WYTHALL WORKS
Although the HLF project is now officially completed, with the final paperwork signed off and the opening ceremony held, there are a number of finishing jobs to be done. The last couple of months have seen the decoration of the rooms adjacent to and above the Audio Visual room. The room above will, in due course, be fitted out for storage and the small ground floor room is destined to become a cloak room for school parties.
Talking of school parties, a local primary school group visited the site on 12 July. Their transport was provided by the Bristol Lodekka and by all accounts they found it a very productive day. By way of contrast, just a week later, the Museum welcomed a party from the Birmingham office of HLF on one of their occasional ‘away days’ to see projects they have funded. They went away impressed by what they saw and even gave us more cash by way of shop sales!
Other final finishing off in relation to the HLF project has been more laying of cobbles in the bus station area. The cantilever shelter there has been fully repainted and now just awaits the glass for the windows. A small piece of fence has been provided to the left of the vehicle entrance on the frontage to block off the gap between the building and the railway line. This has a gate in it as the gravel path is officially the fire exit from the rear of the Power Hall. Additional signage has been provided and above the main entrance door to the Power Hall a black panel with the Midland Red wheel has been erected. This replicates the façade of Midland Red enquiry offices. Also, the old name for the Museum, i.e. Birmingham and Midland Museum of Transport, has finally been replaced on all our signage with the one we now use (The Transport Museum, Wythall) with the repainting of the big sign at our entrance.
Another feature of the bus station area is to be the telephone box. This ‘fell apart’ whilst being moved from its old location by the café and is now being reassembled by Pete and Leo. At present it is doorless and roofless but did prove a challenge to the visiting school party who decided to see how many children they could fit in it!
Inside the Power Hall, round plates from BCT bus stops have been fixed to the wall in the entrance area and the Midland Red North illuminated stag sign that used to grace the railway carriages fixed inside above the entrance. The final bus to be located in the Power Hall was finally moved in on 10 August. This is the Isle of Man Guy Otter. Pete Murphy has worked wonders on the front repairing rusted bodywork and Kevin, with assistance from Paul Gray, has transformed the bus with a fresh coat of paint. Signwriting is still to be done at the time of writing and Andrew Wiltshire is renovating the interior. One of the other buses in the Power Hall to receive attention is Walsall 808. The incorrect seats which were fitted were recently removed and suitable replacements are being painted ready for fitting.
Elsewhere on the site professionals have been installing the intruder alarm system required by our insurers and work has been done to rectify roof leaks in the Scania Hall and clear gutters on the Shire Hall. The inclement, unseasonable, weather which caused major flooding in Worcestershire and Gloucester gave the Museum some problems with water flooding part of the Shire Hall. This was due to blocked drains which saw Pete Murphy, Dave Taylor, and myself getting drenched stemming the flow of water. This day was also the day when the crane which many will have noticed as a temporary (for a number of years) resident on site finally left on a low loader.
Although it is only a year since a skip for steel scrap was on site, such was the volume collected that another arrived in early August. This was quickly filled and a second skip was required to clear the pile. Loading it was greatly facilitated by Pete Murphy’s latest acquisition, the ex-Midland Red and North Birmingham Busways Matador. The Matador also came into its own when a resident from the adjacent mobile homes park offered us a ton of sand which was surplus to requirements! As well as the steel scrap the clean-up operation has seen the disposal of scrap aluminium from the site and, hopefully, batteries, oil and tyres will follow.
Meanwhile, some people do actually find time to work on vehicles. Although progress is not visible to the casual observer, Dave Parry has spent a huge amount of time (and money) on his C5. Work is largely connected with rebuilding the engine and cleaning the chassis ready to receive the rebuilt engine.
BCT Guy 2976 and Midland Red S15 both passed Class VI Tests in July although 2976 had to pay a visit to Allelys to have a brake imbalance sorted out on their rolling road. The problem with the open top D9 brakes reported in the last issue of ‘Omnibus’ has been resolved as the skid marks on the road near the Museum will testify. The WMPTE liveried D9 has been moved to a location where work required on its suspension can be carried out. Work on the interior of this bus is also progressing. Gradual progress is also being made on other Museum owned buses such as the S12, and the Southport open top Leyland.
Phil Ireland
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
A registered educational charity no 507191
