A NOT SO GOLDEN FINISH
Malcom Keeley reviews the rest of the 2002 season
A couple of editions ago I covered the earlier events in this year of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Like the Golden Jubilee itself, all looked well in mid-summer but a chillier wind was blowing by the end of the season.
The only major event I was not able to attend personally was the Family Day on 28 July. This was not a day designed for bus enthusiasts and thus it is one of the quieter days in the events calendar. Nevertheless results were buoyant, maintaining the level of interest shown in 2001. Again the Austin cars visited us and all agreed it was an enjoyable day with the steam trains well to the fore.
Next up was the Bus Rally and Running Day, held on August Bank Holiday Monday. This particular event in 2001 was the busiest day at the Museum on record and we had great expectations that it would be repeated. In 2001 it was immediately obvious that something exceptional was happening and, in 2002, the day’s level of demand was to be similarly obvious from the outset. The Britannic Assurance car park was again in use but there were no standing loads on the early shuttle buses, clearly the day was going to be quieter. We had beefed up the areas that struggled in 2001 and everybody coped well. The ‘bus station’ was again created on our usual car park and had to handle eight arrivals and departures per hour. It is absolutely vital that buses arrive and depart on time, and park in the required spots when not in service. Again this was under the firm control of James Munro but it is also thanks to all the volunteers, who turned out in force and worked so hard and to plan on the day.
The poorer demand on this important day has meant the whole year’s results will probably be less than 2001. So what went wrong? Possibly nothing. The speculation is that foot-and-mouth disease actually benefited us in 2001, hence the unexpected surge in demand. The August event in 2002 was still busier than 2000 so let’s not get too depressed. What was clear about this day was that the enthusiasts supported us in force but the families were largely missing, confirming the foot-and-mouth speculation. There was a lot of confident talk last year about having broken through into the family market. This is a much tougher nut to crack, however, in the face of the big boys with their big marketing budgets and it will evidently always be a struggle to attract families but somehow we have to do it.
Why the final event day performed worse than last year needs no analysing! The Birmingham & Midland Day on 27 October was a dreadful day of heavy gales and only the dedicated came out. The day commenced with justified tales of fallen trees across the region and it was briefly wondered whether it was worth opening. As usual, however, enthusiasts were arriving on the car park well before the official opening time and again we can thank these most loyal of our supporters for their willingness to turn out in surprising numbers. Sadly, families were in thin numbers, frightened off by tales of mayhem out on the roads. Indeed the 750 was diverted via the Hollywood Bypass on earlier journeys due to a fallen tree just south of the Maypole. The 748 via Wythall Station was converted to single-deck for the day which required the operation of the Crosville Bristol L5G on a day dedicated to Birmingham City Transport and Midland Red buses. No-one complained, however. Indeed, enthusiasts seemed grateful for the effort put into the day in the face of such adverse conditions. Most of the Birmingham buses were already on site for the traditional line-up along the drive, which was barely reduced by the weather. Most visiting Midland Red buses, however, understandably decided the conditions were too rough to risk a longer journey which meant the Midland Red line-up was much reduced compared to the classic display mustered in 2001. We were blessed, however, for the first time by Tim Ralphs bringing his newly restored ex-Midland Red Land Rover, which comfortably sat amongst the buses.
This was the close of the season for the museum and the gentleman at the AGM who expressed concern that October is prone to poor weather can feel some satisfaction that he was right! It can be a volatile time, especially towards the end (I’m talking about October, not the AGM) but the earlier part of the month was gorgeous, as it so often is. 2002 was not as golden as 2001 after all but still a good year. Full marks to all the volunteers for their efforts, before, during and following each event, enduring the clustering of events earlier in the season and a variety of weather conditions with barely an ungracious word.
Longer serving members will recall, however, that our last day used to be even later - the first Sunday in November. With the museum closed, that Sunday was the opportunity this year to forget golden jubilees and celebrate the silver anniversary of the Trust’s creation with a trip out. The obvious destination was the Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society open day. The selected transport was Midland Red S15 5073, a comfortable steed with dual-purpose seat spacing even if bus seats are now fitted. Accompanying the S15 was the 1685 Group’s 1948 Brush-bodied Leyland Titan, returned to the roads for the first time in several years. We arrived at Lincoln after, erm, a slight delay near Newark and Steve Milner ushered us into our specially reserved spaces next to the museum. What great guys these Lincoln blokes are! Astonishingly 1685 found itself alongside another 1948 Brush-bodied Leyland, although this one was a PS1 single-decker new to Yorkshire Woollen. Extensively restored, the PS1 has a body built to the specification of the BET Federation and has the same proportions as our Stratford Blue PS1 with Northern Coach Builders body, awaiting a heavy injection of money and time at Wythall.
The Lincoln museum has an enviable collection of vehicles, not just buses. The elderly Leylands are the best known, having been acquired by various parties straight from service in Jersey over forty years ago, amongst the first buses in preservation. The museum is now running a greater variety of rides in and around Lincoln than previously which, combined with the selection of museum and visiting vehicles on offer, meant some delightful journeys. I sprang like a ninja (there’s a mental image for you to conjure with) on arrival to sample the Lincoln Guy with its ear-splitting air-cooled Ruston & Hornsby engine, about as different to BCT 2533 and 2976 as can be imagined. A Southdown PS1 was next, and finally Andy of the Lincoln museum leaned out of the 1929 Leyland TD1 he was about to drive and had little difficulty in coaxing me aboard. Andy is one of life’s delightful characters and he drove the TD1 with tremendous confidence. What a trip this was, 45 minutes of sheer delight. After heading off into the sunshine for so long I thought we would hit Penzance, we suddenly changed direction and there across the fields, bathed in the sunshine the day enjoyed, was Lincoln Cathedral rising up above the surrounding flatlands. One of Lincolnshire’s problems is that is almost completely flat. That didn’t stop Andy who pointed the TD1 towards the cathedral and a 1 in 10 hill, providing much entertainment as we hit the gradient. We all enjoyed the day and seeing how another museum operates and pass our thanks to Steve, Andy and colleagues for the pleasure they gave us.
The second part of our silver anniversary was an evening meeting, looking back over the last 25 years at the museum using a variety of visual aids that made the cafeteria resemble an electrical store. Slides came first with Malcolm Keeley beginning the story at 1965 and sprinting through to 2002, followed by Pete Murphy with slides of the site in its earliest days. Video was the next mode with edited material from a variety of contributors, including a visitor who has filmed the last five Birmingham City Transport days and John James who covered the 1984 official opening of the museum, some seven years after the Trust was created, and the 1985 Super Omnibus Show. One of the visiting vehicles was the aforementioned Ruston & Hornsby engined Guy - I should think all aboard needed ear protectors over that distance! The 1984-5 films showed the public face of the museum in those days of a much smaller site and visitors parking in the lane. Finally Bob Deloyde dug out his ciné of the museum’s earliest days which concentrated on site development by various exhibitionists (sorry, that should read dedicated volunteers). Bob’s films brought home to younger members just what had to be put up with and the subsequent extent of the work to the site and vehicles. The site was literally clear of any useful ground or structures - indeed it’s a wonder a scourge of the First World War - trench foot - was not a problem in all the mud! The whole evening was great fun but especially Bob’s films of which we saw only a few, leading to demand for another meeting, to be advised. Thanks to all the contributors and also to Liz Potts for keeping us fed and watered on this marathon.
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