At the turn of the twentieth century, motor-racing was fraught with danger. Races took place on the long, straight, main roads between cities and were impossible to police. Hazards included spectators on the road, non-race traffic and poor quality roads. The particularly disastrous 1903 Paris to Madrid race almost ended the sport, when as many as ten casualties (among both participants and spectators) led to … Continue reading GORDON BENNETT!
Kitty May Brunell was one of a clutch of women motorsport riders in the 1920s-1930s. Born in 1911, Kitty grew up surrounded by racing. Her father was Bill Brunell (officially William Joseph Brunell), a well-known photographer of motorsports. Her mother was Katie Margaret Meech. Brunell officially began rallying in 1928, she was only seventeen at the time, but it seems she stopped around 1933. Despite … Continue reading WOMEN RIDERS
“Altogether the Buicks (the last model of ambulance they used, presumably supplied by the Americans) gave good service, but I shudder to think what would have happened had the war lasted another year. Two years would seem to be about the maximum with an American chassis over war time roads.” When we think of engineering and engineers in the context of war, normally we conjure … Continue reading FRIENDS AMBULANCE UNIT
Recently we were invited to visit the workshops at the National Motor Museum where they are working to restore the 1927 1000hp Sunbeam twin engines that hopefully be running again in March (more on that in a future post!). The Museum tells the story of the advancement of the motor cars and propelled transport, from penny farthings, to steam cars, to icons such as the … Continue reading BEAULIEU: VISIT REPORT
Creating a virtual archive for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers IMechE’s Virtual Archive In conjunction with Townsweb The vast archive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) spans over 150 years in scope and is of National importance. So we were privileged to be selected by the Institution to build a Virtual Archive portal and publish their prestigious holdings online. Above image: Napier Deltic engine, … Continue reading CREATING A DIGITAL ARCHIVE
SAE and ASME resources now available from the IMechE Virtual Library The Library team have secured online access to ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) digital papers for all IMechE members. These high-quality resources provide everything you need to help streamline your designs. ASME technical journal and conference papers, now available From anywhere in the world, Members can search … Continue reading NEW FOR 2017: SAE and ASME TITLES
For one month only! IMechE members have full-text access to SAE’s content, comprising of technical papers, standards, ebooks and magazines, covering all aspects of aerospace, automotive and commercial vehicle engineering. Log-in using your IMechE account credentials. The free trial will end on 31 October 2016. https://imeche.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://saemobilus.sae.org/ Please e-mail any feedback or comments about this database to library@imeche.org Continue reading TRIAL OF SAE MOBILUS DATABASE
Whether you are in Dundee, Devises, Doha or Delhi you can now gain access to key items held in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers archive collection, all for free, just by going online. Curated from our extensive physical collections, our Virtual Archive showcases a selection of models, items, drawings, notebooks, photographs and documents about the history of engineering and the Institution. We have captured 3D … Continue reading VIRTUAL ARCHIVE: ENGINEERING HISTORY ONLINE
This summer (21st July 2015) Pendine Sands was once again the running location of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Sunbeam 350hp Bluebird. Driven by his grandson, the drive recreated its record breaking run of 1925. The Bluebird set three land speed records: 133.75mph in 1922 driven by Kenelm Lee Guinness; 146.16mph in 1924 by Campbell; and 150.76 mph in 1925 by Campbell. Altogether, Campbell broke nine land … Continue reading SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL
