Steepest bus route

[Sandy Lane]

Had some rides on the exmoor open top coaster service from Minehead to Lynmouth on A39. First Bus 36082 SN57 DCE in use and it really has to work hard. Excellent professional staff. How long these buses will last before they wear out?

The route involves a 1 in 4 incline and descent on hairpin bends - bus leans over at a scary angle, narrow roads and then across the top of gale force exmoor. In places you are on the edge of a cliff with no barrier and a massive drop down to the sea. Runs till end of October and has to be the best open top ride in the SW if not all the country?

Question - is there anything similar in the West Mids that compares?

[stephen ford]

No

[PB2938]

Years ago I went on WN 510 had a very steep hill in Tettenhall towards perton.

HY 88 Birmingham- Dudley had a steep gradient after Blackheath.

Wa 934 is high up on Barr Beacon on 934

[j789]

Not to the same incline as the example given in the original post but Mucklow hill in Halesowen gives buses a good workout up it. Plenty of times I have been on buses on there crawling up it. It was more of a longer hilly slog before they built the B and Q and traffic island half way up which does sort of break up the hill now.

The fastest bus I had up there was Metrobus 2893 (when transferred into BC) on the 139 in the mid 2000s which just shot up the hill, overtaking a struggling Volvo B7 on the same route. Not sure why that bus was so good up hills but I also caught it a fair amount on LH routes and it always seemed a fast bus.

Another coastal route that had a few hair raising moments was the open top route between Weston super mare and Sand Bay. It was fun in an open top Bristol VR going along the coast road with a very small barrier separating the road from a sheer drop off a cliff into the sea. The route still operates today but the road barriesr look far better now!

[Jack]

Powke Lane (3, 4M, 24) is steep, the Omnilinks really do struggle up that hill, Garratts Lane on the 4M is another. Gorsty Hill is another horribly steep hill, always noticed that NX vehicles struggle up hills more, when I've had some Diamond buses getting up that hill that never struggle as much as NX's.


Dyas Road in Old Oscott is another struggle for the Omnilinks, though I remember the B10's being able to take that hill nowhere near as bad.

Beacon Hill in Streetly for the 77, 935 and 997 is horribly steep especially in some of the 67** that aren't topodyn enabled.

The likes of Abbey Road and Lightwoods Hill in Bearwood are steep, as well as Salop Road (48A) and Tame Road (49 and 13A) where literally everything struggles up.

The only others  I can think of is the Newton Road towards the Scott Arms after the Hamstead Road traffic lights and Hamstead Hill... and the steep Tividale/Portway inclines...

[the trainbasher]

Don't forget Lodge Farm in Dudley...

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2009/12/18/passengers-told-to-walk-as-bus-struggles-up-hill/

[danny]

I'd say city Rd on the 12 on the Oldbury to dudley section is pretty steep and there are two curves going up, amazing views of the city coming down at night. Also the 12A tower Rd on same section... portway Hill k  the 14A aswell, back when I was at college the 206/207 used to go over mons hill, remember once we had a solo on and had to get off at the bottom and walk up as it was too full and couldn't get over.

[Stu]

The only others  I can think of is the Newton Road towards the Scott Arms after the Hamstead Road traffic lights and Hamstead Hill... and the steep Tividale/Portway inclines...

I remember the days getting the 120 to Dudley, when those Metrobuses used to really struggle up City Road. I used to get nervous when it stopped at the stop halfway up, in case the driver couldn't get it going again and we'd end up rolling back down the hill!

Thankfully the more modern vehicles don't have the same trouble. I guess that's also why Mucklow Hill didn't have regular bus service.

[bususer28]

I remember going on the 24 (Black Country) once and the hill albeit short at Banklands Rd and Uplands Rd felt terrifyingly steep- probaly not the steepest though.

[Pat]

Duke Street on the 223 is another one

[Justin Tyme]

I remember the days getting the 120 to Dudley, when those Metrobuses used to really struggle up City Road. I used to get nervous when it stopped at the stop halfway up, in case the driver couldn't get it going again and we'd end up rolling back down the hill!

Thankfully the more modern vehicles don't have the same trouble. I guess that's also why Mucklow Hill didn't have regular bus service.

Yes, City Road is a real challenge.  I've wondered sometimes whether there have been any white knuckle moments going downhill on the 120/12 in icy weather, especially near the bottom as the New Road gets closer and closer.

While we have nothing quite like Porlock Hill in the West Midlands, the Dudley area in particular has several steep hills, often combined with narrow roads.  One of my favourite sections of route is Diamond's 223 between Dudley and Sedgley, which in that direction from Gornal Wood just seems to go up and up and up.

Mucklow Hill is interesting, because it is only in recent years that it hasn't had much of a service - and I suspect that is only because alternative roads provide more traffic.  Midland Red's Birmingham - Halesowen service, which started in 1913, used Mucklow Hill - despite the fact that its Tilling-Stevens petrol electric buses had no engine braking.

In fact, if local authorities were not keen on new motor buses using hills in those days, Midland Red would tell them that they were running up and Mucklow Hill in Halesowen without any problems!

[mesub]

Bell Hill seems quite steep. The trident's on the 76 just about seem to manage

[Tony]

City Road is the steepest in the West Midlands I have driven up

[SO6597]

Rose Hill in Rednal is a long, punishing climb too.

[MasterPlan]

Bell Hill seems quite steep. The trident's on the 76 just about seem to manage

Definitely, the first one that came to mind when I saw this topic. I remember the days of the Metrobuses going up there on the 29.