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Birmingham buses

Great photos once again Ragga, love looking at them and as you say the surroundings and the cars etc. Thanks for putting them on. John 70
 
Stitcher said:
aas.jpeg
I know I posted this before the picture massacre took place but I can not find the original place so I will put it here, and I think I may have Lloyd stumped this time.
It is what was called a Horse Bus and it dates from around 1900.
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A horse bus yes, but operated by an electric tramway company. The emblem on the side panel is the "Wheel and Magnet" of the British Electric Traction Group, the holding company for the private company tramways in the city. It would have been operated by Midland Red (but under its original name of The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company" - which ran only horse buses between 1907 and 1911, after the first trial motor buses weren't up to the job!)
 
My 86 year old mother was a clippie during WW2 on the inner circle in Brum. She started work in 1940 aged 14 at the BSA alongside her mum, but soon after several members of her family, including her mum, contracted and died of TB and she was told that she would have to leave the factory and work outside as it would be healthier for her and they couldn’t risk the BSA workers going down with TB. She lived at 75 Willes Road, Winson Green from 1934 until 1952 and was based at Handsworth garage. She has many memories of her time there; she tells me that the buses were stationed at outlying places during the war because several buses and bus depots were damaged in the bombing and the buses had to keep running. Very early one morning, she went to the garage and was driven to Handsworth Park where her bus was waiting. It was very foggy and pitch dark due to the blackout. She said she couldn’t see a hand in front of her face when she heard someone say “where’s that bleedin clippie?” she called back “I’m over here, but I can’t see anything” the bus driver said he would whistle and she should follow the sound, when she found him he said “how old are you? They’ve sent me a bleedin babby!” She remembers when the sirens sounded, the buses had to stop and everyone had to get off and go to the nearest shelter until the all clear sounded, sometimes they could only go so far because of the blocked streets and then the bus would have to turn around or try to find another way to get to its terminus. She also remembers one driver who, she says, would stop at every pub on the route in the evening, supposedly to spend a penny, but he would have half a pint and carry on driving to the next pub where he would have another half and so on, she says it’s a wonder they ever got home in one piece. She also remembers one night when their bus was on its last journey of the night when the driver stopped at a chip shop, by a bus stop, so she could get them fish and chips. Whilst she was in the queue someone got on the bus and rang the bell and the driver drove away leaving her there without her bus. She had to walk along the route, eating her fish and chips, until he realised she was no longer on the bus and turned around to pick her up. She regrets having to leave the BSA she preferred working in the factory where she was making Bren guns (the middle section, if I remember right) when she left.
 
I've only just come across this very extensive site , so Idon't know if I am repeating the obvious !

There are so many posts I have only read a few and find , so far ,very little mentioned about the Midland Red. As I remember garaged at Smethwick and Digberth nearly all with HA registrations as the last two letters .I must have been a little "sad " during my school years ,logging off the nnmbers in a Midland Red specially printed book
After WW2 my father was directed by the Ministry of Employment to become a bus driver and as a result very often had to cycle at 3.00 am from Selly Oak to Digberth to take out the first bus to Walsall. A bonus was given weekly to drivers who managed to avoid getting scratches on their bus . This was very difficult to obtain as those checking included previous marks ( was this a management scam?)

I don't know if it is still in existance , but at the Oxfored Bus Museum there was a dedicated display of Midland Red archives
 
Welcome to the site. If you click on Forum at the top of the page then go down to the heading Birmingham Transport and click on The Buses you will find a mass of information on the Midland Red
 
img179.jpg
Passengers disembarking from a Horse bus in Station Street in 1893, the fare was 1d all the way.
 
This is Hill Street, with Station Street on the right. The Midland Railway's extention to the original LNWR station, visible in the background, is only 8 years old here. Wonderful view of everyday life in the 1890s!
 
London Transport Museum Depot Open Day

The London Transport MJuseum depot at Acton will have their next open days on 10th 11th March. The following items might be of interest on the Sunday

Talk: Midland Red Bus and book signing
Sunday 11 March 2012
12.30pm and 3.00pm
Roger Torode, author of the newly published book Midland Red Stylewhich was written in partnership with Malcolm Keeley, will be talking about the Midland Red bus’ style, engineering and design along with the bus’ surprising life with London Transport. Roger will also be signing copies of his book and answering bus related questions.

This is obviously a reference to the 7 D9s which worked for London Transpot
 
Glad you all like the picture.
Lloyd, could you tell me if Trolley Buses ever ran on the 44, 44A Warwick Road please. I have a vague memory of them but I may be wrong.
 
Stitcher said:
Glad you all like the picture.
Lloyd, could you tell me if Trolley Buses ever ran on the 44, 44A Warwick Road please. I have a vague memory of them but I may be wrong.
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Sorry no Stiticher, motor buses only along there. Old Square - Nechells, (1922-1940) and Station St or Albert St - Coventry Road (1934-1951) were the only trolleybus routes in Birmingham. A wartime branch into Solihull borough was the extention to the Lode Lane Rover works, but that was replaced by Midland Red buses when the trolleys finished.
 
Stitcher said:
1904 outside the Council House.
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Stitcher said:
Lloyd, Mike or one of the others will soon tell us what company made the bus.
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Sorry I missed this request. It's a 1904 Milnes-Daimler, made by an amalgamation of the Birkenhead based tramcar building firm Milnes and the German Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, and this view outside the council house is before it and other similar ones began operating on the Bearwood - City service via Sandon Road and Hagley Road. I suspect the passengers are members of the licencing committee, or the City Council.
They weren't over successful, and were replaced by horse buses again in 1907.
Some of them were sent to Deal, Kent, to start an offshoot company of the Midland Red there which later evolved into the East Kent Road Car Company.
 
Had real treat today followed JOJ 707 through St Chads & Queensway Under Passes. Which I had my camera at hand. Wonder who the driver was.Dek
 
I've recently come by some 1960's Bird's bus "souvenirs" including Reg. Plate "FOP 383". I understand that a photo of this bus "1383 FOP 383.jpg" was once posted here, but so far I've been unable to trace it. Any information about FOP 383 would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
FOP 383 was a 1944 Guy Arab II 5LW with a Weymann 56 seat "Utility" body. Withdrawn 1950 probably because the wartime Utility bodies were of poor quality.
 
Appreciate the concise and detailed information regarding FOP 383. Provides an ideal footnote to go with the b&w photo which I've also now located. Many thanks.
 
Thank you for the archive link Rob, however, it seems that "FOP 383" had been consigned to the scrapheap some years earlier, but I still found your film footage interesting anyway. Thanks.
 
In London prior to 1930 enclosed cabs were not permitted as the authorities thought that if the driver was out in the open it would keep him awake and alert.
 
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