Horse Bus by fishers

Horse Bus

One of several projects that I am currently involved with is to digitise the many transparencies that I took pre diigital.

This scan is of a transparency taken on 2nd May 1987, and it is something of a mystery. The location is Scarborough South Bay, in front of the Futurist Theatre, and shows a London horse drawn bus, complete with horses. I have no idea why it was there. I don't know if it is a genuine historic vehicle or a modern replica. I am pretty sure it is the only photo I have of a horse bus, though I do have shots of horse trams in the Isle of Man, and a horse dray delivering beer from Sam Smiths brewery in Tadcaster.

The horse bus was a popular means of transport in many cities in the UK in Victorian times. In London they were used mainly between 1829 and 1910. At their peak use in 1890 there were around 2,000 such buses in London, but by then competition began to emerge with the development of underground railways, horse trams, and mechanical buses, initially powered by steam and later by petrol.

The one thing I regret is that the records of the subjects of my transparencies are so poor. Today if I saw something unusual like this I would want to know a lot more. It is likely I would have a chat with the crew, followed by online research. Sadly I was far less curious then, and there was no Google.

Ian
Sounds like an interesting project that will keep you busy...Nice photo and interesting information
May 29th, 2023  
Lovely pic and story๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ˜Š
May 29th, 2023  
A lovely old form of transport
May 29th, 2023  
A nice capture of a bygone age!
May 29th, 2023  
A very interesting story and a great capture
May 29th, 2023  
looks like fun
May 29th, 2023  
Sounds like an interesting project. I wonder if people were given rides on the horsebus in 1987
May 29th, 2023  
The one in our city Middelburg just have stopped. Great shot of the horses and nice carriage. Fav.
May 29th, 2023  
Wow love these horses awesome photo
May 29th, 2023  
That is a project I have yet to undertake. Shame you don't know the background of this shot
May 30th, 2023  
Great shot and memorial of the past. Life was slower and more worth living back then, no mobiles to keep you alert, no rush to get from one place to the other, ect. However, life was hard too because work was done manually mostly.
May 30th, 2023  
A big project. This is a great start.
May 30th, 2023  
Good luck with your project. When I retire this fall I have plans to scan my printed photos and then save as digital
May 30th, 2023  
What an amazing project - great shot here
May 30th, 2023  
I have the same problem. All digital copies have the scan date. As I can no longer find the slides I have to try and date them. Thousands of them.
This one of yours is a great scan.
May 30th, 2023  
A great capture of a history you project will keep you busy!
May 30th, 2023  
@seattlite @mubbur @carolmw @craftymeg @busylady @pdulis @onewing @pyrrhula @kjarn @sangwann @pusspup @joansmor @rensala @johnfalconer @365projectorgjoworboys @365projectorgchristine

Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.

I'm beginning to realise the scale of the project I've taken on, but I'm also enjoying the voyage of discovery as well. Still in the learning phase so hopefully the quality of the images will improve as I scan more and try a few more of the features of the scanner.

Ian
May 30th, 2023  
@onewing

That was one of my thoughts, but I don't think so, Louise was horse mad at that time, and I'm sure if they were doing rides for visitors we would have taken one, and I think I would have remembered that. I think this will remain one of life's mysteries.

Ian
May 30th, 2023  
@johnfalconer

Thank you John. I have a spreadsheet listing all my slides and what they are, where and when, but sadly there are gaps in the record, particularly missing dates. For the present I am giving the scan the same number as the slide it came from, so at least their number sequence will be chronological.

Ian
May 30th, 2023  
Pat
Quite a mystery if somewhat frustrating. A lovely capture of this horse drawn bus.
May 31st, 2023  
@pattyblue

Thank you Pat. I'm making all sorts of interesting discoveries as I work through my slides, and lots of memories are flooding back. Sadly still no recall of taking this, and Katharine can't remember either.

Ian
June 1st, 2023  
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