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Walsall-Scott Arms

And all the chaps are wearing ties. I can remember that sort of bus being more comfortable than the Optare models we have around here.
 
Dave, thanks for linking us to that historic footage of a Walsall Corporation trolleybus in "the good old days". I used to regularly commute from Sutton to Walsall for "bus spotting": I loved their blue buses and trolleybuses. Wonderful memories.
 
A fascinating bit of history. Walsall Corporation bus no 56, the chassis of which was formerly a prototype for a design built by Daimler for Johannesburg, S. Africa, then bodied to a design by the Walsall Transport Dept. General Manager Ronald Edgeley Cox who had originally intended it for a trolleybus chassis. As seen in the film (specially shot in the Birchills district of Walsall, despite the destination blind) passengers leaving the bus by the rear door were watched by the driver via a CCTV link. This did not meet the approval of the traffic commisioners or the driver's union, however and the bus always ran with a conductor (note in the staged film, no tickets are issued as there was never a ticket machine fitted). There is another film in the Pathe archive with other unused scenes, the boarding and alighting being filmed a few times. I think the 'passengers' were transport dept. office staff - plus a boy who got himself involved when the filming took place!
The bus is now under restoration at Wythall museum, having passed from Walsall Corporation to the WMPTE when that took over the operation of local bus services, then was sold on to a couple of private operators who found its size ideal for school bus duties. (One was in Llangollen - I think most of the poulation could have been carried!).

Here it is earlier this year, nearly done (outside at least!) and below a caracature of it's designer, Ronald Edgeley Cox
 
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Very interesting, Lloyd. So it's a bus not a trolleybus (oops! :rolleyes:). I'm pleased to hear that it's now safely preserved at Wythall.
 
Walsall bus station was my second home in the late fifties/ early sixties. The number of different bus types, ,old ones and new, operated by many differrent companies was to me a place of magic. Strange how easily pleased a 9 year old could be in those days. Ian Allan supplied the Spotter books, Woolworths the pencil, cost 1/6d at the most. Last night I sat with one grandson who played on his Wii console/plasma tv, gawd knows what that cost.
Walsall Corporation ran lots of experimentals. I read somewhere that if it was free to use they would use it. Ho Happy days.
 
I might have seen you there, Arkrite. Walsall bus station (or the Corporation bus garage), and also West Bromwich were within my "bus spotting" territory as a 12-15 year old (1961-1964). As you say, a very affordable hobby (bus fares included). Do you remember an old single-decker in Walsall, well past its "use by" date, with a DHxxxx registration? It was somewhere right in the centre of the town, used as a staff canteen or something. That was the first bus I ever photographed (sadly the picture hasn't survived).
 
Here is a MACE video set in Walsall (at the bus station, I think), concerning a controversy over the employment of conductresses in 1963. It was discussed on the Midland Red Early Days thread a while ago, but despite the reference to Midland Red, we decided that it really concerned Walsall Corporation. So it belongs here. Very interesting clip.
 
"Do you remember an old single-decker in Walsall, well past its "use by" date, with a DHxxxx registration? It was somewhere right in the centre of the town, used as a staff canteen or something. That was the first bus I ever photographed (sadly the picture hasn't survived)." Quote Thylacine.

Sorry I am late getting back too You about this. I remember a bus used as a canteen and thought it must have been in Bradford Street Bus Station. The St Pauls Station had a canteen in the big admin building which still stands ( I think). I have failed to find any photos of it on the web but Walsall Archive Centre hold 4 films made by R. Dalton, the first of which was shot in 1970. Amongst the shots is one described,
"Bradford St. Bus Station meanwhile includes the 'Canteen Bus'."

The link is

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=148-544&cid=-1#-1

I must get around to sorting out my memories one day but fear its gone too far.
 
oldMohawk said:
I notice someone had the bright idea of painting the word 'TROLLEYBUS' on the front of them !
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Because they had a few accidents with people only glancing before crossing the road, then saying "I didn't think it was moving, I didn't hear the engine!" when they were knocked down. Not much of a warning by today's H&S rules, but better than nothing.
 
I only rode on them a few times but I do remember the acceleration rate was rapid compared with a diesel bus. . As you say they were very quiet in action a problem modern electric cars have. I can see makers fitting an exterior sound system and giving you the choice of "real car" sounds.
 
My favourite old photo of the Scott Arms is the one below. A nice lantern over the pub doorway. The only thing in the background of the old photo I can see today using Google's 'Streetview', is the striped tiled roof of a church. The man on the cycle looks relaxed crossing the junction.
Scott_Arms_Mid_1930s.jpg
 
Arkrite, thanks for finding that reference to the Walsall "canteen bus". It must have been at the Bradford Street bus station, as you remember. My memories are very misty, especially when it comes to street names.

Dave M, thanks for that link to the lovely 1970s pictures of Walsall trolleybuses and infrastructure. The trolleybuses were abandoned "under protest". Walsall was (I think) the second or third last English trolleybus system to close.

Re the silence of electric vehicles: In a recent Australian debate about electric cars, one unreconstructed "petrol-head" (presenter of the local spin-off of "Top Gear") was banging on about how he couldn't live without the sound of his petrol car. An electric car manufacturer responded: "But we can give you any sound you like!" :D
 
Dave M, thanks for that link to the lovely 1970s pictures of Walsall trolleybuses and infrastructure. The trolleybuses were abandoned "under protest". Walsall was (I think) the second or third last English trolleybus system to close.

that was oldmohawk
 
Thylacine said:
The trolleybuses were abandoned "under protest".
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I suppose the abandonment of trolleybuses was inevitable when one looks at the amount of 'wiring' needed up above. Maybe they could have been used on dedicated routes such as the Midland Metro.
I often looked at them in Birmingham and Walsall but never used them - they never went where I wanted to go...:)
 
"I often looked at them in Birmingham and Walsall but never used them - they never went where I wanted to go..." Quote Old Mohawk.

Ain't that always the case ?
I think that trolley buses integrate with existing traffic better than do trams. But I am not a highly paid Mass Transit Consultant so no one listens to me.
 
I don't think I ever travelled on one either (but wish I had :)). There is a trolleybus set-up at the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley, and you can travel on a preserved Walsall trolleybus there (when it is running). They have a few from other places too.

The trolleybus was a very clean and efficient public transport technology, and made a lot of sense where the overhead cable infrastructure already existed (from tramway days). The pollution problem was pushed back to the power station, of course.

Here is a wonderful video by Barry Coward of trolleybuses (and lots of other vehicles!) doing their thing in Walsall in the late 1960s. It is very well produced and goes for over nine minutes (with a good soundtrack). So make yourself a cup of your favourite beverage, sit back, and enjoy! ;)
 
Thylacine said:
a wonderful video by Barry Coward of trolleybuses (and lots of other vehicles!) doing their thing in Walsall in the late 1960s
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Thanks Thylacine - that was brilliant, really enjoyed watching that, a definite bookmark in my 'puter.
I never realised they went so fast and were so manouverable. I did notice they had painted the word TROLLEYBUS on the back ends - wonder why that was ?
oldmohawk:)
 
oldMohawk said:
I never realised they went so fast and were so manouverable. I did notice they had painted the word TROLLEYBUS on the back ends - wonder why that was ?
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For the reason you say: they were fast and manouverable. They could out-accelerate and out-brake most cars on the road when they were new, so like the word on the front (see post #12) there was one on the back to warn other road users.
 
Credit where it is due, folks: it was Lloyd who introduced me to the Barry Coward video. I reckon it's one for the best public transport movies I've seen.
 
I did notice they had painted the word TROLLEYBUS on the back ends - wonder why that was ?
oldmohawk:)

Probably printed for the residents. There ain't a lot of difference between a Trolley Bus and a Taxi , which if you remember had TAXI written on the top for much the same purpose;)
Trolley bus was written on the front so the locals would know what was coming, it was written on the back so the locals would know what had run over them.:D

I dont think I should visit Walsall for a while now:rolleyes:
 
Seriously though, Trolley buses had limited freedom of movement. If you were a driver of a normal vehicle confronted or following a trolleybus you may not have been aware that it was restricted by reason it was attatched to a power supply. Windscreens on cars and lorries were not as large then as they are now and trolley buses do not look that different to a petrol or diesel bus. So it was upto you to give way to a trolley bus in a tight squeeze because you had more freedom of movement. That is why I think TROLLEY BUS was written on both ends. BUT, I may be completely wrong.
 
Yes, oldMohawk, that's been happening for quite some time now with Peter Gould's excellent website of public transport fleet histories and fleet lists. This is very sad, and it seems to be caused by the "TransportBanners dot com" component. It's possible to access the individual fleet histories and lists if you can discover the URLs (they don't have the banners). Unfortunately, the PG website doesn't appear to be actively maintained, so the "malware" infection has not been cleansed. All that would be required would be to remove those useless banners.

Nice picture of the Scott Arms.
 
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