Old bus (and tram) tickets

[WMT3000]

Hi. I've recently come by quite a large collection of old bell punch tickets. They're a mixture of bct & b'ham corporation tramway & omnibus department. Included are values from ha'penny up to 1/7 with some ordinary, some child & some workmen's tickets. A lot have adverts on the back while some are blank.

I've been trying to do some research on the tickets but info seems scarce. I was hoping there might be somebody on the forum, possibly an older member, who could answer a few questions that i've got.

I wondered whether there was a definite difference between bus and tram tickets? A couple show elmdon to city - could these be trolleybus tickets/is there a way to tell? Are any of the adverts, some of which are for small firms, rarer than others? What's the significance of the letters in the top left hand corner? Also, i have one ticket (bell punch) displaying free ticket (b'ham city transport) - why would these have been issued?

Answers to any or all of the above questions really would be much appreciated, or even pointers to where i can find relevant info.

[Coventry Transport Dude]

It's good to hear of a Ticket collection like this being acquired and it's certainly a nice thing to have, as it's a popular thing for people to collect (or at least it was once upon a time ?) and the added advantage of collecting them is, that they don't take up too much room and are easy to store ?lol.  I've seen lots of old "BCT" Tickets for sale over the years and unlike old Coventry Tickets that i myself collect, "BCT" ones seem to be far much easier to find ?  That makes it more fun then, if ever you wanted to try and fill up any gaps in your collection ???lol.

Regarding information on them and how to identify the difference between Bus and Tram Tickets, i'm sure there must be at least a book or two out there about collecting old Tickets (or even a Website about it to ?), but if not, then it might be worth you speaking to someone at either the "ASTON MANOR ROAD TRANSPORT MUSEUM" in Aldridge, or at the "BAMMOT" Transport Museum over at Wythall !  There are lots of volunteers at these places and i'd be very surprised if at least one of them didn't collect, or at least know a little something about old Tickets (or know somebody else who does ?), in order to help you find the answers that you require ???  It certainly can be very frustrating at times when you want to know the answers to certain things, but then you just don't know which way to turn in order to find them ??? (Trust me, i've been down that road many times !!!lol).

Anyway, i wish you well in your quest for answers and like i say, am really pleased that you've acquired what i'm sure are superb small items of old "BCT" transport history !

[Justin Tyme]

There is a Transport Ticket Society which is definitely worth pursuing if you are interested.  Several firms produce or produced bus and tram tickets (e.g. Bell Punch) and several more make or made ticket machines (such as Bell Punch again, Setright, Willebrew and Gibson).

Have a look at this website - http://www.transport-ticket.org.uk/

Also, the Bus Archive started at the beginning of the month.  It is a new charitable organisation that has taken on the Omnibus Society Library (at Walsall) and the Kithead Trust archive (at Droitwich).  More information at http://www.busarchive.org.uk/.

[WMT3000]

It's good to hear of a Ticket collection like this being acquired and it's certainly a nice thing to have, as it's a popular thing for people to collect (or at least it was once upon a time ?) and the added advantage of collecting them is, that they don't take up too much room and are easy to store ?lol.  I've seen lots of old "BCT" Tickets for sale over the years and unlike old Coventry Tickets that i myself collect, "BCT" ones seem to be far much easier to find ?  That makes it more fun then, if ever you wanted to try and fill up any gaps in your collection ???lol.

Regarding information on them and how to identify the difference between Bus and Tram Tickets, i'm sure there must be at least a book or two out there about collecting old Tickets (or even a Website about it to ?), but if not, then it might be worth you speaking to someone at either the "ASTON MANOR ROAD TRANSPORT MUSEUM" in Aldridge, or at the "BAMMOT" Transport Museum over at Wythall !  There are lots of volunteers at these places and i'd be very surprised if at least one of them didn't collect, or at least know a little something about old Tickets (or know somebody else who does ?), in order to help you find the answers that you require ???  It certainly can be very frustrating at times when you want to know the answers to certain things, but then you just don't know which way to turn in order to find them ??? (Trust me, i've been down that road many times !!!lol).

Anyway, i wish you well in your quest for answers and like i say, am really pleased that you've acquired what i'm sure are superb small items of old "BCT" transport history !

Thanks for the reply to my post!

In the intervening few months i've managed to find quite a bit of info concerning bus/tram tickets.

My collection has also expanded somewhat to include the other west mids corporations (up until but not including wmpte) and some older tickets too. I think the ease of storage makes them all the more appealing!

I've only actually got one Coventry ticket in my collection but it's one of my favourites - it's a greeny grey 1d Coventry Corporation Tramways ticket showing 10 stages. On the left it shows Coventry Station underneath the 10th stage. On the right it shows St Thomas Church. The advert on the back is for the "Coventry & District Co-Operative Society". I think it's pretty early judging by the ticket value and the style of advert.

BCT tickets form the largest part of my collection, and like you say, they're some of the easiest to come by overall, and certainly easier to find than their Coventry equivalents. Having said that there are some rare BCT era tickets to look out for. Also some of the tickets from the early 30s and before can be really hard to find. I love the Birmingham adverts - i've got a very wide selection from some of the first tickets issued in the early 1900s onwards, forming a catalogue of the variety of businesses in operation. Some of the World War Two adverts are fascinating too - businesses advertising to repair bombed homes thankfully is alien now.

I've spoken to a few people at BAMMOT and AMRTM and this has has indeed proved very fruitful. As well as meeting some nice people i've been amazed at some of the detailed knowledge they possess!

One of the best sources of info has proved to be some of the books about Birmingham trams & buses/trolleybuses. Along with some great illustrations, there's a wealth of info, right down to descriptions of colours etc. Even the latest book in my collection, the new Walsall trolleybus book, contains pictures and info regarding tickets.

I'm glad to hear that there are plenty of others out there who enjoy this part of such a broad hobby (an interest in public transport) and hope that many continue to do so. Now the bug's bitten i'm sure i'll be searching for tickets for a good while yet and i'm sure my ticket collection will expand as a consequence!

[WMT3000]

There is a Transport Ticket Society which is definitely worth pursuing if you are interested.  Several firms produce or produced bus and tram tickets (e.g. Bell Punch) and several more make or made ticket machines (such as Bell Punch again, Setright, Willebrew and Gibson).

Have a look at this website - http://www.transport-ticket.org.uk/

Also, the Bus Archive started at the beginning of the month.  It is a new charitable organisation that has taken on the Omnibus Society Library (at Walsall) and the Kithead Trust archive (at Droitwich).  More information at http://www.busarchive.org.uk/.

Thanks for the info - very much appreciated!

I've had a look at the Transport Ticket Society website and will certainly be joining. It's great to know that societies like this are in existance. I mainly collect Bell Punch tickets but also have other manufacturers' tickets (Wolverhampton Corporation tickets manufactured by Colleys for example).

Thanks also for pointing me towards the Bus Archive. I wasn't aware of it at all. It certainly sounds interesting and as well as tickets i also collect old maps, timetables etc. so there should be plenty for me to look at! I shall more than likely try to arrange a visit to the Walsall one in the near future.