MT 39/246
CLASSIFICATION: Re-numbering of classified routes
| Date range | 1933 - 1942 |
| Location | National Archives (see all files stored here) |
| Catalogue | See entry |
| File base | Series MT, subseries MT 39 |
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This file is truly delightful. It is likely to bring a smile to your face, probably because it contains the sort of thing that makes trawling through dusty archive documents worthwhile. The thing in this file that makes your day might actually have nothing to do with its subject matter. |
This file deals with the major renumbering of classified roads that came into effect on 1st April 1935 for England and Wales, and 16th May 1935 for Scotland as covered by the 1935 road numbering revision page on SABRE.
This really does exactly what it says on the tin. It covers absolutely everything from old favourites like the A34 extension to Salford and the truncation of the A32, to lots of obscure 4 digit B roads throughout the country in painstaking detail.
It also includes a few draft renumbering plans that were abandoned, such as:
- Extending the (then) A42 north towards Stafford, and then taking the A449 all the way to Salford - these, of course, ended up being replaced by the A34 taking this route instead.
- Extending the A35 westwards from Exeter (where it originally ended in 1935) to Penzance via the A379, A389 (now A38), A390, A39 and A394
- A rather ambitious proposal to renumber the A9 as the A1, and the A74 and A82 as the A6. This was rejected not only on cost, but the havoc it would play with zone numbering rules.
But if that wasn't enough, it's also chock full of goodies, including:
- A complete list of traffic signs with diagrams c. 1935
- A number of 4 inch MOT maps of various areas in Britain c.1929, showing just classified roads
- A bona fide 1922-23 MOT 1/2 inch map of Salisbury (sheet 33)
People with camera copies
Ritchie Swann has a complete scan of the MOT map, few camera copies of some of the maps, and a sizeable amount (but by no means all) of the renumbering lists.
Steven Jukes was last seen walking away from the 2010 SABRE AGM with a USB stick containing most of the above.
