Aldridge (née Aston Manor) Transport Museum Visit 

Thanks for posting this lovely video and for coming to the Museum. I have the fun of being the Museum Chairman and love to see interesting comments - I hope that it encourages lots of other visitors, too. In my former day job, I was also the engineer for WMPTE responsible for developing the guided buses, and I could spent a lot of time explaining why they make a lot of sense in the right place, unless spoilt by politicians. But I won't, don't worry!

I drove Metrobuses and Routemasters when I worked at London United in SW London. The Metrobus was great to drive and you really appreciated the pantograph action in the rain! The Routemaster felt quite modern to drive for a bus that was designed in 1954. You were correct in your explanation of changing gears on a semi-auto gearbox. You also had to pause momentarily between selecting the next gear, or the bands would slip and you'd get a ropey (or slammed) gear change.

Back in time, there are many such small museums in the UK, always nice to visit one.

WOW that Routemaster bought back some memories mate. That big red dial (to the right of the steering column) was actually the indicator! On Saturdays, in the Mid-70's, me and my mate (Paul) would jump on the Number 15 from Hamleys in Regent St. back to Commercial Road in the east end, sit behind the driver window, and have a little punt on how many times the driver would bother to use it! Happy, happy days; when life was so less complicated but so much more fun. Nice to see a Metrocab too - fibreglass body I do believe - that obviously outlived the Fairways and first TX's!

Great seeing the Routemaster, with its blinds set up for the 207 going to Uxbridge, and a proper Hanwell HL garage code on the side. Made me feel really nostalgi, as this was my local of transport for about 15 years. The 207 is to West Londoners what the 11 is to Brummies. Kind of iconic.

BMMO stands for Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus. My school was directly opposite their Southgates depot in Leicester. Many years ago I had a Ford Panorama, a Plaxton bodied coach that started off with 53 seats and ended up with six beds, a kitchen, and a lounge! All legal to drive with just your car license!

I like the peace and quiet in a museum of very noisy vehicles. And the enthusiasm of mini-Rich.

This video reminds me of my rather humble beginnings as it shows 2 vehicles I used to drive for work when I first moved to the UK. First was the milk float. Looked exactly like the one in the museum, delivered bacon, bread, cheese, eggs and milk as well as the occasional newspaper as well as some stuff from the supermarket my then boss would arrange the previous night, was a crazy job to do as used to be freezing and was tired as heck as it was a 3-4 hour run and I'd be doing it after I was done from my night job. Second was the Routemaster, used to drive the night bus, it was one of the few remaining ones that had the AEC engine in it when I first started then had one with a Scania engine. Unlike the milk float this one was very toasty to drive and this was one job after the shift was over I was dying for a pint.... except. I stopped the milk float job after 2 years as the owner decided to sell his shop and move to Thailand and new owner followed a different model. I stopped bus driving just before leaving for uni, just as well as that route was replaced by a bendy-bus and I refused to train to drive one of those. Either way am glad I don't have to work 2 jobs to pay rent.

A guided busway system has been 'installed' close to where I live, on its initial commissioning it was known locally as the ghost bus because of its lack of passengers. I seem to see them making their way along ordinary roads and never when I cross the busways. The square speedometer and gauges were very common on Leyland vehicles and were fitted to many lorries of that era

Nice to see the old milk float. my uncle was a milkman. i don't know how many cousins I have....

A very good gift to your fans. Thanks Ian. I enjoyed the Tour. USA. RICH & cats.

I PASSED MY PSV TEST IN A 1952 BRISTOL K TYPE DOUBLE DECK BUS. SEEING THIS VIDEO BRINGS BACK ALOT OF MEMORIES. I DROVE BUSES IN THE DAYS OF BRISTOL VR'S AND EARLY LEYLAND NATIONALS. THEN THE NEW BREED CAME ALONG IN 1988, FULLY AUTOMATIC SCANIAS! NOW THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME! THE BUS I PASSED MY TEST IN WAS REGISTERED HAP 985. STILL IN LIMITED SERVICE IN BRIGHTON. MAINLY DURING SUMMER. TYPE THE REG INTO YOU TUBE SEARCH AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN ACTION. GREAT VIDEO AS USUAL , KEEP EM COMING. APOLGIES FOR THE CAPITALS I'[M NOT ANNOYED JUST CAN'T BE ARSED.!!!

I forgot all about those orange seats, they used to come with horrible 1970's wooden patterned seat backs as well. Always reminded me of a kitchen for some reason. The Wythall Transport musuem is also worth a gander at, the place is full of old West Midlands Travel buses in that paint scheme of the late 80's/early 90's and the millenium colour scheme they had when they turned to Travel West Midlands.

Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus company! and JOJ222 is a Leyland TITAN PD2/1 type. Thank you for this film!

Really nice upload, BMMO, Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus. The double decker is a D9, I occasionally have the priveledge to drive the one at the Black Country Living Museum, along with the trolleybuses, and they are lovely buses to drive and I can understand why the drivers liked them, as you say the proper way to use the semi -auto box is the pause in neutral when hanging up and when changing down apply some appropriate revs in neutral a bit like using a crash box. Aldridge have a splendid collection.

I think it's awesome that they let you on the buses to check out the interiors. As Hubnut said, "what's the harm?" But most museums I can imagine won't let you do it due to fears that damage might occur. This video was a nice change of pace and cultures us all. I felt like I was really there with them.

I used to ride that No. 2 bus in the picture right at the end... it used to go to Weoley Castle and Selly Oak. It later got changed to No.69

My father drove a D-Series Ford truck,though not an artic. Nice film,glad you said what BMMO stands for,I'm sure no-one would have pointed that out!

Blimey! I never knew about this, and it's only 13miles/30 minutes from me - I clearly need to get out more! This is a real must on my next set of days off, there'll be some real memories. I used to go to junior school on the old Midland Reds in the late 60s/early 70s. I used to love the noise the old single deckers made.

I'm 31 and this brings back some memories. I'm a bus driver in West mids and today's buses ain't no were as good as the old ones. I used to love the old buses as a kid.

Thanks for another very interesting vid, you here of the larger motor museums in the Midlands, this one is new to me.

This brings back lots of memories. The bus from my childhood was similar to the Leyland with rear open entrance so you could jump on and off the bus at junctions. These buses were red with a purple strip and were phased out in the early 1980''s. What I also remember about these buses is that if you knew the conductor you could ride the bus standing at the open door, holding on to the handrail and no one would be bothered about heath & safety, if you fell off the bus it was your own fault.

Nice job. I worked for a summer a couple of years ago, at the Lakeland Motor Museum up in Cumbria. You should have a look around if you are ever in the area and have a few quid to spare! You can even combine your visit with a trip on Windermere on the lake "steamers". The most interesting bits for me as I dusted my daily way around the museum was all the little motoring artefacts like vintage fuel pump insignia and little period garage mock-ups dotted around the place.

I can remember that Type of Birmingham open backed bus from the late fifties/early sixties as a child going to school. I can tell you that the Screw in light bulb upstairs didn't last very long. Either they were pinched to use as bomb or silver sweet paper was put into the socket and the bulb replaced. As soon as I saw the cream elliptical signs with red text it brought it all back to me. Smoking was allowed upstairs and that's where dad would choke on a woodbine or park drive. On the back of every seat was a small metal file so smokers could strike their matches!. I'm very tempted to pay a visit to the museum. I did remember it opening at the old tram depot in Aston in the 80s thought

I love old buses and some of these brought back memories! Like you I used to travel on the West Midlands buses - notably the 18 between Alcester Lanes End and Cotteridge to go to school. On the number 11 route I remember when I was very young that the old Leyland buses (just after 4 minutes into this video) were still running. There were also Daimlers with pre selector gearboxes! Really enjoyed this video!

I've been blown away by these old vehicles

This looks more up my street than the NEC now. Although the ultimate buses for me would be a Duple Dominant with Grant full height glass front entry doors, and a Plaxton Panorama Elite Express III.....what a name for a bus!

Routmaster for me mate,I loved jumping on and off before the conductor cought us .

What a cool video,nice to see these old buses how they were,nice vehicles on display.

Enjoyed that Ian, a museum I'll put on my list to visit.

Hi , the number 11 was the outer circle and the number 8 was the inner circle. I was on them all the time. Just for your information.👍

Half expected to hear those immortal words "I hate you, Butler!" coming from behind those buses... I remember the days when bus conductors were terrifying purveyors of authority and bossiness - after being told to take feet off the rear bench seats, (at the age of about 4) I expected mum to tell him off, but she didn't dare...

Fascinating, would have enjoyed another half hour. I Dorset we had mainly Bristols - later the Lodekkas, Whilst Bournemouth had Daimlers (always pretentious) but Midland Reds and Bristol Greyhounds were amongst the many coaches arriving in Bournemouth on a summer saturday.

Being born in 1980, I have fond memories travelling on Bristol VR's, presumably fitted with a Gardner 6LXB engine. How I miss that miter box whine, which I now know wasn't supposed to be whining like that!

Ahh the MCW Metrobus - the unforgettable soundtrack of my trips to school!

Interesting museum. Great to see a Ford D Series--I can't remember when I last saw one of those

Ahh... Number 11 Outer Circle. Remember it well travelling on those old buses.

Thanks for that. Always enjoy a wander round a transport museum, though my favourites are like Crich, or the East Anglia Transport Museum near Lowestoft where they get the exhibits out earning their keep!

Awesome vid mr nut, I'm from Birmingham and this brings back so many memories, in the summer on a Friday after school I would get the bus in to town the back of Birmingham markets had a midland red station where you could get a single decker that went to Bewdley. Those weekends in the static caravan were magical 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks for the video excellent job 👍🇬🇧 George in Stoke. Take me back to 50/60.

Not far from me love the older vehicles bring back some good memories think I'm going to have to pay it a visit nice one mate Rob

If I remember correctly MCW stands for Metro Cammell Weymann. Very nice museum Ian. There’s a good one up in Bradford too I believe

Crawley's 'Fastway' buses run on partially guided routes. Sometimes the length of the guided way is just tens of metres as it has to also encompass the existing road junctions and roundabouts etc. When I enquired about the practicality of these short sections I was told that an EU grant was used to finance part of the project and this grant was only available for tracked transport schemes

It's truly marvellous to see this older style of museum still in existence, after most have gone over to the more modern 'experience'.The fact there aren't hordes of people and out of control kids running amok spoiling things, is for the one part good, but it also leaves you hoping these places can survive with that attendance in today's economic climate. Let's hope so!

We in Cambridge are much "blessed" by what is know locally as the misguided busway built on part of the old Varsity line. It carries commuters from St. Ives into Cambridge. There is much talk of wanting to reopen the old Varsity line but political careers and reputations are linked with the project which had a troubled birth. Lovely to see TWC in such illustrious company and thoroughly holding her own. It would be interesting to measure the footfall between her and the exhibits around her!

I have fond memories of the double decker metro buses as I used to travel on a chartered one to Stratford upon Avon to college. Never been to this museum even though i live in the Midlands. Wythall transport museum and coventry transport museum are closer to me. though.

Love old buses. Watching my lad climb the steps of our fancy new gas powered buses here in Nottingham lacks all the magic of the buses back in the '70's. Hearing him getting excited about the USB ports and free WiFi might be tarnishing my memories of being 11 and going into town on a Saturday...and why don't new buses smell?

Those old buses are beautiful.

Thanks for the tour, what a great place. I could see you and Rich doing your very own version of On The Buses 😁 I remember looking down the periscope at the driver on double deckers and then when older covering it with a school bag Lol Naughty boy!

Not sure if you've been but I would recommend Crich Tramway Museum. I wasn't interested at first but I took the kids for a visit and there are some fantastic old examples of trams with all the wooden interiors and old lamps. Might not be your cup of tea but if you are in the area check it out.

I miss WMT, I used to take the 96 into town and in the winter the back seat was always warm.

Those are the buses of my childhood too. I also remember riding my bike all the way around the number 11 outer circle route when I was about 12-yrs-old. I don't know how long it took to go all the way around, but it was close to midnight when I got back to the Swan, Yardley starting point. I still catch contemporary Birmingham buses occasionally; although the passengers tend to be a bit more anti-social these days.

Going back to the Birmingham Corporation bus days, at the terminus they used to have a large clock painted blue and standing on the pavement, presumably for drivers to 'clock in' Anyone remember the terminus at Rednal and West Heath on the south side of Birmingham. The one at Rednal was a tram terminus until I think the 1950's.

What a wonderful museum, love all kind of transport so really enjoyed the video, 🖒

The reason why Metrobuses got smaller back windows is because of corrosion. The back ends were really prone for it many restored examples got the original size window put back in.

We had a guided bus way in Ipswich for a while - it was only for about a hundred yards of the route, specifically designed so that only buses could use a short cut and cars couldn't drive down the route..

They have guided busways from cambridge to huntingdon and st Ives these day’s apparently, not seen them close up personally even though i was there a few weeks ago , but they seem the cause of much controversy lately. I’m glad it’s not just me,as i visited a bus museum recently probably due to nostalgia,memories,and a hormonal imbalance as i’m ageing 😂 really enjoy it actually .

I did a video at the Wythal Transport Museum in Chapel Lane Birmingham, worth a visit too. There's a working guided bus way in Cambridge.

I went last year and Fuzz Townshend was there. I do like the flower melamine panels WMPTE Metrobuses have.

If you come up to Manchester,Ian.. check out the greater Manchester transport museum (selnec).....it's great that people set up these places,,so we can see transport from yesteryear,,....and yes a guided busway is up and running in Manchester.......

Nice day out Mr H But can help think maybe a garage tidy up would be more productive LOL Great vids watch them all thanks

that took me back to my Brummie roots thanks

I like to recommend the auto museum in Coventry , lots of wonderful old cars and landspeed record breaker !

Looks an interesting museum

Awesome buses and a Velocette too. Great video 👍

As a Londoner I of course love the Routemaster. But the other bus I liked was the Mk l Metrobus, which very much dominated north London as a Routemaster replacement. It of course had two sets of doors, which London Transport stipulated, and a London specific seat moquette and interior colour scheme. When the Mk ll Metrobus went into production, Mk ls were still produced specifically for London Transport, who tried out Mk lls, but preferred the Mk l. London Transport had a strong standardisation fleet policy, and the Mk ll was different in styling to the Mk I. The Mk l IMO is the better looking bus.

some very nice buses, oldest ones around are on a 54/56 plates as in 2004/6 old, there is a very late 90's one but that's more used for the cambridge folk weekend,

They have guided bus ways in Leeds. I think they started to build tram tracks but then decided they didn't have enough money.

Thanks for doing a bus video, bus and fire trucks are my other favorite form of transportation. Here in the US you don't see different manufacturers like you do in the U.K.. During my childhood in New England all you seen was the GM coach based RTS buses, MCI, Gilig, and basically 1 or 2 other brands ( unless you include those silly yellow school bus and those special needs coaches). I am surprised that museum does not have a Bristol double decker

Most enjoyable. Spent half my childhood on buses, as we were a no car family. Single cab open back double deckers, mostly. Upstairs was a permanent fug of cigarette smoke, and the windows were opaque with condensation. Great shame when corporation buses were abandoned for the misplaced ideology of competitive tender. Never works for transport and utilities. They're a social asset that feeds sectors where competition is meaningful. Rant over.

We had MCW Metrobuses in London too from the mid 80s onwards. They had horrible brakes, I preferred driving the Routemasters.

My childhood bus was the Leyland National. My Mum didn't drive, so we went everywhere on them. :)

Nice video brings back memories.

Thanks for uploading really interesting.

My school journeys in the late 70's were all on Bristol Lodekka's (Eastern National).

Oddly enough the guided busway here in Adelaide has been quite successful - having been in service since 1986 and extended (with the addition of a tunnel) only last year. I suspect it's somewhat unique in that respect, though.

I wonder what the seat pitch was in some of those older buses? On the rare occasions I use a bus these days, I find I have to use the disabled seat as my 6'2" frame can barely squeeze into the general ones.

Another cool video ❤️

I'm not sure even if you tidy up your garage you'll have room for a bus!! But how many HubNut stickers could you put in the windows 😂😂!!

The Velocette Vogue was their poor attempt at capturing the scooter market. Unfortunately they quit making motorcycles pouring all their energy into these small under powered machines. Lack of sales spelled their demise from what I've been told. Check out the transportation museum in Glasgow. They have buses, bikes, cars, a schooner, and what appears to be a 1000 year old Viking long boat. Also, about twenty years ago I met a 97 year old man named Percy Hedgecock who was a London bus driver in the early 1900s. He told me stories of how the diesel smoke was so thick in the shop you couldn't see the other end of it. The first bus he drove had solid wheels! Here in Vancouver we have electric buses that run on wires suspended above the street. I used to think of trips into town riding those buses was a treat when I was a little boy.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen the transponder/bollard bus system in Cambridge city centre, it’s quite unique !

I kind of miss those Optare Metroriders, on a good day they were pretty nippy little buses, but the sad fact is, they were poorly built, especially the longer ones whose back ends were quite literally falling off due to the way they extended the body and corrosion setting in quite badly around those areas... :\

A Brummie that doesn't know that the 11 was the Outer Circle route and the 8 was the Inner Circle and Aldridge is not in the centre but out in the suburbs?

if u like that come to St Helen's to The North West Museum of Road Transport and thank u for showing the Scammell scarab

Very interesting to see places like this, although you know you've been around a while, when vehicles that were in general use when you were a kid are now museum exibits! I'm thinking here the Ford commercial vehicles & the milk float, I can here it now, the whine of the electric motor & the rattle of glass milk bottles! Do they have 'running days' at this museum or are they all static exibits? In Portsmouth , 3 or 4 times a years the local enthusiasts groups take the preserved buses on trips around the city.

we have a guided bus way in Bristol as part of the Metro bus, It's pointless and only runs for a very short part of the route.

Thanks for the tour. Something that piqued my interest was the question of history for rapid transit in London, eg. what was the first commercial bus route? I seem to recall Chris Barrie showing something running off of steam on another RU-vid channel but I cannot recall if this was the actual first bus. Anyways Cheers, - Eddy

Kept thinking you might bump into 'Blakey'..but "On the Buses" was probably before your time?

BMMO -- Birmingham Midland Omnibus

Hi Ian I think you need to up your silly vehicle game You need some old bus thing, convert the back into a garage, upstairs into living accommodation. I’d even let you park on my drive if you were passing the area! Could even be a mobile office

The Austin would make the perfect motor home.

I'll get you Butler! (yes, I know, wrong depot) Lovely old buses though!

Alot of the drivers drove them service style by slamming through the gears which eventually wears them out.

Interesting tour. How about a milk float as a future project-or have you already done that?

No mudyellow Kromhout 2 stroke diesel bus with unsychnronized double clutch howling & scratching gearbox of the 'Drentsche Vervoers Maatschappij', a Royal Verheul coachbuild and a driver on wooden shoes. Him puffing out blue tobacco smoke behind the wheel and the exhaust belching out black diesel smoke

All it's missing is an Alexander bodied Atlantean! Not necessarily related to Birmingham transport, but still totally essential!

Those rear engines double deckers would go anywhere in the snow 😉

Cool Bus's :)

Greetings from Australia :D

at 2:22 it says face shaved, Ian...