Black Country Living Museum…Local classics on show….PICS!

Home Forums Classics Black Country Living Museum…Local classics on show….PICS!

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  • #15947
    Radar
    Moderator

    The Black Country Living Museum is  located in the English West Midlands and celebrates the incredible industrial heritage of the area that once made the proud boast of being ‘the workshop of the world’. Steel making, coal mining, chain-making, forging and a myriad of other industries once prospered in this area and employed tens of thousands of people. The Industrial cloud that lingered over the area, combined with the slag heaps gave rise to the nick-name the area bares to this day…’The Black Country’. Amongst those myriad of industries was the manufacture of motorcycles and some proud names hailed from the streets of Wolverhampton, Dudley etc…most notably Sunbeam and AJS to name but two. I visited the museum last week and here are few pictures with a focus on classic bikes from the area…

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    The museum has reconstructed a street from the area on site, and this motorcycle shop is included in the period row…if only we had a time machine and could go back to these simpler times   

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    The shop is open, but you can’t buy anything…they wouldn’t even give me a quote to service my Ducati…muttered something about ‘foreign rubbish’…

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    Locally produced AJS proudly on display in the window. Hard to swallow that this proud name is now used on 125 produced in China

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    Sunbeam, another famous local brand, also on display in the window of the shop

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    Further around the site is a replica of the garage run by A W Broome. He was a race mechanic for the legendary Sunbeam racing and record breaking motorcycle teams. He ran a garage in the area for many years

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    Sunbeam motorcycles of the era in which he did his best work

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    This magnificent, steam powered carousel was also on display as part of a fully functioning fun fair….get some classic biking action in without any oil leaks!

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    A re-creation of big local car and motorcycle dealers has also been constructed on site and this is used to house a large collection of cars and motorcycles associated with the area, The bus is a GUY by the way. made in nearby Wolverhampton

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    Some of the stunning exhibits

    The museum has so much more to offer if you are into your history and industrial heritage in particular. Full streets, removed from their original locations, moved to the museum where they have been painstakingly rebuilt and restored to their prime. It has recently risen to prominence as the set for many scenes of the BBC drama ‘Peaky Blinders’ too. A functioning fish and chip shop (really delicious!!) and you can even get a proper pint in a real pub in front of a roaring coal fire. It is a fabulous place and well worth a visit.

    More info here:
    https://www.bclm.co.uk/

    Facebook here
    https://www.facebook.com/bclivingmuseum/

    AJS Motorcycles:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJS

    Sunbeam Motorcycles:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_Cycles

    GUY Motors:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Motors

    The Black Country:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Country

    Peaky Blinders:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045fz8r

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaky_Blinders_(TV_series)

       

    #69905
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    some cool bikes dude :)

    #69906
    Radar
    Moderator

    some cool bikes dude :)

    Really interesting place.

    Be a great location for one of your Vlogs, it really would.

    I linked my blog to their FB page and got this pleasing feedback…

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    #69907
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    As I gain warm weather I’ll travel further north! :-)

    #69908
    Radar
    Moderator
    #69909
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    It is a great show, ace that they keep it local too! :-)

    #69910
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Didn't realise they had all that there. Has been quite a few years since I last went.

    #69911
    Radar
    Moderator

    Didn't realise they had all that there. Has been quite a few years since I last went.

    It's worth another visit, I would happily go again if you want some company

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