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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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well spotted with the post and mail mike and i think your map bares out that the pub was the windsor because if memory serves me right there was an entrance to it from needless alley and cannon st

lyn
 
There is a photo, from Lyn, on the Needless Alley thread which shows the building without the cladding. I wonder whether the 'cladding' was something put there as protection to employees (flying glass?) during WW2.
 
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As it is the Post a and Mail, bearing in mind the date, the tall roller shutter door would have been required to get the printing presses in once the building was completed and also for delivery of rolls of newsprint. To Instal the presses probably had a small Jones or Coles crane which was located inside the building took the presses off did a bit of pick and carry work, no stabilisers in those days and I doubt that they had a forklift. A four axle would have got down Cannon Street, again mostly rigids at that time probably had to reverse out. All supposition of course but once again the forum members produce a superb photo, solve the location and of couse find the pub.

Bob
 
This is not in Birmingham but Brixham, and was taken by my late uncle in the mid-60s.

Has he caught some light fingers?

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oldMohawk said:
The war had been going for some months and night bombing was expected so someone decided to cover the windows of trams with blinds. The smart looking conductress poses in the pic ... wonder what she thought about it ?
The blinds look fixed on the outside, so in daytime she might have had to tell passengers where they were ! The Luftwaffe didn't really aim for trams etc, they had the 'Knickebein' beams to tell them when they were over Brum and generally most of the times they just dropped their bombs anywhere.
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The masked headlight, white buffer beam and lady clippie confirm that this is WW2. Actually the tram was in the city fleet at the time of WW1 but unlikely had a top cover (roof).
The reason for the 'blinds' is that they are most likely temporary 'windows'. Eleven of this class of twenty trams were destroyed in April 1941 when Miller Street was bombed. It would appear that this car escaped serioes damage just having windows blown out.
 
I believe it was essential for the transport department to have to resort to temporary measures like this, after all the were responsible in getting everyone to their workplaces each day. 9th. April,1941 was on a Wednesday when Miller Street was hit. I have seen it suggested as the worst raid on the city.
Miller Street lost 24 cars that night,18 being destroyed and six burned out so badly they are written off. A further three are withdrawn. Twenty other cars are also badly damaged (presumably the one in the photo was one of them). Washwood Heath also had a visit from the Luftwaffe in the same raid having four cars damaged.
Miller Street was a large depot serving the Perry Barr and Aston Road routes and probably others. The routes served some of the cities vital industries and to loose that number of trams was a headache to say the least. After that it was considered safer to leave the trams outside in areas less vulnerable and less likely to suffer such large numbers of wrecks.
 
It is a pic of a tram in Park Road Aston, but a young girl was caught in the pic as she stopped in her tracks outside the wallpaper shop suddenly realising that her little brother had run across the road and was running into an entry on the left. The lady in the turquoise coat has noticed him.
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Click the 'up-arrow' in the quote title bar below to see the black and white original pic and posts about it. The colour pic has been widened to show more of the girl.
aston lad said:
And one of Park Road.....
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I notice that the bus stop sign is attached to the lamppost. Don't recall seeing any like that. Interesting how colour brings out so much detail. Viv.
 
The interesting thing about the bus stop positioning could suggest the time when the 3X tram route became the 39 bus route in January 1950. A new bus stop sign is temporarily affixed to the lamppost to eventually be fixed in the ubiquitous BCT style bus stop post. Notable, although there is a track crossover to be seen suggesting the short working of trams to that point, is the lack of tram stop signs.
 
A cross over did not necessarily indicate a short working but could just be for emergency use if there was work or a blockage on the one track. I have read that in the snow the first trams out of the depot in the morning would run 'wrong road' down the hills to clear the tracks to make it easier for the trams travelling up the hill.
 
Six Ways Aston in the late 1940s. It looks mid to late afternoon and the bank has closed for the day allowing a lady to take over the entrance with stuff scattered on the steps. Cycling over Six Ways could be tricky at times with traffic from all directions but the man in the pic seems unconcerned. The bank building is not the best design I've ever seen.
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Not sure which way these trams are going but who would have the right of way if they were all converging? We used the 78 when I was little but I know nothing about them and there don't seem to be any traffic lights.
 
Lady Penelope said:
Not sure which way these trams are going but who would have the right of way if they were all converging? We used the 78 when I was little but I know nothing about them and there don't seem to be any traffic lights.
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You can see the Belisha Beacon for the crossing but no stripes...also you can just see the roof of the Orient Cinema on the top right, what a wonderful sight!
Dave A
 
Lady Penelope said:
Not sure which way these trams are going but who would have the right of way if they were all converging? We used the 78 when I was little but I know nothing about them and there don't seem to be any traffic lights.
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The No 6 is going towards Perry Barr and the No 5 towards Lozells Rd and perhaps the rule for trams was 'give way to a tram on the right' ... but I doubt it. I cycled over the crossing keeping my front wheel out of the tracks, then later rode a motor bike over it and later still a car. We just seemed to slow down and somehow get over the crossing ... there were no rules as far as I can remember ... :)
 
oldMohawk said:
The No 6 is going towards Perry Barr and the No 5 towards Lozells Rd and perhaps the rule for trams was 'give way to a tram on the right' ... but I doubt it. I cycled over the crossing keeping my front wheel out of the tracks, then later rode a motor bike over it and later still a car. We just seemed to slow down and somehow get over the crossing ... the re were no rules as far as I can remember ... :)
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I think the rule for trams was to have the driver at the front...;)
Dave A
 
In my experience the existence of traffic lights causes more accidents because people try to jump them. When there aren't any at a multi-junction, people seems to approach the junction with much more caution. We have a six way junction built on top of a flyover and without lights. It can get very busy at peak times, but drivers are generally very courteous to each other and I'm not aware of any serious accidents there so far.

Maurice
 
Hi Maurice,
In the late 1950s as traffic density increased I remember they often had a policeman standing in the middle controlling the traffic as can be seen in many forum pics of other junctions. Perhaps a policeman was given the job of traffic control at Six Ways if he was out of favour with the station sergeant !
Phil
 
In California at crossroads all vehicles from all directions must stop, they do tend to be mostly courteous but even that can be a problem at times, you get the "You go", "No you go." situation then they both go and …..bump. :)
 
Phil,

I remember the one at the bottom Hill Street/John Bright Street/Station Approach junction. Whether you got the job because you'd been a bad boy or whether it was a job given to all sprogs, I don't know.

Eric,

True, there is such a thing as being too courteous. We get the same problem at roundabouts because many Greeks don't accept the UK approach that if you're already on a roundabout you have the right of way. Tourists, foreigners, and some Greeks do think the same way as us, but many just charge onto a roundabout and think you should stop to let them on. It's no good trying to follow what police vehicles do, because they don't seem to know either!

Maurice :-)
 
When I took my driving test back in the late 1960s the examiner instructed me to turn left at one point. I knew what was coming as my instructor had warned me about it. We would be crossing an unmarked crossroads. This was in a residential area and both the side roads were cul-de-sacs. That junction is still there unmarked today but no body stops on the through road. Nevertheless the rule still applies. On your driving test, failing to slow there would have been a fail.
 
Last year I installed a Dashcam in my car and soon realised it was recording my driving as well as others. It showed that I was a bit of an ‘amber gambler’ so I’ve corrected that. It was also recording my loud comments about other drivers so now I whisper them ... :D
 
Phil,

It depends who's in the car with me as to whether I whisper my comments or not. Dashcam would be a waste of time here as it takes at least four years to get a case into court. Life's too short! :-)

Maurice
 
I'm in the 75% of drivers who are in the group of being above average.
To my surprise I was recently fined $317.00 and incurred 3 demerit points for driving at 53 kph in a 40 kph zone.
As it was during an off peak time and I feel there was either no other traffic or I was going with the general traffic flow I feel that I was unlucky.
My grandson felt that I should have challenged this but as this is my only infringement in 10 years or so I think it may have been a friendly warning from a dearly departed.
Cheers Old Leadfoot.
 
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