Heads-up - History of Motorways....

[RedRobin]

.
On now on BBC4. Takes me back to my early motoring.

Italy built its first in 1924 and Germany in 1939, but Britain? - Not until the 1950's!   

And then what do they do? Limit the speed to 70mph 

[Hedge]

I thought  the 70mph speed limit came from Jaguar or AC testing their Le Mans cars on the M1 @ silly speeds.

Still wrong though. 

[RedRobin]

I thought  the 70mph speed limit came from Jaguar or AC testing their Le Mans cars on the M1 @ silly speeds.

Still wrong though. 

....Yes, still wrong to impose the 70 limit imo. The limit came later in Barbera Castle's time - AC Cobra IIRC.

[rich83]

Thanks for the heads up robin, Very interesting! The m62 was my 2nd home when I lived up north!

[DaveB@Vagbremtechnic]

Hedge

The first bit of motorway in the country was the Preston bypass in the early 60's, it was a short stretch that eventually became the M6.

Your urban legend is true but Im very proud to say that it was my Dad who used to own the 5 Barred Gate garage, near Salmesbury who used to use this super smooth piece of Tarmac to road test his race prepared XK120's and E Types. He'd converted from stock by using Alloy Panels and wide angle heads directly from the Fire escape door of Browns Lane!

he eventually ended up with 4WPD which was the very best works development lightweight e Type, one of the first race cars with Fuel Injection. Other drivers of that car were Graham Hil, Jackie Stewart, Roy Salvadori and many others....

My dad had a visit from the then chief constable who was based in Hutton Nr Preston and told him to basically pack it in....

Just to set the scene, you're a copper sat on the side of the road in a 30hp morris and this thing goes past.....they never ended up bothering chasing him!

http://www.fiskens.com/pages/common/flash.aspx?pg=239

[Hedge]

Dave B 

I recognised the video as Goodwood before I focused on the words though 

[simonp]

If anyone is 'into' roads in a big way there is an enthusiasts club. Click on the wiki and look up your favourite!

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/

[RedRobin]

he eventually ended up with 4WPD which was the very best works development lightweight e Type, one of the first race cars with Fuel Injection. Other drivers of that car were Graham Hil, Jackie Stewart, Roy Salvadori and many others....

My dad had a visit from the then chief constable who was based in Hutton Nr Preston and told him to basically pack it in....

Just to set the scene, you're a copper sat on the side of the road in a 30hp morris and this thing goes past.....they never ended up bothering chasing him!

....Being 63yo I think I remember seeing that car raced at Silverstone and certainly many cars like it. In those days you could wander up in the pits and talk to guys like Graham Hill. I wish I still had all the black and white photos I took. There were a few babes around too - Racing drivers attract them!

In the 1960's I had school friends whose family ran a D-type among several other very fast cars and they used to 'test' up and down the then new section of the M5. The Police guys either turned a blind eye or stopped to have a chat like enthusiasts.

Those were the days but I do prefer modern fast cars for being more practical to own.

That was a heck of a long programme last night - I watched all 3 hours!

[wigit]

i watched all three, loved the aspirational viewpoint of the 50s and 60s and the construction of the M62 in the first show

[RedRobin]

i watched all three, loved the aspirational viewpoint of the 50s and 60s and the construction of the M62 in the first show

....It was almost science fiction wasn't it!

It brought back so many memories and some of the interviews were classic! That posh lady talking about her car radio, and those two guys talking about the effect of the motorway on their village who were straight out of Creature Comforts