• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

the no 8 bus

Astoness

Astoness

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR
Staff member
sorry this is not a very good pic but its of the no 8 bus turning from gerard st to the 1st stop on nursery road...the building on the right was used by lozells girls school to teach us ladies how to become good housekeepers....:rolleyes:

lyn
 
hi maggie...i forgot that you went to lozells girls...i quickly took a pic of it out of a book in the archives this morning..it was only for display and they hadnt got one i could lend so it looks like i will be treating myself to it soon...theres lots more pics of the no 8 route in it....

lyn:):)
 
Great photo complete with the old style bus stops. We girls from Fentham Road School in Erdington had classes is a large house on Gravelly Hill not too far a walk from Fentham Road. Single women teachers from the School District lived in the house and I believe a few schools used the house for Domestic classes. It was freezing in the winter I remember. We girls had a lot of fun though. The lampshade making classes weren't much fun I remember.
It took ages to make the beds though since we had to fold all the blankets and sheets before we put them back on again:( Many girls used to bop with the brooms down in the cellar when the teacher was somewhere house in the house. Happy Days though.
 
lol jennyann..isnt it amazing how just one little pic or someones post can jolt our memories and send us back in time....i went to lozells girls but never used the building for housekeeping classes although i do know our mom did...

lyn:)
 
Lyn
Here's a scan of the picture. Gives a bit more detail, but still not quite as good as the original
Mike
 
mike thank you...thats much better...like i said i very quickly took it from a book in the library...i will be buy the book soon so will be able to take more time with the pics....

cheers..
lyn:)
 
Lyn there are loads of Posts on the Inner Circle No8 under Birmingham Buses thread:)
 
Nice picture, not only for the BOP-registered 1936 Daimler / Metro-Cammell bus, but the aura of the age portrayed as well. No bus passes back then (unless one of the queue was a city councillor!) and no 'baby buggies' to knock other passengers' legs.
Hope the window cleaner doesn't want to take his barrow and ladders on!
 
Lloyd
Not clear in the scan ,or really in the picture, but, for your benefit, the caption says its BOP883
Mike
 
lol Lloyd..i would say that the window cleaners barrow may have been my dads but for the knowledge that he never used one... in all the years he did the job it was ladders on the shoulder...shammy and i think he called it a scrim cloth in his bucket....

lyn:):)
 
i am sure we usd to have a pic restoration section..cant seem to see it now so at the risk of going off thread could someone please try to sharpen this one up please..its of the girls from lozells girls school having a housekeeping lesson in the building outside the bus stop on my previous pic...also the other pic which is of the staff of lozells girls school..i can then post them in the appropriate place...

many thanks...

lyn:)
 
mikejee said:
Lloyd
Not clear in the scan ,or really in the picture, but, for your benefit, the caption says its BOP883
Mike
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike, I wondered which one it was. I can cross it off in my spotter's book now!

Those buses were magnificent liners of the road, moquette seating and panel coverings downstairs, leather seats upstairs, polished wood cappings surrounding the windows and ceiling panels, stainless steel handrails and lamp reflectors - I've heard the pre-war Birmingham bus described as like a "Luxury hotel lounge on wheels"! Certainly better appointed than many of the passengers had to endure in the poor housing in some areas.
Sadly gone are the days when simply riding on a Corporation bus gave you an idea of the pride the city had.
 
Saturday evenings with Mom Dad & Sister just after the War on the way to my Aunt and Uncles happy times thanks Mike:)
 
Astoness said:
i am sure we usd to have a pic restoration section..cant seem to see it now so at the risk of going off thread could someone please try to sharpen this one up please..its of the girls from lozells girls school having a housekeeping lesson in the building outside the bus stop on my previous pic...also the other pic which is of the staff of lozells girls school..i can then post them in the appropriate place...
many thanks...
lyn:)
Click to expand...
Llyn,
The 1st one's fuzzy but the 2nd one isn't too bad.
 
alf..ive looked at the thread...its very interesting...

dave..many thanks for touching up the pics...

mike thats a great pic of the no 8 at satley gate...how well i remember that...another route im very familiar with is the num 14...i used to catch the 8 from nursery road to meet my aunt on a friday night..she worked at tubes rocky lane then jump the 14 to her house in tile cross....

lyn:)
 
Note the Old oversized milk float on the left. These were based at a Depot in Manchester St and were used for wholesale delivery to shops etc.
 
Re: the No 8 bus in Icknield Street. My dad bought me my first "grown-up" bike from that Centric Cycles shop in 1955! Lovely photo.
 
Hi Astoness .. That phot brought back memories for me .. phew .. I used to get the no.8 bus at the bottom of my rd Osbourne rd Sparkbrook .. that was in Walford rd ..that was tuppeny childs then get off at the Vine pub and Jump on the No 17 bus to Hobmoor Rd and pay tuppenny childs and get off at the Monaca rd stop .. ohh Happy Days :)
Luv Jean xx
 
Oh Yes !!! The good old No. 8 ! As a kid I lived in William St which ran from Lozells Rd to Clifford St, crossing Gerrard St. Us kids would hop on the No. 8 in Gerrard St and say to the conductor " 6d all the way round!" This was in the very early sixties We'd stay on and just enjoy the ride, seeing all the bits of Brum unfamiliar to us. At that age ( around 8 ) your whole world tended to be the surrounding couple of streets where you lived !!! I vividly remember being on my rollerskates one evening on the corner of William St and Gerrard St and hearing an almighty bang - as I looked down Gerrard St in the direction of its junction with Alma St I saw a No 8 bus topple over onto its side having collided with another bus !! I think this was in Oct / Nov 1963 There was a photo in the Mail next day so I'm sure someone on the site could research the full facts ? Does anyone else remember this happening ??
 
This may have been JOJ 437, a bus based at Liverpool
st. Garage which did supply buses to the Inner Circle. It was withdrawn in 1963, being the first "new front" vehicle to be withdrawn.
I think Lloyd would be able to confirm the "crash" details in more detail.
I have a picture of it after withdrawal, I'll see if the is any apparent damage to it.
 
2437 was indeed the first 'new look' fronted bus to be withdrawn in 1963 after a "Serious accident" according to my fleet history, but I don't know where. It was stripped of all useful parts and the remains used as a 'turnover recovery practice vehicle'. They'd pull it onto its side, then try to upright it again, thereby explaining the severely bent upper deck pillars. It eventually was sold as scrap to Bird's of Stratford in June 1966.
 
What was the name of the pub where the No.8 stopped outside opposite Stoney Lane Just before it crossed the Stratford Road please?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top