Birmingham buses

[Pedrocut]

Birmingham Gazette August 1940.

 

[paul stacey]

I remember the number eight bus !! great story, my dear old nan always called the tram, "the car", she was Irish though.

 

[Radiorails]

The "car" was a common word for tram, even in England.

 

[Lloyd]

The "car" was a common word for tram, even in England.

It was "caur" in Scotland!

 

[Pedrocut]

The Birmingham Gazette of 27 October 1940 reports Birmingham lending buses to London. Did we ever get them back ?

 

[A Sparks]

I wonder!
It would have been interesting to see the fleet of buses being driven down!

 

[Richard Dye]

I wonder!
It would have been interesting to see the fleet of buses being driven down!

I wonder did Brum ever get them back?

 

[Radiorails]

Yes, they apparently returned at the end of November the same year. They were from a batch of AEC Regents (known as piano fronts) 444 - 483 OV4444 - OV 4483.

 

[DavidGrain]

Yes, they apparently returned at the end of November the same year. They were from a batch of AEC Regents (known as piano fronts) 444 - 483 OV4444 - OV 4483.

So they would have been buses London bus drivers would have been familiar with as London Transport had many AEC vehicles

 

[Lloyd]

The Birmingham Gazette of 27 October 1940 reports Birmingham lending buses to London. Did we ever get them back ?

View attachment 190647

The immaculately restored one at Transport Museum Wythall, no 486 (OV4486) was one of these.

 

[Lloyd]

So they would have been buses London bus drivers would have been familiar with as London Transport had many AEC vehicles

Certainly as far as driving goes - but all the lighting switches etc would have been in different places.

 

[mikeflan]

I moved to West Sussex some 25 years ago and renovating the garden I came across a salt glazed pipe in the way, so removing it revealed a makers name....I Googled the company and they were in Poole Dorset many years ago and the surprise was....they had a fleet of old Birmingham Corporation buses they used to pick their work force up with....don't ask me now what the name was but I found it a most interesting read and seeing all those old buses with Birmingham registrations

 

[castalla]

Has anybody by chance got any photos of the Bus Driver Competition of the year that took place at the NEC in the middle eights ¿, I participated in this representing Hockley Garage, but dont have any photos, thank you.

 

[Rod Liddiard]

I know this post was a long time ago, but I've found the long disappeared advert!View attachment 182731

 

[Rod Liddiard]

Hi LLoyd, I walked (or ran) 4 times a day, Morning, Lunch time twice and home again in the evening. Our house was in Bertha Road off Tomey Road home of the 'James.

 

[Pedrocut]

Trouble on the buses October 1940.
BUS WOMEN WARN "PLEASURe” PASSENGERS

 

[Lloyd]

The attitude of some passengers is no better today (not really a surprise!) and was the main reason I was glad to get out of the job when I did. As for 'dud' money, any shortages were taken out of wages.

 

[Pedrocut]

The WM town is not mentioned as usual, but there seems to have been heavy bombardment of Birmingham on the previous two nights.
The number plate of the bus is missing,

“This bus was overturned and smashed during the night "blitz" on a West Midland town, It looks bad-but actually no one was hurt.”
Birmingham Gazette nov 21 1940.

 

[Richard Dye]

The WM town is not mentioned as usual, but there seems to have been heavy bombardment of Birmingham on the previous two nights.
The number plate of the bus is missing,

“This bus was overturned and smashed during the night "blitz" on a West Midland town, It looks bad-but actually no one was hurt.”
Birmingham Gazette nov 21 1940.

View attachment 190795

Very lucky no one was hurt!

 

[Radiorails]

This probably was fleet number 814 BOP814 which was parked outside Highgate Road garage. It received a body from these spare to Manchester Corporation as the chassis for their vehicles were destroyed in a raid on Coventry.
Fifty three buses at the garage were damaged by shrapnel and most had windows blown out but most were soon in service within hours with new glass or plywood replacements.
I am sure this is recorded elsewhere on BHF.

 

[Pedrocut]

This probably was fleet number 814 BOP814 which was parked outside Highgate Road garage. It received a body from these spare to Manchester Corporation as the chassis for their vehicles were destroyed in a raid on Coventry.
Fifty three buses at the garage were damaged by shrapnel and most had windows blown out but most were soon in service within hours with new glass or plywood replacements.
I am sure this is recorded elsewhere on BHF.

Here is the report by th Birmingham Gazette on the 22 November 1940, which mentions a Bus Depot.

 

[Lloyd]

The WM town is not mentioned as usual, but there seems to have been heavy bombardment of Birmingham on the previous two nights.
The number plate of the bus is missing,

“This bus was overturned and smashed during the night "blitz" on a West Midland town, It looks bad-but actually no one was hurt.”
Birmingham Gazette nov 21 1940.

View attachment 190795

This was bus 814 (BOP 814) which had been parked in Studley Street at the rear of Highgate Road depot when it was bombed. The corporation were able to acquire some bus bodies intended for Manchester, whose chassis had been destroyed in the Coventry blitz, and 814 gained one of those. Manchester had used a 'streamlined' design and livery, which accounts for the odd window layout.
Pictured are: 814 from the front, in Studley Street: 814 with its 'Manchester body; the devastated Highgate Road depot - most of the buses were rebuilt, and using the 'float' of spare bodies put back on the road - the bombed bodies were, where possible, also rebuilt and added to the 'float' for later rebuilds; A manchester bus of the period to show the 'streamlined' livery.