Making a road safe for the Queen Mother
I'm puzzled by the timing of the operation described below. Tarmac was laid, the Queen Mother arrived and reviewed the guard of honor, then the tarmac was removed again — all within the space of two hours. That doesn't seem like long enough for the tarmac to have dried. Did they have her walking on wet tarmac?
London Sunday Dispatch - May 18, 1958
Comments
Tram lines are essentially train or street car tracks. If only the tracks were covered then this could be done quickly. Using a temporary strategy, the tracks could be covered quickly without the labor intensive method of laying tarmac on a street. Since the queen only needed to access a specific area, only a portion of the tracks would be treated. The article stated that the guard lined up along the tracks, the queen would be further from the tracks than the guards so walking on uncured tarmac could be avoided.
After she placed the first brick of the building being celebrated, she would have left. Removal of the tarmac would be simplified by the small area covered and the fact that the tarmac would be thinly laid and still quite pliable.
After she placed the first brick of the building being celebrated, she would have left. Removal of the tarmac would be simplified by the small area covered and the fact that the tarmac would be thinly laid and still quite pliable.
Posted by Teri on 02/22/24 at 11:36 PM
I dare say it wasn't actually a proper tarmac road surface. All it had to be was safe to walk on. Probably some grit filler.
Posted by Richard Bos on 02/24/24 at 07:13 AM
A board laid across the tracks hidden by a red carpet would have made so much more sense...
Posted by crc on 02/26/24 at 05:26 AM
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Category: Royalty | 1950s