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Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 12 Apr 2009
by BrianDamaged
I (along with the Bee-Arxe) spent half of Easter Sunday in the company of the 'Godiva Two-Horse Riding School' (the Coventry branch of 2CVGB) at the Birmingham & Midlands Museum of Transport at Wythall, just off J3 of the M42 (a massive 11 miles from home...).

Unsurprisngly, given that I'm turning into something of an anorak snapaholic, I took over 100 pics, some of which I'll post here, starting with the Tin Snails. Enjoy.
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And now....it's anorak time. ;D
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I must have ridden on this 1976 Leyland National as a callow, spotty youth back in 1980ish. Usually using a forged copy of my sister's Student Bus Pass with my photo instead of hers. I can still see the faceless New Town passing by through rain and dirt-smeared glass, with Joy Division playing in my head (this is pre-Walkman....and pre-Smiths), trying to make sense of my pointless adolescent existence. ;D
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Part-restored CM5T coach from 1960. These babies were designed specifically for 'The Motorway Age' and could lap the banked track at MIRA at 85mph. with over the magic ton attainable downhill.

Of course, it's not all as exotic...
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Meanwhile, inside....
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You could buy yourself a model bus....
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Or some genuine timetables.....or, for the bus enthusiast who has everything...
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Yes, those really are rolls of unused bus tickets. And yes, I saw people buying them. And no, you can't see photographs.

Meanwhile, back to the action.
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Another National. Check out the Karrier Gamecock (I'm not making this up, that's it's name) lurking in the background.
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I went out on this 1950's WMPTE Guy, for a lovely 30minute wallow down Memory Lane. Actually we went to Sainsbury's in Maypole but it doesn't sound as nostalgic...
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The above BMMO D9 was the bus I remember most as a youngster growing up in Redditch. Far from being old-fashioned, the D9 was ground-breaking when it was launched, being chassis-less AND having stuff like disc brakes all round. Birmingham Midland Motor Omnibus were true pioneers in bus manufacture, they even made their own engines at their huge factory in Carlyle Road, Edgbaston.
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Anyone here who went to Hednesford Raceway between 1965 and the late 1990's will have seen this early post-war BMMO double-decker, it used to be the lap scorer's office up on the East Bend banking. Apparently a very rare model, it's been donated to BAMMOT by Incarace and will be restored.
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The business end. This Gardner 6LX sits in the back of a stripped-down Daimler Fleetline chassis as an outside display.
Full Flickr album? Go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/damaged23/ ... 666507892/
That's it, I can take my anorak off again now......
;D

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 12 Apr 2009
by Philhod
You'll be fucked trying to take the anorak off after that lot mate.....must be bleedin welded on :P :P

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 12 Apr 2009
by Madcav
Doc's going to love you especially when he sees the number plate on that bus!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 12 Apr 2009
by Philhod
8) 8) Yeah, I noticed that as well Cav......and I remember those Karriers too....fuckin smokey noisy diesel 2strokes [vomit]

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by docchevron132
DOC 26V is well known to me!
It's sister lives at the farm!
The Bristol RE is also very well knwon to me. I very nearly bought 1003 a few years back, although I got tempted by 1472 in the end, and 1003 went elsewhere.

So, you're into buses Brian?!

Midland Red were fucking great, I've read some books that pertained to the days of high speed testing of their coaches, 100mph back then, in a fuck off great coach was mind blowing stuff!

Anorak mode on, at least 2 of those 2cv's have FTW yellow headlights!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by BrianDamaged
I'm into anything with an engine, and wheels. Or tracks.

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by docchevron132
Do you own a bus per chance?
OR, would you like to?!!!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by Vanny
droool, and i tink busses are for peasants!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by BrianDamaged
docchevron1472 wrote:Do you own a bus per chance?
OR, would you like to?!!!
I'd love one...however lack of time, space and money means it'll forever be a pipe-dream.
:roll:

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by mat_the_cat
BrianDamaged wrote:I'm into anything with an engine, and wheels. Or tracks.
Tracks? You might have liked what I was playing with last weekend...

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Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by David
Now THAT looks like fun.

*can I have a go?*

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by mat_the_cat
It was actually surprisingly easy to use, I got on with it a lot better than the 4-5 ton machines I have used previously. Bigger is most definately better.

Video here.

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by smiffy
docchevron1472 wrote: 1003 went elsewhere.
Yes, it went to the farm!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by Fish_Botherer
Speaking of something that should've been on tracks, here's President De Gaulle's official runaround. Could probably have done with a tank/bus engine,as I gather it had only an original DS lump to tow around that mega-stretch body including mega-boot, armour plating, bullet-proof glass, wrap-around interior partition screen etc.

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And what was underneath it when I took the pic

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Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by David
The larger machines are always easier to use. Generally the controls are direct acting to the valve blocks rather than on cables, and hence they're always more progressive. Pumps are better quality and better matched with the rams, etc.etc.etc.

I'm quite handy with a decent slew, although it HAS to be a proper slew, and not a JCB backhoe... anyone who's used both will know that the controlls are all different. I'd never used a JCB backhoe until recently, and made such a complete hash of it, I looked like a complete berk!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 13 Apr 2009
by docchevron132
BrianDamaged wrote:
docchevron1472 wrote:Do you own a bus per chance?
OR, would you like to?!!!
I'd love one...however lack of time, space and money means it'll forever be a pipe-dream.
:roll:
Dont suppose per chance you know William Staniforth?
Or Rob Handford?

Smiffy wrote:Yes, it went to the farm!
Indeed, where it is now owned by a group of morons.

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 14 Apr 2009
by mickey taker
Madcav wrote:Doc's going to love you especially when he sees the number plate on that bus!
and there was me thinking you meant the No17 to Bridgnorth with SUK 3 as the number plate

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 14 Apr 2009
by Father Ted
I sort of once owned a coach It was given to the Venture Scout group I ran by BNFL Springfields where it has spent most of its retirement driving round the site one way - so had a bit of a lean on it to the right. We had great thoughts about decking it out inside as a mobile camp and buggering off to the French alps in it, in the end we realised we had bitten off more than we could chew and it got sold to someone who was going to use it for his racing car home ( I think they were going to chop the back off and fit some ramps) - we bought a shagged out Mk 2 Transit 1600 petrol instead and went in that ( once we had plugged all the holes in the floor with glassfible).

It was a Leyland and looked just like this (only it was in flat as a witches tit blue)
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Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 14 Apr 2009
by docchevron132
I'm guessing Leopard then?
Not sure Tigers were widely bodied with that body..

Air gearchange head FTL...
Nice engine though!

Re: Damaged's Easter Sunday Outing

Posted: 15 Apr 2009
by smiffy
There are some Tigers with Plaxton late style panorama bodies, you may remember our friend at Chew vally coaches, (who has the peugeot 405 Mi16 4x4 has one.