UK local transportation tokens

[Figleaf]

Witney Urban District Council used a surprisingly large (30 mm) fourpence.

Peter

[Kushi]

Whitney or Witney? Location please.

[Figleaf]

No H. Witney.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Aberdare's ATC monogramme dates from pre-decimal times. The T is therefore likely to be for Tramways. Aberdare Tramways Corporation?

Peter

[Kushi]

How about ACT = Aberdare Corporation Tramways?

[Figleaf]

See discussion here. T was changed from Tramways in Transport but logically, you can only have Aberdare Tramways Corporation (a public enterprise in Aberdare) or Aberdare Council Tramways (a service of the city council). The index will tell you at a glance that the Corporation formula was far more popular. Only London used the Council formula.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Here are the Tramway tokens from Birmingham. The pre-decimal Transport, where you can see the arms and the common obverse, is here. I have found three different arms sides:

• female arms supporter does not hold a palette. Motto on ribbon. Big dot, partly underneath 1.
• female arms supporter has belt and outlined palette, faint or no motto. Dot aligns with 1.
• female arms supporter has no belt and faint palette, clear motto. Dot aligns with 1.

I now have a belt and no belt variant of the 1½d green also. On the belt variant, the denomination is written with a dash. On the no belt variant it is written with a dash. The two are slightly different in colour.

Peter

[andyg]

See discussion here. T was changed from Tramways in Transport but logically, you can only have Aberdare Tramways Corporation (a public enterprise in Aberdare) or Aberdare Council Tramways (a service of the city council). The index will tell you at a glance that the Corporation formula was far more popular. Only London used the Council formula.

Peter

Original name was Aberdare Urban District Council Tramways...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdare_Urban_District_Council_Tramways
Tramway closed 1935.

[andyg]

A Stafford Borough Council issue. Not in Voice.

Peter

These date late 90's to c2001 - I used to have to count them and send to Stafford Borough to reclaim the money on behalf of the bus company I work for....

[Figleaf]

Voice is dated 2011. I am happy with the discovery token.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Another series of Barrow-in-Furness tokens is here. I suspect this design came later. The word "transport" is not on this type.

Added 1½d red, 2d light blue, 2½d brown, 4d grey.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Voice assigns these tokens to Gateshead, but according to Wikipedia, although the initiative was taken there, the first depot of the Northern General Transport Company was in Chester-le-Street and Gateshead was serviced by the Gateshead and District Tramways. Even curiouser is that the 3 pence and 4 pence are the same, except for the number in the denomination. Bus drivers must have had a hard time separating the two, especially after dark. I have two different shades of the 3-pence, bright red and dark red.

Peter

[andyg]

According to Smith - these were issued by the Durham Education Committee for pupils travelling to the Shipcote girls school (closed 1964)

[andyg]

Funny what you find when not looking...
This is all about the Sunderland token scheme (started 1966)

[Figleaf]

Good info on the Sunderland token. It is indeed a bit odd, compared to the others. If I have read the Sunderland article correctly, the Northern General busses would do at least partially the same routes as the Sunderland busses. Both issued non-round tokens, but they were different in size and colour.

Wikipedia says Northern General expanded along the Newcastle-Gateshead-Chester-le-Street axis. Durham looks like a possibility at the outer edge only. Moreover, I can't imagine a token system for one school that is not even mentioned on the token, but I can easily imagine misreading how the school also used the tokens, so with all respect for Smith 2, I'll keep the mind open.

Peter