BMMO DP BHA 399C; You Can't Paint A Rose

Well the bus rally season has started again and no doubt I will go to a few events that interest me. One of the best last year was an Open Day held by Arriva at the old Midland Red garage at Tamworth. Amongst the buses  giving rides was this D9 which was preserved as it was thought at the time to be the last one built entirely by BMMO at Carlyle Works. But I was sad to read that it's owners at Wythall have decided to repaint it out o this it's original Midland Red red into bland NBC poppy-red. No doubt this is how many younger enthusiasts remember it instead but for me in the Seventies everything went downhill and as I read somewhere some wag quipped that NBC meant 'No Body Cares' and that seemed to sum up the nationalised and PTE run bus industry.

Burnley & Pendle Volvo B10M J24 MCW

Despite the registration number hinting at something else, Burnley and Pendle had a batch of East-Lancs bodied Volvo B10M single-deckers with a similar look to the second lot of rebodied Tigers delivered to Midland Red North.

First Midland Red Coaches B107 JAB

It might have been good to present a unified corporate image to City Investors but as it was with the NBC the loss of proper individualistic liveries did nothing for staff morale and a pride in the fleet. Midland Red Coaches was one of a number of attractive fleets that carried First Group branding in the early days and they often looked smart like this Plaxton bodied Tiger at Sheffield.

Clean v Dirty in Stafford: Arriva and Select

The latest Arriva livery is a bit insipid and dull but I must admit the Cannock buses are usually very clean but maybe an extra effort is being put in as Arriva is up for sale. Not helped by not having very good facilities on a local farm where they live the buses of Select don't fare so well in dirty weather and the brown splashes of thick mud up the sides reminds me of that awful First Bus Barbi2 dribble-paint effect they applied to the buses not deserving to called Barbi.

Grey Green Leyland Royal Tiger Doyan A839 SYR

Considering how few were built roughly 150 the Leyland Royal Tiger Doyan was quite a familiar sight as many key coach operators tried at least one if they already had Tigers and Leopards. The large London concern Cowie's Grey Green was a good example and as well as A839 SYR seen here at Stamford Hill it bought one at the same time with a Plaxton body too A840 SYR and another half-dozen came the next year.

Tyrers Van-Hool Scania TYR 12R

They still use coaches on school work but they are not as common as they used to be and especially here in Stafford. So I thought it worth getting a shot of this smart Van-Hool bodied coach of Chorley based Tyrers, maybe a Scania carrying a party of booze fueled merry sports fans from Preston and no doubt including Weatherspoons the local public houses were pleased.

Central Buses Optare Solo in Lichfield

A bit like the old days when many nearby towns had corporation buses, a short journey can result in completely unfamiliar buses. For me Lichfield is the next town but there are a number of buses I wouldn't see in Stafford including this Versa of Central Buses and I think The Midland Classic on the Birmingham to Burton route was also an Optare. It is nice to see there are still a few route numbers still surviving from Midland Red days as here we could also see buses on other old BMMO trunk routes in May 2017 like the  825 and 765 which once made a marathon journey to Coventry but alas now only goes as far as Tamworth..