Stand pipes, petrol pumps, electricity charging points .... the story of 20th travel in 3 objects

Now I guess there are many ways of writing about the revolution in private and public transport during the last century.

Steam and stand pipe, 1949

The bicycle of course has its origins in the 19th century but really comes into its own from 1900 onwards, as does the motor bike while the reliance on horses clung on into the 1950s but had pretty much had its day.

And those stately corporation trams which were everywhere at the start of the 20th century were gone by the middle of that century, and the brief flirtation with trolley buses vanished soon after they were introduced.

All of which just leaves the petrol driven vehicle and its predecessor the steam powered lorry, car, and traction engine.

Petrol pumps, 1920-22

So here for no other reason than I can, are three objects that mark that transformation and point to the next phase which is the electric car.

Petrol pumps, the 1960s

The standpipe was essential for a steam powered lorry, while petrol pumps in their many variations have been with us for a very long time, and now there are the electricity charging points, which can be found at motorway stations, on the streets, and soon in people’s homes.

The delightful drawings of petrol pumps comes from a project my friend Ann undertook in 1964, which described the early history of the petrol pump and was illustrated by her own series of pictures.

I have to confess that I had not really given the petrol pump much thought, but like so many things it is a bit of our history which is easily taken for granted.

The idea had originated in the USA and was brought back to Britain by a member of the AA and in 1919 the AA opened ten filling stations which were staffed by their men in uniform who only sold to AA members.

Electric charging stations, 2009

Needless to say the concept caught on, and Ann went on to document the story through the inter war years and on into the 1960s.

Not perhaps an original idea for a blog story but I like.

Location; the 20th century

Pictures, Lorry, Bury Old Road, near Heaton Park, February 21st, 1949, from the collection of Allan Brown, petrol pumps and filling stations 1963-64 from the collection of Ann Love, three converted Prius Plug-In Hybrids Charging at San Francisco City Hall public recharging station, 2009, Felix Kramer (CalCars). Image retouched with Photoshop and uploaded by User:Mariordo