YOU WAIT THIRTY YEARS, THEN FOUR COME ALONG TOGETHER
"Have you seen a new Midlander yet?" So enquired my brother, at what was probably the tender 'Adrian Mole' age of six and three quarters."They stick out a bit at the front".
As with any enthusiast, and a D9 enthusiast at that, there is always a defining moment. To this day I vividly remember my earliest sighting of a D9 at 'The Bank' fare stage Bell Street, Wigston on what was the lucrative L8 service. To see the 'sticky out bit', take in the aroma of new paint and plastics, and just wallow in seeing a bright, new shiny, sleek looking bus, this was comic fantasy stuff. And so I was hooked.
The vehicle I can see now was probably either 4884 or 4892, the first two of what was to become Wigston's vast array of new and cascaded D9 fleet. And to think that my Mum was cajoled into giving me the 3d so that I could catch the L8 bus to the library club to improve my reading - come on now, the No.1 objective was a hopeful ride on a D9!!
What better way to introduce the D9 running day in Leicester on Sunday 22 November. Organised by the Leicester Transport Heritage Trust, the plan was to hopefully have four 'running' D9s in situ, ultimately to recreate the 30th anniversary of the last D9 in regular service in Leicester
Despite inclement weather conditions, which deteriorated throughout the day, like-minded enthusiasts turned out in force and ultimately were indeed rewarded with the sight of four D9s parked up ready for service. The Black Country Museum provided 5342 (6342HA), Wythall's own 5399 (BHA399C), Ashley Wakelin's 5415 (EHA415D) and Roger Burdett's 5424 (EHA424D) making up the quartet. In addition, two Marshall/Leopard saloons, 227 (JHA227L) and 357 (GOH357N), joined in the extravaganza, whilst also in attendance as 'back up' provided by LTHT members were ex Leicester Titan 154 and Metropolitan 301.
After a mid-day sojourn to the Great Central Railway at Quorn, a convoy of buses travelled out to Scraptoft to re-enact the final departure at 15.41 on Monday 31 December 1979 by 5399. Appropriately, 5399 headed the vehicles back into Leicester, on a grey, damp, cold, windows misted-up, late afternoon. Pure nostalgia!
Many thanks must go to the owners of the vehicles for their cooperation, and to the Leicester Transport Heritage Trust, in particular Mike Greenwood and Simon Gill, for the logistics and organisation of the event.
Brian Dicks
The title is a remark overheard by Nigel Hall as the buses left Quorn. A new book "Midland Red's BMMO D9 - A Bus That's In A Class Of Its Own", by Mike Greenwood and Steve Richards, published by Leicester Transport Heritage Trust, was launched at this event.
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