Broughtonlocal

Can I afford to fill it up?

Last updated at 13:54, Wednesday, 27 May 2009

WHEN the world plunged headlong into recession – not that long ago – we were told that the only good news was that falling demand would bring down fuel prices and keep them down.

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You don’t need much of a memory to remember the days of paying at least £1 a litre for unleaded or diesel – and those days are now back.

Petrol pump prices recently have been creeping up by a penny a week. Now it is more than £1 for a litre of diesel anywhere and at least 95p for unleaded fuel – and only then if you live close to a supermarket.

A symbol of the good old days – when petrol was still priced in shillings and sold in gallons – can still be found in Broughton.

Just round the corner from the forecourt at the CGP Pitstop is an original petrol pump with ‘the Old Filling Station’ painted on it and a cascade of green leaves decoratively growing down it.

Spotted on Monday, at the first staging of the three-day Border City Steam Fair in Carlisle’s Rickerby Park, was one of the vintage Esso tankers which might well have kept the Broughton pumps flowing 50 or 60 years ago.

In those days private and commercial vehicles tended to have huge engines with a thirst to match – making it quite an expensive business to preserve and show them at events like July’s Cumbria Steam Gathering traditionally held at Cark Airfield, Flookburgh.

As a reminder of those days when you filled up and didn’t have to worry about the price – or the environment – we have a selection of manufacturer’s badges from vehicles which would once have been a familiar sight at filling stations throughout South Cumbria.

Many of the vehicles are now rarities. The same can be said for petrol stations which are gradually becoming few and far between – despite the rising price of the fuel they sell.

First published at 11:38, Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk