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Electric Trams

Indeed Paul, I've not seen this one before - although I have seen the bus!
O9926, originally with the Midland Red company in 1913 soon passed with several others, their staff and depot in Tennant St, Ladywood, to the Birmingham Corporation Tramways in 1914 after an agreement by which the corporation owned and operated all routes which ran totally inside the city boundary, and the Midland Red ran further out from the city although retaining central terminus points. It much later became a shed on a freeholding in Nottinghamshire, and was rescued for eventual preservation at the Wythall Transport Museum.


1570633865_9ceca10f35_o.jpg
 
Try this site for more information - the Handsworth line used the same cable system as is still used in San Francisco. https://www.cablecarmuseum.org/heritage.html
Hi Lloyd - Thanks for the information. I have been studying the systems but still can't work out how the cables go round corners. Some sort of guidance would be needed and I would assume that the gripper has to push past any guidance devices. There is a slight curve on the hill in the photo.
oldmohawk

and in this photo linked to post#210
index.php


index.php
 
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Indeed Paul, I've not seen this one before - although I have seen the bus!
O9926, originally with the Midland Red company in 1913 soon passed with several others, their staff and depot in Tennant St, Ladywood, to the Birmingham Corporation Tramways in 1914 after an agreement by which the corporation owned and operated all routes which ran totally inside the city boundary, and the Midland Red ran further out from the city although retaining central terminus points. It much later became a shed on a freeholding in Nottinghamshire, and was rescued for eventual preservation at the Wythall Transport Museum.


View attachment 95488

Glad you like my photo, I worked at a photo studio in Harborne many years ago when a customer brought in the original for me to copy on a 5X4 inch plate copy camera.
 
Hi paul
Here is a list of the old tram ways and there routes that was taken,
Service number
2.Erdington. And steel house lane
3witton and Martineau street via six ways.
3x within and Martineau street. Via Aston cross
5.Lozells and Slade road Gravelly hill
6 Perry Barr and Martineau Street
8 Alum rock and Martineau street
10.wash wood Heath fox and Goose and Martineau street
11. Bordeskey Green and Seymour street via,Fazely Street. ( Rush hour only )
23. Hands worth and Colmore row ( rush periods only )
24 Lozells and Col more row(via wheeler Street,
26Oxhill Road. (Hands worth ) Col more Row,
28 New Inns (Handsworth and Col more row (rush hour Periods only)
29 Bearwood and Edmond Street
30 Windmill Lane ( Cape hill) and Edmond Street rush hour only,
31 Heath street (Soho and Edmond street
32 Lodge Road ( Winson Green ) and Edmond street
33 Ladywood and Navigation street,
35 Selly Oak and Navigation Street( Rush Periods only)

The cable car was introduced in1886/1887,
Was so called because of the continuous moving cable, set in a slot on the road
To which the tram could be Attached and released by a claw gripper mechanism,
In 1888 Colmore row was linked with Shockley by this means and a year later the route was extended to new Inns
Handsworth, remaining in use until. 1911
The System was first tried in San Francisco in1873.
Early post card publishers were quick to realise the sales opportunities afforded by intresting Events
Whatever the merits of the poem
The top deck Advertisement provide a startling reminder of how efficient steam train services could be nearly
A century ago
And if I recall the west bromwich trolley bus which was after there tram came into service until the late 1950 s was still
Connected to over head cables coming down through Soho rd through the brook and to snow hill
Best wishes Alan,,,, Astonian,,,,
 
Thanks Alan for the list of tram routes

I can add 34 Navigation Street to Bearwood (via Holloway Head) which closed in 1930. Although this route ended just round the corner from the 29 there was never a connection between the two routes. The number 34 lived on for many years after the tram finished because as late as the 1960s I used to catch the 34 bus from Quinton to college in Gosta Green going via Holloway Head.

The 29 route still survives as the 82 previously a joint BCT/Midland Red route B82
 
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Tram top Griffins hill.JPGDon't know if this has been posted before, but I thought a lovely picture of a tram climbing Griffins Hill on the Bristol Road probably pre WW2. Notice the lovely clear dual carriageway.
 
Learning how to drive the trams of their days ....
View attachment 98392

I believe these ladies are undergoing training in WW1, their attire suggests that.

This is more comprehensive list of Birmingham tram routes provided from this web site which I am sure many are familiar with.

https://www.robertdarlaston.co.uk/Trams.htm

A SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL BIRMINGHAM TRAM ROUTES
In clockwise order around the city, starting in the north.

No.Destination (from City Centre)City centre terminusMain road taken out of cityMileageJourney Time (min)Closed
6Perry BarrMartineau StNewtown Row2.64181949
3Witton via Six WaysMartineau StNewtown Row2.50171939
3XWitton via Aston CrossMartineau StAston Road2.37181949
1 #Stockland GreenSteelhouse LaneLichfield Road3.64231953
78Short HeathSteelhouse LaneLichfield Road4.09251953
2ErdingtonSteelhouse LaneLichfield Road4.89301953
79Pype Hayes ParkSteelhouse LaneLichfield Road5.15301953
63Tyburn Road (i.e., Fort Dunlop)Steelhouse LaneLichfield Road4.38261953
7NechellsMartineau StGreat Lister Street2.3 (est)1922
10Washwood Heath (i.e., Fox & Goose)Martineau StAshted Row3.87231950
8Alum RockMartineau StAshted Row3.22191950
11 #Bordesley Green via Fazeley StAlbert StreetBordesley Green2.54201948
12 #Bordesley Green via DeritendAlbert StreetBordesley Green2.4 (est)191948
90Stechford via Fazeley StreetAlbert StreetBordesley Green3.86261948
84Stechford via DeritendAlbert StreetBordesley Green3.60251948
15Yardley and Albert StreetAlbert StreetCoventry Road3.8 (est)1934
16Yardley and Station StreetStation StCoventry Road3.9 (est)1934
22Bolton RoadHill StreetCoventry Road2.1 (est)1930
44Acocks GreenAlbert StreetWarwick Road4.2 (est)291937
17Hall Green and Albert StreetAlbert StreetStratford Road5.43321937
18Hall Green and Hill StreetHill StreetStratford Road5.45321937
4Stoney LaneHill StreetStratford Road2.76261937
42Alcester Lanes End and Albert StAlbert StreetMoseley Road4.9 (est)321949
39Alcester Lanes End via Balsall HeathHill Streetout via St Lukes Rd, in via Gooch St4.8 (est)311949
51Alcester Lanes End via Leopold StHill StreetMoseley Road5.0 (est)1949
37Cannon HillNavigation Stcircular route via Balsall Heath2.01161949
36Pershore Rd (i.e., Cotteridge)Navigation StPershore Road4.82281952
35 #Selly OakNavigation StBristol Road3.39191952
69 #NorthfieldNavigation StBristol Road5.56291952
70RednalNavigation StBristol Road8.19431952
71RuberyNavigation StBristol Road8.00431952
34Hagley Road (i.e., The King's Head)Navigation StHagley Road3.5 (est)1930
33LadywoodNavigation StLadywood Road2.38161947
29BearwoodEdmund StreetDudley Road3.63251939
87Oldbury and DudleyEdmund StreetDudley Road8.26521939
31SohoEdmund StreetDudley Road2.58201939
32Lodge RoadEdmund StreetFrederick Street2.44171947
74DudleySnow Hill stationSoho Road8.97541939
75WednesburySnow Hill stationSoho Road7.25471939
26Oxhill RoadSnow Hill stationSoho Road3.15201939
24Lozells via Wheeler StreetSnow Hill stationGt Hampton Row2.06171939
25Lozells via Hamstead RoadSnow Hill stationGt Hampton St2.06171933
Notes:
There was one inter-suburban route: 5 - Lozells to Gravelly Hill (closed 1950): 2.9 miles, 20 minutes
# - Route 1 became a short working of the 78 in 1926 on extension of the line to Short Heath.
Route 35 became a short working of the 69 in 1923 on extension of the line to Northfield.
Routes 35 and 69 became short workings of the 70 and 71 in 1924/26 on extension to Rednal and Rubery.
Routes 11 and 12 became shortworkings of 90 and 84 in 1928 on extension of the line to Stechford.
Routes 24 and 25 were operated as one continuous circular route until withdrawal of the 25 in 1933.
All numbers 1-91 were used for routes: those not listed above were mostly short workings turning back before the final terminus.

Notes:

Route 7 and the 15 and 16 were converted to trolley-bus operation in 1922 and 1934 respectively. The 7 was converted to motor-bus operation in 1940 and the remaining trolley-bus services ceased in 1951.

Except for those distances marked “est”, I am indebted to Geoffrey Skelsey for the mileage and timing details which he extracted from official Birmingham Corporation Tramways & Omnibus Department records published in the 1930s.

Route numbers in the list above may appear to have been allocated at random, but there was, in fact, a geographical pattern to the earlier numbers with one exception:
Routes 1 - 6 ran to the north and northeast of the city
(with the exception of route 4 which ran due south!)
Routes 7 - 12 ran to the east of the city
Routes 13 – 22 ran to the southeast of the city
Routes 23 – 28 ran to the north and northwest of the city
Routes 29 – 34 ran to the west of the city
Routes 35 – 54 ran to the south and southwest of the city
Routes numbered from 55 upwards were largely short workings introduced after 1915, with these exceptions:
73-77 and 80/85-88 were Black Country routes taken over by Birmingham Corporation in 1924 and 1928 respectively.
70-71, 78 and 84/90 were extensions of existing routes as shewn in the table above.
79 was a new route partially opened as the 63 in 1920 on construction of Tyburn Road and numbered 79 on completion of the route to Pype Hayes Park in 1927.

Actually many routes have other service numbers related to the route number they followed. They were used for short workings at rush periods. e.g. 19 was a part journey of route 17 and 20 part of route 18.
 
Re post#220 : Taken in Glasgow Corporation's "Motorman's school" during WW1 when women had to be used as so few men were around. Here are a few in full tartan skirted uniform:

glasgow.jpg
 
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As a child I was often taken on the No 6 Perry Barr trams getting on at the terminus in Birchfield Road but don't remember seeing one like in this pic. It was probably something connected with WW2 and I vaguely remember grey painted utility buses but no grey trams. The No 6 route was closed in 1949 so the date could be just after WW2.
GreyNo6Tram.jpg
 
The two Corporation buses are in wartime livery with their dark tops. The Midland Red has two white stripes so perhaps that was wartime livery also
 
There were grey painted trams - they are listed in some books.
The engineering trams and as far as I know were single deck and painted all-over BCT blue.
The pre-WW2 Midland Red livery did have two cream stripes and of course many of their double deck buses survived in the that livery until repainted or withdrawn after WW2.
 
Thanks to David Harvey, A N H Glover, L W Perkins, P L Hardy, F Jaques, Birmingham Tram Books these pictures are the evidence lest we forget those terrible years and those transport service who lost there lives.
Can anybody tell me how I can stop more pictures I 'd to sent displaying upside down ans on it's side
 

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Hi Ray,
I notice the tram in your photo has a bow collector so it is different to the tram in the Perry Barr photo ... I wonder why Birmingham trams had different types of power collectors.

Regarding your upside down photos problem, I've only ever known it when posting from iPads. It is some thing to do with the image's 'exif' information.

Perhaps it might be worth you starting a separate thread about it in the 'Advice' section because one or two members have recently had similar problems possibly posting from Windows.

There was some discussion about iPads in an old thread see link below

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/sunset.43809/page-2#post-523812

oldmohawk
 
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Hi Ray,
I notice the tram in your photo has a bow collector so it is different to the tram in the Perry Barr photo ... I wonder why Birmingham trams had different types of power collectors.

Regarding your upside down photos problem, I've only ever known it when posting from iPads. It is some thing to do with the image's 'exif' information.

Perhaps it might be worth you starting a separate thread about it in the 'Advice' section because one or two members have recently had similar problems possibly posting from Windows.

There was some discussion about iPads in an old thread see link below

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/sunset.43809/page-2#post-523812

oldmohawk
They where called skids and replace the trolley wheels in an attempt to reduce arcing important during the war to prevent bombers tracking them, also they reduced the damage to overhead lines.
Also I believe the conductor didn't have to run round to change direction, I belief they were operated from inside the tram under a slacker length of overhead wire.
It also give a bit of flexibility when going round bends and when it wasn't possible run the overhead wires directly in the centre above tram.

Also during the war anti-flash guards were fit over the frog joints again to prevent sparking so as not to be seen from the air.
Lighting restrictions were also introduced and the fenders and sole plates where white.
When I can get the pictures to work I've got some trams and bus to display
 
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