West Midlands Travel, 6404, Stourbridge, 1989
The driver of West Midlands Travel's 6404 makes a spirited run for the short, steep incline into Stourbridge Bus Station in June 1989.
In the backdrop, the framework of a new car showroom is well advanced, this standing on what had been the former Midland Red/West Midlands bus garage at Stourbridge that had closed in January 1985.
A note I made on the slide frame at the time records 6404 as being the last Fleetline working out of Hartshill Bus Garage. I stand to be corrected and welcome further information.
Hartshill garage was a former Midland Red bus garage that would be closed by West Midlands Travel in September 1993. The eventual closure of all the former Midland Red bus garages operated by WMPTE and its successors, was seen by the company as the only method available to rid themselves of the costly '5 from 7' days working practises. 5 from 7 working was practised in all former Midland Red garages, and had been part of the guaranteed terms and conditions carried over from the takeover of Midland Red's Birmingham & Black Country operations in December 1973.
The closure of the last ex Midland Red garages in the Black Country in 1993 led to the buyout of Black Country independent Metrowest. This was an intermediary low-cost solution until the company established a new operational garage at Pensnett that conformed to standard working practises.
Formerly a Wolverhampton based bus, 6404 had originally been powered by a Leyland 680 diesel engine, but this was later changed out for a standard Gardner 6LXB diesel engine. As far as I am aware, 6404 met with a scrap yard ending following withdrawal from service.
Photo: 17th June 1989. Re scanned and re posted to replace a much earlier posting.
West Midlands Travel, 6404, Stourbridge, 1989
The driver of West Midlands Travel's 6404 makes a spirited run for the short, steep incline into Stourbridge Bus Station in June 1989.
In the backdrop, the framework of a new car showroom is well advanced, this standing on what had been the former Midland Red/West Midlands bus garage at Stourbridge that had closed in January 1985.
A note I made on the slide frame at the time records 6404 as being the last Fleetline working out of Hartshill Bus Garage. I stand to be corrected and welcome further information.
Hartshill garage was a former Midland Red bus garage that would be closed by West Midlands Travel in September 1993. The eventual closure of all the former Midland Red bus garages operated by WMPTE and its successors, was seen by the company as the only method available to rid themselves of the costly '5 from 7' days working practises. 5 from 7 working was practised in all former Midland Red garages, and had been part of the guaranteed terms and conditions carried over from the takeover of Midland Red's Birmingham & Black Country operations in December 1973.
The closure of the last ex Midland Red garages in the Black Country in 1993 led to the buyout of Black Country independent Metrowest. This was an intermediary low-cost solution until the company established a new operational garage at Pensnett that conformed to standard working practises.
Formerly a Wolverhampton based bus, 6404 had originally been powered by a Leyland 680 diesel engine, but this was later changed out for a standard Gardner 6LXB diesel engine. As far as I am aware, 6404 met with a scrap yard ending following withdrawal from service.
Photo: 17th June 1989. Re scanned and re posted to replace a much earlier posting.