Buses of the West Midlands 2018

[Alistair G.]

Hello everyone,

Here is my first attempt at a bus transportation DVD. I’m a bus enthusiast myself and thought I would try and share some of my videos.

I actually aim to produce and sell transport DVDs one day but I’m not pushing that here, I would just like to share my West Midlands buses clip on here mainly for feedback, see what you guys think.

It’s thanks to a lot of past comments and opinions on this (and other) forums that gave me the idea and I’d be happy to hear what people thought.

If you did wish to look at my website it is:

www.twobellsvideos.weebly.com

Any feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

MODERATORS- Apologies if this is in the wrong section, never posted anything like this before, please feel free to move!.

 

[Alistair G.]

Sorry, just to quickly add, does anybody in this area have any good tips for spotting places. I have tried Wolverhampton, Solihull, West Bromwich, Walsall, Birmingham (by Moor Street station & the cathedral) and of course coventry.

Any suggestions for new places I could try would be very much appreciated!.

Thanks!!

 

[DavidGrain]

I hope that you will take this as constructive criticism. Those rainy day pictures are just not of a saleable standard. The first shots outside Moor Street Station, it was not until the buses turned in front of you that it was possible to even see the livery and recognise which fleet it was. I have sat on the base of one of the flag poles in the centre island outside Moor Street Station and photographed the buses as they passed me and even on a bad day have got some reasonable pictures.

As a teenager I used to travel all over the Midlands on a Midland Red day anywhere ticket just to look at the different buses in the different towns so I can appreciate your interest. In those day you saw many local liveries whereas to day there is standardisation of liveries by the national operators across the country.

 

[Typhoon]

No reflection on your photography at all but the Coventry centenary bus at the start - its the wrong shade of red!

I lived in Coventry late 60s, early 70s and whether it was the old rear entrance vehicles of which Coventry had a lot or the later Fleetlines, the red was much richer (and deeper). I think the shade of red changed before Coventry was incorporated into the West Midlands but from my memory of 'Outer Circle' buses in Birmingham and occasional visits to Coventry, but I still think it is wrong.

Grump, grump.

On a constructive side, although its been some time since I visited the area but Stourbridge bus station now appears to have some nice curves and the slopes might add to interest, there always seemed to be photographers at Dudley Bus Station (unless they have changed it) as buses have to turn at the ends of bays, and I wonder about Merry Hill - not the shopping centre itself but the approach, just before and just after the buses (from the Birmingham direction) turn down the slope to the shopping centre - I occasionally walked round there, almost a people free zone.

Oh, and Midland Red, boring livery! From your video I would suggest that the West Midlands is a lot more interesting now than, say, 1978, livery wise! (Probably not so if you travelled to the extremes of the Midland Red empire).

 

[DavidGrain]

This was the Coventry Corporation bus colour as I knew it.
http://www.sct61.org.uk/co287

(Copyright owner has authorised linkage but not reposting)

 

[Typhoon]

This was the Coventry Corporation bus colour as I knew it.
http://www.sct61.org.uk/co287

(Copyright owner has authorised linkage but not reposting)

The Coventry Corporation Transport Society (http://www.cct-society.org.uk/index.html) has lots of pictures of former Coventry buses, most in the same shade as XVC287, some in a what looks a slightly lighter shade (they may darken in time?), none in the same shade as the centenary bus!

There is a newspaper cutting at http://www.cct-society.org.uk/things/things_t05/lynne_t05_s11.htm.

 

[Alistair G.]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your replies!. No offence taken from comments, I appreciate the feedback!. I was unsure on the Birmingham footage myself but thought I’d add it as it’s not really a review of the West mids without Birmingham!.

Just such a game it was such a dull day (just rained all day!!, typical when I have a day off really!!)

As for the red on the bus, I agree, I thought it was slightly the wrong shade too but I was still happy to see it being remembered!. Always nice to see some recognition to the past.

Thanks for all your thoughts though!, I do appreciate it!, will have to just have another day out sometime!!

 

[DavidGrain]

I was going to suggest Stourbridge as a possible sport for good photography. And you will get to film the shortest train in the country on the shortest branchline in Europe

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PPM60_Stourbridge_Town_Station.jpg

 

[DavidGrain]

The new livery for West Midlands buses has just been announced

What goes around comes around. A Midland Red bus from about 1970 (sorry this photo does not seem to display will try again. See next post)

 

[DavidGrain]

Since posting this photo I have discovered that it was a B&W photo which someone has used computer graphics to colour. My apologies for any confusion but I believe it to be authentic showing of Midland Red livery

 

[DJames]

Since posting this photo I have discovered that it was a B&W photo which someone has used computer graphics to colour. My apologies for any confusion but I believe it to be authentic showing of Midland Red livery

I'm not sure how many Midland Red vehicles are preserved, but I have managed to catch 767 BHA a couple of times, and the red is a little brighter than the colourised image that you shared. Now, I haven't seen any other preserved ones, so I'm not sure how accurate the colour is on that one, but I'd assume they've made sure it's correct. It is in fact quite similar to the bright red at the front of the new livery that's being introduced.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145227801@N02/42108703645/in/dateposted-public/

 

[DavidGrain]

This is an authentic Midland Red bus. (Ashley Wakelin on a private hire in Statford upon Avon). Later version was a lighter red known as the National Bus Co. 'poppy red'.