IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cmh/wpaper/44.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A model for road transport in France and the UK, 1910-1930

Author

Listed:

Abstract

This article introduces a methodology for the creation of historical road transport networks, focussing on France and the UK between 1910 and 1930. We construct the first road networks for both countries in the early twentieth century, the key take-off period of motoring. We differentiate roads according to quality, width, and surfacing. We offer significant methodological innovation in the creation of historical speed models. To achieve an accurate calibration of car speeds, we extracted historical vehicle performance and developed a slope-dependent speed model. Our empirical validation process compares the predicted travel times with a new data set of historical observed travel times. The model demonstrates a high degree of accuracy, significantly enhancing the reliability of historical travel-time modelling. This framework not only provides a solid foundation for analysing historical accessibility and market potential, but also offers a replicable and adaptable approach applicable to other historical contexts and regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexis Litvine & Thomas Thévenin & Arthur Starzec & Patrick Mille & Isabelle Séguy & Guillaume Proffit, 2025. "A model for road transport in France and the UK, 1910-1930," Working Papers 44, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, revised 19 Mar 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:cmh:wpaper:44
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/73262538-06fb-4194-aee5-10a37af73134/download
    File Function: None.
    Download Restriction: None.
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bombelli, Alessandro & Santos, Bruno F. & Tavasszy, Lóránt, 2020. "Analysis of the air cargo transport network using a complex network theory perspective," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    2. César Ducruet & Theo Notteboom, 2012. "The worldwide maritime network of container shipping : Spatial structure and regional dynamics," Post-Print hal-03246962, HAL.
    3. César Ducruet & Theo E. Notteboom, 2012. "The worldwide maritime network of container shipping: Spatial structure and regional dynamics," Post-Print halshs-00538051, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Yu & Lu, Yuqi & Jin, Cheng, 2024. "Spatiotemporal differentiation calendar for car and truck flow on expressways: A case study of Jiangsu, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Luo, Xiaobo & Wang, Meihong, 2017. "Study of solvent-based carbon capture for cargo ships through process modelling and simulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 402-413.
    3. Yao He & Yongchun Yang & Meimei Wang & Xudong Zhang, 2022. "Resilience Analysis of Container Port Shipping Network Structure: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Viljoen, Nadia M. & Joubert, Johan W., 2019. "Supply chain micro-communities in urban areas," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 211-222.
    5. Moreira, Paulo Pires, 2012. "A Análise De Sines Como Ativo Geoestratégico Nacional: Um Cluster Suportado Nas Redes Marítimas Mundiais [The Analysis of Sines as a Geostrategic Asset: A Cluster Supported in the Maritime Chain]," MPRA Paper 47694, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Oct 2012.
    6. Liu, Liming & Wang, Kelly Yujie & Yip, Tsz Leung, 2013. "Development of a container port system in Pearl River Delta: path to multi-gateway ports," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 30-38.
    7. Athanasios A. Pallis & Francesco Parola & Michele Acciaro, 2017. "Empirical methods in the study of maritime economics," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 19(2), pages 189-195, June.
    8. Ashley Carse & Joshua A Lewis, 2017. "Toward a political ecology of infrastructure standards: Or, how to think about ships, waterways, sediment, and communities together," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(1), pages 9-28, January.
    9. Marc-Antoine Faure & Bárbara Polo Martin & Fabio Cremaschini & César Ducruet, 2024. "Shipping Trade and Geopolitical Turmoils: The Case of the Ukrainian Maritime Network," EconomiX Working Papers 2024-24, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    10. Guo, Shu & Lyu, Jing & Zhu, Xuebin & Fan, Hanwen, 2025. "Multi-feature fusion for the evaluation of strategic nodes and regional importance in maritime networks," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    11. Viljoen, Nadia M. & Joubert, Johan W., 2016. "The vulnerability of the global container shipping network to targeted link disruption," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 462(C), pages 396-409.
    12. César Ducruet, 2023. "Shipping network analysis: state-of-the-art and application to the global financial crisis," Post-Print halshs-04588340, HAL.
    13. Calatayud, Agustina & Mangan, John & Palacin, Roberto, 2017. "Connectivity to international markets: A multi-layered network approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 61-71.
    14. Pamina Koenig & Sandra Poncet & Mathieu Sanch‐Maritan & Claude Duvallet & Yoann Pigné, 2024. "Sold to China: Container traffic in the Port of Piraeus," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 510-544, May.
    15. Yang, Dong & Li, Lu & Notteboom, Theo, 2022. "Chinese investment in overseas container terminals: The role of investor attributes in achieving a higher port competitiveness," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 112-122.
    16. Koi Yu Adolf Ng & César Ducruet, 2014. "The changing tides of port geography (1950–2012)," Post-Print halshs-01359160, HAL.
    17. Zhang, Qiang & Pu, Shunhao & Luo, Lihua & Liu, Zhichao & Xu, Jie, 2022. "Revisiting important ports in container shipping networks: A structural hole-based approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 239-248.
    18. Nguyen Tran & Hans-Dietrich Haasis, 2014. "Empirical analysis of the container liner shipping network on the East-West corridor (1995–2011)," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 121-153, November.
    19. César Ducruet & Hidekazu Itoh & Justin Berli, 2020. "Urban gravity in the global container shipping network," Post-Print halshs-02588449, HAL.
    20. Qian, Peipei & Yang, Zhongzhen & Lian, Feng, 2024. "The structural and spatial evolution of the China Railway Express network," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
    • N74 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: 1913-

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cmh:wpaper:44. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Guillaume Proffit or Alexis Litvine (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dhcamuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.