[travancore]

Is this an India registration ? The location is supposed to be!

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by travancore

Attachment 1369546


Is this an India registration ? The location is supposed to be!

Possibly Karachi - prepartition India? Over to Cedric.

[moralfibre]

BPS - xxx

Bharatpur State

As seen here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-wa...ml#post3704669

[sabinesnubbing]

Karl,
G.M.T. 60 is indeed a strange registration. Would I be right in guessing it is not long after 1947?
I wonder if it is some sort of strange paramilitary number again?

The Ka number is a standard pre-1939 Karachi number. K, then Ka, then KAR.

Great photos.
Cheers
Cedric

[travancore]

courtesy: www.kaurlife.org



ca. 1930

[travancore]

courtesy: Heritage Transportation Museum.

Please dont shoot me,if this has been posted before!



RS = Rajputana State ?; BK = Bikanir ?

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by travancore

RR PI, Chassis 122HC and a Chevrolet Suburban from the movie Elephant Walk, initially shot in Ceylon.

Originally Posted by Roger OZ

Vivien Leigh is seen in both these photos.
This 1925 Phantom I 122HC arrived in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1934, and has remained there ever since, having changed hands a few times. It is now in derelict condition, yet with most of its original Barker tourer body remaining.

I wonder what to make of the registration plate. X 4857 in this colour combination would also be correct for Bombay, pre 1939. Also applicable to Ceylon? Other cars in the movie feature instantly recognisable Sri Lankan plates.

[Roger OZ]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

I wonder what to make of the registration plate. X 4857 in this colour combination would also be correct for Bombay, pre 1939. Also applicable to Ceylon? Other cars in the movie feature instantly recognisable Sri Lankan plates.

This is an authentic number in the pre-WW2 series of single-letter-prefix registration plates issued in Ceylon.

At the inception of a motor vehicle registration system in Ceylon circa 1903, with the exception of the letter 'Y' a different letter of the alphabet was used based on the administrative district or province in which a vehicle was registered. Colombo being the capital city with the greatest 'population' of motor vehicles compared to elsewhere on the island, more than one prefix was used for Colombo-registered vehicles, beginning with 'C' and then 'A' and, later still, 'X'.

The subject of Ceylon's motor vehicle registration system - from the earliest registrations of the 20th century through to the pre- and post-WW2 era (the latter with two-letter prefixes) and beyond, including 1958 when the letter 'Sri'/'Shri' was incorporated in the Sinhala script with a preceding number as part of the prefix (e.g. '1 Sri', '22 Sri', etc) - is an interesting one, but probably not ideal for discussion at length in this forum.

Suffice it to say that any suggestion that the registration X 4857 on this 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Barker tourer 122HC is linked to India (if I am reading Karlos' latest post correctly?) should be dismissed. This is an original and uniquely Ceylonese registration in keeping with the period when the car was imported to Ceylon (1934) and first registered there.

Besides, 122HC has always been a 'Ceylon car' since its arrival there from Wales, and even if it ventured as far afield as India on tour (which appears unlikely, according to anecdotal evidence) it has only ever worn the Ceylon plate X 4857 for the past 81 years.

It should also be noted that as a general rule (although rules can sometimes be broken ), in Sri Lanka a registration number stays with that vehicle for 'life', and is never reissued to another vehicle even if/when the original vehicle is scrapped and its registration cancelled, or sold overseas. Therefore, 122HC continues to wear its original Ceylon plate X 4857 even though it hasn't turned a wheel for three decades at least.

[moralfibre]

Istanbul/August.1951

Three Indian Motor-cyclists, Mr. S.M. Nadkarni, Mr. R.A. Nayak and Mr. R.A. Farzavandi, who were riding from Bombay to London, passed through Istanbul in 1951, where they stayed for a fiew days. Photo shows the Indian motor for a few days. Photo shows the Indian motorcyclists bidding farewell farewell to Mr. C.S. to Mr. C.S. Jha, Indian Minister to Turkey, on setting out for the next stage in their journey which was to take them through Greece, Yugoslavia and Italy.

Never seen BMV series before:



Source: Photodivision GOI.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Never seen BMV series before:

Attachment 1382386

Source: Photodivision GOI.

Very very nice!

We had only seen one record of BMV in the past, and that too also on a similar Jawa, posted by Harit here





Maybe this series was immediately withdrawn, or restricted to a certain class of vehicles - I cannot understand why none survive. some BY(x) series were re-registered after formation of Gujarat, but the other BM(x) series are still valid in Bombay. Maybe some series like BMA, BMB and BMV were also issued to Gujarat...

[karlosdeville]

This letter appeared in Motor Sport Magazine September 1979, the letter regarding Vauxhalls states that the English registration and insurance was valid throughout India with no changes.

[sabinesnubbing]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Never seen BMV series before:

Attachment 1382386

Source: Photodivision GOI.

moralfibre, Karl.
I had previously thought that the BMV series was a 1939 motorbike only series. In the 1939 registrations BMT (public transport), BMW and BMX (both private 4 wheelers) were all issued so V fits nicely for mc.
Can either of you (or anyone else) estimate the age of the bikes in the 2 photos?
Cheers
Cedric

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by sabinesnubbing

moralfibre, Karl.
I had previously thought that the BMV series was a 1939 motorbike only series. In the 1939 registrations BMT (public transport), BMW and BMX (both private 4 wheelers) were all issued so V fits nicely for mc.
Can either of you (or anyone else) estimate the age of the bikes in the 2 photos?
Cheers
Cedric

Cedric have you any more records of BMV? If so can you share?

BMW and BMX were used for Motorcycles as well, there are many examples.

These BMV registered Jawa bikes probably date to the late 1940s. The picture by moralfibre is dated 1951, the bikes were probably fairly new before undertaking the journey.

[sabinesnubbing]

Karl,
The only other BMV I have is that one from Harit. If we believe the bikes themselves are late 40s then BMV must be a 1947 series and I have got the wrong date.
One day we will get the registrations figured out..........maybe!
Cheers
Cedric

[moralfibre]

Got some unique registrations from Source: http://www.fibis.org/