• 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

The new Bus Station that never was.

Gerry Cannell

Gerry Cannell

master brummie
Back in 1970, when I was driving Midland ReD out of Sutton into City, the route took us into Station Street Bus Station...however....cast your mind back to the road underpass that ran round the Town Hall, on the right, between the Hall of Memory and the Town hall, there was an underground Bus Station! But with the coming of 14 feet tall buses ( Volvo Ailsa etc) the roof height was too low, and so it was never used. Does anyone else know about this? Or what it became?
 
Yes I know about this. When I worked at Alpha Tower I was told about it. I never saw any evidence of it, but someone pointed it out to me from the top of Alpha Tower, and was assured it was there underground. I asked a question about it somewhere else on the forum. (Maybe I was loosing my marbles ?!). So thank you Gerry, now I can sleep at night !!
 
Vivienne14 said:
Yes I know about this. When I worked at Alpha Tower I was told about it. I never saw any evidence of it, but someone pointed it out to me from the top of Alpha Tower, and was assured it was there underground. I asked a question about it somewhere else on the forum. (Maybe I was loosing my marbles ?!). So thank you Gerry, now I can sleep at night !!
Click to expand...
Must be just you and I that know about it. One of the Stranger Than Fiction stories of Birmingham. I did walk around it, so know it is/was ? there.
Thanks for the confirmation. Gerry.
 
I vaguely remember it. The place looked like it was not really finished off after building it, making it look quite uninviting
 
Vivienne14 said:
I wonder if it was filled in or demolished. It would have been in the very early 1980s that I was told about it.
Click to expand...
It always looked like deserted building site. Hey Vivienne, did you ever notice the other....err....mistake? Alpha Tower? If you look at the base surrounding, you will see it was the Original shape of the tower itself, except it was never put into that surrounding; I was told about it when I worked at ATV. Another....Stranger than fiction piece of Brum !
 
Didn't know that Gerry.

Don't know if I imagined this, but was the 'bus station' used for a while for car parking. I'm not sure if I imagined it and thought it could have been put to good use in this way

When Queen Elizabeth visited in the 1980s, the Royal car travelled around the site, we could see into the glass-roofed car from high up in Alpha Tower. What she wouldn't have realised was that in the couple of weeks before her visit, a workforce of gardeners was busy planting very large established shrubs and trees around the perimeter. Probably to hide the 'unfinished' look of the new buildings backing onto Suffolk Street Queensway. I think most of the plants were removed afterwards. Fletchers Walk was also unfinished for years and years. Was a sad and unattractive place to walk through to get to Alpha Tower.
 
Last edited:
Vivienne14 said:
Didn't know that Gerry.

Don't know if I imagined this, but was the 'bus station' used for a while for car parking. I'm not sure if I imagined it and thought it could have been put to good use in this way

When Queen Elizabeth visited in the 1980s, the Royal car travelled around the site, we could see into the glass-roofed car from high up in Alpha Tower. What she wouldn't have realised was that in the couple of weeks before her visit, a workforce of gardeners was busy planting very large established shrubs and trees around the perimeter. Probably to hide the 'unfinished' look of the new buildings backing onto Suffolk Street Queensway. I think most of the plants were removed afterwards. Fletchers Walk was also unfinished for years and years. Was a sad and unattractive place to walk through to get to Alpha Tower.
Click to expand...
Yes I do remember how awful it looked; another piece of history that few recall.
 
"Figures showed that passengers did not want to get off at Paradise Circus but wanted to go right into the city centre to New Street or Corporation Street"..... We don't get the option now with the pedestrianisation schemes. I can't walk far so I take the other option - haven't been to the centre for about ten years now, do my shopping locally or online. Their loss, not mine.
 
Lloyd said:
"Figures showed that passengers did not want to get off at Paradise Circus but wanted to go right into the city centre to New Street or Corporation Street"..... We don't get the option now with the pedestrianisation schemes. I can't walk far so I take the other option - haven't been to the centre for about ten years now, do my shopping locally or online. Their loss, not mine.
Click to expand...
Yes, understood, but the actual building was far too low to be able to put a bus of 14 feet high under the ceilings, which were built to accommodate the 12 foot buses. A case of...They got it completely wrong. I too haven't been into that top end of town for some time, so it would be an interesting thing to check out.
 
It was under the Library complex and had access to Paradise Circus. There were bus stops on the Dudley Road side which were close to the underground station. I seem to recall that the Library used part of the area for storage.
The site was redeveloped with the Paradise Forum project
 
Heartland said:
It was under the Library complex and had access to Paradise Circus. There were bus stops on the Dudley Road side which were close to the underground station. I seem to recall that the Library used part of the area for storage.
The site was redeveloped with the Paradise Forum project
Click to expand...
I think I mentioned it before, but in case I didn't...The new bus order by WMPTE was for Volvo Ailsa's, which had a height of 14 feet, the new bus station had a roof height to accommodate the normal 12 feet high buses....so it was never used.
 
Gerry Cannell said:
I think I mentioned it before, but in case I didn't...The new bus order by WMPTE was for Volvo Ailsa's, which had a height of 14 feet, the new bus station had a roof height to accommodate the normal 12 feet high buses....so it was never used.
Click to expand...
? Double deck buses normally have a height of 14 feet 6 inches, and 'lowbridge' ones (with a sunken gangway on one side) were a foot lower. Barton Transport's bus number 861 is 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m) tall. This makes it the lowest ever British closed-top double-decker bus. It is seen here alongside a standard height London 'Routemaster'.861 861 HAL .jpg
 
Lloyd said:
? Double deck buses normally have a height of 14 feet 6 inches, and 'lowbridge' ones (with a sunken gangway on one side) were a foot lower. Barton Transport's bus number 861 is 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m) tall. This makes it the lowest ever British closed-top double-decker bus. It is seen here alongside a standard height London 'Routemaster'.View attachment 197511
Click to expand...
Did that bus have the same passenger capacity as the 14’ bus? Being 2’ lower that should have made the bus more stable and possibly more fuel efficient.
 
Richard Dye said:
Was that the same as 5h3 14’ bus?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
No, more - but in the main the 14'6" ones were 54/56/58 seats but shorter, being older and before regulations on length allowed longer than 27'. The standard London Routemaster was a 27' 64 seater (36 over 28), whilst the slightly later longer RML was 29' 10.6" and 72 seats (40 over 32). For a more direct comparison there was one experimental forward entrance Routemaster, RMF1254, which was also 29' 10.6" but with 69 seats (38 over 31). It never ran in regular service in London, but was used as a demonstrator to other operators and Northern General bought 50 with 41 over 31 seats.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top