Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 7, 2019 15:47:40 GMT
Blimey!
YouTube has some fairly standard algorithms to offer to you the opportunity of watching content based on similar content you’ve previously watched and my recent viewing of some Metropolitan police 1970s/1980s film has thrown up this cracker showing the Greater Manchester motorway police unit in January and February 1979, during the famous winter of discontent.
I remember this winter vividly and even London had snow although nothing like that shown on the M62.
As well as the human interest in the officers and public drivers of the era, the film also shows a number of working practises that wouldn’t be used today due to the risk of danger to the officers and public.
The vehicles are a perfect snapshot of the era, with some great Police Range Rovers, one of the six-wheeled Range Rovers, fire appliances, ambulances and the entire lorry gamut of the time with makes such as Atkinson, E.R.F, Guy, Foden, Scammell, Volvo, Leyland and Bedford.
Choice parts are the E-Type Jag that has gone down the side of the embankment and the ambulance approaching an RTA at some velocity which then hits the side of a police Granada estate. Some of the language by the police officers to errant drivers doesn’t mince words either.
A gem.
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Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 7, 2019 16:06:17 GMT
And the E-type was WVU771L so a local, Manchester vehicle (VU). I assume that was its last journey...
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Post by Gene Hunt on Dec 7, 2019 20:05:23 GMT
That's a brilliant clip and a marvellous glimpse into a bygone era that I dearly miss. Thanks for sharing this Micky Gene.
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The Saint
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Post by The Saint on Dec 7, 2019 20:20:33 GMT
Thanks for posting Mickey, great footage. Interesting to see the digital variable speed signs on the motorway, I would have thought these arrived much more recently than 1979 - but obviously not! The Saint
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Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 7, 2019 22:40:55 GMT
That's a brilliant clip and a marvellous glimpse into a bygone era that I dearly miss. Thanks for sharing this Micky Gene. As soon as I started watching it I knew there would be a great deal of interest on 4:3 Gene so I just had to post it and glad you like it. i watched it again and there’s so much of interest. Just the vehicles on their own are brilliant. Those MkI two-door Range Rovers certainly earned their corn and their four-wheel drive was essential on those routes in winter. I like the bit where they were looking for the E-Type driver and then the call came through that he was in Withington hospital intensive care unit and the hospital initially thought he’d been assaulted! He must’ve been in a terrible state and presumably walked there although he could’ve been killed given the Jag had rolled and had that wooden fence post through the roof.
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Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 7, 2019 22:54:09 GMT
Thanks for posting Mickey, great footage. Interesting to see the digital variable speed signs on the motorway, I would have thought these arrived much more recently than 1979 - but obviously not! The Saint Glad you like it Saint and with your interest in vehicles of the age there’s a mass to take in. It’s such a great watch. Agree with you that I didn’t realise the digital variable signs had come in that early and the system they used was pretty slick as the traffic officer phoned through to control with the location and what the required speed was. How lucky were the couple in the Mini van when the HGV went from the middle lane to the first lane and nudged the rear of the Mini in the first lane, spinning it round and onto the front.
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Post by D.C. Burtonshaw on Dec 8, 2019 19:11:26 GMT
Thanks for alerting us of this! I watched this last night Miky and found it enjoyable and fascinating - love these time capsule documentaries! You're right those Range Rovers were terrific work horses and although they would have been worked hard, shows you how darn good they were when they deployed for pulling out stuck artic trucks!! Would todays BMW X5's or Japanese 4 x 4's be as good I wonder. I suppose the police wouldn't buy Range Rovers now as they're too expensive.
Interesting to see all those truck types, too now largely forgotten but they bring back memories of motorway journeys for me as child then, I remember that winter of early '79 too. We don't often get winters like that now, only occasionally in recent years of course. And not to mention the cars, that were so common then and would turn heads now. The Cortina MK4's and MK1 Cavaliers would have often been company reps cars then, although look hard there's the odd 60's car, like the broken down HB Viva and pre 1964 Hillman Super Minx going past in the traffic. Other more unusual cars on the road back then were the Japanese cars.
Some the motorists were a bit silly back then too, I haven't been a perfect driver in the past mysef but, you don't turn onto a closed off carriageway and ignore the cordon because "it would take too long taking other roads" said the bespectacled well spoken character with the MK4 Zephyr! They way he spoke back to the policeman was like he was carrying on like he had a right - if he was worried about getting to work late, then he should have made more time for his journey! The officers didn't always suffer fools badly then, I bet if they talked liked that now, the modern version of the snotty Zephyr driver would be making complaints about the way he was spoken to!
Some of the accidents were not always the drivers fault, like the red MK4 Cortina driver, but another pale blue Cortina nearly went for a burton slamming his brakes on and sliding - no ABS then - yikes!! Drivers today still go too fast on motorways in bad conditions.
I think perhaps the Mini van was a victim of the lorries blind spot although I don't wish to cast aspersions.
Those officers were very professional I'll grant you, considering the conditions and accidents they had to deal with and with the earlier technology back then and less health and safety. They're probably in their 80's by now!
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Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 9, 2019 0:36:24 GMT
Thanks for alerting us of this! I watched this last night Miky and found it enjoyable and fascinating - love these time capsule documentaries! You're right those Range Rovers were terrific work horses and although they would have been worked hard, shows you how darn good they were when they deployed for pulling out stuck artic trucks!! Would todays BMW X5's or Japanese 4 x 4's be as good I wonder. I suppose the police wouldn't buy Range Rovers now as they're too expensive.
Interesting to see all those truck types, too now largely forgotten but they bring back memories of motorway journeys for me as child then, I remember that winter of early '79 too. We don't often get winters like that now, only occasionally in recent years of course. And not to mention the cars, that were so common then and would turn heads now. The Cortina MK4's and MK1 Cavaliers would have often been company reps cars then, although look hard there's the odd 60's car, like the broken down HB Viva and pre 1964 Hillman Super Minx going past in the traffic. Other more unusual cars on the road back then were the Japanese cars.
Some the motorists were a bit silly back then too, I haven't been a perfect driver in the past mysef but, you don't turn onto a closed off carriageway and ignore the cordon because "it would take too long taking other roads" said the bespectacled well spoken character with the MK4 Zephyr! They way he spoke back to the policeman was like he was carrying on like he had a right - if he was worried about getting to work late, then he should have made more time for his journey! The officers didn't always suffer fools badly then, I bet if they talked liked that now, the modern version of the snotty Zephyr driver would be making complaints about the way he was spoken to!
Some of the accidents were not always the drivers fault, like the red MK4 Cortina driver, but another pale blue Cortina nearly went for a burton slamming his brakes on and sliding - no ABS then - yikes!! Drivers today still go too fast on motorways in bad conditions.
I think perhaps the Mini van was a victim of the lorries blind spot although I don't wish to cast aspersions.
Those officers were very professional I'll grant you, considering the conditions and accidents they had to deal with and with the earlier technology back then and less health and safety. They're probably in their 80's by now!
Very true comments there D.C and really glad you enjoyed the find. Due to seat belts not being mandatory, it’s interesting that the officers also didn’t seem to be wearing them, together with many of the drivers although one of the offices did comment to a driver after an RTA that they'd been lucky wearing their belt. Agree that those Cortinas, Cavaliers and Granadas were most likely company vehicles. Regarding those Range Rovers, I wonder what the MPG was as tanking up and down the motorway all day couldn’t have achieved more than about 15mpg I guess. And that six-wheeled fire brigade Range Rover is a right device! The clothes are a treat too, especially the lorry drivers.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Dec 9, 2019 9:36:48 GMT
Watched this last night and it was brilliant. Brings back memories as the area where it was filmed was local to me, the section between Birch services and the Yorkshire border, and winters here can be severe. It was my first winter of work too, and I travelled up and down that bit of the M62 many times at about that time!
I love seeing the cars and lorries of that period, interesting that not much old stuff, apart from the Super Minx and a Minor van, most of the cars were mid/late 70s. On the trucks, the only foreign ones were Volvos, all the others were British, Seddon, Atkinson, ERF, Guy, etc sad that you don't see these on the road now. The police Range Rovers were great machines, they were the proper ones, unlike the flashy vulgar ones which Wags now run around in.
One final little bit I liked was the radio announcement at the end, from our local radio station at the time Piccadilly 261, more memories!
Great stuff, thanks for putting it on
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Mickyosan
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Post by Mickyosan on Dec 9, 2019 19:40:17 GMT
Watched this last night and it was brilliant. Brings back memories as the area where it was filmed was local to me, the section between Birch services and the Yorkshire border, and winters here can be severe. It was my first winter of work too, and I travelled up and down that bit of the M62 many times at about that time! I love seeing the cars and lorries of that period, interesting that not much old stuff, apart from the Super Minx and a Minor van, most of the cars were mid/late 70s. On the trucks, the only foreign ones were Volvos, all the others were British, Seddon, Atkinson, ERF, Guy, etc sad that you don't see these on the road now. The police Range Rovers were great machines, they were the proper ones, unlike the flashy vulgar ones which Wags now run around in. One final little bit I liked was the radio announcement at the end, from our local radio station at the time Piccadilly 261, more memories! Great stuff, thanks for putting it on That counts double Cartman if it’s your manor and you can remember that winter in the same location. As D.C said, many of the newer cars seen were almost certainly company vehicles of the time. Those trucks are ace though with an Atkinson Borderer and Scammell Handyman amongst the many others.
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