Stoke St Gregory - Years of History BACK to Main Site
1925a
This week we look at a few transport issues of one hundred years ago.
This advert, placed in the Taunton Courier in 1925, was one of many attempts to sell new and second hand machines to a growing group of people with enough cash - bearing in mind that an agricultural worker in Stoke St Gregory would have been earning around 30 shillings (£1.50) per week. And in the Langport Herald, 11th July 1925 we have: "FOR SALE, 3½ H.P. TWIN, ROYAL ENFIELD, all chain drive, thoroughly overhauled, delivery from workshop, £18. R. W. ADAMS' Garage, Burrowbridge." The engine was probably an Enfield-built V-twin with a bore of 89mm and a stroke of 88mm, equating to approximately 421cc. It was rated at 3½ horsepower.A key feature was the "all chain drive" system, which included twin primary chains running to a countershaft and a final chain drive to the rear wheel.
But it wasn't all plain sailing, or riding. The Langport & Somerton Herald reported on Saturday 14 March 1925:
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"NORTH CURRY. FOOTBALLER’S MISHAP.—Whilst riding a motor-cycle near Durston Station on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. George Hutchings, a newsagent, of North Curry, had the misfortune to collide with a motor-car, receiving a fractured leg and bruises about the face. The employees at Durston G. W. R. Station rendered first aid and put the injured leg into splints. On the arrival of a doctor, the patient was ordered to be removed to the Taunton and Somerset Hospital, where he was taken in the Red Cross ambulance from Taunton. Mr. Hutchings is a well known footballer, being an enthusiastic member of North Curry A. F. C."
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And then there were all the regulations, if you could be bothered, as reported in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser - Wednesday 18 February 1925:
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"Not Worth to Light Up. Cecil Hector, farmer, of Stathe, Burrowbridge, admitted riding a bicycle without a light at Stoke St. Gregory January 30th. Norman Wm. Langford, chair maker, of Burrowbridge, gave evidence that at 11.15 p.m. he was standing at the side of the road near Stathe Chapel, when he heard a motor-cycle approaching. The machine did not have a light, and crashed into him and damaged his push cycle. Defendant said he would square up for all the damage which he had done. He used the road a good deal, and did not think worth while to light up. The Bench fined defendant and, at the request Supt Chapman, ordered him to pay the witness's costs."
In 1925 ‘Lighting Up’ was not simply a case of throwing a switch or pressing a button, as motor cycles (and indeed many cars) did not have electric lighting. Most motorcycles used acetylene (carbide) lamps for their headlights and rear lights, which, if starting from scratch, could take five minutes, sometimes up to 10 if the jet needed cleaning or the generator was finicky. If the acetylene generator was already filled with carbide and water and the jets were clean, you could have light within about 30–60 seconds: open the water valve, wait a few seconds for gas to develop, strike a match at the burner, then adjust the flame height.
Or you could travel by train, but that was not without its dangers either, as reported in the Langport & Somerton Herald - Saturday 25 April 1925
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"DOUBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ATHELNEY. REMARKABLE MISHAP WITHOUT INJURIES. An alarming train smash of a very extraordinary character occurred on Saturday morning just outside Athelney Station, on the Great Western Railway main line, about five miles from Langport. The mishap was happily unattended by any personal injuries, although the engineman and fireman of the local goods train were decidedly fortunate to escape with their lives, while another railway employee narrowly missed being crushed to death.
The trains affected were two goods trains, the first being the local goods train from Taunton to Yeovil, which leaves Taunton at 7.30 a.m. and travels via Durston ; and the second a fast through goods train from Newton Abbot to Banbury. The accident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. It appears that the driver of the 7.30 a.m. goods train from Taunton, apparently through a misreading of signals, ran into an " emergency " siding. After running into the stop block, which it carried away, the engine came, to a standstill several yards ahead with the wheels deeply embedded in the earth. Several of the trucks were derailed. The engine driver and fireman leaped off the engine, which was practically wrecked by the force of the collision, thereby escaping injury.
The engine demolished a wooden hut, which was occupied by a ganger —Mr. F. Parsons, of Durston—at the time the accident occurred. Portions of the hut fell around him but when he was extricated from the debris it was found he had received only slight injuries, although he was conveyed to his home suffering severely from shock. Two goods vans, still coupled together, rolled over a 10 feet embankment. The derailed trucks of the local goods had " fouled " the up main line, and a few moments later the fast goods train, signalled to pass through the station, smashed into the wreckage. One of the derailed trucks of the local goods was carried past the engine of that train and deposited near the inner home signal, which, however, was not damaged. Several trucks of the through goods train were caused to leave the metals, these extensively damaging the track for a distance of about a quarter of a mile, and also breaking the concrete coping stones of the platform. In this case the driver and fireman, through their prompt action, soon brought the train to a standstill.
The breakdown vans and workmen from Taunton were rushed to the spot to clear the line, ordinary working being resumed about 5 p.m. the same evening. Little or no delay was caused to the local train service, single line working being put into operation for about eight hours. Between thirty and forty trucks were either smashed or badly damaged. The remainder of the wreckage was cleared away on Sunday, when huge travelling cranes brought from Newton Abbot and Taunton were utilised to place the derailed engine on the track, the operations being carried out in the presence of numerous prominent officials of the company. The work was completed late in the afternoon. By Sunday evening there was little to indicate that a serious accident had taken place at the spot only a few hours previously."
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I wonder how long the line would have stayed closed under present regulations??