Taking bus photographs in the rain is a challenge in itself, not least keeping the lense not only dry but not steamed up either. But the results can be atmospheric and rewarding as can be seen here in Hereford where even the humble Leyland National is a welcome sight to its soggy clients. Like many places when I was working I used to relish the chance to stop to do some photography and a little rain wasn't going to stop me. As you can see from the car I was in the area where all the Diplomats live. Here unlike the paper-chase they call Brexit we have another kind of hard border to worry about before we can enter the wildness of Wales proper and that is the Brecon Beacons. I hope at least Midland Red West didn't pay an image consultant to think up WANDERWARD it might suggest freedom and movement but it is still meaningless. Had they called it ROADCIDER it might have meant something similar albeit the drivers were always pissed which might not have been a good idea lol.
The 'Wandaward' name was inherited by Midland Red West from Midland Red OC, it's one of the MAP names (like Chaserider) but by the time the MAP team got to Hereford depot they were clearly running out of inspiration!
ReplyDeleteKidderminster's 'Wendaway' and Wellington's 'Tellus' perhaps worked as they at least sounded like words, but 'Wandaward'? Nope.
Midland Red West clearly felt the names didn't work as they soon dropped them, which means your photo must have been taken between the splitting of MROC in 1981 and MRW dropping the area names around 1983. I'd go for later in that period as the bus is showing service number 107 on a Hereford City service, which under Midland Red OC would have been service H7.
Yes Ross I sometimes spend a lot of time trying to look at the evidence and guess the date. A classic example occured when on eBay the other day I saw a BMMO D5B in Stafford bearing for the first time on a web photo S98 which went passed my house in Hyde Lea. I couldn't ever remember seeing 3863 here though so I looked it up and indeed it was never there accord to the official record. It spent most of it's life at Tamworth with a short period at Sutton. Later in life it spent time as an engineering floater but only for the eastern division. Unusually for Stafford the main top blind is not in use only the local via blind so I expect it was on a very short visit perhaps sent in a hurry by Carlyle Works on loan. As for the photo itself there is just a Ford Pilot coming passed which doesn't help, no people either to help date it either, but at least there are double-yellow lines in the street and The Top of the world making it The Sixties!
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