Old Bus Routes

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

28, 28E came about in July 2011, replacing parts of the 369 (between Willenhall and New Invention) and the 528 (between Ashmore Park and Wolverhampton, though the section via New Cross Hospital was new, the 528 having previously gone down Thorneycroft Road and Cannock Road into Wolverhampton, rather than through Heath Town.).

Initially, the 28E was numbered that because it was a short working of the 28 on evenings & Sundays to New Invention only. After a while, the 28 having changed route in Wood End slightly so as to serve Wood End Road, rather than Bellamy Lane as it did upon starting, with the 28E staying via Bellamy Lane. It started under Midland, passing to Arriva when Arriva acquired Midland.

October 2014 saw the 28E extended to Willenhall along the 326's route, putting a bus back down Lane Head for the first time since the 342 went at the 2011 Review - the 326 Sunday service being withdrawn in 2007 - and now interworking with the 27 (Wolverhampton to Dudley via Sedgley and Gornal Wood)

The 28 would be withdrawn in July 2016, replaced by the 69 being rerouted along its route between Wolverhampton and Ashmore Park. The 28E would soldier on a little bit longer, surviving long enough to pass to Diamond in April 2017 when Arriva pulled out of Wednesfield, being withdrawn on 22nd October 2017, and replaced by the 69 running Sundays; the evening journeys being dropped entirely.

As for vehicles on there, it was mostly Arriva's fleet of mini Pointer Darts and SB120/Cadets, though the 21xx E200s did appear when Wednesfield had them, and some of Wednesfield's oddballs occasionally escaped onto there (I had B10BLE 3618 on there one time in September 2015, and a DLA got on there at least once around the same time)

The 40 started at the same time as the 28, and at least according to Centro literature of the time, replaced the 333 and 340 (the 340 between Walsall and Stroud Avenue, and the 333 between there and Wolverhampton).

Originally, the route ran down Stringes Lane into Willenhall, but was rerouted along Clarkes Lane and Shepwell Green into Willenhall around 2014; the section via Deansfield being dropped at the same time iirc. The 40 would be withdrawn in July 2016, and replaced by the 37 running over the original 333 route (via Darlaston) and an increased 41.

The 37 is just an old 333E they should have numbered the 37 to the 33

[Midland 2541]

The 37 is just an old 333E they should have numbered the 37 to the 33

It was originally - the consultation document from earlier in 2016 explicitly calls it the 33, not the 37. Exactly when in the process it changed to 37, I'm not sure.

This didn't happen, in the same way that the planned route of the 37 via the Manor Hospital (which made it as far as being printed onto Centro issued timetables of the time, though it never ran that route) didn't happen.

[Jay71]

The 443 used to be operated by Midland Red. Any idea when this service first started & when it ended?

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

It was originally - the consultation document from earlier in 2016 explicitly calls it the 33, not the 37. Exactly when in the process it changed to 37, I'm not sure.

This didn't happen, in the same way that the planned route of the 37 via the Manor Hospital (which made it as far as being printed onto Centro issued timetables of the time, though it never ran that route) didn't happen.

I assume the Planned 37 would have replaced the 38 and maybe a 337 which I believe ran to Willenhall but ran via the other way of Stroud Aveune 

[Jack]

I assume the Planned 37 would have replaced the 38 and maybe a 337 which I believe ran to Willenhall but ran via the other way of Stroud Aveune

Wasn't the 337 only as far as Darlaston? Then replaced by the 333E's?

[Midland 2541]

I assume the Planned 37 would have replaced the 38 and maybe a 337 which I believe ran to Willenhall but ran via the other way of Stroud Aveune

The map on the first print showed it as replacing the 38, yes. 

It never ran this route though. 

The 337 was just Walsall to Darlaston via Pleck, and was bought in to compete with Travel A2Z's 338 (itself a short working to Darlaston only) during the late 2000s, and lasted until 2009, when it was renumbered to 333E. 

The only things that have served the other part of Stroud Avenue are services terminating in Lodge Farm - so the Sunday evening 37s until Jan 2023, the 9 between 2010 and 2014, and the 331/332 in their last forms.

[D10]

The 443 used to be operated by Midland Red. Any idea when this service first started & when it ended?

The 443 was introduced in 1986 at deregulation as a Tendered service by Midland Red West, not sure when it ended.

[Jay71]

The 443 was introduced in 1986 at deregulation as a Tendered service by Midland Red West, not sure when it ended.

Thanks

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

The map on the first print showed it as replacing the 38, yes.

It never ran this route though.

The 337 was just Walsall to Darlaston via Pleck, and was bought in to compete with Travel A2Z's 338 (itself a short working to Darlaston only) during the late 2000s, and lasted until 2009, when it was renumbered to 333E.

The only things that have served the other part of Stroud Avenue are services terminating in Lodge Farm - so the Sunday evening 37s until Jan 2023, the 9 between 2010 and 2014, and the 331/332 in their last forms.

333L Briefly to I think and ah yes so the 337/338 was basically the short version of the later 38 which was replaced briefly by an extension of the 75 from Birmingham to serve Darlaston Road although the 79 could run down there and the 38/37 could have served Dangerfield Lane to replace the 79. The 38 interworked with the 34 in the days of the B10L's and I believe did serve the Manor in both Directions so to Walsall and to Wednesbury. The 39 was run separately to Wolverhampton. I believe at one point these services ran every 6 minutes between Walsall and Darlaston the 34 and 39 being the more frequent. 

Then as I moved into an estate of the Darlaston Road I remember the 38 still running with the Scania's. They them added a 34A to serve Rough Hay I believe it basically did a loop of Rough Hay and then came back to Darlaston as where it said it terminated at Michael Road doesn't have a Turning Circle unless it somehow did a u turn at the end of Hall Street. This made the Darlaston corridor even more frequent they may have reduced the 38 or even scrapped it at this point. The 39 then replaced the 39 around the Manor and the 34 was withdrawn from Stowlawn to serving Bilston only with the 39 curtailed to Bilston a couple of years before from Wolverhampton then was extended to Stowlawn which probably saw a service decrease from the 34. I fully believe the 37 was then decided to fill in the old 40 route as that was the only NX Route around Lodge Farm after Birchtree Hollow and that is why they extended it. But initially it would have probably replaced 34 shorts to Darlaston and helped keep the frequency the same. 

NX then withdrew the 37 because of competition of Thandi who were more in competitive with the Sandwell Travel 333X that was then scrapped when Sandwell Travel got banned from Operating. NX may have saw that gap and decided to run and extend the 37 as opposed to maybe replacing the 40 from St Paul's maybe with a 41A. They then scrapped it when Thandi upped the frequency to every 15 minutes. Thandi then went bust/stop Operating and NX reinstated it. I remember the 37 used to interwork with the 41 of an evening which interworked with the 6 and 7 so you got Double Deckers of an evening of it. Now It interworks with mostly the 34 during the Day and the 39 of an Evening usually it or the 34 a board of that goes onto to do the last 39 of the day. The 37 still interworks with the 41/6/7. The 37 also replaced the last 34 of the night from Walsall to Darlaston.

The big gap during all this is the 38 used to run at 4AM the first bus and that was to get Nurses and other staff from Darlaston/Wednesbury not sure where it started to the Manor and I believe it did a return to Wednesbury and then either became the first 34 from Darlo to Walsall or the first 34 from Walsall to Darlo with the 38 resuming at 6AM, the 39 now starts at 6AM and I know the 4AM 38 was always well used by the Hospital Staff they now either have to get the 34 and walk it up Pleck Road or get a cab or lift to the Hospital or if there closer to the 529 walk into Willenhall and get that to Pleck Road and walk it. So in a way the 33/37 wasn't just replacing the 40 it would replace the 38 and then probably the 34A as it would to Darlaston only and then from all of this didn't serve the Manor and basically became a shortened version of the old 333 terminating at Willenhall. They then relaunched it as a Short between Willenhall and Darlaston to replace the Thandi 37 before deciding to once again reintroduce it to the 34 and 39 to make the Darlaston Corridor frequent

[Midland 2541]

34A came in in October 2015 as a frequency boost (iirc, they were all every 20 minutes, so combined to be every 5 minutes between Walsall and Darlaston) along the Darlaston corridor, and ran a loop of Rough Hay, which was: 

Willenhall Street, Stafford Road, Hall Street, Hall Street East, Willenhall Street, Rough Hay Road and St Lawrence Way into Darlaston

Both the 34A and 38 went in July 2016 - the 34A not being replaced, whilst the 38 was replaced by the 39 being rerouted to serve the hospital, alongside the 75 being extended to Darlaston (which was suggested to go down Kings Hill Road to actually replace the 38, but never did, following the 79 to Darlaston instead.)

Bilston to Stowlawn being tacked onto the 39 came a bit later - initially the 39 did still continue to run to Wolverhampton after the July 2016 changes, but I believe that was withdrawn in September 2016, with it being extended in 2017 sometime. 

The Thandi 37 only came in later (early 2017 rings a bell), and led to a completely unsustainable 9 buses an hour on a route that even in the days gone by only sustained 4-5 buses an hour, as NX ran their 37, Thandi theirs and Sandwell Travel continued on with the 333X until 2018.

Sandwell Travel pulled off in 2018, when they closed up (I believe it was after one of their Caetano Darts lost a wheel on the Black Country Route, but that might be my memory playing up.), and NX would pull off in the same year, leaving Thandi to run the route in the daytime, whilst NX had the evenings and Sundays. 

Thandi shut up shop themselves in 2021, and NX took over the 37 as Willenhall to Darlaston initially, for about a month, before it was extended back to Walsall. 

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

34A came in in October 2015 as a frequency boost (iirc, they were all every 20 minutes, so combined to be every 5 minutes between Walsall and Darlaston) along the Darlaston corridor, and ran a loop of Rough Hay, which was:

Willenhall Street, Stafford Road, Hall Street, Hall Street East, Willenhall Street, Rough Hay Road and St Lawrence Way into Darlaston

Both the 34A and 38 went in July 2016 - the 34A not being replaced, whilst the 38 was replaced by the 39 being rerouted to serve the hospital, alongside the 75 being extended to Darlaston (which was suggested to go down Kings Hill Road to actually replace the 38, but never did, following the 79 to Darlaston instead.)

Bilston to Stowlawn being tacked onto the 39 came a bit later - initially the 39 did still continue to run to Wolverhampton after the July 2016 changes, but I believe that was withdrawn in September 2016, with it being extended in 2017 sometime.

The Thandi 37 only came in later (early 2017 rings a bell), and led to a completely unsustainable 9 buses an hour on a route that even in the days gone by only sustained 4-5 buses an hour, as NX ran their 37, Thandi theirs and Sandwell Travel continued on with the 333X until 2018.

Sandwell Travel pulled off in 2018, when they closed up (I believe it was after one of their Caetano Darts lost a wheel on the Black Country Route, but that might be my memory playing up.), and NX would pull off in the same year, leaving Thandi to run the route in the daytime, whilst NX had the evenings and Sundays.

Thandi shut up shop themselves in 2021, and NX took over the 37 as Willenhall to Darlaston initially, for about a month, before it was extended back to Walsall.

Yes I remember the wheel falling of the Caetano Darts, The 37 was planned to be a bit of mixture of numerous replacements and routes a shortened 38 but then a shortened 333 which is what it is now. I still think the 39 needs to go back to Wolverhampton to give Herberts Park and Walsall a link to Wolverhampton that it isn't the 529 which can suffer delays, the longwinded 9. I think the year before the 34A, 38 changes the 79 was routed down Wolverhampton Street. Kings Hill Road is actually Darlaston Road and is the whole road is the A462 known as the Darlaston Road the whole way