UNITED KINGDOM: 255 CARS CLANK AND SPLUTTER THEIR WAY FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTON IN THE ANNUAL VETERAN CAR RUN.

Record ID: 337084

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: 255 CARS CLANK AND SPLUTTER THEIR WAY FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTON IN THE ANNUAL VETERAN CAR RUN.
  • Date: 2nd November 1975
  • Summary: 1. CU & SV Car no. 1 - 1893 Socialable from U.S.A. with Benz engine (2 shots) 0.11 2. SV 1895 Benz 0.16 3. CU PAN Driver in fur coat 0.19 4. SV Cars away in rally (2 shots) 0.40 5. SCU Big Ben PULL BACK TO Car over bridge 0.48 6. SV Broken down 1896 Arnold on side of road 0.54 7. SV Milwaukee Steamer, no. 37 steaming along
  • Embargoed: 17th November 1975 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON - BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Y87OMRH9WAR5J3OEPSNHA1SC
  • Story Text: The annual London to Brighton veteran car run ended in the British seaside resort of Brighton on Sunday (2 November) with 237 of the 255 starters spluttering and clanking their way there within the specified time.

    The cars left London's Hyde Park at one minute intervals in the morning and had to cover the 53 miles (85 kilometres) to the resort by 4 p.m. to win a small commemorative plaque.

    The first car to start, a lovingly restored 1893 one-and-a-half horsepower Benz, owned by Bud Cohn, of Los Angeles, California, broke down 12 miles (19 kilometres) from Brighton with valve failure.

    The commemoration London to Brighton run, or as it is affectionately known, "the old crocks race," marks the abolition of an 1895 law that all "horseless carriages" must be preceded by a man waving a red flag.

    Most of this year's entries were from Britain but there were also cars from the United States, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.

    Drivers and passengers dressed in thick leather coats and an assortment of turn-of-the-century clothing to provide a nostalgic backdrop for one of Britain's biggest traditional free shows.

    Each year, new entries are attracted -- cars are wheeled out of motor museums, private collections, and dusty garages.
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