Caister Castle and Motor Museum

Wednesday 21 August 2002. After looking around the older parts of Great Yarmouth the sky was still a little threatening and we decided to visit Caister Castle which had a motor museum where we could spend the rest of the afternoon indoors, looking at the collection of cars.

There is little left of the castle itself. It was built in (well... "from") 1432 by Sir John Fastolfe. Born in 1378 he was ambitious, brave, educated and religious. He was a patron of the arts and universities, a statesman and a soldier with 40 years service.

It seems a shame that Shakespeare was to defame him so badly with his character of Falstaff. Fighting against Joan of Arc with extended supply lines he chose correctly to withdraw. Shakespeare depicted this as cowardice. However in real life he was awarded Governorship of Normandy for the following four years.

The tower from across the moat (previous photograph) presents almost a chocolate box image. From inside the castle (seen in this photograph) there is access to a spiral staircase that takes you up to the top of the tower where you can strike weird and wonderful poses for the cameras of your fellow tourists below. There are quite a few examples of graffiti from centuries gone by etched into the walls by daggers or coin edges.

A few vehicles are dotted about the grounds. We first came across this old London horse-drawn tram as a barely recogniseable "shed" of bare rotting wood in 1981. Ten years later it looked almost brand new. Now it was once again looking as though it needed some TLC, at least a coat of paint.

A railway platform tractor - they were used to pull trains of flat wagons for luggage. The majority of the vehicles and just about all of the cars are under cover. They are preserved rather than concours. Cleaners use dusters but not water or polish. However, the place is well worth a visit and I would not want to hazard a guess at the total value of cars on display.

Great Yarmouth 2002 Index

The East Anglia Transport Museum

Monday 19 August 2002. So far on this day we had been to Lowestoft and Oulton Broad, where we had lunch and we had now driven the short distance to Carlton Colville, where the East Anglia Transport Museum can be found.

This is a working museum and usually has a couple of trams running on a road circuit. Today it was the turn of the Blackpool Standard tramcar No.159, which had been one of two such tramcars in Blackpool that had been decked with exterior lamps in a decorative design to be used during the resort's famous Illuminations every autumn. They were retired in the 1960s. In the centre is an Amsterdam tramcar, No.474 and bringing up the line of vehicles is an ex-London trolleybus, which has a road circuit of its own with a added loop, necessary in it's case because you can't drive trolley buses from the rear end...

So of course we made a dive for the good old Blackpool tram, coming as we did then from Blackpool. This model of tram had been replaced on the Blackpool Promenade route by the double-decked "Balloon" trams in the 1930s when pretty much all of Blackpool's trams, both single and double-decked were replaced. The replacements became some of the oldest public transport vehicles in continuous service and were not replaced themselves until 2012. Some of them still run as part of a Heritage Tram service along Blackpool's seafront.

Inside the Blackpool tram. Ornate lampshades, wooden decking and a row of seats backed to the windows with twin seats along the other side of the tram whose backs tilted either way so that passengers could sit facing the direction of travel whichever way the tram was being driven.

Along the ceiling ran a cable that operated the bell to request the driver to stop at the next tramstop. Whilst the tram was driven by electricity this cable was merely attached to a lever which dinged the bell at the back of the driver's cockpit - at either end of the tram!

Blackpool Standard 159 on the road circuit. This model of tramcar was built between 1923-1929. In Blackpool they were regularly used on the routes inland, known as the Marton route named for a district of Blackpool.

As the tram returned to its starting point we hopped off and straight onto the Dutch tram from Amsterdam. This had required a bit of work to convert it to be able to be driven from either end. Routes in Amsterdam have terminus loops allowing the tramcars to turn to face the other way whilst always being driven from the same end and in keeping with most UK tram systems, the one at Carlton Colville required the tramcar to swivel the pole round on the overhead wire and be driven from the "rear" end.

The Amsterdam tram had some sideways seating and also plain wooden single seats arranged to face each other along the central part of the tram cabin. Straps allowed taller standing passengers to remain upright during hard braking or sharp bends whilst children and short people could practice their rolling landing techniques...

There was also a little narrow-gauge railiway that you could ride on, drawn by a diesel locomotive seemingly built by some engineer who hated beauty in all its forms... Possibly it started life working deep underground in a mine or something.

There were a few sheds, packed with nostalgic items dimly remembered from my youth. Like this Flit spray. Before the days of aerosols this is how you sprayed those pesky bugs. With a hand pump. Flit was made by Esso which made me wonder could you just give a decent squirt in the general direction of a bug and then strike a match to scorch the thing at a distance?

In another shed I found a small collection of electric battery-driven milk floats. We still have one that comes down our road once a week. It sometimes goes downhill so slowly we wonder whether it will make it back up and we don't live on any steep gradient. I remember as a lad it was a regular sight to see one being pulled back to the depot by a horse or in later years, a van.

Not that they were ever designed to go like the clappers... In the 1950s milk came in glass bottles and 24 bottles came in metal crates so they had to carry a fair bit of weight. Batteries were a lot less efficient then and themselves added a fair bit of weight. Controls were minimal. Steering wheel and two pedals - one for forwards and one for reverse with another pedal or a lever to set a parking brake.

The London trolleybus. I can just about remember going on trolleybuses in Manchester, though it would only be as a special treat, as buses between home and Manchester were ordinary diesel engined buses. The quiet due to lack of engine noise was strange but the best part about seeing them was waiting for sparks as they passed under the supports holding the twin wires up.

Great Yarmouth 2002 Index

The Renon Trams and Pyramids

Thursday 1 July 2003. After our stop in Bolzano we were back onto the coach and travelled a bit then we found ourselves heading up a mountain on a cable car.

We had arrived at a place called Renon, where we were about to catch a tramcar to - I don't know - somewhere near Renon... Once at this destination lunch would be provided and then there would be a short walk to see some "pyramids". We were a bit agog, thinking that if there were pyramids in the Dolomites, why had we never heard of them...

Anyway, one tram came and went then another came and Lucille, our guide, said we had this one to ourselves, much to the disgust of the Germans, who were waiting close to the tracks, ready to jump on!

Once we were all inside, the tram ran along the edge of some fairly spectacular precipices and Lucille told us that the pyramids were a natural phenomenon, and not man-made.

The tram stopped, we got off and were herded to a tavern where lots of other parties were in the process of being disappointed at the tiny miniscule portions offered to us by smiling staff. Put it this way; you could have, as a drink, either beer or wine. I chose a beer and almost anywhere else in the world would have been given more liquid if I had asked for a small wine... If you go on this trip, take a picnic.

From there we followed Lucille, who was striding purposefully way out in front whilst the rest of us followed in a straggly line, tummies rumbling with hunger and already feeling as though no pyramids could possibly make up for the disappointment of lunch. No wonder the staff were smiling - they must have been making a fortune out of us as the cost of the food would have been included in the cost of the excursion.

We were also starting to wonder how far we were going to walk... At one point we passed a small terraced cafe.

"Have you any spare drinks?" we were wailing plaintively as we passed...

The amount of resentment amongst the party must have been the reason Lucille had set off at such a pace so that she was in no danger of anyone having breath left to complain. We could have been about to witness the most incredible sight in the entire world and we would still not have appreciated it.

The pyramids were pillars of sandstone formed by some weathering process. "We have something similar in New Zealand" Kell said, "and it's the same thing. You see them, say 'Yup...' and walk away again!"

Lake Garda and Northern Italy, 2003 Index

Fleetwood Tram Sunday 1995

It's July 1995 and once again the weather is kind enough for us to venture down the road to Fleetwood to have a look at the vehicles at the annual Tram Sunday vehicles festival.

This is a reminder of my own first 4-wheeled car. A 1961 Hillman Minx. Mine had the registration 385 TD. I bought it in 1971 at the the age of 17 after a year of embarrassing myself driving old Reliant three-wheelers about. In comparison this was a tank. The Hillman Minx was a tremendously popular car. Built from 1931 it went though a pre-war (WW2) version, a wartime version then a postwar Mk.1 to Mk.VIII before this version designed by Rootes and labelled the Audax design was released in 1956 going through Series.1 to Series.VI before a totally new body design came out in 1967, known as the New Minx - a basic version of the Hillman Hunter.

This is identical to my car, though later series lost the rear fins, to the detriment of the overall look of the car. Series IV never existed but to make up for it Series.III had Series.IIIa - to Series.IIIc. Confusing isn't it...? Anyway, mine had not so much a bench seat, but two large seats that touched together so the handrake came out from under the dash and the gear lever was... no... not on the steering column but it was a bent affair from far forward on the floor which then bent over the front middle seat. Potentially embarrassing if you had two other passengers on the front seat in those days of mini skirts, but then again I never was one for being easily embarrassed! Braking hard was something of a fear-inducing exercise of holding the steering wheel hard enough and stepping on the brake pedal hard enough that you were in a standing position before the car deigned to slow down...

A 1965 Ford Anglia Super 123E as identified by the two-tone paint jobby with surrounding chrome strips on the side flash. This was the top of the range model effectively replacing for good the Ford Prefect.

Like buses - you don't see one for ages and then two turn up together...

The van-bodied version of the earlier Ford Anglia was known as the Ford Thames van. Note the semaphore trafficators behind the driver's side window.

A Morris Commercial J-Type van. Made from 1949 to 1961, this van could carry ten hundredweight (10 cwt) or half a ton. It was one of the first vans to have the cab right at the front of the vehicle with hardly any protruding bonnet. Over 48,000 were made with the Post Office using them extensively. Their vehicles differed slightly from the standard J-Type in that their front and rear wings were made of rubber.

A 1964 Triumph Herald 12/50 convertible. An deluxe version of the Herald 1200. By the time this car came out the Standard-Triumph company had been bought out by Leyland Motors. They gave the 1200 model a cash injection and came up with improved seating, a rubber-covered bumper (I bet you're all going "Wow!" just at that aren't you?) and wooden trim dashboard. Disc brakes were fitted from 1962 as an option. The following year this 12/50 version came out and front disc brakes were fitted as standard. The Herald had a strange engine covering - instead of an opening bonnet, the entire front of the car including wings and headlights etc. lifted from the rear to stand vertically in front of the car. This meant access was only possible from either side of the engine. They were very popular and photos of Heralds even now draw exclaimations of devotion on online websites and pages where they are affectionately known as "Harolds".

A 1935 single-deck half-cab bus owned by the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust. Based on a Leyland Tiger chassis, this bus originally had an English Electric 31-seater bus body but after World War II was fitted with a larger engine and a new Burlingham body. It remained in service until 1960 then ownership passed through a few private owners before it was spotted in 1972 masquerading as a garden shed in Fleetwood. It was restored in due course and donated to the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust.

BMW Isetta bubble car. These were originally made by an Italian firm Iso - "Isetta" being a derived name from the Italian for "Little Iso". Both 4-wheel and 3-wheel versions were produced but in the UK the 3-wheeled version was more popular because they were classed as a motorbike and could be driven on a motorbike licence and also cost less in road tax. They were made here in a right-hand drive version which caused a small problem in that the engine was also mounted towards the right so counterweights had to be added on the left to cure the tendency to lean or roll over. They were produced from 1957-1962 in the UK, though production in Italy started in 1952.

A loud rumbling noise mingled with the hiss of steam heralds an Aveling & Porter steam roller, from 1912. Named "Betsy" and given the production number: 7632, such vehicles, a regular sight during my early childhood in the 1950s are now only rarely seen on public roads.

There was something familiar about the chap with glasses - it was steeplejack and demolition expert, Fred Dibnah!

Oh, go on... It's Tram Sunday so let's have a look at a tram. Balloon tram 716 on Lord Street. It was sporting a pantograph, rather than long trailing pole to pick up electricity from the overhead wire. These trams were the mainstay of Blackpool's trams, moving people by the hundred from Starr Gate in the south to the Tower, North Pier, Bispham and beyond to Fleetwood Ferry. This type of tram was first delivered to Blackpool in 1934 and were used on regular service until the new light rail tramway system started in 2012. They can still be seen on service as part of the Heritage Fleet. This particular tram though was sold and used as an office and current whereabouts are unknown, presumed scrapped.

1954 Southern National Bristol LS6G coach with bodywork by Eastern Coach Works.

Fleetwood Tram Sundays Index

Fleetwood Tram Sunday Festivals

A collection of articles on the cars, buses, lorries, and trams that have appeared over the years at Fleetwood's annual Festival of Transport, originally and still popularly known as Tram Sunday. This hugely popular event started in 1985 with the centenary of the Blackpool tramway and has grown into a fascinating and nostalgic day out with many on-street stalls, music and fairground rides.

Each article can be accessed by clicking or tapping the photographs below. A link at the end of each article will bring you back to this index page.

Blackpool Miscellaneous Index