Rupert, how right you are, I became a tourist guide for Birmingham in the late 70s and I soon became aware that people from other countries were not at all interested in anything that had been built after the 50s. Without a doubt they were all far more interested in what had been demolished and why it suffered that fate. The canals were a great point of interest as was the River Rea and I could not tell you how many times I took people out to Wasely hills and then through the City showng them where the Rea had forged its course years ago, then out to Gravelly where it meets a big brother. The Council House and Town Hall, Accident Hospital and The General Hospital, a walk around the Edmund St area as well as St Pauls Square were alway very popular as well. The vast majority of these visitors did ask about the trams and to a lesser degree about the trolley buses. To be precise, everything that was old was of interest to these people and some even wrote to the City Council telling them just that. I would love to come back in fifty years time to see all the junk that has been built in recent years.
stitcher.