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Then & Now

A forum pic of what looks like the same bus in a post below ...
1904 outside the Council House.
Image~5.jpg
 
Post 1137 gives much the same iinformation as I did, however post 1156 by Lloyd gives more detail about the buses history.
 
Those very long timber ladders, the last I saw of a similar length were in Cambridge in the 1980's, had very stout strings (sides) which were far more sturdy than the extension ladders of recent times, hence their good rigidity. The fire services used, in the past, timber ladders with trussing to maintain stability.
Timber Pole Ladders


Timber Pole Ladders

Pole ladders are timber ladders, for industrial applications, and most commonly used as scaffolding ladders
  • Finest quality, heavy duty ladders, available in standard sizes from 3m to 10m
  • Matched Scandinavian Whitewood stiles, finished with 2 coats of ladder varnish

i dont fancy having one on my roof rack
 
It's called a pole ladder because its made from a pole of timber cut down highways then holes drilled for the rungs. Quite heavy, so mainly used on scaffolds, where you have an uninterrupted clime to the top. Great if your hod carrying, but pole ladders are a bit bendy.

There was one at spaghetti junction at Salford Bridge when they were building it that stretched from just underneath the M5 motorway platform to the ground by the River tame. Possibly the longest one I have ever used. When you got about halfway it was really bouncing in the middle, just like the cake walk.
 
While in Colmore Row Keith Berry looked down Livery Street. He often added comments to his photos as in the quote under the image. I had heard the one about Livery Street but not sure about his comment about City Road ...
KBLiverySt.jpg
Viewed from Colmore Row. The original length of this street is reflected in the phrase "with a face as long as Livery Street." It was much longer before it was cut through by the Queensway. I read somewhere that City Road is Birmingham's longest street.

The modern view and it looks good.
LiveryStnow.jpg
 
It's called a pole ladder because its made from a pole of timber cut down highways then holes drilled for the rungs. Quite heavy, so mainly used on scaffolds, where you have an uninterrupted clime to the top. Great if your hod carrying, but pole ladders are a bit bendy.

There was one at spaghetti junction at Salford Bridge when they were building it that stretched from just underneath the M5 motorway platform to the ground by the River tame. Possibly the longest one I have ever used. When you got about halfway it was really bouncing in the middle, just like the cake walk.
c bryants used a lot of pole ladders when they re built the hockley brook,and sewer in aston in 1960s. as mortun said they sure flexed........ 1571240193416.png a modern aluminium 10m ladder
 
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The comparison is remarkable. The old, presumably ready for demolition, but having lots of traffic of differing types and lots of people waking about. The new having the a quite severe and uninteresting appearance with mainly cars and few people (may have been a Sunday;) ) Neither much to write home about, but the old photo has interest as there are a good variety of car makes (they all look much the same today) and there is I believe one of the rebuilt Midland Red GHA Daimlers. There are three newer style KEEP LEFT signs and one of the older bollard type. Noticeably there is no yellow marking lines. :D The load on that lorry (a Fordson?) looks a little unsafe, but of course these were still in the times of "the joys of motoring" which, as far as I can see, have long gone.
 
The comparison is remarkable. The old, presumably ready for demolition, but having lots of traffic of differing types and lots of people waking about. The new having the a quite severe and uninteresting appearance with mainly cars and few people (may have been a Sunday;) ) Neither much to write home about, but the old photo has interest as there are a good variety of car makes (they all look much the same today) and there is I believe one of the rebuilt Midland Red GHA Daimlers. There are three newer style KEEP LEFT signs and one of the older bollard type. Noticeably there is no yellow marking lines. :D The load on that lorry (a Fordson?) looks a little unsafe, but of course these were still in the times of "the joys of motoring" which, as far as I can see, have long gone.

The difference I see is that in picture one there are Fords, Vauxhalls, Austins, Morrises, Jaguars, and even an Armstrong Siddeley.

Picture two is full of German, French, Japanese and Korean cars.

Whatever happened to the great boost the British car industry was going to get from joining the Common Market?
 
The difference I see is that in picture one there are Fords, Vauxhalls, Austins, Morrises, Jaguars, and even an Armstrong Siddeley.

Picture two is full of German, French, Japanese and Korean cars.

Whatever happened to the great boost the British car industry was going to get from joining the Common Market?
I get the impression the industrial scene was different here than elsewhere. ( italicized to avoid politics).
 
While in Colmore Row Keith Berry looked down Livery Street. He often added comments to his photos as in the quote under the image. I had heard the one about Livery Street but not sure about his comment about City Road ...
View attachment 138256


The modern view and it looks good.
View attachment 138257

such a shame its all gone now...boring

lyn
 
Central Brum seems to be just traffic and skyscrapers these days.

Maurice :cool:
Driving through the city is scarier than LA and there is something I thought I would never say, but trying to get from Lichfield Road (If it is still called that) to Hagley Road recently was horrific, mainly due to trying to read the plethora of signs and watch as you are being overtaken and undertaken.

Bob
 
I once came across an article in Aris's Gazette when Livery Street was first opened (sorry, I have not got the date). It said that it was then the longest street in Birmingham
 
Cameras and 'Then and Now' pics ... :)
Pic 1 shows New Street in the 1970s but distant things seem closer than they really are. The Town Hall appears to loom over the scene. Perhaps the camera was on zoom setting. On the immediate right by the Austins shop is Temple Street and further along by two bus stops is Bennett's Hill. Bus and car exhausts adding to pollution.
Newst1970s.jpg

Pic 2 shows the Google Streetwalk camera view from the same position just before Temple Street but the Town Hall looks much further away, hardly visible. Neither camera seems to show the true view. At least in today's view the traffic fumes are negligible.
NewSt2019.jpg

Pic 3 ... Google streetviews are made from stitching lots of images together. I've had a quick go at re-stitching parts of their images to make it look more like the 1970s view in the Pic1 image.
FkImage1.jpg
 
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