WORK RESTARTS ON 4871...
As Stan Letts has described in recent editions, Midland Red was chronically short of traffic staff from the 1960s onwards and part-timers became a regular part of keeping evening and weekend services going. This continued after the WMPTE takeover of Midland Red’s Black Country services and so it was that I came to drive D9 4871 as a part-timer at Stourbridge garage.
The BMMO built vehicles sat uneasily within the WMPTE fleet but 4871 was a great survivor, being just over 17 years old when withdrawn in August 1977. Paul Gray had investigated with others the mileages of major units and which D9s had received body overhauls, and identified 4871 as a candidate for preservation. Thus, when I found myself rostered to it one Saturday night, I drove it as if it was made of glass but, sadly, one of the many untalented drivers around at the time managed to blow up the engine, bringing its career to a close. In view of the general condition, BaMMOT reconsidered its price and persevered with the purchase of 4871, buying at the same time D9 5401. The latter had a very low mileage engine and gearbox and BaMMOT removed these units for 4871. 5401 then passed to Hednesford Hills Raceway as their new scorebus, replacing and releasing D5B 3795 to come to us.
Work began on 4871 but, after some stripping, the impetus went out of it with the arrival of 5399. 4871 thus languished for a long time but always indoors fortunately. It became a prime target in the recent determination to deal with buses left part-stripped and a discredit to the museum’s conservation record. It was thus received with delight when Kevin Hill and Alex Potts volunteered to get to grips with the bus. Moreover, they wished to restore it to WMPTE colours to contrast with all the other D9s in preservation, including our own 5399. This appreciates the need for the Museum’s exhibits to tell a story so this idea was agreed (of course, it is only a coat of paint so it can always turn red at a later date if required).
4871 has thus moved to a much better parking position where it can be accessed all round. This is not a restoration for the Midland Red centenary; the job is too big. We have in mind another big anniversary event in 2009; forty years after the municipalities were taken over by the new WMPTE. Kevin and Alex see 4871 playing an important part in that, although the excellent progress they have made since work restarted in November 2003 indicates it could be ready well before then.
The nearside inter-deck panels have been removed and their backs painted into the maroon used in the interiors of these early D9s before refitting. The pillars were cleaned and similarly painted. This is because they did not have lining panels, being single skin, so these maroon faces will be very prominent. Panel strips have also been refitted; a number of these had gone missing from the earlier dismantling so replacements have been taken from the spare D9s around the back. Similar work is now taking place on the offside.
Moving down to the dodgy area beneath the lower deck panels, the nearside body pillars and stress panels have been repaired; a lot of rivets which should have been holding the panels to the pillars had worked loose. The amount of work on the offside is not so bad until you get to the rear wheelarch, which has given Alex and Kevin something to get their teeth into! Other people involved have been Fred Withers and Alwyne Marsden who have produced replacement timber parts, Tom Couling on paint stripping, while Pete Murphy and Dave Taylor have obtained parts.
We have not been very good at recording for posterity the amount of work that has to be done to these old buses, leaving visitors unaware (“You got a nice coat of paint with this one!”). In this case Dave Potts is photographing work as it progresses. Kevin and Alex have been surprised by the number of differences between 4871 and the later (Mark 2) D9s that are preserved, and they are maintaining a list of them. Dave Parry, frustrated by the differences between the SOS Q and Midland Red vehicles of ostensibly similar specification, will no doubt give one of his wry smiles and mutter that nothing changed in that regard at Carlyle Road!
Malcolm Keeley
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
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