Bus, crane, crash, copper, subway!

Si · Post by Si » Thu 13 Oct, 2011 1:36 pm

stutterdog wrote: Si wrote: In the 1930s pic, there is a grating of some sort where the earlier southern entrance used to be (arrowed.) I seem to remember from my childhood that the grating mentioned was a skylight made of glass blocks.Great pics by the way.Brought back a lot of memories. Yes, the glass blocks show up in the ceiling of the toilet interior shot that Chrism posted. I think that photo was taken from the bottom steps of the old south entrance. The far end has urinals on it's curved wall.IMO the skylight would have been further north, between the police box and the new north entrance, although they don't show up in either photo very well.

Si · Post by Si » Thu 13 Oct, 2011 1:40 pm

Bruno wrote: Si wrote: Earlier in the 20th century, H&S was not as keen as it is today, and the expense of creating a whole new entrance would seem unnecessary to their mind, in my opinion. I quite agree that Health and Safety for its own sake was hardly considered in those days, but you may have touched on the nub when you mention expense; what would the cost of a new entrance to the toilets be, when balanced against the expense of scraping the remains of an inebriate off the front of a tram once or twice a week, and the loss of revenue from the subsequent tram delays/cancellations? Not to mention the cost of inquiries into the incidents.Is there a record anywhere of road accidents/fatalities from this era? I dunno, Bruno. Perhaps in those days if you had an accident it was your fault for not looking where you were going? Only nowadays it seems it's always someone else's fault (tram driver, transport company, Council, etc.)

jim · Post by **jim** » Thu 13 Oct, 2011 2:19 pm

Looking at the pic. that Chrism posted of the interior of the facility the glass blocks must have run 15 - 20 feet, which I feel is greater than the apparent dimensions of the grating or such like that Si identifies. In that case it is more likely that the glass blocked area ran north - south, and is not visible in the street-level photos.If my estimate of the long dimension is in the right ball-park, running east-west would take it out into the roadway, and glass and grating in the carriageway would seem unlikely.

stutterdog · Post by **stutterdog** » Thu 13 Oct, 2011 5:37 pm

jim wrote: Looking at the pic. that Chrism posted of the interior of the facility the glass blocks must have run 15 - 20 feet, which I feel is greater than the apparent dimensions of the grating or such like that Si identifies. In that case it is more likely that the glass blocked area ran north - south, and is not visible in the street-level photos.If my estimate of the long dimension is in the right ball-park, running east-west would take it out into the roadway, and glass and grating in the carriageway would seem unlikely. Isn't it possible that the glass blocked area was reduced in the intervening years when the alterations to the facility took place?

guitar man · Post by **guitar man** » Tue 29 May, 2012 11:47 pm

I saw the bus crash happen. I was a bus conductor on Leeds City Transport ,I was waiting to take up duty on another bus when this bus came up from Lower Briggate and drove straight into the crane.Not much concern about health and safety laws then.

jdbythesea · Post by **jdbythesea** » Tue 29 May, 2012 11:57 pm

guitar man wrote: I saw the bus crash happen. I was a bus conductor on Leeds City Transport ,I was waiting to take up duty on another bus when this bus came up from Lower Briggate and drove straight into the crane.Not much concern about health and safety laws then. Welcome to Secret Leeds guitar man. If you are an ex-busman you are in for a treat on this site.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 30 May, 2012 3:25 pm

guitar man wrote: I saw the bus crash happen. I was a bus conductor on Leeds City Transport ,I was waiting to take up duty on another bus when this bus came up from Lower Briggate and drove straight into the crane.Not much concern about health and safety laws then. Hello guitar man. This is like wandering into Swinegate depot staff caff ! Born 1960, I do remember the subway - it seemed horrid as a lad. I remember my Mam meeting and chatting to a friend of hers near there. The friend had a dog, same height as me, and as they gaffed on the 'king dog was licking my ice cream

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Wed 30 May, 2012 5:40 pm

Jogon wrote: This is like wandering into Swinegate depot staff caff ! And what would you know about that place then?

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 30 May, 2012 6:43 pm

Not much really - built over the King's Mills & Goit (learned here).I have a dvd of Leeds trams and it showed it on there, together with the sad "lit up" final ride (trams shut year afore I arrived).Here on sl someone, mentioned on a 'King's Mills' stone thread that they never knew the stone was there set into the river bank but they must have sat in the staff caff over it for many years.I only recently realised that the 'bus depots' were mostly previously the 'tram depots' (Alan Bennett talks fondly of the noises from the Hollin Rd depot & trams in his books as he lived at the butchers end Weetwood Rd/Park Terr).

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Wed 30 May, 2012 7:44 pm

I thought you meant that you had worked there.!!