Warwickshire has many familiar images including Warwick Castle, Shakespeare’s Stratford, Rugby School to name but three. Another image surely still familiar to many residents, and which also acted as a signal you were in Warwickshire were the bright red buses, Midland Red. Stroll around the towns and villages of Warwickshire in days gone by, and you would have seen their familiar colours along with, in certain areas, Stratford Blue.
History of the company
The company had a long and proud history, originating out of Birmingham as the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Ltd. (BMMO). Expanding out of Birmingham, after the First World War the company opened depots in, amongst other places, Leamington. Becoming part state owned in 1947, the company became wholly nationalised in 1969.
Distinctive liveries
The livery of Midland Red has always been, unsurprisingly, red, but after nationalisation the colour was changed to a brighter shade. Come the 1980s, Warwickshire fell under the umbrella of Midland Red (South) before the company was eventually swallowed up by Stagecoach. This saw the famous bright red buses disappear from Warwickshire’s streets.
Do you remember using Midland Red buses for either work or school? Do you remember any of the characters you would meet, or interesting events? Let us know.
Comments
The Midland Red bus in the snow is actually driving AWAY from Abbey Street, heading towards Queens Road.
We had the two Midland Red bus services from Birmingham to Coleshill – the 161 through Water Orton , the 168 through Bacon’s End; and the 165 from Marston Green to Coleshill. The main problem was the getting up the hill, especially in the winter! When there was snow the buses had to turn round and divert onto the bypass.
When the buses arrived at Doris Road the conductor used to call out “All those for Roses Road!” He was a real character.
I remember one of the Midland Red buses turning over at the crossroads in Coleshill when the weather was bad with snow and ice.
I used to catch the Midland Red 517 bus from Kenilworth to school in Leamington every day in the mid-1960s.
I remember one morning the double deck school bus had to stop in traffic on the narrow portion of Chesford bridge, and was rammed in the back by a following single decker which came down Chesford Hill too fast to stop in time. The conductor who was standing on the platform at the back, suffered a few cuts but was back at work after a few days.
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