Eye-catching black and whites

[MrT]

You learn something new everyday, I remember Zephyrs and Zodiacs, but completely forgot about the Consuls, which I always associate with the previous generation of Zodiac etc. When I was a child, I used to think the Zodiacs and kin looked so much cooler than the contemporary BMC etc offerings. 

[Joey spud]

1967 Whitegates service stn near Rochester is still an Esso site today although with an added Tesco. I can remember as a kid in the 70's that it had a workshop on the side that sold 'Esso' branded tyres.

Her indoors and her mother were both cashiers there too back in the mid 80's.

The caption to this image says the old swing bridge on/off of Sheppy (aka Cabbage Island home of the Swampy's). Must be late 50's at a guess.

[Joey spud]

 

The Shorts flying boat factory on the river Medway at Rochester before it was closed and production moved to Belfast in 1948.

The site was taken over by Lucas/Cav before being redeveloped into riverside apartments in the mid 80's although the launch slipway is still there and there's talk of preserving it and sticking a little plaque on it.

[Metal Guru]

16 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

The Shorts flying boat factory on the river Medway at Rochester before it was closed and production moved to Belfast in 1948.

The site was taken over by Lucas/Cav before being redeveloped in to riverside apartments in the mid 80's although the launch slipway is still there and there's talk of preserving it and sticking a little plaque on it.

Before my time but I remember the Canopus  pub nearby in the 70 and 80s.

(Canopus was a flying boat. Corinna, Caribou and Golden Hind are in the photos but not Canopus).

[Joey spud]

I don't recall it either but Google says it was in Borstal and now converted into three houses.

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

I don't recall it either but Google says it was in Borstal and now converted into three houses.

It was adjacent to Priestfields.

[Joey spud]

8 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

It was adjacent to Priestfields.

Ah the posh part then.

I've found and added Canopus to the images above. 

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Before my time but I remember the Canopus  pub nearby in the 70 and 80s.

(Canopus was a flying boat. Corinna, Caribou and Golden Hind are in the photos but not Canopus).

The Stirling bomber was also produced in Rochester but at the “airport” site which became Marconi Avionics  factory and now I believe British Aerospace.

[MrT]

Canopus was one of Short 'C' Class Empire flying boats, and was scrapped in November 1946 after flying over two million miles in 15,026 hours after ten years, pretty good by the standards of the day. Golden Hind was an enlarged development designed for non stop Atlantic service. It first flew in June 1939 and lasted until 1954. The four engined land plane flying over Canopus is a Short Scylla, derived from gghe Kent flying boat. G-EBVG was a Short Calcutta, first flown in February 1928 in service with Imperial Airways until 1937. 

Thank you very much for some very interesting pictures

 

[busmansholiday]

7 hours ago, Joey spud said:

 

The caption to this image says the old swing bridge on/off of Sheppy (aka Cabbage Island home of the Swampy's). Must be late 50's at a guess.

The bus was new in December 1955, the kettle was chopped up in November 1960.

[Remspoor]

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

The bus was new in December 1955, the kettle was chopped up in November 1960.

A new lifting bridge was opened in 1960.

[MrT]

On 25/05/2023 at 23:00, D.E said:

A bit late in the day, but that is the old Woodpecker junction. On the left is the flyover of the A64 York Road, which was only for traffic headed out of Leeds. Inbound you had to cross the junction to rejoin the A64. Traffic jams galore. It was redesigned to provide a flyover both ways, which made life easier. The pub was closed by that time and demolished. I use to go that quite a lot when I worked at St James's and Seacroft Hospitals. Later I went ghe opposite direction to get to Leeds University when I worked there. 

[MrT]

On 02/07/2023 at 10:22, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Oh dear, insurers not going to be happy with that. Written off VW Microbus and paying out to repair an expensive F86K. 

The F86K was version of the F86D Sabre for some of the NATO countries. It was an early 'all weather' fighter. I am pretty sure that it us a Norwegian one as they carried carried Squadron codes on the nose. A lot of air forces used VW vans and Micro buses on airfields, including RAF Germany

[MiniMinorMk3]

[MiniMinorMk3]

[MiniMinorMk3]

[MiniMinorMk3]

[MiniMinorMk3]

[Joey spud]

Bapchild near Sittingbourne. That Avenger looks a bit special and is that a Renault 17 next to the Simca van ?

Rootes Rochester.

And good old Rootes of Maidstone. Every now and then I had to drop broken Peugeots here and it was a nightmare to find any space the building really wasn't suitable to be used as a large Dealership anymore.

Luckily it's grade two listed and the last time I passed through the bottom or Maidstone they were well into converting it into a hundred plus expensive apartments.

[MiniMinorMk3]

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

In October 1967, 26-year old Mary Sievier set off to ride to India on a 175cc BSA Bantam.

She reached India… and then kept going for nine years, becoming the first British woman to ride solo around the world.

 

[DSdriver]

19 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

A new lifting bridge was opened in 1960.

I think I spotted the lift bridge in a stunt sequence of a Jason Statham film the other night.

[sheffcortinacentre]

10 hours ago, Joey spud said:

Bapchild near Sittingbourne. That Avenger looks a bit special and is that a Renault 17 next to the Simca van ?

Good old Rootes of Maidstone. Every now and then I had to drop broken Peugeots here and it was a nightmare to find any space the building really wasn't suitable to be used as a large Dealership anymore.

Luckily it's grade two listed and the last time I passed through the bottom or Maidstone they were well into converting it into a hundred plus expensive apartments.

Think the avenger might be a GT.

[lesapandre]

Something thoroughbred relegated to the back there - and lurking amongst all those mass-produced cars.

Divided windscreen could be an XK Jaguar - but the scuttle is too high - in comparison to the Minx next to it, and the bonnet line too upright  - so maybe a Riley RMD Drophead (1949-51).

Alternative is an AC 2-Litre Drophead (1947-56).

Or less likely a Healey Westland Roadster (1947-50).

Or a Paramount (1950-56).

Anyway whatever it is - let's hope it found a caring buyer and survived. Being a more specialist car - maybe it's still about.

[lesapandre]

5 hours ago, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

In October 1967, 26-year old Mary Sievier set off to ride to India on a 175cc BSA Bantam.

She reached India… and then kept going for nine years, becoming the first British woman to ride solo around the world.

 

Went on to star in 'On the Buses'.

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, DSdriver said:

I think I spotted the lift bridge in a stunt sequence of a Jason Statham film the other night.

What film was that? 

[DSdriver]

15 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

What film was that? 

It was The Beekeeper at 35.35 and a bit later they show the new bridge in the background, Well worth watching the whole movie, use this link because their are loads of Youtubers trying to cash in on Stathams popularity by pretending they have uploaded his movies when in reality they have put up a differrent movie or just a load of tosh to get the advertising and hits revenue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=webjWcgBgzo&t=6035s  (This one is uploaded by Innovetix Cinema)

[MrT]

On 22/08/2023 at 12:36, Erebus said:

Is that Castle Bromwich presumably?

 

On 22/08/2023 at 12:02, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Yes it is Castle Bromwich, they are Spitfire Vbs. I have this photo in a couple of books, together eothh others obviously taken at the same time in early 1942. At that time the VB was hard pushed to deal with the newly introduced Focke Wulf FW190. As a stopgap, the Spitfire V was re-engined with a Merlin 60 series engine which transformed the aircrafts  performance, along with some other changes. As the Mk IX, it continued to be built for the rest of the war, with engines adapted for low, medium and high altitudes. Castle Bromwich built what might be called 'bread and butter' Spitfires during the war. Development and specialised aircraft like the Photo Reconnaissance variants being handled by Supermarine. 

[martc]