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| Old Reviews and Leaflets - Page 1 of 4 |  |
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| This page is a reprint of
a historical document, and should therefore be read in a
historical context. For present-day details about “Wheels”, click here. |
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The Evolution of WHEELS
Subconsciously ‘Wheels’ was evolving over many years - flickerings of ideas - an occasional daydream - several conversations over meals - often seemingly fanciful projects - many chance remarks triggering off further skeleton plans. Plans for a specialist model train shop - or a restaurant. Plans to buy a railway station - or start a bus and train enthusiast’s club - or plans to buy and sell transport antiques.
Inevitably, perhaps, the day had to come when these flights of fancy had to take a more permanent root. It happened in the autumn of 1985...
Ashley Wakelin, transport enthusiast and
historian with a particular affection for the Midland Railway,
and an even greater allegiance to the history of the Midland Red
Bus Company, together with fellow enthusiast Richard Robert
Paramor, often took Ashley’s nineteen year old preserved bus
to transport rallies and vehicle shows.
To raise money for the upkeep of the bus, a sales table would be pitched alongside the vehicle at every opportunity from which were sold transport relics of every sort. The money raised from the sale of old timetables, badges, books and magazines helped considerably in the upkeep costs of the ‘type S22’ bus and augmented the donations made by loyal members of the ‘S22 Club’ - a club specially formed for bus enthusiasts. With the addition of further vehicles, the ‘S22 Club’ became the ‘BMMO Club’ in keeping with the make of vehicles preserved.
On returning from a particularly successful rally in Kidderminster in September, the decision was made to seek out a small leasehold lock-up shop and to trade on a part time basis as purveyors of transport memorabilia and second hand trains, with a coffee bar aswell, if space permitted.
Estate agents were contacted, property details obtained, and the project began to take shape. Inadvertently, but providentially, one estate agent provided details of a large freehold property, once a Victorian Townhouse but converted over the ensuing years to a large retail shop, and at that time trading as an ironmongers and hardware store.
Out of curiosity, if nothing else, the estate agent’s particulars were examined and the property visited. Suddenly the modest plans for a small lock-up shop gave way to a far more extravagant plan for a much larger enterprise! It was beginning to look as if all the daydreams, all the wild schemes, all the flights of fancy, might perhaps be coming true. Suddenly there was the chance of putting into effect not just one, but most of the ideas - and all under one roof.
Exciting planning sessions followed. Financial projections and budgets were formulated. A house was sold. Savings were gathered in. Lots of planning, and lots of plans to be drawn up ... and a name was needed!
And so it was decided:
"WHEELS"
The next thing to do was to plan the ‘image’ we wanted to portray, and design a logo. Then we had to select colour schemes; choose cutlery and crockery, tables and chairs - seemingly endless lists were produced daily. It was all proving to be a very exciting challenge, and a far cry from the sales table at bus rallies!
On May 16th 1986 the property was purchased and the ironmongers business acquired. Then the hard work really began. First of all the ironmongery had to be sold, a mammoth task in itself, but creating an ‘amusing’ ten days. By the end of the sale every nail and screw had been sold; every teapot and toast rack; every lamp wick and gas mantle.
Then came the demolition and rebuilding, and with it the dirt and the dust … and the dust … and the dust … and the dust!
The whole of the basement area had to be rebuilt; the entire building rewired; additional plumbing installed and central heating introduced.
An advertising plan was needed which had to dovetail into the building schedule so that opening days could be advertised accurately - neither too soon, nor too late. Plans for a special newspaper feature to coincide with the official opening date were also in mind.
As soon as the basement was completed and ‘Travel at Wheels’ installed, work started on building the kitchen, the shop and the coffee bar.
And the stock was beginning to arrive. Stock for the model shop and the restaurant. Railway engines and tablecloths; cups and saucers; modelling coal and milk jugs. Each consignment to be checked, and then stacked away carefully until the opening day.
Just three months after moving into its Warwick Street home ‘WHEELS’ opened its model shop and ‘The Next Stop at Wheels’ coffee bar - and at the same time the ‘Coaching at Wheels’ desk came into action with its computerised coach booking facilities.
Now we were on the home straight. It remained only for the finishing touches to be put to the restaurant, the restaurant carpet to be laid, and the last wall to be painted.
And so, officially on Tuesday August 26th 1986 - just about eleven months after the Kidderminster rally which sparked it all off - ’THE MASTER CUTLER AT WHEELS’ opened its doors and thereby marked the real beginning of WHEELS.
| Old Reviews and Leaflets - Page 1 of 4 | |
|
| This page is a reprint of
a historical document, and should therefore be read in a
historical context. For present-day details about “Wheels”, click here. |
||
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