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Birmingham buses

Always preferred the later Darts, First Bus called them Barbie darts because of the colour compared with the Western National blue and white models. The older Darts, as well as the VR's, were always freezing cold in the winter with useless de-misters.
 
I knew and loved the Dennis Dart quite well during my time with North Birmingham Busways, from a driving and maintenance point of view. Yes they had electronics, and a very basic computer (called "Aladin" - my engineering manager didn't like my inference that if you rubbed the headlamp a genie would appear and mend the bus!) but they were basic, reliable and had known faults you could be ready for. Any road vehicle you can't fix with a hammer, a screwdriver and a reel of fusewire is going to cripple your maintenance budget, I found!
The Daimler Fleetline was "alright" (said dispairingly!) once you were used to the steering that always wandered, the heavy right pedal from the Gardner engine and the mud-traps in the chassis rear end that held water long enough to induce terminal corrosion unless heavy mid-life reconstruction was done. Personally I preferred the Leyland AN68 Atlantean, which NBB used many of, sadly they were rare elsewhere in the midlands.
Leyland Nationals - yes, OK again, a driver's and passengers bus when new, but so heavy on rear barke linings - 6-8 weeks life was typical, whilst the front brakes would do 18-24 months before a reline was necessary. Once you were used to the roadholding that felt like a jelly on a wet plate (but they actually clung to the road like brown stuff to a shovel), they were OK. The nearest description I can find to them is that they handled like a speedboat - you felt you were almost in full control!
 
My Uncle Ernie (Hatfield) was a birmingham bus driver for 30 years.
Famous for parking up in Cleeve Road, Yardley Wood to go for a cup of tea with me gran .
Occasionally with a couple of passengers onboard who wwere advised , "only be a minute"
Brixham gazza
 
To all the Bus Enthusiasts,

I often wonder if any other mothers in the Aston area used the Birmingham Busses as a means to regain some sanity on a weekend as my mother did on quite a few occasions. Raising four young tads in a small back to back house in Aston would often become nerve shattering to put it mildly. When the limit was reached she would give me and my older brother sufficient money to go up the road and catch a number 8 inner-circle bus outside 'The Gunmakers Arms' and go 'all the way around'. Often we would take a small bottle of Tizer and maybe a couple of comic books and race upstairs hoping to get the front window. When the conductor came up to collect our fares and upon hearing our 'destination' , we would immediately get a lecture punctuated by threats that we would be ejected should we cause any trouble. On a couple of occasions we really must have got on our mothers 'wick' because we were directed to go catch an outer-circle 11 and go all around which took a good 2-3 hours as I recall. I often wondered what would happen if we were ever thrown off at some distant location. I guess we would be in for a long walk .... but we knew the route well.
 
DaveG

I did "The Outer Circle" many times in the school holidays sometimes clockwise sometimes anti-clockwise for a change. I think it made a 10 year old realise how large The City actually was. Passing through areas you only knew of from the destination boards on buses that you saw when you were dragged into Town by Mother on a shopping trip. They might as well have been on the moon.
I think the trip cost 2/6d
 
motorman-mike said:
Ave a voo un cuppa? Anybody know anything about this ex pat BCT Standard somewhere in France?
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There is a thread several months ago about this particular BCT Standard.

It is 3164 (MOF 164) which was withdrawn sometime in 1973 or 1974. I have a record of travelling on it on the '11 Outer Circle' to school (King Edwards VI Camp Hill School for Boys at King's Heath) in February 1973 on the 'Pineapple Road Vicarage Road' turnback service so presumably it was a Yardley Wood Garage bus.

Quite how it got to the other side of the Channel is a mystery. More importantly does it still survive perhaps in some French barn or garage workshop waiting to be discovered? Unlikely after over 30 years but miracles can happen.

This wasn't the only Standard that was sold for further use.

I have a record of 3189 (MOF 189) that was sold to the Blind Institute, Woodville Road, Harborne in late 1973. I certainly saw it in the grounds a couple of times in that year. What happened to it later on, I assume that it went for scrap like most of the Standards sadly.

Two Standards became playbuses and one of the Travelcard buses saw use into the mid 1980's quite some years after the Standards had finished in service in 1977.

Andy
 
This is probably MOF 164 which was located until 1991 near Loan France as a mobile cafe. Looks in pretty poor shape now. Where was this picture taken? Attaching a picture from earlier times
 
Thanks for info chaps. My photo was from a book and the caption simply said 'somewhere in France' but would think around if not the same location as the excellent colour photo.
 
motorman-mike said:
Ave a voo un cuppa? Anybody know anything about this ex pat BCT Standard somewhere in France?
Click to expand...

The bus is ex-BCT Daimler CVG6, Crossley H30/25R 3164, MOF 164. It was purchased by two French men named Barbier and Kowalski who set it up on the Laon to Rheims road as a snack bar and was modified by taking out three of the windows and making into a large serving hatch and counter. Their 'ot dogs were superb! The bus was there in 1973 and 1974 and was seen by a friend of mine around 1978, but I looked for it again in the summer of 1978 and could only find the remnants of the out buildings , (ie the toilets!)
 
bode5997 said:
Bring back the Fleetlines,a bostin bus.
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Here is one Fleetline that has come back, now owned by Yardley Wood Bus Club. It is ex Birmingham City Transport 3472 built in 1965 which originally worked on the 27 route through Bournville where it was photographed here on it's first outing following 10 years of restoration. Last Sunday it made it's first rally appearance at Bewdley Station on the Severn Valley Railway.
 
I seem to remember trolley buses running up Nechells Park Road, Bloomsbury Street, Gosta green up to and turning round in front of Lewis's, this would have been in the 1930's.
My father used to drive the "Tower Waggons" which were used to repair the over head cables, in fact the B.C.T. department was called "Overhead" and operated out of Miller Street near what was then the tram depot.
I hope I am replying O. K. as I am very new to these forums.
regards "Roverman"
 
Hi Roverman, yes the rote from Old Square to Nechells finished during the war, as the trolleybuses had to run to and from their depot (Washwood Heath Tram depot) using one pole up on the tram wire, and towing a 'skate' in the tram rail as return - of course the sparking from that contravened the blackout regulations!
There were two types of Tower Wagon, some specially built on AEC Mercury Lorry chassis, and others converted from old buses.
 
Hi Lloyd,
Thanks for your reply with the pictures, the type of Tower Waggon my father drove was the A.E.C. , it looks as if the photo may have been taken outside the Miller Street depot possibly at the begining of the war as it appears to have a headlight mask fitted also the white paint on the mud guards.
I remember the "Sparking Skate" also.
Regards, Reg the "Roverman"
 
keegs said:
Hi,I dont know if this has been posted before,but I thoght someone may be interested in this news clipping I found.

View attachment 58002
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Hi Keegs,Interesting clipping, I seemed to remember my father mentioning that buses were dispersed round the streets away from the depots, whether it was as a result of incedents like this I don't know.
Regards "Roverman
 
Have just been given a book Birmingham Corporation Transport 1904-1939. I bet a few of you bus enthusiasts would like to get your hands on it?. I will ask Dennis if I can auction it for forum funding later on. It is in pristine condition. Jean.
 
Is this the one Jean? it is a very interesting book for anyone into BCT.Buses are not one of my major passions but I do have a load of stuff on buses and trams which were given to me by my sis in law when my brother died. My link to BCT would be down to my dad who worked for them from 1934 to 1972.Good luck if it goes to auction.:):)

View attachment 59047
 
That's the one Mike. I will hang on a while till I have read through it myself and Pete wants to have a gander too. The price of the book was £16.99p. I spoke to Dennis and he said I could put it on the auction site for the forum. Jean.
 
The thing is that if I were back in brum again and got on one of these vehicles....I would think that it was one of the current crop. They don't look much different to what we have around here. The changes must be in other things than looks. Am shocked to think that they are vintage....they were not around in my time.
 
Thanks for that wonderful collage, Pedrocut. There's many a mature British (indeed Midlands) bus that served honourably in Malta.
 
More times than I care to count Thylacine. We always stayed on Gozo though. Will message you to tell you about it. Jean.
 
I visit Malta every year and have noticed how the lovely old buses are slowly dissappearing, mostly to be replaced by new chinese made buses, what a shame. Eric
 
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