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Public transport lighting

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
When I saw this photo of the new lighting on trams and buses in 1940, it made me wonder, what on earth must it have been like before that ?! Pretty gloomy I expect. Viv.

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In 1940 the front lights of many trams were covered with downwards facing slots to let out a small amount of light. The windows of the tram in the quote below were covered with blinds to stop any internal light showing outside.
A tram fitted with blinds outside the Miller Street depot early in WW2
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I thought I had answered this before.
However, trams were not fitted with blinds, but some did have mesh fitted to the glass. The 'blinds' seen in car 3 were fitted with in apparently canvas as the tram had no windows due to the oil bomb which hit Miller Street depot on 9/10 April, 1941, which destroyed 24 trams and damaged many more of which car 3 was just one. This was a temporary repair until board or new glass could be fitted to replace the lost windows. It was essential that BCT got as many trams back out on the tracks as soon as possible in order for workers to get to and from their work places. Car 3 survived until 1949 when the Perry Barr route was replaced by buses. Despite the Luftwaffe the tram manged 46 years service the the Corporation.
 
I was more interested in the covered light on the front of the tram. The window covers, shades, or blinds just happened to be on that particular tram pic I linked to.
 
Although this is an older post, I want to express my appreciation for the information provided. I had no idea about that, and it was fascinating to learn about it. The idea that it was a requirement during a war surprised me. It's amazing how far our technology has progressed to the point that we can now use smart led lights like https://www.vont.com/product/vont-bulb-color-smart-light-bulbs-smart-bulbs/ just to make our homes cozier. However, do you know of any similar facts? I am looking forward to reading them.
 
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