The old Midland Red network of routes which was vast included a wide variety of services. Some were more appealing than others but someone boarding a Midland Red West Leyland Leopard couldn't expect anything much better than a trip out through Kidderminster to Ludlow on a lovely sunny day. Well they could of course, but I'm being a realist here and indeed on a dull day no doubt some of the local residents here would appreciate a day's shopping for bling in Brum. Once this route was the stamping ground for the Leyland PD2/20 LD8 buses but sadly the NBC starved the company of deckers so that it could off-load more Nationals. But at least it was allowed to buy plenty of these comfortable Plaxton Supreme grant-coaches like which were invaluable on longer routes like this. This 192 seems to be heading for Hereford, maybe the driver forgot to change the number blind after coming in from Birmingham to do his next trip.
MRW renumbered the X92 (back) to 192 after deregulation to emphasise that it stopped everywhere in the West Midlands County and wasn't Limited Stop anymore, in an attempt to get some of the West Midlands local passengers' pennies, but alternate journeys still ran through beyond Ludlow to Hereford for a while so the route number is correct.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Ludlow - Hereford leg lasted very long after deregulation, though, being hived off to Hereford depot as the 492 and being withdrawn around the time of the creation of FirstGroup, when the accountants took over from the busmen. I think it's been run by Lugg Valley/Primrose for many years now.
Ross, one of my friends on Flickr told me how it is today:
ReplyDeleteNow it's hourly Halesowen to Kidderminster with Diamond, then a two hourly 292 Kidderminster to Ludlow with R&B Travel, two hourly 490 Ludlow to Leominster with Lugg Valley Travel, and hourly with the 492 Leominster to Hereford again with LVT.