• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Birmingham buses

A lot of years ago I drove the 29A - you may have been on my bus without us knowing it. I was the driver that gave a smooth and enjoyable journey and did not go round islands on two wheels :angel::D
 
;)
motorman-mike said:
A lot of years ago I drove the 29A - you may have been on my bus without us knowing it. I was the driver that gave a smooth and enjoyable journey and did not go round islands on two wheels :angel::D
Click to expand...

Never been on your bus then I thought it was part of the training.Dek;);):D
 
dek carr said:
;)

Never been on your bus then I thought it was part of the training.Dek;);):D
Click to expand...

Ah, the secret Dek is that I was trained properly in the first place by the Friendly Midland Red at their Bearwood Training School and if you didn't get it 100% right you were out on your ear (or in my case put back to conducting). My time on BCT was more of a guest appearance as I soon returned to Midland Red and the out of town routes from Digbeth Garage.
 
motorman-mike said:
A lot of years ago I drove the 29A - you may have been on my bus without us knowing it. I was the driver that gave a smooth and enjoyable journey and did not go round islands on two wheels :angel::D
Click to expand...

This question has to be posed: how did you negotiate that notorious turn from Robin Hood Lane into Keddleston Road (or had it been converted * to dual carriageway right up to the Stratford Road in your time)? That turn, I recall, certainly gave passengers a taste if the waltzers especially on COG5's and Brush bodied PD2's. I saw Perry Barr mentioned in an earlier post. The 29A was a useful route from south of the City to reach the Speedway there. I once traveled the whole route, out of youthful curiosity, just to see what was at the northern end of it. ;)


* Google maps shews the dual carriageway; that how I know it was extended. Maybe WW2 was the reason for delayed completion.
 
Radiorails in my time (1966/7) the gap in the dual carriageway presented no problems on the turn with Leyland PD2's and Standards.
 
motorman-mike said:
the gap in the dual carriageway
Click to expand...

Ah! That means the road had probably been altered and the very large tree at the end of the original section of dual carriageway had been removed. I have seen, when the bus was fully laden, the rear open platform edge grate on the road surface.
 
Lloyd said:
(Post #230)
I'll have a go...

1) Yardley Wood Rd/ Coldbath Rd jcn (now an island)
2) No idea, sorry.
3) Yardley Wood Garage
4) Stratford Rd, not exactly sure where, but an area rebuilt now.
5) Bull St, Lewis's store towering above the bus.
Click to expand...

,,,thanks Lloyd - I used to live in Warstock and I used every inch of the no. 24 & 13 services a lot back in the day - so I should have known where the pictures were taken!

Cheers
 
Does anyone have any memories or photographs of the last Crossleys to operate for BCT in 1969. I was lucky enough to live in Erdington on the 5/7 route at that time and someone had decided to concentrate the last Crossleys (and PD2s) at Wellhead Lane. As a result, during the summer and autumn of 1969 I often travelled to and from work on them. The last ones that I recall were JOJ 471/ 477/ 486/ 487 and 505 plus PD2s JOJ 211/229. I think that the final two were JOJ 471/505. They were only used during peak times which meant that they were often fully loaded, giving some great sound effects on the hills.
 
motorman-mike said:
Ah, the secret Dek is that I was trained properly in the first place by the Friendly Midland Red at their Bearwood Training School and if you didn't get it 100% right you were out on your ear (or in my case put back to conducting). My time on BCT was more of a guest appearance as I soon returned to Midland Red and the out of town routes from Digbeth Garage.
Click to expand...
You are right there Mike, you had to be 100% or you were out, but it was great training and made you take a pride in your driving.
 
Great colour shots ragga although the camera lens has slightly distorted the images - not complaining though, keep em coming please.
Mike
 
I think the second one is the side of snow hill station with the "blue bus" west brom overtaking the bct bus I used to catch either to visit my nan's in handsworth as a kid, thanks ragga.
paul
 
ragga said:
View attachment 68428View attachment 68427

Two more photos taken around the Snow hill area of Birmingham ...... ragga :)
Click to expand...
1563 turning from the top of Snow Hill into Steelhouse lane (where the 2,78 and 79 trams terminated ) on its way from Kingstanding Circle to Highfield Road,Hall Green on the cross city route 29.

The second photo is the top of Snow Hill with a West Bromwich Corporation GEA registered Daimler passing a 29A bus going to Pheasey Estate,having just come from Baldwins Lane,Hall Green,almost the reverse journey to 1563 on the 29 in the first photo.These exposed radiator Daimlers were once so common in Birmingham that arrival of the tin-fronts was welcomed.......how times change.
 
I was always puzzled by the stop at the top of Snow Hill, picture no 2 in Ragga's post. as it was just round the corner from the Colmore Row terminus. Then found out that it was a "compulsary" stop as distinct from a request stop. All buses had to stop there before decending Snow Hill. This went back to the tram days when the trams were required to come to a complete stop in order to prevent them going too fast down the hill. I don't think there were many passenger getting on here and certainly not getting off.
 
I caught busses at the front of Snow Hill station hundreds of times and never stopped there once. The West Brom busses would fly past there at a hundred miles an hour. Maybe it was a stop for the 29
 
Rupert said:
I caught busses at the front of Snow Hill station hundreds of times and never stopped there once. The West Brom busses would fly past there at a hundred miles an hour. Maybe it was a stop for the 29
Click to expand...
This stop was for the 29,29A,16,16A,and,Ithink,also the 5 and 5A. The Handsworth group of routes (70,71,72,74,75 etc,and the 69 Lozells ) started from the large shelters in Colmore Row,in front of Snow Hill GWR Station,only a few yards around the corner,so had no need to use this stop.
 
True Lynne, the 29 and 29A and later the 90 were all cross city services as was the 16. Traffic and bad time keeping eventually led to splitting the routes to terminate in the city centre.
 
i was thinking icknield st at first but i think not now because of that brick building on the left...dont recognise that....could be monument road ragga but really i dont have a clue...

lyn
 
I don,t know this one but in the write up it mentions travelling between the Stratford Rd and Five ways but of course that does not mean the bus is somewhere between those two places but could be. Dek
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top