Making the Connections: transport and its place in history Wednesday 16 November, 2016, Kings Manor, University of York

Transport has played a pivotal role in history, transforming and shaping communities, society, economies and nations. Naval power – military and merchant – was the basis upon which empires were built from the fifteenth century to the twentieth, while canals stimulated the expansion of industries and trade, becoming popular leisure activities decades later. The railways of the nineteenth century connected previously isolated individuals to the wider world, pushed through cities to re-configure urban living, while the companies themselves became the largest industrial enterprises of the age. The internal combustion engine allowed more flexible distribution of goods and commodities, facilitated the growth of consumerism, while car ownership changed personal mobility and people’s perceptions of their own social status. The aeroplane allowed new forms of military reconnaissance to be conducted, transformed the nature of war, and revolutionised the holiday as well as notions of time and space. All forms of transport have been the subject of great artistic, poetic and literary works.

It is easy to find such examples of transport’s impact on history, but for several reasons it has proven harder to study its intricacies and effects, and over the last thirty years the subject has received little attention, with some even arguing that it has been progressively marginalised within scholarly circles. Whereas decades ago, no book on the nineteenth century would omit the construction of the canals and railways, now their existence and role in shaping the period’s history receives little acknowledgement. The ‘Making the Connections’ one-day workshop seeks to re-invigorate the study of the history of transport by bringing together scholars of different historical periods and from different disciplines. Sponsored by the National Railway Museum and run by the York Transport Historians Group, which was established in 2015 and is a joint venture by staff at the National Railway Museum and the University of York, the workshop aims to demonstrate and celebrate transport’s central importance to the grand tapestry of human existence. Papers are welcome on the development and activity of transport in and of itself, although principally the workshop will examine how transport has connected with, shaped and influenced many areas of history, and how studying this relationship can enrich and add value to different strands of historical and academic study.

Please submit abstracts for 20 minute papers of no longer than 300-500 words to transportworkshop2016@gmail.com by 7 August. Proposals for papers on transport in history are accepted on the following subjects, although any relevant papers will be considered:

• Speed, time, and travel.
• Building, destroying, and rebuilding networks.
• Children and the experience of travel and communication.
• Business, organisational and managerial dimensions of transport
• Women and transport.
• International transport.
• Transport and finance, economics and law
• Advertising, promoting, and selling transport.
• Staffing and running transport.
• Writing or reading about transport.
• Transport conflicts: danger vs safety, public vs private, work vs leisure.
• Transporting animals, goods, or other materials.
• Accessibility and disability.
• Transport and the military, politics or ceremony
• Sensing and experiencing transport modes.
• Impact of transport on people, landscapes, and environments.
• Connections of assistance or animosity.
• Presenting, studying, or researching transport history in universities, museums, or further afield.

Notification of acceptance will be given by 28 August 2016.

Full registration fee for the workshop will be £29, and there are 10 student places available at £10 each.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-36302547

A Dinky toy collection of about 3,500 cars has fetched £150,000 at an auction of “international significance”.

John Kinchen, from Portsmouth, collected the vehicles for decades before his death last year, with models dating from 1937 to the early 1970s.

The rarest model, a South African issue Dinky 139 Ford Consul Cortina, sold for £800 in Exmouth, Devon.

Auctioneer Piers Motley said the collection had been “well known amongst the Dinky world for decades”.

As a child Mr Kinchen was bought a couple of pre-war dinkies as a child, which sparked his enthusiasm for the miniature vehicles, Mr Motley said.

“He went on Blue Peter to promote collecting”, Mr Motley added.

The collection, which passed to Mr Kinchen’s cousins on his death, was expected to raise between £140,000 and £200,000.

Toy expert Bob Leggett said collectors were “very much a grey-haired audience” who were willing to spend a lot of money “to recreate their youth”.

“When we were young we didn’t have as many toys as people have today and therefore they were treasured much more”, he said.

He said part of the “thrill” for collectors came from chasing the more elusive models they did not have during their childhoods.

“The golden era of Dinky Toys was probably the 1950s to the 1960s and there’s a lot of people who are retiring in their late 60s who are still collecting, and they have disposable income, they’re the baby-boom generation”, Mr Leggett said.

He said Dinky toys, which were manufactured from the 1930s to the 1970s, largely had the model vehicle market to themselves until the 1950s, and therefore had a “slightly larger collecting fraternity” today than later rival brands such as Corgi Toys.

The Times, 8 June 2016, Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent

The Times, 28 May 2016, Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent.

High-speed amphibious taxis could be brought in within 12 months under plans to beat congestion in some of the most traffic-clogged cities.

A British firm has conducted the first successful test of the Humdinga, on the Thames near the O2 Arena

High-speed amphibious taxis could be brought in within 12 months under plans to beat congestion in some of the most traffic-clogged cities.

A British firm has conducted the first successful test of the Humdinga, on the Thames near the O2 Arena in a move that could halve journey times between east and west London.

A real ‘Humdinga’ of a commute

The vehicle seats up to nine people and wheels fold beneath the 23ft chassis in less than five seconds upon hitting water. It uses a carbon fibre chassis and a powerful engine to travel at more than 30mph on water — three times as fast as existing vehicles — and 80mph on land.

The inventor, Gibbs Technologies, based in Nuneaton, claims that it is close to a deal to mass-produce the amphibious taxi, which could be running on the Thames in a year or two. It added that the technology could be adapted to other cities, such as Glasgow, Liverpool, New York or San Francisco.
The Humdinga travels at more than 30mph on water

Official forecasts suggest that traffic levels will rise by a third in 25 years. The Department for Transport estimates that average morning rush-hour speeds could fall to less than 24mph in urban areas. In London, they could fall to 13mph.

The Thames has a speed limit of 12 knots — just under 14mph — and the vehicles would also have to be licensed by the Port of London Authority before carrying passengers.

Neil Jenkins, of Gibbs, which has been working on the technology for 20 years, said: “The Thames is severely underutilised and this is all about using it as a thoroughfare, as it was in the 1700s and 1800s.”

Gibbs has built eight vehicles, from a water motorbike and quad bike to a truck capable of carrying two tonnes. The fastest travel at more than 45mph on water and 80mph on land.

The Times, 13 April 2016, Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent

Councils have almost doubled the money that they collect from householders to let them park outside their home.

A study by the RAC found that in some areas takings from residents’ parking fees had soared by 90 per cent over the past five years.

At least six in ten councils have some form of residential parking scheme, with an average of £59.17 levied on householders. Motorists in one area are charged £750 a year.

Many authorities also impose extra charges, including higher fees to park gas-guzzling cars, register more than one vehicle and to replace lost permits.

Simon Williams, RAC spokesman, said: “Residents without such schemes are often angered when they cannot park near their homes due to the influx of commuters, shoppers and visitors, but many are also annoyed that they have to pay the council for the privilege of being able to park close to their own house or flat.

“What can happen as more schemes are introduced is a domino effect where commuters end up trying to park in the next nearest location to their workplace, shifting the parking problem to another area.”

In the latest study, the RAC surveyed almost 1,800 motorists and obtained details of council receipts from permits using the Freedom of Information Act.

In London, Haringey council’s revenue rose by 90 per cent from just over £1 million in 2010-11 to £1.95 million in 2014-15. Over the same period it increased the number of parking schemes from 15 to 29.

Ealing council’s income rose by 84 per cent, from £938,988 to £1.73 million. Cambridgeshire county council recorded an 80 per cent rise from £254,328 to £458,387 while Carmarthenshire county council brought in an additional 70 per cent — from £31,820 to £53,935.

Some 61 per cent of motorists said that the system simply shifted parking problems to other parts of the borough. Only 17 per cent were actively opposed to the principle of charging if it meant that parking problems in their area could be solved.

A separate study in December found that councils collected a record £1.45 billion from parking tickets and permits last year. This left them with a £700 million surplus after the cost of running their parking services was removed. Councils are banned from using parking as a revenue-raising mechanism.