Whoosh of steam and the rattle of solid tyres on cobbled streets
IT is not surprising that a great many of us have a lot of affection for the transport of old, when time wasn’t necessarily important and a leisurely pace was the order for the day.
Instead of enjoying the comforts of today’s incredibly sophisticated modern coaches, our ancestors had to put up with travelling in the open (fingers crossed it didn’t rain) on board a solid tyre, rigid framed charabanc, with little or no suspension at a cruising speed of some 12 miles an hour. But this form of transport was a popular means of escaping the industrial cloud that enveloped the Black Country to transport folk to greener acres and even the seaside. The top picture shows a whole fleet of Guy charabancs parked up in the old market place in Wolverhampton with their proud drivers standing alongside their machines with long coats and caps, the uniform of the charabanc driver.
Before motorisation arrived came the trusted horse and carriage and from another scene taken in Wolverhampton late in the 19th century, the horse and carriages are lined up where black cabs perhaps ply their trade today.
This short look back at the transport of yore would not be complete without a mention of the steam locomotive, the mode of transport that opened up the country and the world to ordinary people. It is hard to beat the atmosphere engendered by the picture opposite taken at night at Wolverhampton Station.