UK local transportation tokens

[malj1]

Here we have an unmistakeable shape for the Vision impaired from Bristol tramways and Carriage Co. 35mm x 23mm black fibre.

[Figleaf]

here is another with reverse 1 Journey

That coat of arms belongs to the county borough of Sunderland. Says Wikipedia: Sunderland was created a municipal borough of County Durham in 1835. Under the Local Government Act 1888, it was given further status as a county borough with independence from county council control. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough was abolished and its area combined with that of other districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear.

Look at the central device in the upper band of the shield: there's the cogship.

Peter

[FosseWay]

Saving the picture before it is deleted.

I guess WM stands for West Midlands...

Peter

Delayed reaction, sorry. Yes, that's definitely West Midlands. That linked WM was the logo used on the bus tickets when I was a lad getting the bus to school in the West Midlands (1980s).

[FosseWay]

North Midlands is a known quantity on the net, but the transport pool seems to have died before the internet.

It may have been part of Midland Red, which covered (covers?) a huge area of the English Midlands and was therefore divided into regions, much as the post-1948 nationalised railway was. The buses all carried the same general livery but stated which region they belonged to. Andyg may be able to be more specific.

[FosseWay]

And one from Belfast @ 6.9 grammes and 22.6 mm. I wonder what the S stands for...

The text on the ribbon is "pro tanto quid retribuamus" - what shall we pay in return for so much. This may not refer to the Belfast public transportation system.

Peter

It's the city's motto. It also appears on the edge of the Belfast £1 in the City series.

On the S -- it could mean 'school' -- i.e. it's a discount token for use by kids travelling to school.

[malj1]

Another Belfast with a change of shape - 11 sided.

[andyg]

I'd not come across the North Midland transport pool until I found those - don't know a lot about them.

The Belfast 'S' could be Single Journey (one trip), they exist with 'M' too - which could be Multi journey,
but according to this website tokens with M were for child use......

[malj1]

Further down that page it says might be Minor and Senior.

Here is another for the Belfast Tramways.

Added a halfpenny hard pink (impossible to get it right from the scanner) and a black threepence. Figleaf.
Added a fivepence not in the tramways series. Figleaf

[Figleaf]

This collection is still growing and getting better. This token is from a series of 1-1/2 (orange), 2-1/2 (dark blue), 3 (brown), 3 (bue-grey) and 3-1/2 (red) pence. The council was wise enough to use the arms without the supporters and helmet, making the design distinguished, rather than busy.

Added: penny and tuppence.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Edinburgh's included supporters. Compare the split in the lady's dress The motto NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA means without god, we labour in vain (Psalm 127)

Added a penny (white), 1-1/2 pence (dark blue), 2 pence (red) and 4 pence (blue)
Added a sixpence brown

Peter

[Figleaf]

The H-shaped hole reminds me of an axis and wheels. I have observed broad gauge (pictured) and narrow gauge.

Peter

Added a 20p with H cutout.
Added a 5p blue. It takes a while to figure out the 2 arrows logo...
Added a 10p red.
Added a 50p yellow with expiration date 1979.

[FosseWay]

The motto NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA means without god, we labour in vain (Psalm 127)

Don't you love it when organisations selectively pick almost random words out of 'meaningful' texts to use as mottos. Unless you know that the whole quote is 'nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam' (hope I've got that right from memory), Edinburgh's motto is meaningless, even if you know Latin: those three words actually mean 'unless lord in vain'. (The full translation is 'unless the Lord guards the city, he who guards it does so in vain'.)

[malj1]

And one from Belfast @ 6.9 grammes and 22.6 mm. I wonder what the S stands for...

The text on the ribbon is "pro tanto quid retribuamus" - what shall we pay in return for so much. This may not refer to the Belfast public transportation system.

Peter

I spotted these on eBay last night. TRANSPORT TOKENS BELFAST TRANSPORT M, S, four varieties VF (A122) CUPRO NICKEL, round 22mm, 23mm; multi sided 24mm, 28mm.

Seller remarks... "In my experience the M 28mm is extremely scarce."

See above where we have the suggestion ...might be Minor and Senior.

[Figleaf]

A as in adult, or A as in the first letter of the alfabet? Value as advertised seems particularly unhelpful for visitors of the region and a great way to hedge against local inflation for the locals, but it does save the cost of making new tokens when the tariff changes.

10 p green plastic added.

Peter

[malj1]

A as in adult, or A as in the first letter of the alfabet? Value as advertised seems particularly unhelpful for visitors of the region and a great way to hedge against local inflation for the locals, but it does save the cost of making new tokens when the tariff changes.

Peter

The antonym adolescent came to mind, but I found a very brief mention of a Zone C - a very old eBay listing: "3 x different bus passes Lothian Region Transport Zone C"; so it possible we have three zones namely A, B and C.

In 1975, after the local government reorganisation, Edinburgh Corporation Transport was duly renamed Lothian Regional Transport. The LRT identity remained until January 2000, when the company was renamed Lothian Buses plc, the LRT logo changing to 'Lothian'. (From Wikipedia) So this gives us a maximum possible 25 year window of use for these.