How We Got Where We Are
In many ways, the West Midlands PTE ...
... was the most dynamic of the first batch of politically motivated mega areas of bus operation, created as a result of the invention of Metropolitan Counties, mega areas of municipal control.
Joining Birmingham (above) were Walsall Corporation ...
Then there was the innovative unique long decker with two doors and two staircases ...
... with some strange looking buses made even stranger by adapting the body shell for one man operation.
Walsall had trolleybuses ...
... including a collection of cast-offs as here from Ipswich.
All the buses soon gained the PTE logo.
Also absorbed was West Bromwich Corporation transport ...
... with one of the most luxurious historic liveries of any UK municipality. A later livery was cheap and nasty by comparison!
West Brom soon succumbed to the Wumpty bus treatment!
The third 'W' to join the club was Wolverhampton, another historic trolleybus operator ...
... and a bus livery that was the most boring of the three conscripts!
The Baggies enjoyed some 'interesting' vehicles, including this forward entrance full fronted Guy.
Corporate County identity soon appeared ...
... by which time much of the fleet was 'tired'.
In 1972, almost before the PTE had established itself, the borders were extended to absorb Coventry.
... also soon given the new badge of ownership.
But worse was yet to come. Whilst Merseyside left North Western and Crosville untouched; Manchester remained all municipal in the early days; likewise West and South Yorkshire kept to their constituent parts: Tyne and Wear persuaded some "company" buses to adopt yellow paint: but, uniquely, WMPTE was quick to take over its batch of local Midland Red routes,
That was a ridiculously long sentence and unnecessarily so!
The absorptions was in 1973.
And, horror of horrors, the WMPTE soon got stuck in and stuck on.
Repainting followed very quickly, but it was always strange to see a lovely red D9 ...
... looking very much like a Birmingham Corporation bus. Sacrilege!
fbb will bring the story up-to-date tomorrow.
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British Petroleum All Squared
The above picture appeared in an on-line auction site. The blurb said the wagon was "very rare".
fbb is always very suspicious of such a statement, usually designed to inflate the price rather than act as a useful guide to purchasers. Maybe some keen entrepreneur had taken his logo-less wagon, applied some transfers and conned the auction site into handling a cheap toy now disguised as a rare wagon.
Yes it does happen.
Then fbb found this picture on line.
The squared logo version does hot appear on any catalogue site showing the history of this model.
But it gave fbb a jackpot idea. Why not take his un-logo wagon ...
... and apply some logos in squares! Then fbb would have a "rare" BP Freightliner tank wagon in his collection. Wowsers!
fbb is not a cheat, and would always inforn a purchser of his duplicity, honest, yes he would. Knowing fbb's shaky hands it is highly likely that potential investors would quickly spot that the antique toy truck is a 'marriage'
And relevant decals are available from Fox Transfers.
Www
Sounds like a plan!≈≈=================
Next West Midlands blog : Fri 28 Aug
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