MetroCammell advert (c.1950)
A splendid period advert, reproduced in the latest issue of ‘On The Buses’ that takes a look at how Britain’s bus industry advertised its products and services. Based in Elmdon on the outskirts of Birmingham, Metropolitan-Cammell-Weymann was a major force in the bus bodying industry, pioneering the development of all-metal bodies from the early 1930s. A Midland Red D5 bus is featured here, but MCW was a leading supplier to Birmingham City Transport, other West Midlands and Lancashire municipalities, British Electric Traction subsidiaries (which included Midland Red) and a diversity of other customers. The company enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Leyland Motors, helping to develop the Leyland Olympic integral single-decker, early versions of the Leyland Atlantean as well as bodying the successful and long-lived Worldmaster model. MCW had a second-to-none reputation for the solidity and durability of its products.
When British Leyland under Donald Stokes’ leadership indicated that it would develop new products without MCW involvement, the company forged a new partnership with Scania of Sweden and then advancing into its own complete vehicles. MCW enjoyed a decade of successful sales of its Metrobus. Unfortunately, parent company Laird Group underwent a period of corporate reappraisal in the late 1980s, deciding to sell its bus and separate rail businesses. Alstom took over the latter but closed it down a decade later. Optare and DAF reworked the Metrobus design and Optare acquired the production rights for MetroRider midibus. The Elmdon factory was meanwhile closed down.
MetroCammell advert (c.1950)
A splendid period advert, reproduced in the latest issue of ‘On The Buses’ that takes a look at how Britain’s bus industry advertised its products and services. Based in Elmdon on the outskirts of Birmingham, Metropolitan-Cammell-Weymann was a major force in the bus bodying industry, pioneering the development of all-metal bodies from the early 1930s. A Midland Red D5 bus is featured here, but MCW was a leading supplier to Birmingham City Transport, other West Midlands and Lancashire municipalities, British Electric Traction subsidiaries (which included Midland Red) and a diversity of other customers. The company enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Leyland Motors, helping to develop the Leyland Olympic integral single-decker, early versions of the Leyland Atlantean as well as bodying the successful and long-lived Worldmaster model. MCW had a second-to-none reputation for the solidity and durability of its products.
When British Leyland under Donald Stokes’ leadership indicated that it would develop new products without MCW involvement, the company forged a new partnership with Scania of Sweden and then advancing into its own complete vehicles. MCW enjoyed a decade of successful sales of its Metrobus. Unfortunately, parent company Laird Group underwent a period of corporate reappraisal in the late 1980s, deciding to sell its bus and separate rail businesses. Alstom took over the latter but closed it down a decade later. Optare and DAF reworked the Metrobus design and Optare acquired the production rights for MetroRider midibus. The Elmdon factory was meanwhile closed down.