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Reference
(The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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MT 102
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Title
(The name of the record)
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Ministry of Transport and successors, Mechanical Engineering and Vehicle Engineering: Registered Files
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Date
(When the record was created)
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1929-1979
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Description
(What the record is about)
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This series consists of files of the Mechanical Engineering Staff (including papers which were transferred to the Mechanical Engineering Staff on its establishment), the Mechanical Engineering Division and the Vehicle Engineering Division. They relate to the mechanical fitness of motor vehicles and their components, the investigation of road accidents, the provision of winter maintenance vehicles for motorways and trunk roads, and the running of motorway maintenance compounds.
The series also contains the papers of the"Cars for Cities" working group to suggest future trends for car design in metropolitan areas.
Papers concerning the pre-war Conferences with Certifying Officers are records of the earlier Roads Department of the Ministry of Transport.
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Related material
(A cross-reference to other related records)
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Files of the Goods Vehicle Testing Branch are in
MT 165
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Separated material
(A cross-reference between records that are related by provenance but now kept separately)
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Some files from this series have been re-registered into the WM series in
MT 133
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Held by
(Who holds the record)
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The National Archives, Kew
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Former department reference
(Former identifier given by the originating creator)
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ME and VE series
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Legal status
(A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language
(The language of the record)
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English
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Creator(s)
(The creator of the record)
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- Department of the Environment, Mechanical Engineering Division, 1970-1972
- Department of the Environment, Vehicle Engineering Division, 1972-1976
- Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mechanical Engineering Staff, 1958-1959
- Ministry of Transport, Mechanical Engineering Division, 1965-1970
- Ministry of Transport, Mechanical Engineering Staff, 1959-1966
- Ministry of Transport, Road Safety, Road Transport and Vehicle Regulation, 1960-1965
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Physical description
(The amount and form of the record)
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390 file(s)
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Access conditions
(Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
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Open
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Immediate source of acquisition
(When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 1983 Department of Transport
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Subjects
(Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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- Topics
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Road Transport
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Manufacturing
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Transport management
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Accruals
(Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
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Series is accruing
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Administrative / biographical background
(Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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In 1958 the Mechanical Engineering Staff was established as part of the Highways Engineering Staff. When the Road Safety, Road Transport and Vehicle Regulation Division was set up in 1960, the Mechanical Engineering Staff was transferred to it. This Division was dissolved in 1965 and a Mechanical Engineering Division was established with responsibility for engineering aspects of vehicle safety and amenity standards for road vehicles. The Mechanical Engineering Division remained a separate Division on the establishment of the Department of the Environment in 1970. It was retitled the Vehicle Engineering Division in 1972 and was transferred to the newly established Department of Transport in 1976.
Mechanical Engineering Staff are primarily responsible for advising the Department on all technical matters relating to the design, construction, equipment, use and maintenance of motor vehicles, with particular reference to safety. They also co-ordinate the work of local and regional area technical staffs of professional engineers and vehicle examiners who are concerned with, inter alia, the inspection and certification of goods vehicles for mechanical fitness; the operation of road-side checks; the supervision of the activities of authorised examiners appointed for this purpose under the Road Traffic Acts, and the certification of technical information required under international agreements in respect of commercial vehicles proceeding abroad. They are also responsible for the development and provision of special equipment for snow clearing and gritting operations of motorways and trunk roads, and for the design of maintenance compounds on these roads.
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Record URL
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https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C11151/