EARLY POSTWAR MIDLAND RED DOUBLE-DECK BUS

Reg No: NHA 795 - new 1951
Chassis: BMMO (Midland Red) D5B
Engine: BMMO 8 litre 6-cylinder diesel
Gearbox: Crash
Body: Brush 56 seats (to Midland Red design)

Midland Red introduced underfloor-engined single-deckers in 1946 but floor height meant the arrangement could not be extended to double-deckers without much more development. They therefore retained front engines and half cabs for the time being. Appearance was modernised by concealing the radiators; Midland Red favouring full width bonnets which looked very modern at the time but hindered the drivers’ view to the kerb. Poor access to the engine also made life harder for the engineers. Midland Red took 300 buses with this styling between 1948 and 1952, 200 on its own BMMO D5 chassis and, to supplement its own production, 100 on AEC Regent II chassis. The D5s were built to the new maximum permitted width of 8 feet and the last 100 introduced electrically operated rear platform doors. This was an important development for a firm with many long interurban routes with relatively high speeds.

All the D5s were bodied by Brush to Midland Red’s own design. The 100 with platform doors were known as D5B models and favoured from new for longer services requiring double-deckers. 3795 entered service in 1951 and by 1954 was at Sutton Coldfield garage. The generous specification of the bodies added weight, impacting on their performance so many D5Bs were reallocated in 1956, being ousted by new lighter and livelier D7s on the long runs. 3795 moved to Hinckley garage until 1963 when it spent two months at Tamworth before moving on to Wigston and delicensing in July 1964. It was sold without running units to Hednesford Hills Raceway where for many years it was the pavilion and scoreboard, hence the missing windows. The Trust decided it should be preserved as no others of these 300 buses remained. The Raceway was helpful and agreed that a newer double-decker could replace it. 3795 is a major restoration job, requiring running units (some already sourced) and significant bodywork attention.

Top of page

Back

Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471   Email: enquiries@thetransportmuseum.org.uk