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6957 - 20E Catshill seen in Northfield at 4.25

The cross-city line finally reaching Bromsgrove was probably the final blow despite First's subsequent efforts to keep it going (e.g. timetable changes and Salt Road branding).

Full list of September changes now on the main site
NXWM Fleet changes (wmbusphotos.com)

Others that happened today are
4861 BC-WN
E328 & E331 allocated to Perry Barr

Sorry to see 4515 has been withdrawn - what a magnificent sound it made, could hear it coming from miles away!

4621 seen on the 50 at the Druids Heath turning circle.

Am I correct in thinking that with this place opening, the facillities at Sandwell will either be reduced or axed?

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the services round there eventually.

I remember from the old Birmingham timetables, there used to be a 62 down the Bristol Road, but I guess that route went when Rover shut?

Eventually - it lasted for another 5 years before being replaced by different configurations of links into the city centre (X62, 98) which eventually disappeared with the withdrawl of the X20.

Out of curiosity, are there passengers going from Bromsgrove to the QE on the 20, as was planned/mooted at the time, bearing in mind the QE is near to Uni station?

Why didn't NX try the option of extending the 63 from Rubery to Bromsgrove, similar to what they did with the X3 from Hill Hook to Lichfield or the Coventry 20 from Bedworth to Nuneaton?

I've been on the 20 several times in recent weeks as I try to ride as many Geminis as possible before they disappear. My journeys between Selly Oak and Bromsgrove have seen passengers mainly travelling to Bromsgrove from Longbridge and Rubery (and vice versa) and then another batch from Longbridge onwards towards Selly Oak and the QE. Not so many being picked up or dropped off between Rubery and Bromsgrove (and reverse) but that may not be typical.

On the 27 route and that bridge in Bournville, there is a solution available there that would provide minimal disruption. Send the buses prior to the bridge down Franklin Way to Mary Vale Road. Go over the bridge at Mary Vale Road. Then turn Victoria Road into a one-way street northbound, back to Bournville Lane, continue journey.

For the return, from Bournville Lane turn Lea House Road into a one-way street southbound, send buses down there to Mary Vale Road, then a reverse of the outbound route. Profile the corners either end at Victoria Road and Lea House Road to discourage parking and allow the bus a wider turn in.

That's just if you want to maintain the route as close as possible to Bournville station if the bus cannot get under the bridge. The one-way streets would probably make travelling around those roads easier for the residents as well, as there's a minimal amount of disruption involved.

I don't think the roads mentioned could reliably accommodate buses of any type even if those modifications were made. 

I also think there is an issue with Franklin Way being privately owned which rules out bus use. I might be wrong with this but I vaguely recall a period of a few days back in the late noughties where the 27 had to divert during the daytime. It initially used Mary Vale Road - Franklin Way - Bournville Lane but was stopped from doing this by then owners Cadbury. It had to use the full length of Mary Vale instead and turn right onto Linden Rd. 

I was flicking through the 1986 WMPTE fleet list booklet just now and there's a section on routes that had been registered by WMT in the spring for October. It was organised by garage and in the YW section it shows the following:

77 Northfield to Kings Heath
78 Cotteridge to Kings Heath

I'm assuming that the 78 became the retained and extended 27 and I know there was an old 77 that went from Kings Heath to Longbridge but can anyone shed more light on what these routes were intended to be? It also shows the 49 running from Solihull to Rubery and not Northfield, was this part of the mix too?

Also, were there any other routes/changes that were registered but didn't happen in the end (either WMT or MRW)?

The route 27 will have a bit of an issue in the coming years. The bridge at Bourneville station is a triange 9' 9, in which a 10' 6(?) Omnilink can fit under nicely. However, since Omnilinks are getting replaced relatively fast (presumably all withdrawn by late-2025 ) and all new electrics seem to be too tall for that bridge. It may require a re-routing of that portion of the 27 because the adjacent Mary Vale Rd looks to be too impractical for any NX bus.

I think there are limited options to re-route the 27. Mary Vale Rd is definitely too narrow between Pershore Rd and the bridge over the railway line/canal (Kev's 55 struggles to get through at times) and a previous proposal back in 2009 to use Umberslade/Raddlebarn/Sycamore Rd met with protests from residents so was never pursued (the area round by Bournville green is far busier now than it was back then anyway).

The predecessor to the current 76, the 69 was a very long route, particularly at the point it ran Weoley Castle to Heartlands Hospital via most of south Birmingham and the moon.

For a brief period in Autumn 1993 it was even longer, running through to Frankley and interworking with a shortened 49 route.

61E Tessall Lane seen in Northfield this afternoon. 

How does the 2's new route work? Is it a one  way loop or does it come back on itself?

It sounds confusing and if they was so bothered about keeping Glenavon Road served they should have left the 27. Also has Glenavon Road ever had Deckers serve it before now?

I'm surprised that the 27's section of route was incorporated into the 2, sure they could extended the 19 from Maypole to YW depot...

The 69 served Glenavon Road for many years and this was mainly double decker.

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-updates/serviceupdatesarticle?SituationId=ID-12/07/2023-10:05:04:988

Route 46 is getting a timetable/route change, and a 46A variant between QE and Hawkeley introduced at the request of TfWM.

Bustimes shows one of the changes as being a rerouting in Northfield. It will now run along the stretch of the Bristol Rd next to the shopping centre which is an improvement. Perhaps the shorter workings will help the reliability too. 

63E to Northfield seen in Longbridge this afternoon. 

Quite interesting to see how many routes there used to be, compared to now. Sad sign of the times really.

Some routes I don't even remember looking at that 2009 map. Like, what was the 86 for example?

This looks like an 86 that was following parts of the old MRW 86 between Woodgate Valley and Northfield. The old 86 had long since gone, having been seen off by WMTs 44 in the mid 90s. I know Patterson's had a version of the 86 for a time but this seems too late for that one so answers on a postcard.