GLOUCESTERSHIRE TRANSPORT HISTORY

Celebrating everything connected with

transport and Gloucestershire

NOW WITH ADDED HEREFORDSHIRE!

THE ART OF GLOUCESTER

This beautiful atmospheric oil painting of a wet day at Barton Street Junction in the days of the old swinging gates and LMR "Black Fives" is from the brush of Gloucester artist Rob Rowland, who has also depicted former Great Western 2-8-0 3864 hauling a fast freight towards Central station. Further south ex LMS 3F 0-6-0 43645 runs light past Eastgate's Passenger Station Box.

TRANSPORT ART COLLECTIONS

If you prefer road vehicles however, then why not check out the work of Dewsbury based John G. Kinsley?  His current range includes Southdown buses, as featured on this website's Herefordshire sister. 1952 vintage Leyland Tiger seen here forming the 32 service from Hassocks to Horsted Keynes carried the fleet number 1506 on its East Lancashire DP40 series body.                      

For a consumer review of your latest book, DVD or other Gloucestershire and Transport related product or service why not email Alan

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN GUEST

If you like high quality card mounted photographs of interesting aircraft - and more - then why not call Gloucester photographer Ken Guest on +44 (0)1452 413511 or email ken.guest@tiscali.co.uk? Prices start from just £5.00 for a 7" x 5" print and for a further selection of images click on the picture of Swiss marked Hawker Hunter F6 J-4015 at Kemble above.

CARD MOUNTED 7" X 5" KEN GUEST PRINTS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT A SPECIAL PRICE OF £3.00 EACH OR £ 5.00 FOR TWO AT SELECTED VENUES THIS SUMMER. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

ALTERNATIVELY, WHY NOT BROWSE KEN GUEST'S PRINTS IN PERSON AT THE AVIATOR  RESTAURANT AT GLOUCESTERSHIRE AIRPORT?

In time for the 200th anniversary of the Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad in 2011, two replica end-unloading Chauldron wagons are now gate guardians for Gloucester Docks.  Made of pine and oak, these wagons stand on L shaped cast iron rails nailed into stone sleepers and are the result of much effort on the part of David McDougall, who I hope you will join me in thanking for keeping Gloucester's industrial past alive for the future.

THE MELLOR BROTHERS
 VEG OUT

2009 has been a busy year for Paul and David Mellor, most notably with the completion of their Charles Russell low loader complete with Blackburn Buccaneer twin jet bomber.

Their aim for 2010 is to replicate even more Gloucestershire based commercial vehicles in 4mm scale and Gloucestershire Transport History visitors can help them achieve this.

Do you have any colour or monchrome pictures that you could email of any lorries and vans that worked in the county from 1950 onwards?

In particular the Mellor Brothers would appreciate any more images of Loader & Munckton vehicles such as the one above and also of any used by Western Trading ( mainly yellow and black Fords ) and Haine and Corry ( orange ) builder's merchant's.

And what about vegetables?  They'll have the same!  In particular Paul and David hope to model more of the Bedford TK and Commer vehicles used by Francis Blakeway, Ford, Griffiths ( brown and orange markings ) and Hintons.

Any help would be gratefully received.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

As can be seen from the picture above of the apron at Terminal 1, slow taxiing or static aircraft fitted with radio communication are fairly easy to marshall. But once airborne the safety of each jetliner depends on its own inviolate "box" of air that - although capable of being temporarily stacked over a destination airport - is incapable of standing still or staying in the sky forever - unlike a train waiting at a red signal!

Indeed, although the pioneers of aviation in the decade after the Wright Brother's first flight often used railway lines to navigate, this practice led to at least one mid air collision when two pilots followed the same line at the same altitude from opposite directions.

As a result Britain - and most of the developed World - has air traffic control with different altitudes and locations reserved for different kinds of aircraft. Much British airspace is given to military traffic and other lower levels - within the reach of open cockpit and unpressurised general aviation - are controlled from regional and local airports.  

Meanwhile, if you have a 3 1/2" gauge live steam model of a British Standard Britannia 4-6-2, similar to 70041 "Anzac" pictured below, in running condition or not, then John Clifton would be interested in acquiring it from you.

It may well be that it was built from the plans supplied by Model and Allied Press ( MAP ) as L.O. 81 volumes 104-109.  A completed example - numbered 70051 and named "Firth of Forth" is seen at work below in Walton Park, Sale, Cheshire with members of the Sales Area Model Engineering Society.

RED NOTICE CASE

 GLOUCESTER FILM MAKERS PRESENT A CELEBRATION OF THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY BY MICHAEL CLEMENS AT ST GEORGE'S CHURCH CENTRE, COURT ROAD, BROCKWORTH, GL3 4ET ONE MONDAY IN MARCH 2011 AT 1930   

 "THE HISTORY OF THE BEACHLEY-AUST FERRY AND THE RESCUE OF THE SEVERN PRINCESS" WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF THE TALK GIVEN BY TIM RYAN TO THE WORLD SHIP SOCIETY AT 1930 ON MONDAY 11 APRIL 2011 AT THE POP-IN, HUCCLECOTE ROAD, GLOUCESTER, GL3 3ES, OPPOSITE THE WAGON AND HORSES.  FOR DETAILS TELEPHONE 01452 714167.  ALL WELCOME.  

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE WORLD SHIP SOCIETY WILL BE HELD AT 1930 ON MONDAY 9 MAY 2011 AT THE POP-IN, HUCCLECOTE ROAD, GLOUCESTER, GL3 3ES, OPPOSITE THE WAGON AND HORSES.  FOR DETAILS TELEPHONE 01452 714167.  ALL WELCOME.   PLEASE BRING AN ITEM OF SHIPPING EPHEMERA   

Set at the lowest natural crossing point on the River Severn, Gloucester has always been a focus for travellers and as a result both the City and County have a rich transport heritage.

First came the Romans with their roads, which evolved from the pathways of the Ancient Britons and grew into the complex of trunk roads and Motorways that we enjoy today. These roads not only allowed Welsh livestock to be driven to London but also accessed the coal, iron and timber of the nearby Forest of Dean

As the centuries passed too, the Severn was also exploited for the movement of goods, leading Queen Elizabeth I to grant the Letters Patent that made Gloucester a Port in 1580. Indeed, the trade on the Severn was so busy by the reign of Charles I that his imposition of Ship Tax helped the citizens of Gloucester decide to stand against him in the English Civil War.

After decades of manual labour, the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal also opened in 1827, allowing the dangerous sandbanks of the river to be bypassed by ocean going vessels. The longest, widest and deepest ship canal in the World – as it was when new – also brought an abundance of timber to the Cathedral City.

This in turn laid the foundation for such firms as Morelands – the "England’s Glory" match manufacturers – the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited and H.H. Martyn's of Cheltenham.

From Gloucester's tradition of blacksmithery and pin making too, sprang Cotton Motorcycles and – ultimately – the Gloster Aircraft Company. Among this company's illustrious products were the Gloster E28/39. In 1941 this became the first Allied jet aircraft to fly and led directly to the development of the Meteor and Javelin fighters.

Indeed, prior to the creation of the new counties of Avon and South Gloucestershire in 1973, Gloucestershire also embraced Parnall's of Yate and the Bristol Aeroplane Company with its omnibus building ancestry.

From the latter's base at Filton, the British prototype Anglo - French Concorde first flew on 9 April 1969. With Brian Trubshaw at the controls, G-BSST landed at RAF Fairford - still a part of the transport infrastructure of Gloucestershire today and host to the annual Royal International Air Tattoo.

Gloucestershire also boasts a rich heritage of railway operations, having been the Nineteenth Century battleground of the gauges between the factions of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and George and Robert Stephenson. As a result, the county still has direct links with Cardiff, Bristol, Swindon and Birmingham.

Indeed, Gloucestershire can also lay claim to preserved railways,horse drawn tramways, narrow gauge and miniature railways as well as a thriving model transport enthusiast community. This includes the Gloucester branch of the International Plastic Modelling Society which meets at Churchdown Community Centre on the first Tuesday of every month. For further information please contact Mr Barnfield on 01242 862826.

VOLCANIC ASH AT TEN O'CLOCK

The back story behind Terminal 1 of Britain's newest airport is that it was built for flights diverted due to terrorism, bad weather or mechanical problems, although in 2010 volcanic ash can be added to that list .  In an abridged version of an article published earlier this year, journalist James Delingpole tried his hand at air traffic control:

At Heathrow Airport it's a bright, cloudless day and  and behind a bank of screens in a control room with 360 degree views of all the hangars, the five terminals and, of course, both runways.  I'm directing the hapless passengers aboard a succession of Boeing 747s, 777s and Airbus A340s.

"Speedbird 62 taxiway Alpha hold at A3 short of Runway 27R"

That's a British Airways 747 taxiing down to its holding station.

"Shamrock 12 Yankee contact London Control Frequency 120.55"