"Five Ways? Room on top!" A Brummagem horse drawn buzz in 1/32nd scale

[perdu]

Some of you may remember me eventually turning out the Hansom Cab a couple of years ago, a long and protracted road but I am happy we got there in the end.

 

This time I am turning my eye to the horse drawn buses which made Birmingham (not alone of course, but I am a Brummie and not even ashamed of it guys) the workshop to the world.

 

As factories were opened they needed men and womens to get down and dirty making their products and as Brum got bigger a transport service was needed to feed the factory's desire for more, more, more employees.

 

Birmingham's first horse buses first ran in May 1835 and by 1869 there were 20 horse buses in service on 15 routes.

 

Trams drawn by horses came later, in 1873, hmm maybe later...

 

Anyway a reminder if you dont mind me slowing the section down to hoof pace

 

I shan't be making wheels with fellies and the like, in this scale I am going to stick with my  own tried and tested method of protractoring away any plasticard that isn't a wheel rim.

 

And using these  as wheel hubs.

 👍

 

 

So that is me, this will be my fourth piece of Brummie Victoriana and maybe this is a time to show what I have in mind.

 

 

A B.C.T Co Ltd 'bus unloading, possibly at New Street near the station.

 

Allegedly, so little of Birmingham's great Victorian buildings was left after a town planner got his bulldozers into them in the fifties and sixties that it is difficult to identify the place definitely (rant over, no promise that it won't recur as we get into the business)

 

This style of 'bus with three windows is more commonly photographed than the four window style popular in "that London" and is intended to be what I build if progress happens

 

If...

 

These happy folks look as if they are in their Sunday best which gives me to think they must be boarding the Balsall Heath 'bus to ride to Cannon Hill Park.

 

 

Anyway, this is the plan

 

Co-incidentally these are the plans

 

The Model Wheelwrights kindly supplied me copies of their plans of the London Omnibus by John Thompson which have given me immense amounts of useable data and sizing clues (the plans had some scale info but were reduced from the original before I got them and I have had to resize and scale them as I go along, this is going to slow me down.

 

If you thought the Hansom's pace was glacial, this time consider continental drift as a pace maker.

 

(I was a little scathing about town planners destroying the Victorian infrastructure in Birmingham, but Manzoni did not get it all)

 

Here is a Victorian bus in Sparkbrook with the same road now courtesy of Google Maps

 

 

And a shot of the planning underway

 

 

 

Work has begun on the lower deck foot well.

 

And the BCT C^o L^td markings are being adjusted to.

Well this is me at the moment, if you are interested on riding the bus please kick in with any comments helpful or not.

(I am used to being told I am a dumb dolt )

 

Glue and knife time now, ciao.

 

 

[roginoz]

Gonna be following this build with interest, @perdu, anything horse drawn can be guaranteed to perk my interest.

Rog

[perdu]

Thank you Rog, I 'll try not to disappoint mate.

[Terry1954]

I'm jumping on the bus with you Bill. This looks very interesting and promises to be full of character. I do love a bus ........ or a tram..... or a rain for that matter!

 

Terry

[perdu]

A rain Terry? We've had loads of that recently oop here in Brum.

 

Glad to have you aboard, want to walk round with the satchel and ticket machine?

[CedB]

Not a flying thing Bill but I'm here nevertheless

 

Always pleased to pick up more tips from one of the Masters!

[giemme]

Ooooh, I have a feeling this is gonna be good... no, grrrreat!

 

 

Has he started yet?

 

Ciao 

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, perdu said:

(I am used to being told I am a dumb dolt )

 

You're a dumb dolt Bill, why do you always have to go and choose such interesting subjects that lead to me having to spend even more time on this internet thingie, instead of working on my own models?! 

 

Really enjoyed your handsome Hansom Cab build, so looking forward to seeing this one come together, however slowly!

 

2 hours ago, perdu said:

These happy folks look as if they are in their Sunday best which gives me to think they must be boarding the Balsall Heath 'bus to ride to Cannon Hill Park.

 

 

Looked a tad breezy in Brum that day!

 

Keith

[perdu]

It did a bit, this street is near to New Street Station and until they buried it underground it was always a  bit breezy there so maybe it was normal for Brum.

 

The original bits I cut out yesterday have had a little attention but as I say expect zero speed on screen

 

This is the lower deck floor which sits between the wheels and permits us to "move along the bus please" and sit on the upholstered benches that run the length of the body, side by side seating was only for the brave beggars atop the contraption.

 

The lowest floor is curved to allow water to run out at the back and down the centre of the floor

 

There will be treadstrips along the length of the floor, this was an early experiment.

 

Now abandoned whilst I get back to the Evergreen store for wider 0.020" strips, 0.040" if they stock them  or I am going to have to cut a lot of strips myself

Anybody got a guillotine for plasticard? (Which might be an idea for Christmas, I can see a need for lots of strips coming over the hill...)

 

This is a lesson to me not to take my measuring for granted, I think it is too short since I trimmed the roof blank I prepared yesterday today.

 

Beggarit!

 

Proportionally I think I should not have taken off the 7/16th ⁱⁿ I trimmed off this afternoon

 

Oh well I do now have a template to work to...

 

Practise making the roof/floor curved to suit.

 

 

Oh well back tomorrow for another go, best do the shopping too.

 

Ciao, hope this can entertain us all, so far I am beginning to have doubts.

 

Look how tiny it will be to be moving hordes of Brummies round all day, maybe I am scaling it wrong.

[Tomoshenko]

Loving it already Bill.

[keefr22]

1 hour ago, perdu said:

Look how tiny it will be to be moving hordes of Brummies round all day, maybe I am scaling it wrong.

 

The real thing looks pretty short to me Bill, like a double decker stagecoach...

 

Keith

[Hamden]

 

Nice start to an interesting project Bill, loved your Hansom and I'm sure this will just as good if not better!

 

  Stay safe         Roger

[Bigdave22014]

Something out of the usual again, I'm following along.

Now then, does this Bar serve "substantial meals"?

[klubman01]

I'm intrigued.  I shall follow, if I may, to learn from your scratch building skills.

Trevor

[perdu]

5 hours ago, Bigdave22014 said:

Something out of the usual again, I'm following along.

Now then, does this Bar serve "substantial meals"?

They are right out of scotch eggs after an unprecedented run on them.

 

Even sent a lad round to M&S for the last thirty ones they had, but there is still pork scratchings, pork puffs and shrimp flavour Linekers.

 

Trevor I don't know about that but as it says in the title plenty of room on top.

Welcome aboard.

 

Quiet start today, I have to visit the LMS in potentially vain searches for 0.020" x 0.040" strips for the tread strips on both floors.

 

And a Merlin needs a final fluorescencing.

[Terry1954]

Mentioning the Merlin, got my mind wandering (again). Two entirely different eras and incredible advances in technology between the two subjects. Imagine the occupants of your prospective Horse drawn Bus seeing and hearing a Merlin, in full hover close up ............. wonderment itself I would say!

 

OK, I'm back in this world now, carry on!

 

Terry

[Broadway]

On 12/7/2020 at 10:41 AM, perdu said:

Some of you may remember me eventually turning out the Hansom Cab a couple of years ago, a long and protracted road but I am happy we got there in the end.

 

This time I am turning my eye to the horse drawn buses which made Birmingham (not alone of course, but I am a Brummie and not even ashamed of it guys) the workshop to the world.

 

As factories were opened they needed men and womens to get down and dirty making their products and as Brum got bigger a transport service was needed to feed the factory desire for more, more, more employees.

 

Birmingham's first horse buses first ran in May 1835 and by 1869 there were 20 horse buses in service on 15 routes.

 

Trams drawn by horses came later, in 1873, hmm maybe later...

 

Anyway a reminder if you dont mind me slowing the section down to hoof pace

 

I shan't be making wheels with fellies and the like, in this scale I am going to stick with my  own tried and tested method of protractoring away any plasticard that isn't a wheel rim.

 

And using these  as wheel hubs.

 👍

 

 

So that is me, this will be my fourth piece of Brummie Victoriana and maybe this is a time to show what I have in mind.

 

 

A B.C.T Co Ltd 'bus unloading, allegedly at New Street near the station.

 

Allegedly, so little of Birmingham's great Victorian buildings was left after a town planner got his bulldozers into them in the fifties and sixties that it is difficult to identify the place definitely (rant over, no promise it won't recur as we get into the business)

Look at this, the top of New St

 

 

[perdu]

Another pair of three window buses here too on this picture which I have seen before but didn't put in my file.

Guess where it is going now? Thanks.

This is by the old GPO building at the top of New St and Pinfold St

 

And on saving it the title tells me I was right, even though I knew that already.

When I was a kid and mom took me to the Post Office, (usually to post parcels for Scottish cousins at Christmas time) there was a scent in the air which only ever seemed to be in there and old public libraries.

Polish and ancient dust probably, I loved to smell that.
Meant either that Christmas was close or I was in the library in Sparkhill.

 

Marvellous.

 

[bootneck]

I spent much of my youff up there watching the regeneration being done c1957-1960.  I was sorry to see the old market go, the one with the large Roman style pillars out front, located where the new Bull Ring ramp was built.

I am currently building a model of Elmdon Airport and, as you are talking buses, I have been trying to find plans of the one on the right in this image.

 

I believe this bus in now in a museum somewhere in the midlands.

 

Mike

[perdu]

Leyland single-decker?

 

There might be one at the transport museum at Wythall, it is possible there will be an inventory list online.

 

I'll have a look later Mike.

[perdu]

I have seen the bus on the museum site but my tablet won't link to it

 

🤬

 

 

[perdu]

Today I got the strips I wanted, now on the floor.

 

Then it was time to organise the front wall to add it to.

 

The floor is sloping down from the front to the rear step and the angle gets set now when it is glued to the main panel.

 

 

[giemme]

Is it a butt join, Bill? 

 

Ciao 

[perdu]

Yes it is Giorgio, all of the box pieces which make up the cabin will be butt jointed, as most of my other wheel-wrighted models have been.

Now the Tamiya Green has set it is a very firm joint.

 

I was looking again for Mike's little bus, I am sure he means this one

 

 

Tucked in behind a Midland Red single decker.

 

 

And here besides the bus I used to get home from town, the 29A.

[keefr22]

How much more character do all those buses have that the things on the road today? Even the colour schemes are so much classier than the barbie pink and purple on most of the ones around here!

 

Good looking start there Bill. Do you already have a plan for the external staircase? I wouldn't have a clue!

 

Keith