Midland Red Buses at Wythall Transport Museum |
I went first to Wythall, a Worcestershire village to the south of Birmingham where a former RAF base now houses a museum dedicated to the buses of Midland Red and other midlands operators. The Midland Red was once a mighty undertaking, serving 15 counties with nearly 2,000 buses and carrying millions of passengers a year. It was dismembered in stages from 1974 but its memory lingers on.
In those days most larger towns and cities ran their own buses
These are from Birmingham and Walsall respectively
Whilst boaters on the Shropshire Union Canal might have come across this Wolverhampton bus at Wheaton Aston.
But it's not just about the buses and Wythall Museum has a large collection of bus ephemera:
Timetables cases used to display advertising posters |
Notices to drivers. . . . |
. . .and conductors |
Staff were expected to take pride in their appearance. Would I have passed muster? |
There was less to see at the Aston Manor Museum, which was recently evicted from its former home in Aston bus garage and relocated to a rather characterless shed at Aldridge, but it did give me the opportunity to ride in this superb ex-Birmingham Corporation Guy Arab (which would have been built in nearby Wolverhampton).
The bus inspector: Will be see his like again? |
THE END |
3 comments:
We always considered Midland Red buses the "Posh" ones as the seats were covered in a red fabric, the yellow corporation buses had cheap brown plastic seats. I always found the conductors ticket machine hanging from its strap fascinating and loved the noise it made, all the money was kept in a leather bag, also hanging round their neck, the conductors could even work out your change in their head without using a calculator.
Ray, That's right. Two-and-three-halves to town a23t 1/9d per adult, children half-fare! Also had to remember all the fares and,of course, the returns and weeklies! Happy days.
An enjoyable alternative to a water pageant. I used to be 'a half' (2d) ! Yep...now I travel for free!!!
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