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Then & Now

I presume the bus on route 74 to Dudley in picture 1 is in New Street due to the Snow Hill and station changes. The route had, since the days of trams, arrived in the city centre via Livery Street and left via Snow Hill. It now seems to be making a circuit of the city centre and I am curious where it went, after New Street, to gain its usual route through Hockley.
There are a great many books of the city's bus route - both BCT and B&MMO - I guess there have been quite enough route changes in the city centre area, over the last fifty years, to fill another book.
 
Mike,

Zoom lenses are as old or older than cameras, but were certainly available for Pentax cameras in the late 1950s and I had a third party one on my Pentax in 1980. They would have certainly been available to professional long before that date. But distances get distorted by any long lens and in one of those photos, the building behind the Town Hall looks as if it is sitting on top of the Town Hall :)

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
Mike,

Zoom lenses are as old or older than cameras, but were certainly available for Pentax cameras in the late 1950s and I had a third party one on my Pentax in 1980. They would have certainly been available to professional long before that date. But distances get distorted by any long lens and in one of those photos, the building behind the Town Hall looks as if it is sitting on top of the Town Hall :)

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...
oky doky maurice. what is the magnification of a zoom camera lens?...
 
Pete,

That's a little more complex as a 35mm lens is 1:1 i.e. 1x, hence a 70mm lens is 2:1 i.e. 2x, etc., and you haven't stated the focal length to which the zoom lens is set.

But many modern cameras are crop sensor cameras as opposed to full frame. In simple terms this relates to the size of the sensor. Full frame size sensor is 35mm x 24mm whereas the crop sensor are somewhat smaller depending upon the manufacturer.

If, for instance, you put a 70mm lens on a Canon ASP-C camera, the marked focal length is multiplied by a factor of 1.6 giving a focal length of 112mm, i.e. a magnification of 112 / 35 or 3.2x as opposed to the full frame magnification of 2.0.

If you have a crop sensor Nikon then the multiplication factor is 1.5 as opposed to the 1.6 of Canon or the 1.0 of a full frame.

So there's no simple answer to your question - it depends upon the focal length of your zoom lens and the camera to which you affix it or to which it is fixed in the case of bridge cameras.

To further complicate matters, you could put a 1.6 or 2.0 teleconvertor between your lens and a DSLR camera thus increasing your effective focal length much further. Although relatively cheap, these do affect the quality of the picture and there is a loss of light entering the camera, so you may need to use a bigger aperture.

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
Pete,

That's a little more complex as a 35mm lens is 1:1 i.e. 1x, hence a 70mm lens is 2:1 i.e. 2x, etc., and you haven't stated the focal length to which the zoom lens is set.

But many modern cameras are crop sensor cameras as opposed to full frame. In simple terms this relates to the size of the sensor. Full frame size sensor is 35mm x 24mm whereas the crop sensor are somewhat smaller depending upon the manufacturer.

If, for instance, you put a 70mm lens on a Canon ASP-C camera, the marked focal length is multiplied by a factor of 1.6 giving a focal length of 112mm, i.e. a magnification of 112 / 35 or 3.2x as opposed to the full frame magnification of 2.0.

If you have a crop sensor Nikon then the multiplication factor is 1.5 as opposed to the 1.6 of Canon or the 1.0 of a full frame.

So there's no simple answer to your question - it depends upon the focal length of your zoom lens and the camera to which you affix it or to which it is fixed in the case of bridge cameras.

To further complicate matters, you could put a 1.6 or 2.0 teleconvertor between your lens and a DSLR camera thus increasing your effective focal length much further. Although relatively cheap, these do affect the quality of the picture and there is a loss of light entering the camera, so you may need to use a bigger aperture.

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...
And to add to that is the "depth of field" that also can vary and mis position (if that's the right word) the image.
 
I did mention aperture in passing, and that is what controls the depth of field. For everything to be in focus, you're generally looking at a small aperture, i.e. a big f number such as f16 or f22. But that small aperture means that less light is getting to the sensor. But as you say, Richard, the size of the aperture can also also change the apparent position of an object in relation to other objects in the frame. You can aim to kick the ball at the goal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will always go in the net!

Maurice :cool:
 
I wonder how many people still have Silver Jubilee photos.

There are too many cars for street parties these days. Don't think there was a street party by us but something at the school. I was only 7 and vaguely remember being dressed as a clown for some reason.
 
I think the regulations governing road closures and the cost of these put people off. I seem to remember that we had planned a picnic for the Diamond Jubilee but the weather was so appalling we had to move indoors. Or am I getting confused with the one before that? One of the roads nearby had paid for road closures but the road was like a lake.
 
Birmingham had a lot of trams so presumably needed lots of tram men. On 16th May 1909 they were on church parade in New Street.
Tram1.jpg
Image from

They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

A 1909 photo of the Birmingham Tramways staff on church parade. They look very proud and smart. I notice most are sporting a moustache. Expect many of these men would later fight in WW1. The view is taken at the top end of New Street. Viv.
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

One hundred and ten years later and perhaps most folks in this pic have never heard of 'Galloways Corner'.
VictoriaSqView.jpg
 
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oldMohawk said:
Birmingham had a lot of trams so presumably they needed lots of tram men. On 16th May 1909 they were on church parade in New Street.
View attachment 138411
Image from

They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

A 1909 photo of the Birmingham Tramways staff on church parade. They look very proud and smart. I notice most are sporting a moustache. Expect many of these men would later fight in WW1. The view is taken at the top end of New Street. Viv.
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

One hundred and ten years later and perhaps most folks in this pic have never heard of 'Galloways Corner'.
View attachment 138412
Click to expand...

750A8C27-86B5-4EB1-8A09-4F7C162D1FED.jpeg
 
Underneath the Perry Barr flyover in 1974. I often used this flyover in the 1970s/1980s. The old Perry Barr Shopping Centre in the background.
PBFlyover1974.jpg

The flyover today and the council want to demolish it but many residents want to keep it. It's future is in the balance. The old shopping centre has been replaced by the much larger 'One Stop' shopping centre.
PBFlyoverNow.jpg
 
The tram men marching down New Street in post#1152 look as if they assembled in Great Charles Street as shown in this photo. The curved tram tracks appear to be the turn into Summer Row.
I copied the the pic from post#529 in the thread below where there is some discussion about the photo.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ught-in-our-old-street-pics.41947/post-500490
but the picture has gone missing because of privacy concerns !
TramParade1912.jpg
A slight problem is this photo is dated 1912 but the New St one is dated 1909. Also the pic in the other thread is not always visible.

The street is now Great Charles St Queensway and the buildings seen in the old pic are long gone.
Image2.jpg
 
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oldMohawk said:
Two on a tandem, trolleybuses, wires in the sky, and wartime white bands still on street lamps at the junction of Arden Oak Rd and Coventry Rd in 1950.
View attachment 138658

Now a grey bus and there's a pub on the corner.
View attachment 138659
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A few posts here about the old photograph:

Trolley Bus

I don't think that Railless were a Birmingham based company rather that they were based in Rochester. Kent. They did however purchase the chassis frames for some early trolleybuses from Alldays & Onions who were based in Birmingham and manufactured cars, light vans and motor cycles until 1927.
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
David Harvey said:
I don't think that Railless were a Birmingham based company rather that they were based in Rochester. Kent. They did however purchase the chassis frames for some early trolleybuses from Alldays & Onions who were based in Birmingham and manufactured cars, light vans and motor cycles until 1927.
Click to expand...
Can some transport buff explain why trolley buses wouldn't be a better solution than the "metro trams" that take such massive infrastructure.
Recent posts have been of familiar views, #1156, I lived a short distance from Barnt Green 1975-2001, Phil I never rode a horse, but there is a superb chippy just there on the left.
#1157 in 1940's would go by trolley bus to the city boundary and then walk up to the airport. Can't remember when "The Arden Oak" pub was built. Where was the arden oak after which the road was named?
 
Personally I believe trolley buses would have been far more suitable. Many European cities have them. A failed tramcar is more difficult and time consuming to deal with, whereas a trolley bus can be de-wired and following ones pass without hindrance. I find it curious that one of the principal reasons for abandoning the older type of trams, some seventy years ago, was due to the obstruction to other road users and the safety of passengers.
Birmingham is, of course not the only British city to have these trams. I suppose the true reason for choosing trams was the existing railway tracks that they use once out of the city centre which was the cheaper option for long distance runs.
However, the city has them and at least that ghastly pink has been replaced with a more pleasing, to the eye, blue.
 
oldMohawk said:
Two on a tandem, trolleybuses, wires in the sky, and wartime white bands still on street lamps at the junction of Arden Oak Rd and Coventry Rd in 1950.
View attachment 138658

Now a grey bus and there's a pub on the corner.
View attachment 138659
Click to expand...
The old photos from everyone are wonderful! I have been away for a long time and those photos re kindle many very positive emotions.
Thank you!
 
I think modern trams are a vanity thing, a poor city's underground/subway. Edinburgh spent a small fortune moving undergound services before laying its tramways. To some extent a trolley bus could avoid minor roadworks, a bus can totally bypass the obstruction.
There was a city in South America that was lucky to have many parallel roads, i.e. built on a grid plan, and they reserved some roads for buses and enclosed the bus shelters. The idea was that the passenger needed a ticket/pass to get into the shelter but the transfer between shelter and bus was uncontrolled. The clearance between the bus and shelter was minimal so that the only way in or out was via a shelter.
Montreal operates a transfer ticket system so a journey can start and end with a bus with the bit in the middle being on the subway. There is more than one way to run a public transport system but at the end of the day it has to be built on top of an existing city.
 
ellbrown said:
That's the X1 National Express West Midlands Platinum bus to Coventry via the Airport. Near the Harvester is an entrance to the Sheldon Country Park. An easy walk to the Airport viewing area and Marston Green Station.
Click to expand...
On a recent visit, my son in law and I caught the X1 after a visit to the Coventry motor museum, a fascinating ride, particularly around the airport not as fast as a Virgin London Express, but interesting, particularly its route in Coventry, where it is a local service to beyond Allesley and the boundary. If you have nothing to do and your bus pass well worth doing, next time it is the X10 to Brierley Hill.

Bob
 
devonjim said:
Can some transport buff explain why trolley buses wouldn't be a better solution than the "metro trams" that take such massive infrastructure.
Recent posts have been of familiar views, #1156, I lived a short distance from Barnt Green 1975-2001, Phil I never rode a horse, but there is a superb chippy just there on the left.
#1157 in 1940's would go by trolley bus to the city boundary and then walk up to the airport. Can't remember when "The Arden Oak" pub was built. Where was the arden oak after which the road was named?
Click to expand...
You have asked an interesting question, is there anyone out there who can say why trolley buses do not figure in any modern transport plans, yet are commonplace around the world. San Francisco & Wellington, NZ

Bob
 
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Bob Davis said:
On a recent visit, my son in law and I caught the X1 after a visit to the Coventry motor museum, a fascinating ride, particularly around the airport not as fast as a Virgin London Express, but interesting, particularly its route in Coventry, where it is a local service to beyond Allesley and the boundary. If you have nothing to do and your bus pass well worth doing, next time it is the X10 to Brierley Hill.

Bob
Click to expand...

I wanted to get off at Allesley in the past but stayed on the bus to Coventry. It also passes through Meriden, the centre of England. The journey is quite long, even from Swan Island in South Yardley.

 
Phil said:
Out on the edges of Birmingham with this image of Hewell Road Barnt Green. I think the only time I have been in Barnt Green in my life was when I once went horse riding there.

View attachment 138657
Click to expand...
Well its been at least 40 years since I was in Barnt Green but when I was young we would go there all the time as I lived in Rednal it was a short bike ride.
My pop just had his 90th birthday party down there in September, looking at the picture the place has not changed much since my youth.
 
Bob Davis said:
You have asked an interesting question, is there anyone out there who can say why trolley buses do not figure in any modern transport plans, yet are commonplace around the world. San Francisco & Wellington, NZ

Bob
Click to expand...
Bob, I have never ben to NZ but san Fran many times...…..I think there are a number of reasons: the flexibility of movement the bus has vs the tram. The bus does not need tracks like the tram and the associated maintenance. Even though SF has their trolleys they are only on a few streets and busses are built on bus frames which reduces fabrication costs. While many cities are changing the buses or have already done so changed the fuel to natural gas for emission purposes. I would expect to see electric buses appear, they will be like the electric cars and trucks already appearing.
 
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