• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Gas Bag Car

How were these gas bags filled? From the town gas mains? We had a system at work in late 1990's that compressed natural gas that could be used to fill tanks on "stacca trucks" or specially adapted road cars . Remember that some government minister (Margaret Beckett?) came to give the system her blessing as a "green" initiative.
 
Last edited:
I have seen these gas bag cars on other media too, I have a feeling that they put a trailer behind buses for the gas bag.

I would imagine that they would have been filled from the gas mains. I know that town gas does not lend itself easily to being bottled, apparently it will only liquify under very extreme high pressure. I have a friend who was a scientist for British gas, who said that they were researching ways to bottle town gas, but the government pulled the plug on all research with the arrival of north sea gas.
 
The trailer behind the bus actually produced gas some discussion about them around this post
oldMohawk said:
There is this pic of a gas powered bus in in the Birchfield Road..Perry Barr thread...
Gas_Bus.jpg
Click to expand...
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ingham-buses-part-2.39072/page-13#post-496954
 
Last edited:
The 71 tram route never went anywhere near Soho Road, Handsworth, Carolina. It ran from Navigation Street to Rubery, along the Bristol Road direction.
 
A bit more on the gas car and where to go to get one. The last clipping attached shows cars could be gas driven in 1917. Viv.

image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    60.2 KB · Views: 7
  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    31.3 KB · Views: 7
If the Birmingham Gas Dept could deliver the gas under pressure in metal cylinders why couldn't such a cylinder be fitted on/in a car instead of filling such a huge bag on the roof of the car which had the range of all of twenty miles. Something like a calor cylinder in the boot. I know that actual calor cylinders are butane or propane.
 
Last edited:
I suspect that the cylinders would have been lager and heavier than calor gas, and might have reduced range considerably because of having to carry the weight in the car
 
I have an idea that the metal, which would be needed for the cylinder, would be needed for more pressing things; such as aircraft or tanks.
 
devonjim said:
If the Birmingham Gas Dept could deliver the gas under pressure in metal cylinders why couldn't such a cylinder be fitted on/in a car instead of filling such a huge bag on the roof of the car which had the range of twenty miles. Something like a calor cylinder in the boot. I know that actual calor cylinders are butane or propane.
Click to expand...

It was not for want of not trying, Birmingham Gas Dept's town gas was not under high pressure. I cannot remember the figure but I think it was 12" on a water gauge, only a couple of pounds per square inch. Also town gas does not lend itself to be compressed, like propane or butane can be. I mentioned in a previous post that the gas board invested a lot of research into ways of trying to do this.
 
Experiments on Guy buses (not cars, but might be of interest) and the use of cylinders. Afraid this is all scientifically way over my head. Viv.image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
Parallel to this use of coal gas for propulsion, coal was used to produce a form of petrol, "national benzole".
 
Astoness said:
i rememer a saying "shes a right old gas bag she is" wonder if this is where it came from
Click to expand...
It might be older than that Lyn, there is also the alternative expression "wind bag". Not looking for a flame war but is wind bag more said of men and gas bag of women? :D
 
Bob Davis said:
Which two Guy buses were used? Does anybody know?
Bob
Click to expand...
Hi Bob, from my archives this is what I find:
It seems that the bus mentioned here was a single deck Guy "Conquest" of 1929, It was car 60 OF 3969 and had been a 26 seater with front entrance with a petrol engine. It was converted to forward control, with 32 seats and in 1933, for the British Industries Fair, and ran on compressed town gas. This bus ran until 1935 in that condition and was then converted back to a petrol engined bus but soon withdrawn, as were the other nine of the batch although they remained petrol engined. Bus 60 carried roof boards, similar to those on the Eldon airport buses, proclaiming that it an on town gas.
Between 1932 and 1934 experiments were also done with diesel engines. 442 OJ 5442, a Crossley "Condor" double deck demonstrator was used between 1932 and 1934 (withdrawn 1937), also in 1932 KV 1396, a Daimler COG 5 (Leicester appearance by Brush - not up to Birmingham standards ) was trialled briefly and finally the Guy "Arab" double deck, 208 OC 8208 with Gardner 6LW diesel engine, MCCW bodywork and into service mid 1934.
It seems that the COG5 was the decider that caused the transport committee - obviously guided by MR. A.C. Baker, the general manager - that diesel engines were the corporation buses future. Notable were the decisions to abandon more tram routes (some only had lives extended by WW2) and interest in trolleybuses also waned. Most of the pre-war petrol engined buses had gone not long after the end of the war and the few that survived worked out of Birchfield Road as that became the only place with petrol pumps.
Much of this places the Illustrated London News report a little late, but that may have been a plug for wartime economy and experiment?
 
Radiorails said:
Hi Bob, from my archives this is what I find:
It seems that the bus mentioned here was a single deck Guy "Conquest" of 1929, It was car 60 OF 3969 and had been a 26 seater with front entrance with a petrol engine. It was converted to forward control, with 32 seats and in 1933, for the British Industries Fair, and ran on compressed town gas. This bus ran until 1935 in that condition and was then converted back to a petrol engined bus but soon withdrawn, as were the other nine of the batch although they remained petrol engined. Bus 60 carried roof boards, similar to those on the Eldon airport buses, proclaiming that it an on town gas.
Between 1932 and 1934 experiments were also done with diesel engines. 442 OJ 5442, a Crossley "Condor" double deck demonstrator was used between 1932 and 1934 (withdrawn 1937), also in 1932 KV 1396, a Daimler COG 5 (Leicester appearance by Brush - not up to Birmingham standards ) was trialled briefly and finally the Guy "Arab" double deck, 208 OC 8208 with Gardner 6LW diesel engine, MCCW bodywork and into service mid 1934.
It seems that the COG5 was the decider that caused the transport committee - obviously guided by MR. A.C. Baker, the general manager - that diesel engines were the corporation buses future. Notable were the decisions to abandon more tram routes (some only had lives extended by WW2) and interest in trolleybuses also waned. Most of the pre-war petrol engined buses had gone not long after the end of the war and the few that survived worked out of Birchfield Road as that became the only place with petrol pumps.
Much of this places the Illustrated London News report a little late, but that may have been a plug for wartime economy and experiment?
Click to expand...
Alan
Thanks for all that info.
Bob
 
Them old gas cars were ok as long as you did not give cpl Jones a lift with is bayonet... I had a modern gas car it was a lot more economical than petrol/diesel was.
 
British Gas and Ford did that a while back Pete, a fleet of Ford Transits built to run on LPG, I don't think it was a success, a whole bunch of them came through the motor auctions as non-runners.

Motor traders converted them back to diesel.
 
Eric Gibson said:
British Gas and Ford did that a while back Pete, a fleet of Ford Transits built to run on LPG, I don't think it was a success, a whole bunch of them came through the motor auctions as non-runners.

Motor traders converted them back to diesel.
Click to expand...
Thanks.i see why now. i had a look on google. they were not very eco friendly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top