Birmingham Trams & Trolleybuses Please enjoy managed to digitize as video has deteriorated but managed to play it going to early 1900s footage from old cine films
Living in Hillaries Road Erdington from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s, I can remember as a toddler being taken into town on the tram.Interestingly, we could also have gone by a Midland Red Bus or the train. The latter was quick and easy to access, the local station being about a minutes walk away at Frederick Rd/Hunton Hill station the line running into Snow Hill, but being the quickest was the most expensive. I don't remember how much the train fare was, but I'm pretty sure that the bus fare was 6d and the tram was 2d each way and I do remember that the tram had hard seats and was a bumpy ride so at 74 yrs old I'm not too nostalgic about them LOL! Also I often had cause to curse the trams long after their demise because I fell off my bike time and again having caught a wheel in the tracks which were not taken up for some time! Many Thanks to Mark Thomas for this fascinating piece of Brum's transport history.
👍 Thanks for posting. This reminded me that we used to catch trams from where it terminated at the junction of Sutton Road and Chester Road via Erdington into the City.(?) I used rush upstairs to the front to get the thrill of the noisy, rocky ride down Gravelly Hill. Even to a toddler the 2+1 reversible wooden seats the trams seemed narrow and small. Smoking was allowed on the upper deck and on a wet cold winter day the air was muggy and the windows streamed with condensation. On the return journey, if the tram was full it was a given, that I would give up my seat to an adult (without prompting) and I would sit on my mother’s knee. If she had shopping bags I would sit on the “stranger’s” knee. I can’t imagine that happening now. We live in a different world ! A year or two later I remember riding on the bus in the traffic jams as the tracks were being dug up. The journeys were slower, nowhere near as exciting and a taste of things to come.
Folks, I for one, don't understand the mentality which touted the Omnibus as "the way of the future" and resulted in the demise of one of the most successful mass transit systems ever devised. Now we cravenly return what our grandparents already knew to be successful and hope no-one will notice the complete u - turn in thinking. The Oil Companies and Tyre Companies have a lot to answer for in this matter.
Most wonderful video with fantastic narration and video editing - thank you. My family were from Stockland Green and Alum Rock areas and I used to work as a DHL courier in all of the areas depicted - i can't tell how important it is to have this digitised, just wonderful !
I only came across this by mistake. What a gem of a find. I'd of never had thought earlier in the day I'd be watching a film on Trams for nearly 2 hours. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute & was amazed at how Birmingham used to be. The Trams were designed with beauty in mind as well as their efficiency. I was shocked to see the trolleys! Four wheeled buses run on overhead electric cables - so electric vehicle technology isn't something new out of the 21 Century; it was with us over 100 years ago! I think Cities should of kept their trams & if more scientific research & development could of been funded & developed, we may have been in the future some time back. A great film!
Gavin, so glad you enjoyed it, as I did when I first watched it and have times since to. Lovely history shame more cities dont use them like blackpool and nottingham etc. Thanks for your lovely comments.
The section of line in Edmund Street was NOT relaid. I was responsible for it. At the time I was a Senior Officer in the City Treasurer's Department, and through the Staff Suggestion Scheme I appealed to the City Council to retain the tracks. This they did, but they cobbled them in. My original suggestion was to move the tram that was then preserved in the Science Museum to that length of line. That was the plan, but at the last minute they decided that it would have to be fenced in to prevent vandalism, so it eventually ended up in the new Science Museum in Curzon St. By the way, my Grandad was a tram driver from 1919 till 1953. When the trams were taken out of service he drove many of the trams from Witton to Kyotts Lake Road, coasting through the city on a Sunday. Then, because he was close to retirement, instead of training him for buses he spent his final two years at Miller St. Depot controlling bus tickets. As tram services were withdrawn the younger drivers were retrained on buses, so, by the end, all of the drivers were approaching retirement.
Born in Aston 1946, my mother walked me down to Aston Cross to see the last Tram leave , bought my first car from Dents Garage ,then based inside Witton Tram Depot. Coverage of film from Birchfield through New Town Row into city ,just as i remembered it, first i've ever seen on film. Many Thanks
Hi all I really enjoyed watching this video, I used to live in Conway North Wales, just after the war I used to go on a train to Liverpool to see my Mothers relations, ending up at Lime Street Station, I would walk down to the Peerhead a catch the No 22 Tram to Entree Maraia road, area, I have never lost that experience on that journey, after watching this video seeing the way they laid the tram rails and the stone paving sets in Hot-Tar, following on with cement filling the joints, Great Records of that era, Thank you I really enjoyed the viewing. welshman 2081
Great work thanks for sharing this piece of history, it's like jumping aboard a time machine, I grew up in Newton & lozells, coming down the lozells road looked alien but could still recognise all the roads from villa cross down, I was born in 1977 so way before my time, thanks again, all the very best
Thanks for the wonderful memories. I was born in Dudley Rd Hospital, now City. I lived opposite Mill St ,Hubert St. Watched the trams come and go to the tram depot in Mill St. This area used to flood nearly every year when Aston Brook flooded.My sister in law lived above a shop on the Aston Rd and the cellar would flood up to about four feet up the walls. Still great times and long summers.
Despite the family (somehow) always owning a Car, my biggest thrill as a boy in early 1950's Birmingham, was a ride on the top deck of the Tram ---up front ,of course, to Lickey Hills, and back to Smethwick. Carefully watching the autumn tree branches, with their Gold & Red leaves, just skimming over the Tram roof. On one occasion, my brother and I were on a special mission, a tip-off guided us to a particular area where Conker's by the thousand, lay under the tree trunks. No need to throw stumps of wood at 'em. Loaded with bulging bags of Conker's, we set off home. Unfortunately , our bags had seen better days, they being the old familiar Brown Paper variety, with string handles. We were nearly into the City Centre when the strain became too much, and hundreds of Conker's were falling out of the tears in all directions, towards the Top Deck stairs Despite some kind and sympathetic help from passenger's .many had gone down the stairs and left a trail behind the Tram, as cyclists tried to dodge them. By the time we got home, we had about 30 Conkers left----and they went mouldy within a fortnight. But we had a memorable time.
@@digitalsoundsdisco Yes indeed, I had a problem readjusting to my surroundings. By the way, we did peel those Conker's before bagging them, revealing their beautiful glossy deep reddish colours--trouble is, it made them all the more slippery. thanks again for a rare treat.
I remember going to the old science museum as a young child and seeing the restored tram there. My dad was old enough to ride the trams in Brum shortly before their demise. It's interesting to spot the road features today that are tram related, such as the tram terminus at the Yenton, Erdington, now a narrow side road for parking off the main road. Same down the centre of Sutton Road through Erdington.
This came up as a suggestion on UA-cam. Thank goodness it did. Wonderful archive film of past Birmingham and suburbs and as someone who was born just after the last tram stopped forever I find them absolutely fascinating. Priceless film
Wonderful...just researched my great grandfather and he was one of the first electric tram drivers in bromsgrove area, near here...thanks for going to all the trouble of doing this...it allows me to show my children what it all looked like years ago
i was born in Glasgow and I loved the trams. My cousin and I used to board those trams when we were only 6 years old (we were latch key kids)...we used to pretend to the conductor that we had caught the wrong tram and got off. We criss crossed Glasgow for about a year. Our mothers never knew!
What a lovely comment! I too was born in Glasgow (1948) and the trams (I think they were always called 'cars') are ingrained in my memory. Unlike you, I didn't have a cousin to lead me astray! I'm surprised you managed to put one over on the conductors. They were generally up to all the tricks. The story is told of a man trying to take his big dog onto a car and the conductor absolutely refusing. After a heated argument, the man gave up and told the conductor, "Ach, stick yer caur up yer .......!" To which the conductor replied, "If ye hud done that wi' yer dug ye'd hae been oan the caur by this time.!" Just in case you aren't aware, Online Videos also produced a video/DVD of the Glasgow trams (2 vols.) also narrated by Martin Jenkins. Well worth having.
Thank you for this,Mark, I was 6 when the last trams were withdrawn and can remember going by bus to Chester Road, Midland Red buses weren't allowed past there, and changing to the tram to go to Gravelly Hill, visiting relatives. That tram ride was a real treat. Happy days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So refreshing to see the limited traffic on the road's 'then', & just how well the transport system of yesteryear running as smoothly back in the day, and that snow on the line or leaves on the tracks didn't phase the Trolleybuses ~ as they do with our transport system 'now' in the 21st century!!
Fantastic footage and commentary, helped me to envision the memories my mother had and told me of when i was a child, when she would go to the Lickey Hills with her German Shepherd dog called Gypsy on the tram.
I remember travelling along that Bristol Road, central Track, quite a few times, to the Lickey Hills. I really enjoyed being on top deck, at the front, wizzing along, while tree branches would just brush past the roof. My brother's and I , would sometimes get off the Tram before then, Hop over a wall, that was surrounding a large estate, so that we could collect the masses of fallen Conker's, at the feet of huge Horse Chestnut trees. On one occasion, while travelling back with our hauls, the bottom of one paper carrier bag, burst open, and our freshly skinned shiny Conker's, went all over the Tram floor, under everyone's seats. Fortunately, good hearted fellow traveler's joined us, collecting them. But we lost Half.
I watched the entire 2 hours this rainy cold day. Even thou I am from a different continent, seeing all this disappearing still greatly saddened me......
@@dambuster6387 My dad used to tell an old story, about his three-wheeler Morgan Car, when he had to go the the tram depot, to turn around, because the rear wheel got stuck in a Tram -Line. I think it was just a joke.
Recognised so many Birmingham landmarks from this video... My family probably used these routes passing through Aston Cross.. The ending of the tram & trolleybus networks must have been a major development for the local community at the time.
Great work,footage and historical knowledge. I work at thinktank museum we have the 395 tram. I was doing some work on it the other day and its wonderful piece. I also live by lickey hills so fascinated by this vid
Lucky I grew up in 50s & 60s near Squiers Gate station Blackpool so see the tram network there daily as a kid & travelled to school on it regularly. Yes it was cut back a lot by the 60s but a lot remained till this day & now its being extended again with future plans for more. Very interesting video nice reminder of old times.
As i watch these informative vintage videos I can’t help but be disgruntled because the same destruction of these efficient clean transports were put out of service by politicians and lobbyists.New York City and its outer boroughs were once furnished with much similar infrastructure so needed today.Piss poor planning gets you piss poor performance when a new breed took over allowing all these innovative efficient railways to be destroyed and obliterated.A great example how greed permeates while a huge disservice and shortsightedness was committed against so many by so few.Thanks for posting!
My Grandfather Ernest Joseph Siviter started work with the LMS as a carter and after service with the RFA IN WWI became a tram driver in Birmingham. When the trams were scrapped he became a BCC bus driver and later an instructor teaching many men how to drive a bus.
The charm of those slender narrow gauge tramcars! The only n.g. 'caurs' I travelled on were in Glasgow at 4' 7&3/4" rather than the standard 4' 8&1/2", (to accomodate railway wagons from the docks/shipyards, using the tramlines and running on their larger flanges.)
So refreshing to see the limited traffic on the road's 'then', & just how well the transport system of yesteryear running as smoothly back in the day, and that snow on the line or leaves on the tracks didn't phase the Trolleybuses ~ as they do with our transport system 'now' in the 21st century!! Fun Fact; Even the Roman's built 'better' more robust road's than we see today!! First we had horse-drawn, then electric, then Gas/Diesel, now they're making Electric motor vehicles & phasing out the Diesel. At the moment we are in Tier 3 in London with the Coronavirus Pandemic ~ & the world is trying to decide what to do for thee best for Christmas 2020. Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas Whatever the world decides. I'm agoraphobic 'anyway', So I can do all these lockdown's standing on my head!! Peace to All.
Trams should be re-introduced where ever possible, as they are way more effitiant and really emission free! Also they can transport more ppl by attaching multiple cars. For swiss ppl it looks quite scary to have double-deckers, but it looks like they worked just fine.
😘 wow, birmingham. the city, now and then, to me , remember good times and bad times, diversity, love it, as when i did vist the city mid seventies from west bromwich on a bus to the city centre, ob my way to summers lane,
That superb Bristol Road reservation! Like Prince of Wales Road in Sheffield. So modern; I see it in Europe all the time, even in city centres. They would not allow such things in London as the powers-that-be wanted rubber tyres.
The only problem they are not very flexable where I live the routes are all ways under review It would be costly to up root the rails and lay new tracks and trolly bus over head wires same problem.
When I see the kerbside loading and reserved track, just as in any modern European city and then reflect this was denied to London before the War to give way to the trolleybus and ultimately the bus. Politics and the road lobby! Run something down so it appears unfashionable and uncomfortable.
... it's exactly what they did to the railways....starved them of money and ran them into the ground so as to force people to buy cars and use the roads instead. Then the 60's came around and the government got a fellow called Beeching to do their dirty work for them. And that was that- the fate of the railways was sealed.......and a gift the Victorians developed, was trashed. A legacy squandered by greedy self interested politicians in the 1960's. The rest as they say is history.
I've Might Go To Birmingham In The West Midlands In The United Kingdom This Year And Go To The Birmingham Hippodrome And See Disney's Sister Act On Tour. Thanks Mate. X
Sydney Guys Trams& buses were all over Birminghams transport system, he is a great man who isn't mentioned in the video although his "Guy" blue and cream buses are in the video.
Please ignore the odd racist comment that seems to be attracted by these old videos .... These racists don't deserve a moment of our time .. Thanks ! :)
Great historic film!!
Living in Hillaries Road Erdington from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s, I can remember as a toddler being taken into town on the tram.Interestingly, we could also have gone by a Midland Red Bus or the train. The latter was quick and easy to access, the local station being about a minutes walk away at Frederick Rd/Hunton Hill station the line running into Snow Hill, but being the quickest was the most expensive. I don't remember how much the train fare was, but I'm pretty sure that the bus fare was 6d and the tram was 2d each way and I do remember that the tram had hard seats and was a bumpy ride so at 74 yrs old I'm not too nostalgic about them LOL! Also I often had cause to curse the trams long after their demise because I fell off my bike time and again having caught a wheel in the tracks which were not taken up for some time! Many Thanks to Mark Thomas for this fascinating piece of Brum's transport history.
Thanks Jay, glad you enjoyed it.
👍 Thanks for posting.
This reminded me that we used to catch trams from where it terminated at the junction of Sutton Road and Chester Road via Erdington into the City.(?)
I used rush upstairs to the front to get the thrill of the noisy, rocky ride down Gravelly Hill.
Even to a toddler the 2+1 reversible wooden seats the trams seemed narrow and small. Smoking was allowed on the upper deck and on a wet cold winter day the air was muggy and the windows streamed with condensation.
On the return journey, if the tram was full it was a given, that I would give up my seat to an adult (without prompting) and I would sit on my mother’s knee. If she had shopping bags I would sit on the “stranger’s” knee. I can’t imagine that happening now. We live in a different world !
A year or two later I remember riding on the bus in the traffic jams as the tracks were being dug up. The journeys were slower, nowhere near as exciting and a taste of things to come.
Fantastic Memories
Folks, I for one, don't understand the mentality which touted the Omnibus as "the way of the future" and resulted in the demise of one of the most successful mass transit systems ever devised. Now we cravenly return what our grandparents already knew to be successful and hope no-one will notice the complete u - turn in thinking. The Oil Companies and Tyre Companies have a lot to answer for in this matter.
Most wonderful video with fantastic narration and video editing - thank you. My family were from Stockland Green and Alum Rock areas and I used to work as a DHL courier in all of the areas depicted - i can't tell how important it is to have this digitised, just wonderful !
Thanks John, it was a pleausre to do it from a old video tape i found at a car boot and saved forever over 157k views so happy.
I only came across this by mistake. What a gem of a find. I'd of never had thought earlier in the day I'd be watching a film on Trams for nearly 2 hours. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute & was amazed at how Birmingham used to be. The Trams were designed with beauty in mind as well as their efficiency. I was shocked to see the trolleys! Four wheeled buses run on overhead electric cables - so electric vehicle technology isn't something new out of the 21 Century; it was with us over 100 years ago! I think Cities should of kept their trams & if more scientific research & development could of been funded & developed, we may have been in the future some time back. A great film!
Gavin, so glad you enjoyed it, as I did when I first watched it and have times since to. Lovely history shame more cities dont use them like blackpool and nottingham etc. Thanks for your lovely comments.
I bought this on VHS years ago.
What an absolutely fantastic documentary. Thank you very much for uploading.
Excellent commentary!
a very high recommended movie ! great thanks for posting !
My Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it, and that I was able to preserve the recording.
The section of line in Edmund Street was NOT relaid. I was responsible for it. At the time I was a Senior Officer in the City Treasurer's Department, and through the Staff Suggestion Scheme I appealed to the City Council to retain the tracks. This they did, but they cobbled them in. My original suggestion was to move the tram that was then preserved in the Science Museum to that length of line. That was the plan, but at the last minute they decided that it would have to be fenced in to prevent vandalism, so it eventually ended up in the new Science Museum in Curzon St.
By the way, my Grandad was a tram driver from 1919 till 1953. When the trams were taken out of service he drove many of the trams from Witton to Kyotts Lake Road, coasting through the city on a Sunday. Then, because he was close to retirement, instead of training him for buses he spent his final two years at Miller St. Depot controlling bus tickets.
As tram services were withdrawn the younger drivers were retrained on buses, so, by the end, all of the drivers were approaching retirement.
Born in Aston 1946, my mother walked me down to Aston Cross to see the last Tram leave , bought my first car from Dents Garage ,then based inside Witton Tram Depot. Coverage of film from Birchfield through New Town Row into city ,just as i remembered it, first i've ever seen on film. Many Thanks
Hi all I really enjoyed watching this video, I used to live in Conway North Wales, just after the war I used to go on a train to Liverpool to see my Mothers relations, ending up at Lime Street Station, I would walk down to the Peerhead a catch the No 22 Tram to Entree Maraia road, area, I have never lost that experience on that journey, after watching this video seeing the way they laid the tram rails and the stone paving sets in Hot-Tar, following on with cement filling the joints, Great Records of that era, Thank you I really enjoyed the viewing. welshman 2081
Great work thanks for sharing this piece of history, it's like jumping aboard a time machine, I grew up in Newton & lozells, coming down the lozells road looked alien but could still recognise all the roads from villa cross down, I was born in 1977 so way before my time, thanks again, all the very best
Thanks for the wonderful memories. I was born in Dudley Rd Hospital, now City. I lived opposite Mill St ,Hubert St. Watched the trams come and go to the tram depot in Mill St. This area used to flood nearly every year when Aston Brook flooded.My sister in law lived above a shop on the Aston Rd and the cellar would flood up to about four feet up the walls. Still great times and long summers.
Wow.. I'm from Dover and it was great to see shots of the town from 39.00...
Despite the family (somehow) always owning a Car, my biggest thrill as a boy in early 1950's Birmingham, was a ride on the top deck of the Tram ---up front ,of course, to Lickey Hills, and back to Smethwick. Carefully watching the autumn tree branches, with their Gold & Red leaves, just skimming over the Tram roof. On one occasion, my brother and I were on a special mission, a tip-off guided us to a particular area where Conker's by the thousand, lay under the tree trunks. No need to throw stumps of wood at 'em. Loaded with bulging bags of Conker's, we set off home.
Unfortunately , our bags had seen better days, they being the old familiar Brown Paper variety, with string handles. We were nearly into the City Centre when the strain became too much, and hundreds of Conker's were falling out of the tears in all directions, towards the Top Deck stairs Despite some kind and sympathetic help from passenger's .many had gone down the stairs and left a trail behind the Tram, as cyclists tried to dodge them. By the time we got home, we had about 30 Conkers left----and they went mouldy within a fortnight. But we had a memorable time.
Fantastic memories, hope you enjoyed the video
@@digitalsoundsdisco Yes indeed, I had a problem readjusting to my surroundings. By the way, we did peel those Conker's before bagging them, revealing their beautiful glossy deep reddish colours--trouble is, it made them all the more slippery. thanks again for a rare treat.
loved reading this, thankyou. My great granddad was a tram driver in 1904 in birmingham, so it's been great to view this and watch this.
I remember going to the old science museum as a young child and seeing the restored tram there. My dad was old enough to ride the trams in Brum shortly before their demise. It's interesting to spot the road features today that are tram related, such as the tram terminus at the Yenton, Erdington, now a narrow side road for parking off the main road. Same down the centre of Sutton Road through Erdington.
This came up as a suggestion on UA-cam. Thank goodness it did. Wonderful archive film of past Birmingham and suburbs and as someone who was born just after the last tram stopped forever I find them absolutely fascinating. Priceless film
Thanks so much for your kind words. So glad i rescused the tape from a car boot sale in skegness years ago and preserved it.
Wonderful...just researched my great grandfather and he was one of the first electric tram drivers in bromsgrove area, near here...thanks for going to all the trouble of doing this...it allows me to show my children what it all looked like years ago
Very welcome, glad you like it, and it's useful for you
i was born in Glasgow and I loved the trams. My cousin and I used to board those trams when we were only 6 years old (we were latch key kids)...we used to pretend to the conductor that we had caught the wrong tram and got off. We criss crossed Glasgow for about a year. Our mothers never knew!
What a lovely comment! I too was born in Glasgow (1948) and the trams (I think they were always called 'cars') are ingrained in my memory. Unlike you, I didn't have a cousin to lead me astray! I'm surprised you managed to put one over on the conductors. They were generally up to all the tricks. The story is told of a man trying to take his big dog onto a car and the conductor absolutely refusing. After a heated argument, the man gave up and told the conductor, "Ach, stick yer caur up yer .......!" To which the conductor replied, "If ye hud done that wi' yer dug ye'd hae been oan the caur by this time.!"
Just in case you aren't aware, Online Videos also produced a video/DVD of the Glasgow trams (2 vols.) also narrated by Martin Jenkins. Well worth having.
I bet you'd still work that one, if the Trams were still around.
Thanks for uploading this, my great grandad is on this video at the end when the last tram drives into the depot.
Thats really amazing, i'm so glad
A great watch...really Nostalgic!! Thanks Mark!!
Love old films !!! thanks !!
Thanks for uploading. Many, many details about the service.
The more old and crackly the better ; so much more atpmospheric
My dad often spoke about the trams … Now the building of trams taking so much time and they break down!
Fantastic Memories, hope you enjoyed the video.
This is soooo interesting - Great footage feels like a real time travel
I'm so glad you liked it, glad i saved it from the rubbish
How interesting! Well done and informative. Thank you, Mark Thomas, for sharing this.
Nice shots of the Thermit welding process!
Thank you for this,Mark, I was 6 when the last trams were withdrawn and can remember going by bus to Chester Road, Midland Red buses weren't allowed past there, and changing to the tram to go to Gravelly Hill, visiting relatives. That tram ride was a real treat. Happy days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent
So refreshing to see the limited traffic on the road's 'then', & just how well the transport system of yesteryear running as smoothly back in the day, and that snow on the line or leaves on the tracks didn't phase the Trolleybuses ~ as they do with our transport system 'now' in the 21st century!!
Brilliant piece of work. Intriguing. Thank you. I recall the trips to "The Lickies" with my dad and family - what anticipation!
thank you, glad you liked it
Fantastic footage and commentary, helped me to envision the memories my mother had and told me of when i was a child, when she would go to the Lickey Hills with her German Shepherd dog called Gypsy on the tram.
Thats amazing, thanks for the nice comments, i'm glad i saved the tape from land fill
@@digitalsoundsdisco I have a copy of it too.
I remember travelling along that Bristol Road, central Track, quite a few times, to the Lickey Hills. I really enjoyed being on top deck, at the front, wizzing along, while tree branches would just brush past the roof. My brother's and I , would sometimes get off the Tram before then, Hop over a wall, that was surrounding a large estate, so that we could collect the masses of fallen Conker's, at the feet of huge Horse Chestnut trees. On one occasion, while travelling back with our hauls, the bottom of one paper carrier bag, burst open, and our freshly skinned shiny Conker's, went all over the Tram floor, under everyone's seats. Fortunately, good hearted fellow traveler's joined us, collecting them. But we lost Half.
@@MrDaiseymay Well put together got mine from a bargain bin at a car boot for 50p then quickly digitized it
Fascinating, I liked the repair sequences, with the chubby little girl watching the men work. Thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it
I watched the entire 2 hours this rainy cold day. Even thou I am from a different continent, seeing all this disappearing still greatly saddened me......
I am a cyclist and tram lines are a danger the wheels will become stuck in the line.
Dambuster That is why there should be trams there..
@@dambuster6387 My dad used to tell an old story, about his three-wheeler Morgan Car, when he had to go the the tram depot, to turn around, because the rear wheel got stuck in a Tram -Line. I think it was just a joke.
Amazing trip back to my childhood. I had completely forgotten about the Bundy clocks used to record the drivers whereabouts. (1:44:23). Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic docu ..... great insight.
Recognised so many Birmingham landmarks from this video... My family probably used these routes passing through Aston Cross.. The ending of the tram & trolleybus networks must have been a major development for the local community at the time.
@@kenndo9906 glad you enjoyed it
A Splendid Presentation. Wonderful History. Vandalism To Remove It All. What Might Have Been !.
It used to be said that if you wanted something made go to Birmingham! Made in Birmingham,. The city of a thousand manufacturers. Those were the days!
'Tin Tack--to a Tank'.
Than you for this video awesome . I love Birmingham
Very welcome
Very enjoyable video. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure
Great work,footage and historical knowledge. I work at thinktank museum we have the 395 tram. I was doing some work on it the other day and its wonderful piece. I also live by lickey hills so fascinated by this vid
Glad you enjoyed it
Lucky I grew up in 50s & 60s near Squiers Gate station Blackpool so see the tram network there daily as a kid & travelled to school on it regularly. Yes it was cut back a lot by the 60s but a lot remained till this day & now its being extended again with future plans for more. Very interesting video nice reminder of old times.
They got rid of the trams to make way for cars and nearly fifty years later are re-introducing trams to get rid of cars?! Only in Birmingham.
Not only Birmingham.
As i watch these informative vintage videos I can’t help but be disgruntled because the same destruction of these efficient clean transports were put out of service by politicians and lobbyists.New York City and its outer boroughs were once furnished with much similar infrastructure so needed today.Piss poor planning gets you piss poor performance when a new breed took over allowing all these innovative efficient railways to be destroyed and obliterated.A great example how greed permeates while a huge disservice and shortsightedness was committed against so many by so few.Thanks for posting!
Glad you Enjoyed it.
nice job
I uploaded the same video a few years ago, but they took it down, glad to see again,
My Grandfather Ernest Joseph Siviter started work with the LMS as a carter and after service with the RFA IN WWI became a tram driver in Birmingham. When the trams were scrapped he became a BCC bus driver and later an instructor teaching many men how to drive a bus.
Thank you, amazing Memories.
Fascinating.
Glad you Like it.
Great info...well done
Astounding waste of an excellent transport system. Very sad.
The charm of those slender narrow gauge tramcars! The only n.g. 'caurs' I travelled on were in Glasgow at 4' 7&3/4" rather than the standard 4' 8&1/2", (to accomodate railway wagons from the docks/shipyards, using the tramlines and running on their larger flanges.)
lovely memories, and history thanks
So refreshing to see the limited traffic on the road's 'then', & just how well the transport system of yesteryear running as smoothly back in the day, and that snow on the line or leaves on the tracks didn't phase the Trolleybuses ~ as they do with our transport system 'now' in the 21st century!!
Fun Fact; Even the Roman's built 'better' more robust road's than we see today!!
First we had horse-drawn, then electric, then Gas/Diesel, now they're making Electric motor vehicles & phasing out the Diesel. At the moment we are in Tier 3 in London with the Coronavirus Pandemic ~ & the
world is trying to decide what to do for thee best for Christmas 2020.
Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas Whatever the world decides.
I'm agoraphobic 'anyway', So I can do all these lockdown's standing on my head!! Peace to All.
Trams should be re-introduced where ever possible, as they are way more effitiant and really emission free! Also they can transport more ppl by attaching multiple cars. For swiss ppl it looks quite scary to have double-deckers, but it looks like they worked just fine.
Yeah shame Britian didn't keep its older rolling stock and overhaul them like in mainland Europe
😘 wow, birmingham. the city, now and then, to me , remember good times and bad times, diversity, love it, as when i did vist the city mid seventies from west bromwich on a bus to the city centre, ob my way to summers lane,
Thanks for your comment's.
That superb Bristol Road reservation! Like Prince of Wales Road in Sheffield. So modern; I see it in Europe all the time, even in city centres. They would not allow such things in London as the powers-that-be wanted rubber tyres.
Flipping heck this AA traffic update is going on for ever....!!!🤣
Twice as fast in half the time unlike today.
Allan Buttery Health and safety 😞
These trams are taller & slimmer than a d decker; did they ever have to undergo a tilt test, did any ever topple over whilst on the move?
I live in nechells wus like 2 see more old videos and pictures
Narrated by Martin Jenkins
Thank You
@@digitalsoundsdisco
Martin Jenkins narrates most of the on line videos 📹
Glad I could help 😌
bet the city fathers wish they could have it all back
The only problem they are not very flexable where I live the routes are all ways under review It would be costly to up root the rails and lay new tracks and trolly bus over head wires same problem.
When I see the kerbside loading and reserved track, just as in any modern European city and then reflect this was denied to London before the War to give way to the trolleybus and ultimately the bus. Politics and the road lobby! Run something down so it appears unfashionable and uncomfortable.
... it's exactly what they did to the railways....starved them of money and ran them into the ground so as to force people to buy cars and use the roads instead. Then the 60's came around and the government got a fellow called Beeching to do their dirty work for them. And that was that- the fate of the railways was sealed.......and a gift the Victorians developed, was trashed. A legacy squandered by greedy self interested politicians in the 1960's. The rest as they say is history.
I've Might Go To Birmingham In The West Midlands In The United Kingdom This Year And Go To The Birmingham Hippodrome And See Disney's Sister Act On Tour. Thanks Mate. X
Luke Green please don’t. It’s not the same as in this video. It’s changed, and not better
@@throwow1014 he should wear some horse blinkers, focus on the hippodrome and back home, your correct nothing to see here I am afraid to say,
Trams and an Electric co-op van..nothing changed then!!
3:50 so they already had battery operated trams in 1890? :O
Electric cars were quite popular in the 1890's too
aceste filmari sunt pur si simplu fantastice. cum oare sau pastrat?
Filmul Orignal a fost filmul Cine, apoi de la banda vhs la format digital (Orignal film was Cine film, then from vhs tape to digital format)
Sydney Guys Trams& buses were all over Birminghams transport system, he is a great man who isn't mentioned in the video although his "Guy" blue and cream buses are in the video.
7 years, and nobody noticed the ELEPHANT walking down the road at 1:36:06
Rare town or city where trams lasted longer than trolley-buses.
Elephant at 1:36:10 !
Please ignore the odd racist comment that seems to be attracted by these old videos .... These racists don't deserve a moment of our time .. Thanks ! :)
Rather a silly comment that. Those of us who did not see it go back to look for and read it and - gasp! - form our own opinions ourselves.
Gordon
Who was the narrator
Sounds just like Eric Idle!
Martin Jenkins; says so in the credits at the end.
Beautiful city. what country is this???
Many Thanks Birmingham, England
well thats a first, but most welcome and true.
INSTEAD OF THOSE BEEN IN THE MUSIEM WE COULD DO WITH THEM NOW IN BIRMINGHAM. GET RID OF THE NEW ONES. THAT HAVE BROKEN THE TRACKS.
Nice idea, would love to see that and go for a ride on an old tram, they still use older trams in Blackpool.
birmingham now it spot the white man
Or what about spot the idiot who judges someone by the colour of their skin, hopefully they are dying out like the trams.
Matty Kumar Thats not true I’m white and I live in sparkhill, don’t assume things 😡
Alright old chap call it spot the culture. I would like to on holiday to India and Pakistan...but do want their culture rammed down my throat