Hello this is my first post, although I've been lurking for a while. I used to live in Overend, a destination once seen as a 'via' for the 240 and routes like the 238 and 243/4 when they finished at Fatherless Barn in the 80s. I used to have a lot of old timetables from that era, but I think I threw out the lot in a house move some years ago, so have to rely on memory. I was interested in these bus route changes, and I wonder if anyone on the forum can confirm.
I think the 213 and 214 are the latest incarnation of the 210, a route that started around the mid 80s (possibly with the introduction of minibuses at deregulation). In autumn 1988 this used to run every 15 minutes from Brierley Hill to Fatherless Barn via Cradley Heath, and I'm not sure Merry Hill was fully open when it started. At some point (1991?), this was transformed into the 210, 211, 212 and 213, with the the 210, 211 and 212 each running every hour in the daytime, extended from Fatherless Barn to Halesowen via Shelton Lane and Belle Vale, then Whittingham Road (210), Fairmile Road (211) and Alexandra Road (212). The 213 continued to finish at Fatherless Barn, and ran only in the evenings and on Sundays. The 211 didn't last long, and by 1993 only the 210 and 212 ran during the day, giving a 30 minute frequency. The current incarnation of the 213 and 214 are much more recent.
Before the 210, Overend was served by the 238 and 239 to Fatherless Barn, both of which took a very complicated route from Dudley via Oakham and Brickhouse Farm. I'm sure the 238 used to run up Banners Lane to Fatherless Barn in the very distant past, maybe in the 1950s. I'm not sure about the 240, which I believe has been running between Cradley Heath and Stourbridge since at least the late 1940s, but I think it only started running up Banners Lane in the mid 1980s.
One mad summer (1993?), the 87 and 89 were extended from Birmingham to Dudley to Cradley Heath/Timbertree - I caught the 89 once from Overend into Birmingham, which took a very long time! Anyway this is very rambling stuff, so I'm sorry.
I think the 213 and 214 are the latest incarnation of the 210, a route that started around the mid 80s (possibly with the introduction of minibuses at deregulation). In autumn 1988 this used to run every 15 minutes from Brierley Hill to Fatherless Barn via Cradley Heath, and I'm not sure Merry Hill was fully open when it started. At some point (1991?), this was transformed into the 210, 211, 212 and 213, with the the 210, 211 and 212 each running every hour in the daytime, extended from Fatherless Barn to Halesowen via Shelton Lane and Belle Vale, then Whittingham Road (210), Fairmile Road (211) and Alexandra Road (212). The 213 continued to finish at Fatherless Barn, and ran only in the evenings and on Sundays. The 211 didn't last long, and by 1993 only the 210 and 212 ran during the day, giving a 30 minute frequency. The current incarnation of the 213 and 214 are much more recent.
Before the 210, Overend was served by the 238 and 239 to Fatherless Barn, both of which took a very complicated route from Dudley via Oakham and Brickhouse Farm. I'm sure the 238 used to run up Banners Lane to Fatherless Barn in the very distant past, maybe in the 1950s. I'm not sure about the 240, which I believe has been running between Cradley Heath and Stourbridge since at least the late 1940s, but I think it only started running up Banners Lane in the mid 1980s.
One mad summer (1993?), the 87 and 89 were extended from Birmingham to Dudley to Cradley Heath/Timbertree - I caught the 89 once from Overend into Birmingham, which took a very long time! Anyway this is very rambling stuff, so I'm sorry.