GLORY DAYS: Birmingham City Transport

In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the World War 2, Birmingham City Transport was the biggest municipal operator in England, with a fleet that comprised 701 trams, 47motorbuses and 78 trolleybuses. It possessed the largest fleet of 3ft 6in gauge trams in the country and had a been a pioneer in trolleybus development, the first tram to trolleybus conversion being Birmingham’s Nechells route in the early 1920s.
The Corporation’s involvement with public transport dated back to the early years of the century, when powers were obtained to operate trams; its role expanded prior to World War 1 with the take-over of the routes operated by the City of Birmingham Tramways Company and over the next two decades there were to be many significant developments and extensions.

By the 1930s, however, the tramcar was on the decline, being replaced by the bus and, to a lesser extent, by the trolleybus. In 1945 the city still possessed an extensive network of 3ft 6in gauge tramways alongside a small trolleybus operation, though the city‘s already large fleet of buses was steadily growing. The decade after the cessation of hostilities saw both trams and trolleybuses operated for the last time in the city though, oddly, Birmingham City Transport was one of the few operators to see the tram outlast the trolleybus. For the final years of its independent operation, public transport in Birmingham was provided by buses only. Birmingham City Transport’s existence came to an end with the creation of West Midlands PTE on 1st October 1969.

In his latest book for Ian Allan Publishing, Malcolm Keeley records the history of Birmingham City Transport from its earliest days through to the creation of WMPTE in1969. Through a combination of a detailed text, mono and colour photographs and a selection of memorabilia – including tickets and other ephemera – the author recounts the fascinating story of one of Britain’s most important municipal operators, the services it provided and the vehicles it employed. Previous titles from Ian Allan Publishing on public transport in Birmingham and the Midlands, such as Heyday of Midland Red (ISBN: 0711030790), have sold strongly and this latest addition to one of our most popular and long-running series will be no exception.

Title: Birmingham City Transport (Glory Days)
Author: Malcolm Keeley
Format: HB 112 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd
Pub date: April 2007
ISBN 10: 0711031673
ISBN 13: 9780711031678

List Price: £16.99