bus garages in brum

[roy one]

i seen an old friend of mine today he was a driver at digbeth up till the mid 80s he was telling me that the midreds times there buses 18mph so if a rout was 18 miles you got an hour to drive it but he did say that you got hang up time(time for a drink and loo or fag) he also told me that some times he had parcels on board and all manor of things he also said that a bus drive was not allowed to move a coach  the coach driver considered him self to be a cut above a bus driver

[9teen48]

Roy,
 
Before the war my grandparents used to meet the Midland Red bus at the Bull Ring to collect parcels sent into Brum on the bus.  Usually home grown fruit and veg and occasionally a rabbit from their relatives out at Mickleton.
 
Brian
 
 

[9teen48]

Does anyone remember these two AEC Bridgemaster buses which ran on the No. 14 route in the late 1950s and 1960's ?  I think they were the only examples in the BCT fleet.  I used to visit my great-aunt at Ward End and I was always fascinated when I got to ride on one of these from the Old Square.
 
Brian

[johnbird]

I think I saw it a few times, great looking bus.

[johnbird]

A Friend of mine is Building a Card Model of Quinton Bus Garage and is looking for photos of it.
Has anyone got some colour photos of the roof?
Please get in touch with me if you have any!

[tramp]

The Bridgemaster was AEC's non LTE version of the Routemaster - which is why it looked as it did

[perry commoner]

If I may be forgiven for going off at a bit of a tangent, in 1951, our entire school went to the Festival of Britain in London and one of the exhibits was a B.C.T. double decker bus. For some years after, it worked a number of brum routes and it carried on the lower deck bulkhead, behind the driver, a small plaque celebrating the fact that it has been exhibited at the F of B.
Does the bus still survive and if so, where?

[9teen48]

Hi Perrycommoner,
 
I think going off on any BCT associated tangent is fine, we have certainly done so quite a few times under the bus garages in Brum theme.  What an interesting story.  I've never come across that one before.  I don't know if that bus is one of the preserved ones, I would like to think that at least the plaque has been preserved.
 
Brian

[tardebigge]

If I may be forgiven for going off at a bit of a tangent, in 1951, our entire school went to the Festival of Britain in London and one of the exhibits was a B.C.T. double decker bus. For some years after, it worked a number of brum routes and it carried on the lower deck bulkhead, behind the driver, a small plaque celebrating the fact that it has been exhibited at the F of B.
Does the bus still survive and if so, where?

The Bus in Question was JOJ 516 (2516), scarpped in 1969 just before WMPTE takeover.  It is doubtful if the plaque survived; however I do have a picture of it...attached.

[9teen48]

Tardebigge,
 
Thanks for confirming the details of the bus exhibited at the Festival of Britain and for a picture of the plaque.  Do you know if there are any shots of the bus at the exhibition ?  I've got the book from the exhibition somewhere but I can't find it at the moment.
 
Brian

[tardebigge]

Tardebigge,
 
Thanks for confirming the details of the bus exhibited at the Festival of Britain and for a picture of the plaque.  Do you know if there are any shots of the bus at the exhibition ?  I've got the book from the exhibition somewhere but I can't find it at the moment.
 
Brian

Sorry no, only in service mainly on the 2 route