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Birmingham buses

Thre one of night time trams in the rain looks like the bottom of Gravley Hill near the Junction I think pershore road or was it Bristol road, I can't remember but I know there were bus's and tram stops there.
paul
 
Yes I agree with the Stratford Road location for the tramcars: route 4 was to Stoney Lane and 17 to Hall Green (Solihull UDC* boundary at Shirley). From memory I think they were replaced by buses just before WW2.

I never saw 7000 HP running in Birmingham but I do remember seeing it during the the early 1960's running in Paignton, Devon, carrying the livery seen in the previous photograph. I thought it an odd choice at the time, as Daimler was not a preferred type of bus used by Devon General AEC and Leylands being the fleet mainstays. But it was summer time and DG were often pressed for vehicles during the height of the summer season. I don't know the routes it worked whilst in Devon, but on the occasions I saw it (possibly over a two month period) it seemed to be working on the very hilly service 104 serving the housing estate at Foxhole and Marldon Village.
 
Thanks you to all for your comments to my recent photo upload :)
i must say your answers are very imformitive to me .
thank you ...... ragga :)
 
Yes that is Dudley Castle in the background to 2551. Also note that as this bus stop is in Dudley, the BCT bus and the West Brom Corp buses stop at Midland Red stops.
 
Ref Ragga's Picture of the no 33 terminus. There used to be a rush hour only route 34 which ran cross city with the 33 out to Quinton. I used to catch this bus as it took me to college at Gosta Green. Buses inbound from Quinton to the city centre used to show 33 number and terminus but outbound they showed the number 34 all the way from Kingstanding. Checking back I found that 34 was the route number of the Hagley Road tram which ran via Holloway Head. The 34 bus still took this route rather than Broad Street. One morning I was on this bus when it broke down on the turn into Hill Street behind the old post office and blocked the traffic for the rest of the morning.
 
The second bus at the 33 terminus is one of the rare Leyland Titans, WM had only 5 (or was it 6) of these, which were soon sold off to London Transport who had a large fleet of them. One is now at Wythall, to be eventually restored to WMPTE condition.
 
Re the buses at the Kingstanding terminus. My father worked for B.C.T. first as a trainee mechanic then as a bus driver during the late 20's and early 30's and apparently he was on the Kingstanding route at times.In 1930 the year I was born, my mother and father and my brother lived at Tansley Road, Kingstanding and , so I was told , my mother used to push my brother and I in a pram up to the terminus to take a "Billy Can" of tea to give to my father( I suppose you could rely on time tables in those days). I was also told that the bus had an open front (no Windscreen just a tarpaulin sheet). Later in the 30's he transferred to "The Overhead" driving the Tower Waggons . Roverman
 
Two 'open front' buses, one open top and one with a 'top cover; as the roofs were called then; and an overhead line tower wagon - some were converted from old bus chassis, but this one was built new on an AEC lorry chassis.
 
Lloyd said:
I think it's Miller St Tram depot, David. That's where the overhead dept. was based.
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Reason I asked was that it did not have the legal lettering that BCT applied even to their service vehicles even if it was not a legal requirement on such vehicles. I wondered therefore if it was a street lighting vehicle rather than a tramways overhead vehicle. The fleet no. 2 is however in tram style. From the white mudgards I am assuming that this is a wartime photo.
 
Lloyd said:
I think it's Miller St Tram depot, David. That's where the overhead dept. was based.
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I also think it is Miller Street, the Overhead Dept was opposite the tram Depot, noticing the tram lines comining from the direction where the trams were. I went there many times with my father. Regards Roverman
 
Yes, wartime. The vehicles were new c1934-5 with AOH registrations (AOH 1-5 or 6) to match the fleet nos. - perhaps the 'legal owner' signs are missing because of wartime restrictions
 
Picture of tram 623 in Miller St, returning to depot after its last run at the closing ceremony. The arched gate seen behind the tower wagon can be seen in front of the tram.
 
The pic of 2419 is at the back of Tyburn Rd Works, on the internal road next to the canal; the other pic of two buses may be at Tyburn Rd as well, there was a large parking area (later built on with an extension to the works) and the factory wall visible over the fence was possibly behind the service station next door to the works - all gone now, an open lorry park in its place.
 
2419 is parked a bit tight against the wall. Must have been an agile driver. They did say that London buses had sliding drivers doors so that they could park the buses closser together.
 
Can someone tell me how many Trolley bus routes there were in in Brum I know the 43 ran down Nechells I am sure I read there were only 2 but I am not certain on this. Dek
 
For a history of the trolley bus in Birmingham which included the Coventry Road route see

https://www.petergould.co.uk/local_transport_history/fleetlists/birmingham3.htm

I have read in another source that there is some query as to whether the trolley bus route to the Rover works which were outside the city boundary was legal. Surprisingly trolley bus routes were authorised under the Light Railways Act and I understand that there is no record of a Light Railways Order having been made to authorise this route.
 
In case it is of interest and not known about, there is a program on BBC 4 at 9.00 tonight on coaches in the 1950s
 
DavidGrain said:
2419 is parked a bit tight against the wall. Must have been an agile driver.
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Buses were rarely driven round the works - they were moved by a 'transporter' rather like a pedestrian-controlled fork lift truck, which lifted the front axle and towed the bus around. Note also the broken middle lower deck window.

They did say that London buses had sliding drivers doors so that they could park the buses closer together.
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London buses did not have cab doors until the 1930s, Metropolitan Police wouldn't allow them. Sliding doors saved the door being hit by passing traffic, too - obviously the driver had to look out for himself!

dek carr; said:
Can someone tell me how many Trolley bus routes there were in in Brum I know the 43 ran down Nechells I am sure I read there were only 2 but I am not certain on this. Dek
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The trolleybus route to Nechells was the 7 (not to be confused with motor bus route 7), which was replaced by motor bus 43 during the war. and the routes along Coventry Rd had various numbers depending on where they turned in town and terminated along the route.
The extension to the Rover 'shadow factory', in Lode Lane (Solihull District Council area), was constructed under the instruction of the Ministry of War Transport. The routes should have been operated by Midland Red, but the MoWT took the view that operation by electric buses rather than petrol or diesel ones was in the war interest. Midland Red did not lodge an objection, but when the trolleybuses were abandoned in 1951 the staff bus services did become Midland Red.
 
The trolleybus route to Nechells was the 7 (not to be confused with motor bus route 7), which was replaced by motor bus 43 during the war.

Lloyd I,m a little puzzled with this. I lived for a time with my aunt in Walmley i used to visit my mother in Vauxhall the route I took was the 114 Midland Red to Cookoo Bridge and then catch the 43 at the terminus to travel to Gt Lister St got off and walked up Boomsbury St I am sure I travelled on the Trolley Bus just once (this would be my only time I have ever travelled on one)The problem is I was born in 1943 and went to live with my aunt at the age of 6 I would have not been allowed to travel on my own till I was maybe 11-12 so this would put the trolley bus still running in the early 50s.Dek
 
I also am sure that I saw trolley buses in Old Square in late 1940s early 1950s which would have been on the Nechells route. I could of course be confused with Albert Street for the Coventry Road trolley buses but I don't think so as my mother often used to visit Kings Hall Market in Old Square because there were many stalls there selling dress making material.
 
Kev's video of the Erdington and nearby suburbs is interesting. I have seem others. What charmed me is the latter part of the video where the tram is traveling along a section of reserved track and making a fair rate of knots. I used to enjoy a trip to Rednal (70) or Rubery (71) to enjoy a 'rocky fast ride' on the cars and would wait for an open vestibuled upper deck car to gain even better exhilaration. Could not do it today I'm afraid!

Regarding the Nechells (7) trolley buses and Old Square. Books in my possession tell me that the Nechells trolleys were replaced by buses in the latter semestre of 1940. Apparently the Coventry Road routes which ran past their depot presented little problem but the Nechells trolleys had to gain their depot by use of a tramcar route. This was achieved by one trolley pole being applied to the single (positive) overhead wire and the return/negative made by a skate which slid along the tram track. This skate caused considerable arcing and was seen as a danger and an infringement of Air Raid Precautions. Given the nature of industries, gasworks and electricity undertakings in the Nechells area the decision was made to store the trolleys for the duration and replace with buses. I gather the trolley overhead was retained in Old Square until after WW2 in case trolley buses were re-introduced. But it was to late for the trolley unfortunately. I hope those, more expert than I, will complete the picture.
 
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