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Electric Trams

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did have two cream stripes and of course many of their double deck buses survived in the that livery until repainted or withdrawn after WW2.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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oldMohawk said:
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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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
 
This top picture is interesting it's pulling a producer gas trailer which was converted to save on petrol as per War Office Instructions,
I must admit I don't remember ever seeing one
 

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I believe the bow collectors were used on routes with sharp bends to avoid the trolley arms de-wiring. In the Edmund Street photo the tram with a bow collector was used on the Lodge Road route which had sharp bends in the Jewellery Quarter. The Dudley Road trams which used also to run from Edmund Street, but the route was closed before this photo was taken, had trolley poles. This meant that a detector could be fitted at the bottom of the Sand Pits so that the bow collector would switch the points for the tram to go into Newhall Hill.

At the terminus the bow collector would just flip over when the driver started off in the opposite direction.
 
The Fischer bow collectors were fitted to trams that used the 32 Lodge Road route due to the sharp curves on that route. They were also used on trams on the Alum Rock 8 and Washwood Heath 10 route trams and I understand that route diversions in the overhead was the reason in this case. Skates were usually used for movements of trams, without passengers, particularly to Kyotts Lake Road.

The gas trailers were not a success and were mainly used in the rush periods on route 33 and maybe others on the northern side of the city. As far as I know it was only the older AEC petrol engined buses that were used but there may well have been trials on other vehicles in the fleet.

PS: Incidentally the BAMMOT bus museum at Wythall are in the process of restoring one of the AEC vehicles such as that in the gas trailer photo. It is not at Wythall yet - hopefully next year but still requires a goodly sum of money to complete it.

https://www.wythall.org.uk/
 
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With reference to producer gas buses, see 'The Buses' forum as quoted below from post#249. I had a similar experience as a child to that mentioned by Roy Blakey in post#250
DavidGrain said:
Twenty five AEC Regents were converted to run on gas between 1942 and 1944. The gas was produced by burning anthracite in a hopper carried on a trailer towed by the bus. The end result was smelly and not very efficient, but could rely on home produced fuel. The producer gas Regents were put to work on service 33 (Kingstanding - City), the route being entirely transferred to Perry Barr Garage for the purpose and re-timed to allow for their inferior performance.
From Birmingham City Transport by Malcolm Keeley, Monty Russell and Paul Gray. Sorry I can't scan the photos well enough to show here.
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Click the up arrow to go there
 
I remember those 33s with the gas trailers struggling to get up Warren Farm Road to the Kingstanding Road junction, I also remember the smell, like Nechells gas works.
 
Hi guys
It states the longest tram route running roughly North was that of the number 2 service
From Steel house Lane to the city boundary just beyond Chester Road,
A distance of some five miles
Along part of the same route ran the no 5 Via the Lozells,Lichfield road to Gravelly Hill
Erdington
The 78 and 79 services took the same route as no 2 as far as Gravelly Hill, where the 78
Branched left to Stockland green and Short heath and the 79 right, along the tyburn road
To Chester road,near Pype Hayes Park
Astonian,,,,
 
Thanks for the memory stitcher, happy days swinging on the turn around pole, at the short heath terminus.o_O:eek: with the clippie making sure I didn't let go!;)
 
We have a photo of a tram in the Birchfield Road Perry Barr thread standing at it's terminus and there is an unusual Vee shaped object on the wire above the tram. I have never noticed such an object in other tram pics ... does anyone know what it was ? (linked image only visible if logged in)
index.php
 
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Maybe a guide to help the conductor position the arm on the cable?
that picture answers the question posed on another thread, the New/Old Crown and Cushion question :)
 
Thanks Eric, that's what I thought although Ray has suggested a different answer in the Birchfield Rd thread.
 
I believe the metal 'V' fitting was placed above the conductor wire to minimize sparks, during WW2, when the trolley pole was re-wired.
 
Radiorails said:
I believe the metal 'V' fitting was placed above the conductor wire to minimize sparks, during WW2, when the trolley pole was re-wired.
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Thanks Radiorails,
Ray Griffiths had suggested the same in the Birchfield Rd thead thread and with them not being seen in later photos I suppose they were removed after the WW2 bombing of Birmingham ended towards the end of the war.
 
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Tram No 367 in Birchfield Rd and it appears to be full of men and a happy looking group hanging off the back platform. It might have been 'the last tram to Perry Barr' but I would have expected to see lots of folks looking on from the pavements but there is hardly anyone around.
Pic 1.
Pic1Tram367.jpg

The same No 367 tram and again crowded with men with five on the front balcony and a relaxed looking man standing next to the driver. It looks like Birchfield Rd near Trinity Rd but the side destination indicator says Stockland Green and a destination number 1.
Pic 2.
Pic2tram367sg.jpg
 
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Old Mohawk's pics show both sides of the car as far as I can see. I guess the balcony route blind (3) (route 3 was disbanded shortly after the start of WW2) had been changed by a passenger. Route 1 was infrequent and did go to Stockland Green from Steelhouse Lane. The 78 continued further to Short Heath. I feel this is a special run for tramway enthusiasts which was not unusual but many of these special runs asked for car 843 which was the last tram built for the Corporation and was a little more modern in appearance. From memory car 843 ran on the Cotteridge route and maybe it was not possible/convenient to use it in the Perry Barr route.
 
Radiorails said:
Old Mohawk's pics show both sides of the car as far as I can see. I guess the balcony route blind (3) (route 3 was disbanded shortly after the start of WW2) had been changed by a passenger. Route 1 was infrequent and did go to Stockland Green from Steelhouse Lane. The 78 continued further to Short Heath. I feel this is a special run for tramway enthusiasts which was not unusual but many of these special runs asked for car 843 which was the last tram built for the Corporation and was a little more modern in appearance. From memory car 843 ran on the Cotteridge route and maybe it was not possible/convenient to use it in the Perry Barr route.
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I had never heard of special runs for enthusiasts but you must be right because in this pic tram 367 is closely behind the more modern tram 830 which has 'Pebble Mill' on the balcony route indicator. Some ladies on 830 have gone along for the fun.
Tram830s.jpg
 
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