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Cheers Igo, managed to catch it today on the 39

Which one is it?

E235 seen on the 60

According to bus times it was on the 50 all day

Ex NXWM Wright Eclipse Urban BX56 XBS is on loan to Carolean Coaches today. It's currently on the 19 tracking as YY64 GWC.

Its BX56XCR according to the photo

While we are on the 50, was there always the Turning circle at Alcester lanes end and druids heath??

Yes, the turning circle at Alcester Lanes End was built for the replacement of the trams, which had reversed in the middle of the road outside the Kings Head. The Druids Heath turning circle was built before the 48 service was extended to Druids Heath.

Did the 50 have a series of suffix letters for different stopping places in the City Centre?

The history of the 50 should also include the other operators that have plied their trade against NXWM/TWM/WMB/WMT.

Diamond currently operate the 50, and I remember Travel Your Bus/Smiths of Tysoe (50Y).

Were there any others?

Birmingham had suffix letters for short journeys from the city centre, not for different stopping places in the city centre. 50J (orig 50A) was used for shorts to Kings Heath and 50K (orig 50B) to Alcester Lanes End, 50F to Moseley Village

I have caught Falcon Travel on the 50 (~1993-95), Rover Coaches ~94 (although their 50A was I believe Birmingham to Redditch via Maypole) and Petes/ Peoples Express.

The 50 (and 48, 49) were introduced 2nd October 1949, replacing the tram services from Moseley Road depot operating as far south as Alcester Lanes End and the 35 bus service from City to Maypole. The tram service from City to Alcester lanes End via Bradford St (42) started 12th January 1907 via the same route as the 50 bus.

The 48 was extended to Druids Heath on 10th July 1966
48 and 50 were converted to OMO 7th May 1972.
The 49 which ran only as far as Kings Heath was cut back outside the rush hour to Moseley Village before being replaced by extending the 35 (Kings Heath to Brandwood Park Road) to City via Leopold St at one end, and to Pool Farm at the other on 18th May 1975.
The 48 was withdrawn on 24th October 1981, replaced by diverting the 35 from Moseley Village to Ciyu via Balsall Heath and extending the 50 to Druids Heath from the following day.

I think most are at Perry Barr now aren't they?

Yes.

I have PB 55; WA 37; YW 23; WB 15

Thanks for posting, I love seeing stuff like this. Sadly I chucked out all my old timetable books years ago.

I remember the 44 well, it was a sister service to the 37 (now the 4), but I didn't appreciate just how frequent it was at peak times.

As you say, how times have changed with respect to bus service provision in that particular area.

The 44 dated back to the Stratford Rd tramway replacement on 6th Jan 1937 running to Warwick Rd/ Olton Blvd (a 37 was introduced that day from Birmingham to Hall Green City boundary - later 92!) It was extended to Lincoln Rd North as the 44A on 2nd Apr 1939. The full route became the 44 on 15th Jul 1962. 

Service south of Olton Blvd to Solihull was Midland Red territory (152, 155 to Knowle, 182, 187 to Dorridge.) The 37 replaced the ex-Midland Red services between Birmingham and Solihull on 24th Jul 1977. The 44 continued until withdrawal in 1990 when replaced by minibus R and rush hour only 37A. The 37 frequency was also increased on the Warwick Rd.

[Arriva Midlands opens new Telford HQ]

From the Shropshire Star

May 25 2012
Arriva Midlands opens new Telford HQ
A new bus depot opened in Telford today. Arriva Midlands has ploughed £400,000 into new equipment and engineering workshops at the depot at Stafford Park 18.

The 2.5 acre site will house its operations and engineering teams – a total of 168 employees and 63 buses.

Bob Hind, regional managing director of Arriva Midlands, said: "The bespoke layout and design of the new site satisfies operational needs. It also reduces carbon footprint and provides greater cost efficiency to accommodate the business in the 21st century. The new site gives us the opportunity to grow the business by developing our core commercial services, our competitive tendering, our acquisitions, and our diversity. This is a great time for us to be moving up a gear."

Telford MP David Wright was due to cut the ribbon on the new site today followed by a tour of the new facilities. The new depot will replace the current facilities in Charlton Street, Wellington. Facilities include air conditioning units and a heat recovery ventilation system which provides intelligent heating, using a low energy heat exchanger.

Im trying to work out a list of all vehicles to have been allocated at Telford from the move from Wellington to the present site but when was Telford depot opened ?

25th May 2012 the same day Wellington closed.

Any idea which routes they're using E171 on? I was figuring they'd use her on either the 50 or the 6.

It is there for training and is not in passenger service.

can anyone tell me if the original electro demo bus (4798) is still in the hands of WM or has it been returned to the manfctr?

Latest photos on Flckr show it at Nottingham in March this year.

6761 has been loaned for Walsall garage for about a few months now

Since 16th February 2024

I'm sure I remember some city routes had different other letters to signify where in the city centre they stopped.

"E" was the exception and then there were others like D, and F that would indicate other curtailments.

I'll stand corrected and bow to greater knowledge on this.

The Birmingham approach was to give each of the short workings a different letter with A closest to the city terminus and going upwards from there. On the 50 to Maypole letters reached 50K Alcester Lanes End. (50F was Moseley Village, 50J Kings Heath)

[Or in 1983 that would have been the X92 (according to my WMPTE Feb 1983 North Division timetable book)]

Or in 1983 that would have been the X92 (according to my WMPTE Feb 1983 North Division timetable book) 

Or on Sundays in 1988 the 92 operated by Birmingham Central. I have a photo of Metrobus 2359 climbing to the top of Clee Hill, heading to Hereford!