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Birmingham Buses Part 2

Austin, thats a fabulous picture. Thanks for posting. If you have any more, feel free to post.
 
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I remember we discussed how bus crews used converted buses as grit wagons when I was a nipper, I have just come across this picture.
 
GOE631_lr.jpg
B.C.T. 1947 AEC Regent.
I do believe that this is the end of my bus pictures, unless someone sends me a few.
 
Stitcher said:
View attachment 77400View attachment 77400View attachment 77401
I have no idea of the location but it is on the Dudley route.
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Definitely within the Birmingham City Boundary as it is at a BCT busstop. Outsisde the boundary would have been West Brom bustops as far as the Burnt Tree then Midland Red stops into Dudley. Also I don't think there were branches of the Municipal Bank outside Birmingham on that route unlike the route through Smethwick and Oldbury/.
 
Stitcher said:
View attachment 77400View attachment 77400View attachment 77401
I have no idea of the location but it is on the Dudley route.
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The Municipal bank Hockley branch was at 2, Soho Hill, and was lost when the traffic island and flyover were installed at the Soho Hill / Hunters Rd / Farm St / New John St West / Hockley Hill / Heaton St / Whitmore St junctions and surrounding area. Just three of the shops behind the bus survive, visible here, which place the location exactly.
The 'Soho Road' group of bus routes were jointly operated by Birmingham and West Bromwich Corporations, following the various local authorities taking over the former 'company' tramway leases from Birmingham to Dudley and Wednesbury via West Bromwich, when those authorities, rather than operating tramcars themselves, made an arrangement with Birmingham Corporation to operate the tramways on their behalves. When the trams were replaced by buses, West Bromwich exercised their option to operate the routes as well, hence the joint operation and necessity to rebook tickets at the Albion Ground (B'ham - West Brom boundary). The other authorities involved (e.g. Dudley and Wednesbury) did not operate buses, but had financial arrangements with B'ham and West Brom for their share of revenue in excess of cost of operation within their own boroughs.
 
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Hello Lloyd, I knew you would know all that.
Was'nt there some sort of arrangement with Midland Red picking up within the city boundary.
 
Stitcher said:
B.C.T. 1947 AEC 'Regent'.
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These fifteen buses were completely non-standard in the Birmingham fleet, and were based (particularly mechanically) on the current deliveries to London Transport, the 'RT' class. I believe they spent their entire operating lives at Acocks Green garage, mostly on the 1A route.
Some of them were used for brake equipment experiments (they were the only air-braked buses in the fleet anyway) leading up to the specification choices for the later (rear-engined) fleet.
Here's 1636 at the Richmond Rd, Stetchford, terminus of the 36 route showing they did sometimes stray off the 1A!
1636 GOE 636 Richmond Rd, Stechford..jpg
 
Stitcher said:
Hello Lloyd, I knew you would know all that.
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*blush*
Stitcher said:
Was'nt there some sort of arrangement with Midland Red picking up within the city boundary.
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Yes, after the 1914 take over by the Corporation of services totally within the city boundary (of the time), more expensive "protective" fares were charged in the city area by the Midland Red, with a portion going to the city's coffers.
In a similar arrangement to the Soho Rd agreement (see above), when the private tramway company leases were taken over on the Dudley Road group of routes, Birmingham trams operated to Bearwood, Smethwick, Oldbury and Dudley - very much the Midland Red's area of operation (Remember, Midland Red were owned by the former lessee tramway companies' owning group, the British Electric Traction Company [BET]). When those routes were later converted to bus, both the City Transport Dept. and Midland Red had rights to run, so set up another joint agreement whereby the routes were numbered as Midland Red 'Birmingham local' routes and had B prefixes, and operation was allocated on a shared mileage basis leading to some unusual schedules - e.g. one morning journey Bearwood - City on the B82 was the only Midland Red input to that route!
 
Those examples were not the only ones of the Corporation operating outside of the city - when the Rover company set up a 'shadow' factory for wartime production in Lode Lane, Solihull, the staff buses should have been operated by Midland Red, but the Ministry of supply & wartime transport ordered that Birmingham Corporation extend their trolleybus network from Coventry Rd and operate it, using electric power and not petrol or diesel. When the trolleybuses were replaced in 1951, only the Midland Red had the rights to operate the replacement motor buses in the Solihull Borough, and therefore to the factory.
 
Ragga
1 On Corporation St
2 The Swan Yardley
3 Vicarage Rd Kings Heath
4 not known
5 Hagley Rd by the Plough & Harrow
 
Thank you Dek Carr , no4 i am unsure myself , somewhere on the no8 route
someone will come along and give us the answer ........... ragga :courage:
 
post #45: I agree with dek carr's locations, I don't know '4' either - it's bound to be an area long redeveloped.

post #46:
1) Walsall 821: Bradford Place bus station, Walsall.
2) and 5) : Bird's scrapyard, Stratford upon Avon.
3) Park Lane garage, Wolverhampton. A couple of a batch of Birmingham buses bought when the Wolverhampton trolleybuses were replaced.
4) Yes, Wythall museum some years ago - that area is now buried under a new display hall!
 
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I work at Park Lane garage, and I am wondering where in the yard this photo was taken, I think its at the top of the yard by the Ever Ready Batteries dividing wall.....I will have to check it out later when I go there to do my bit....
 
I am intruiged by the first photo, especially that of "18" (obviously MOF 18) Note the rear destination panel is blanked over. Does this mean it's a training bus?
 
1.jpg Yes tardebrigge i thought it was strange MOF18 and if you look close through the back window
the interior has changed , i was more concerned about DOC242 . is that the bus Conductor
hogging up the exit ??
ragga :courage:
 
Lloyd;446855When those routes were later converted to bus said:
So many posts in the last two days that this looks a while ago. I hesitate to contradict Lloyd on bus matters but I can say that Midland Red regularly operated on the B82 route at weekends, probably with just the one vehicle. As Lloyd will know in those days there were nearly always three BCT buses at the B82 stop in Bearwood Bus Station and regularly I would see a Midland Red among them at the weekends. I knew someone who worked in the offices at Bearwood and he would do overtime at weekends as a conductor and his regular job was on the B82. He told me how busy this route was as he would still be loading at the first stop on Bearwood Road oposite the Midland Red Garage when the next BCT bus would be turning out of Adkins Lane from the bus station. He was always greatful if his driver would slow down on Waterloo Road to let the B86/B87 go past at the Cape Hill junction.

Conversely when i worked in Smethwick in the 1960s I would often see at lunchtime a BCT bus, a rare sight on Smethwick High Street, on a B85 shortworking to St Pauls Road Smethwick.
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ragga said:
View attachment 77457 Yes tardebrigge i thought it was strange MOF18 and if you look close through the back window
the interior has changed , i was more concerned about DOC242 . is that the bus Conductor
hogging up the exit ??
ragga :courage:
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Hi. Ragga. Could well be the conductor on the platform, I drove these atlanteans when they were at Yardley Wood garage on 2 man operation.
 
The Outer Circle was the last route to be converted to one man operation. Sorry, don't know when.
 
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