Page 7 - HB- Bus History

Bus History Redditch Heritage

Next Saturday and until further notice

In The Beginning

One Saturday morning young Les Saunders boarded a bus at West Heath village and
travelled to Hopwood. He was the only passenger.

The date was April 4 1914 and the journey was the
very first provided by the Birmingham & Midland Motor
Omnibus Co Ltd (better known as Midland Red)
between Birmingham, Alvechurch, Redditch and
Astwood Bank.

The fare Les paid was 1d and his ticket is now a valued
relic.

The introduction of the route was not straightforward.
The company had originally planned to use the
Pershore Road, but at the time Birmingham
Corporation was doubling , the tram track between
Pebble Mill and Dogpool and would not license the ser
vice.

An alternative route via the Bristol Road and
Longbridge Lane was suggested, but this was
abandoned in favour of Hole Lane and West Heath. In
addition, the date of introduction was put back from
March 21. Hole Lane, even today, does not lend itself
to bus operation and after two weeks a third line of
route via Tiverton Road and Warwards Lane was tried.
It wasn't until 1915 that Pershore Road became
available and the constant changes cannot have
encouraged patronage, yet the service, numbered 17,
survived and soon became popular.

The Bus

Midland Red used a type of Tilling Stevens vehicle where a petrol engine drove a dynamo
which in turn drove an electric motor connected to the rear axle. Rumour has it that
ex-tram drivers found them easy to drive as there was no clutch.

Pictured opposite is bus 0 9942 at Alvechurch. As this bus features in a number of shots
taken along the route it is possible that the photograph was taken on the first day.

The bus had 27 seats and was one of only a small number at the time with a rear
entrance. It was built in 1913 and sold in 1920.

Page: 7