Of New Americans, Black Man's Corner and Wankelspiders

CLICK HERE for the original story about the accident on March 5, 1915

In the inquests, it was said that the driver, W Noble, of Glencroft Terrace, Darlington, was clearly sober because in the pouring rain and dark of the early morning, he had safely negotiated steep turns at Great Smeaton and Black Man.

But where, we asked, was Black Man?

“When I first came to East Cowton in 1971, the name “Black Man’s Corners” (plural) referred to a notorious series of bends on the A167 running from its then junction with the B1263 Catterick Bridge road northwards towards Croft, replies Richard Morgan. “In 1973, I think, the road was straightened from Carlingholme Hill to Thorntree House. This also had the benefit of removing the old junction, itself a well known danger spot for accidents.”

Parts of the old road can still be seen – the most northerly curve has been left as a siding in which road surfacing materials are stored.

That explains where Black Man was. Can anyone explain how it got its name? And while trying to locate it on a map, we noticed that it was near a farmhouse called Tewit Castle – another name which needs explaining, if anyone can.

IN the reports from early March 1915, Mr Noble was said to be driving a “40 horsepower New American motor” – what was this, we asked?

“Might I suggest that it was just The American without the “new”,” ventures Ken Stoves in Ormesby. “The American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis existed 1908 and 1913, when it went bankrupt – perhaps in 1915, its vehicles were still considered to be “new”.

“The American had a massive 6.4 litre engine of 40hp but that was deemed to be underpowered and so was increased to 7.8 litres.”

LAST week we also featured German-made NSU Quickly mopeds. “NSU also manufactured another famous product which was distributed by St Andrew's Motors in Parkgate, Darlington,” says Peter Tarn in Forcett. “This was the Max motorcycle.”

Peter knows all about Maxs, as he’s recently restored a 1955 example.

“The Max was a 250cc bike of advanced German design which first came to the UK in 1955,” he says. “It was a lot more expensive than British bikes of similar capacity, but the specification, which included a magnificent, fully sprung Denfield dual seat, attracted customers who appreciated its virtues.”

He finishes: “The capacity of all NSU Quicklys, by the way, was 49cc, not 90cc, as you stated.”

Last week’s article mentioned in passing that NSU, which started in the 1870s manufacturing knitting machines, had in the 1960s made a car called a Wankelspider – we mentioned it purely because the name fascinated us.

Several people picked up on it. Eric Gendle in Middlesbrough, for one, said: “The Wankel engine works in a completely different way to a normal eternal combustion engine, and Mazda still uses one.”

John Biggs in Etherley Grange explained a little more: “The Wankel engine was developed by Dr Felix Wankel and, instead of having pistons, it had rotating trapezoidal 'things'. The engine wasn't reliable and warranty claims bankrupted NSU. It became part of the Auto Union, which made Audi, before becoming part of the VW empire.”

CARSPOTTERS' QUERY: Last week, we wondered about the two-tone vehicle in this 1968 picture of Hamsterley. David Frizelle was one of many to respond. "It is a Wolseley 16/60," he said. "My father had one, reg FAJ 572, which was grey over maroon, as is, I think, the car in your Hamsterley picture."

"THE 'snowy sign' (above) in Memories 219 brought back memories of my days at King James I Grammar School for Boys in Bishop Auckland," says John Biggs in Bishop Auckland. "Daily I travelled on Featherstone's bus from Etherley Grange to Bishop. Featherstone's was a small, Etherley-based family business which, trading under the name Prospect Motor Services, ran a service between Bishop Auckland and Hamsterley, collecting passengers from Windmill, Morley etc. On many a snowy morning I'd think: 'The bus won't make it today', but Featherstone's – most days driven by Ronnie Hopper – always did."