Digbeth Coach Station, Birmingham : 'official' Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company photo : nd [ca.1953]

OK - I'm fairly certain this looks like the old Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham, the epicentre of the old Midland Red coach empire back in the day. And there's so much going on here as passengers load and unload from the numerous long distance coach services that either terminates, started or called here. No date is given but I would has at early 1950s given the fashions and the assortment of coaches you can make out.

 

As befits an 'official' shot one of the company's own vehicles holds centre stage and that is CHA 970, given fleet number 1988 in 1944. It was one of 50 similar chassis built by BMMO who famously did build their own vehicles for decades, although this has an English Electric body. It is of type SOS SLR (Saloon Low Rolls-Royce I'm informed) and originally petrol engined it was retro-fitted with a diesel power unit later in life as became standard. It is certainly still giving sterling service as it is on one of the 'main drags', the London route, a variant via Banbury and Oxford down the old A34 before the M1 was constructed later that decade. The other BMMO vehicle is on the X96 heading towards Northampton, this being a through route from Shrewsbury in my day.

 

Two other operators vehicles stand out - both on routes that passed through Birmingham. First up is one from the North Western Road Car Company, the Stockport based concern and so with its registration index mark of DDB 273. 273 was a 1949 delivery with a Leyland PS2/3 chassis and Windover body. What looks like a similar coach sits behind it. Further back in this organised chaos sits a coach of the Ribble affiliated company of W C Standerwick that although purchsed by the Preston based company retained its separate identity and even the Blackpool registration of its vehicles. It is on its way to the Lake District destination of Keswick as is a duplicate vehilce pulling in - this being one of the Leyland 'cats' - Standerwick bought a few of the Royal Tiger chassis from 1951 onwards with bodywork by several coachbuilders. It would be quite a stretch in pre-motorway days to Keswick - the old A34 north out of Birmingham through Walsall beckons and then, the A50 I suspect at some point?

 

So - what a scene. A few people have obviously spotted the photographer - who I wonder may have been up a ladder?

Done