• 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

They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

Status
Not open for further replies.
DavidGrain said:
I had forgotten the term 'Shooting Brake' for an estate car.
Click to expand...

Like a lot of our language, it seems to have been superseded by the American term, in this case “Woody”.

My particular dislike is “train station”. I know “railway station” is slightly odd, but that’s what they were called in this country years ago, and that’s what they shall stay for me.
 
I was trying to find my vintage Rolls I'd sold to a man in San-Francisco, showed the photos to an attendant at the Petersen motor museum in LA, "He said oh my god, I've never seen a Rolls woody."
 
I’ve just spotted thread #93, Page 5, Snow Hill Passenger entrance.

The car is a late forties/early fifties Lea Francis Fourteen (or slightly cheaper Twelve), quite a rarity as Lea Francis Cars struggled at that time and didn’t exactly break any sales records. Their factory was in Coventry and the cars were expensive, aimed as a sort of a cross between a Jaguar and a Rover. The big problem for these cars and similar types was that the purchase tax on more expensive models doubled from 33,33% to 66.67% when the list price passed £1,000. If you were buying a Royce or Bentley they were well over those figures, but for Lea F it was about the last straw.

Rover and Jag were in a bigger way of mass production and could scrape an introductory model under the price barrier iirc. Also Rover’s had a card up its sleeve with sales from the Land Rover, of course.
 
Last edited:
One of the links on this page took me back to a post I made back in 2013 when I gave the definition of 'shooting brake'. I had forgotten that, which must have been that last time I saw that term. Even then it must have been the first time in many years I had used the term.
 
Johnfromstaffs said:
I’ve just spotted thread #93, Page 5, Snow Hill Passenger entrance.

The car is a late forties/early fifties Lea Francis Fourteen (or slightly cheaper Twelve), quite a rarity as Lea Francis Cars struggled at that time and didn’t exactly break any sales records. Their factory was in Coventry and the cars were expensive, aimed as a sort of a cross between a Jaguar and a Rover. The big problem for these cars and similar types was that the purchase tax on more expensive models doubled from 33,33% to 66.67% when the list price passed £1,000. If you were buying a Royce or Bentley they were well over those figures, but for Lea F it was about the last straw.

Rover and Jag were in a bigger way of mass production and could scrape an introductory model under the price barrier iirc. Also Rover’s had a card up its sleeve with sales from the Land Rover, of course.
Click to expand...
Dad worked for Rolls Royce as did mum she also worked for all those companies mentioned except for Rover. All in Coventry. Lea Francis were very good employers she said but they all were. We had a Morris Traveller, a Morris Minor. Good King Wenclesas looked out in a mini Minor, bumped into a trolley bus landed up in China. With the Austin Sevrn he landed up in heaven. The Traveller had a grey tartan soft roof which leaked and plastic triangular uncleanable windows.Almost unopenable windows. We had a little red parking light with a wire out of the window.We had well they were all mum's a mini estate not sure of the name. Red with wood at the back. Why were they called shooting brakes anyway?
 
“Shakespeare Mk1.”

You might be right!

The difficulty presented here is an almost total lack of information. We can’t see the detail of the radiator, usually the most recognisable feature of any make. It is a quite small car, built in the 1910 to 1920 period, right in the fashion for cycle cars, it appears to have the gearbox/final drive assembly on the back axle, and no visible brakes within its wheels. The braking was probably by a single drum brake on the propellor shaft, or small inboard drums close. There are no drive chains or sprockets visible either, so reinforcing the theory about shaft drive to the rear mounted gears and differential. We can’t even say for sure that it is water cooled as some air cooled cycle cars had dummy radiators to fool the unknowing.

Sorry, I will keep looking.
 
A “brake” or “break” was a sort of horse drawn people carrier, and a “shooting brake” was to take you up to the grouse moor from t’big ‘ouse.
 
I still haven’t got anywhere with the Shakespeare special.

It seemed like a good plan to look up cyclecar manufacturers in the approximate area, but there were many. Also some now defunct larger car builders, but still. One possibility might be the “New British”, a friction drive cyclecar built by Charles Willetts Jnr Ltd, of Cradley Heath from 1921. Their sales outlet was New British Motors of Corporation Street B’ham.

Another possibility might be that the bodywork was made at Calthorpe’s in Bordesley Green, or Mulliner’s.
 
On Hagley Road in 1907 a bus stopped outside the Ivy Bush. It was completely full of passengers with some wondering how much longer the cameraman would be taking his photo. Street photography could be a slow process in those days. Looking at old bus pics, I have never seen one of an open top bus in heavy rain with passengers sheltering under a 'roof' of umbrellas ... but maybe photographers did not take their cameras out in heavy rain!
BusIvyBushHagleyRoad1907.jpg
If they were going to the Kings Head Bearwood, it was just over one and half miles further on.
 
oldMohawk said:
On Hagley Road in 1907 a bus stopped outside the Ivy Bush. It was completely full of passengers with some wondering how much longer the cameraman would be taking his photo. Street photography could be a slow process in those days. Looking at old bus pics, I have never seen one of an open top bus in heavy rain with passengers sheltering under a 'roof' of umbrellas ... but maybe photographers did not take their cameras out in heavy rain!
View attachment 149848
If they were going to the Kings Head Bearwood, it was just over one and half miles further on.
Click to expand...
1907 was the year that The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Ltd (The Midland Red), in spite of their name gave up on motor buses and went back to horse buses. This is a post card from 1911 taken at the same place when Midland Red went back to motor buses but you can see a horse bus approaching which dates the card.
1604244242845.png
 
DavidGrain said:
1907 was the year that The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Ltd (The Midland Red), in spite of their name gave up on motor buses and went back to horse buses. This is a post card from 1911 taken at the same place when Midland Red went back to motor buses but you can see a horse bus approaching which dates the card.
View attachment 149864
Click to expand...

This is one of the Milnes-Daimlers that was sold when they went back to horse traction in 1907, so the card was 4 years old when sent in 1911!
 
DavidGrain said:
1907 was the year that The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Ltd (The Midland Red), in spite of their name gave up on motor buses and went back to horse buses. This is a post card from 1911 taken at the same place when Midland Red went back to motor buses but you can see a horse bus approaching which dates the card.
View attachment 149864
Click to expand...
This photo is so evocative of the age, handcarts, horse and cart, horse bus, motor bus, delivery bicycle, gas lamp and everybody wearing a hat. Priceless social history.


Bob
 
oldMohawk said:
Brummies hard at work in the old Bull Ring, they were too busy to see the the camera but a shopper has. A man sits on a wall just looking....
barrowboys.jpg
Click to expand...
I used to go with my Dad to the Veg Market very early in the morning. I borrowed a barrow off Prykes to put a load of cabbage onto our lorry, slipped and tore my acchilles tendon....That Was Painful! But very happy memories of the old Market.
 
oldMohawk said:
It's Corporation St in 1964 and a man is running wearing sunglasses, did he try them on in a shop and then did a 'runner', probably not, because no one is chasing him and he's running towards the law courts ! Maybe he is just 'jogging' but it's a strange place to jog.
index.php
Click to expand...
A Midland Red D.9 is in the picture. One of the buses manufactured ENTIRELY at Carlyle Works in Brum. I used to drive the D9, but out of Sutton garage.
 
berniew said:
View attachment 86468 Centenery Square
Bedroom tax lucky b######ts
Click to expand...
No, I think that the crowd are just moving along the pavement alongside the bus. The 29 was a really odd route, ending at Pheasey Estate, US army barracks. Back in those days, the American Army were still there, and used this service to get into Town. This picture of the US Army Sentry at Pheasey Estate, was taken by a member on here, I understand, and to whom I give thanks for posting it. GIs_on_Pheasey_WW2.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top