Signpost Corner, Isle of Man is a former temporary motor-cycle race signal station, located on the

A18 A18 or A-18 is a three-character acronym that may refer to: * A18 road (disambiguation), in several countries * A-18 Shrike, a Curtiss Model 76A twin radial engine monoplane service test aircraft of the mid-1930s * Aero A.18, a Czech fighter aircra ...

Snaefell Mountain Road at the road junction with the A39 Hillberry Road / B11 Avondale Road in the parish of

Onchan Onchan (; glv, Kione Droghad) is a village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, with wh ...

in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Origin of Name

The name derives from a signal station for the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

races and

Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or 'Snaefell Mountain Course, Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period re ...

. The signal station at Signpost Corner was connected to the race scoreboards located in Glencrutchery Road in Douglas by a telephone land-line. Race officials would instruct local

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

on the scoreboards to switch a light on above an individual competitor's scoreboard which would indicate to the pit crew and race officials that a particular rider had passed through Signpost Corner and might shortly be pulling into the race-pits located at the Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road to refuel.

Bedstead Corner

Located near the former signal station at the Signpost road junction is Bedstead Corner on the (A18) Bemahague Road section of the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The name is said to have come from a section of farm walling which had fallen into disrepair. The landowner was said to have made 'temporary' repairs with old bedsteads in order to make the field stockproof. The 'temporary' repairs remained in place long enough for the name to become established and stick until the present day.

Popular culture

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

, author of the Flashman series of books, lived on the Isle of Man and titled his 2002 autobiographical memoir of his experiences as a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

scriptwriter as "The Light's On at Signpost".

Motor sport heritage

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

the Four Inch Course for automobiles was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races. The section of the Mountain Course from the Cronk-ny-Mona road junction to Governor's Bridge was first adopted for the

1920 Isle of Man TT Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

motor-cycle races and the Manx Grand Prix in 1923. This included the Signpost Corner road junction, ‘Bedstead Corner’ and the section known as the "old road" of the TT Course from the Nook to Governor's Bridge. The Signpost Corner section of the TT Course is used as part of timed special stages for the former Manx International Rally and Rally Isle of Man. In recent years the race signal station has been moved to a preceding position on the Mountain Course at Cronk-ny-Mona as average race speeds have increased.

Road improvements

The section of the TT Course between Signpost Corner and Bedstead Corner was widened during the winter of 1953/54 and the road re-profiled.''Isle of Man Weekly Times'' dated 29 May 1954

Sources

External links

Prohibited Area Page 32 Signpost Corner Isle of Man TT Races/ Manx Grand PrixThe Isle Of Man (IOMTT): Corner Guide (slow) and Scenery video
rider perspective (Signpost Corner at about 53:00), at YouTube Roads in the Isle of Man Geography of the Isle of Man Corners of the Isle of Man TT {{motorcycle-racing-stub