One that shouldn't have got away!
Former WMPTE/WMT prototype MCW Metrobus 6831, pictured minus its axles, windows and mechanical units in PVS's scrap yard, Barnsley in May 1993. This is the one Metro Cammell Weymann ‘Metrobus’ that really should have been saved for posterity. Built in 1977, 6831 (SDA 831S) was WMPTE's very first MCW Metrobus, and was also the very first Metrobus to be used in operational service with WMPTE.
Initially based at WMPTE’s Washwood Heath Bus Garage (which was sited opposite the Metro Cammell Weymann factory), 6831 was not only a WMPTE service bus, but also acted as a ‘test bed’ vehicle. When it was new, MCW and WMPTE engineers carefully monitored 6831’s in-service performance, constantly making adjustments and modifications in preparation for future production examples of the type.
Some years later, 6831 was transferred to WMPTE’s Dudley Garage in the Black Country, where it joined other examples of pre-production Metrobuses (6832-6835). Passing to West Midlands Travel ownership in 1986, 6831 was eventually withdrawn from passenger service in the early 1990’s. Presumably it was not considered worthy of saving by West Midlands Travel at that time, and was instead unceremoniously stripped of valuable parts before being disposed of.
One that shouldn't have got away!
Former WMPTE/WMT prototype MCW Metrobus 6831, pictured minus its axles, windows and mechanical units in PVS's scrap yard, Barnsley in May 1993. This is the one Metro Cammell Weymann ‘Metrobus’ that really should have been saved for posterity. Built in 1977, 6831 (SDA 831S) was WMPTE's very first MCW Metrobus, and was also the very first Metrobus to be used in operational service with WMPTE.
Initially based at WMPTE’s Washwood Heath Bus Garage (which was sited opposite the Metro Cammell Weymann factory), 6831 was not only a WMPTE service bus, but also acted as a ‘test bed’ vehicle. When it was new, MCW and WMPTE engineers carefully monitored 6831’s in-service performance, constantly making adjustments and modifications in preparation for future production examples of the type.
Some years later, 6831 was transferred to WMPTE’s Dudley Garage in the Black Country, where it joined other examples of pre-production Metrobuses (6832-6835). Passing to West Midlands Travel ownership in 1986, 6831 was eventually withdrawn from passenger service in the early 1990’s. Presumably it was not considered worthy of saving by West Midlands Travel at that time, and was instead unceremoniously stripped of valuable parts before being disposed of.