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BIRD'S EYE
Page 66
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By The Hawk VIEW Penalty of Speed Nobody, commercial drivers
least of all, will begrudge the authorities their success in completing the section of the M6 between Preston and Lancaster three months ahead of schedule. Because of weather conditions, however, certain small operations on the highway will have to wait until spring or summer. The only delayed item of direct importance to the road-user is the service area at Forton where refuelling facilities are already available, but no catering. Thus northward travellers who miss feeding at Charnock Richard will, until April, have at least a 35-mile stint in front of them instead of the standard 24-mile interval.
Among new features on this section is a huge gantry sign for dividing traffic into the appropriate lanes at the three-level intersection at Preston, the first to be completed in this country.
A Striking Warning Those who took an early look at the new section were able to see the latest Lancashire Constabulary highway patrol vehicles on which mostof the body is finished in fluorescent orange. The word "Police" is written in huge letters along the side so that, turned broadside to the traffic, these cars and vans should give a striking warning when anything untoward occurs.
Will traffic presently outstrip the capacity of the M6? If such a thing should happen Mr. James Drake, county surveyor and bridgemaster, would not be in favour of adding extra lanes to the existing three a side. In such a case he would urge the building of an entirely fresh northsouth motorway, lying west of Preston.
Coach Travellers 1 have always enjoyed the
" See Britain" type of film produced by British Transport Films, and the latest offering proved to be no exception. Entitled "The Coach Travellers ", it has been made for the Tilling Association under the direction of Brigit Barry to promote, as its title suggests, coach travel. It is the private hire side of the coach business which is emphasized in the films We follow the adventures of a group of ramblers on a visit to the Welsh mountains—an angler and his family enjoying a peaceful day by the riverside—a family visit to the seaside—and a tour of Oxford by a group of students.
There are, of course, many shots of coaches in the film, but many more of English and Welsh scenery. And the clarity and colour reproduction of these scenic views are excellent. The film is made in the modern idiom—instead of the usual commentary, the diaelogue is spoken by
members of the various coach parties represented. To my mind it is a film well worth seeing. Copies are obtainable from British Transport Films in the usual way.
Did You See Him ? Yes, that was the President of
the Transport Tribunal, Mr. G. D. Squibb, Q.C., you saw on TV last Saturday—resplendent in picturesque heraldic costume—doing duty on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral during Sir Winston's funeral. Apart from being Junior Counsel to the Crown in Peerage and Baronetcy cases, Mr. Squibb—the Norfolk Herald Extraordinary to give him his correct title—has written many books on heraldry.
Two of a Kind When I read in an advertise ment about the U.T.A. operating 13-hour flights to Johannesburg my first feeling was that the Northern Ireland Government must have done a pretty remarkable stroke of business. As most readers of The Commercial Motor will be well aware, drastic things are due to happen to the Ulster Transport Authority, For the moment it looked to me as though our old friends the U.T.A. had done a chameleon act in no mean manner, switching from the trials and tribulations of surface transport to the more lush setting of intercontinental air travel,
Having observed due reference to Frenchness in cabin service and stewardesses resplendent in Bina Ricci costumes, it occurred to me that it was time to check on the possibility that the initials could stand for something other than the well-known Ulster organization.
Fresh Claimants An aeronautically minded
colleague soon dispelled my doubts. There are now fresh claimants to the lime-honoured initials—the French airline, Union des Transport Aeriens!
Negotiations in Northern Ireland regarding the dissolution of the Ulster Transport Authority seem to be hanging fire, but the way things are going it looks as though it will not be too long before our French friends have the field to themselves.
White Elephant ? A roving colleague of mine
tells me that he recently saw a most impressive semi-trailer when passing through the works of Taskers of Andover (1932) Ltd. The order for this " special" was, he says, placed by "a man from the Ministry ". It was, at the time he saw it, nearly completed. But my friend was very much concerned whether it would ever actually "bit the road ". Why? This is the trailer being built to carry the " very much a matter of conjecture TSR2.