 40,000 to 1.5 million, ranging from tanks and giant tank transporters to jeeps, scout cars, mobile baths and offices. To build and maintain these vehicles was…