MidlandRed.net

Its the photograph of Midland Red West Leyland National 752 (XOV752T) below that encourages me to pull up to the eastbound bus stop at Church Street in Great Malvern as straight and tidy as possible whenever I'm operating a service that stops there.

Often, but not necessarily always the fault of the driver, you will see buses stopped with the rear protruding out into the road, much to the annoyance of any passing motorist.

Yet this scene, captured on Saturday, December 10, 1994, shows a neatly parked National awaiting departure for a journey on Malvern Local Service 45. Complete and utter brilliant nostalgia for me, even if I were yet to celebrate my first birthday at the time. After all, it was to be a ride aboard a National on Service 144 that would make me want to take up a career as a bus driver and I've not looked back since.

For my own amusement, but to also play with the uploading functions of the new forum, I have attempted to replicate this photograph as best as I can with Alexander Dennis Enviro300 67648 (VX54MTJ) which was my allocation on an early evening journey of Service 44D this evening.

Nice one Jamie.
I was already 14 by the time that pic was taken

The picture of the National is a reminder for me that the MRW livery probably suited them better than any other that I can recall. As for talk about birthdays, I think I will pass on that one except to say that when I used to use that particular stop regularly, it was to catch a Malvern 'M' local service usually operated by a 'SON' of the CHA variety!

Filling in the gap between the two photographs...


This is Dennis Lance 255 (M255MRW) seen in the same spot on 19th September 2002. The driver is the incredibly good looking MidlandRed.net Webmaster, and the photographer that day was forum moderator "lrew120585", who was way too young to drive buses himself so spent the day riding around on mine.

On the subject of birthdays, that was the final day of my twenties as I turned 30 on the day after!

The red and cream MRW bus livery was designed for the Leyland National and having seen some of the rejected proposals I think they made the right choice.

chason wrote: ↑

08:46 Sunday 31st July 2016

The picture of the National is a reminder for me that the MRW livery probably suited them better than any other that I can recall. As for talk about birthdays, I think I will pass on that one except to say that when I used to use that particular stop regularly, it was to catch a Malvern 'M' local service usually operated by a 'SON' of the CHA variety!

Very glad you've re-joined the new forum chason !
For me, very old photos of Great Malvern are the "epitome" of nostalgia, but I've seen very few that include buses (other than 1960s onwards at the Malvern Wells terminus).

Good Health !

DD12 wrote: ↑

12:11 Sunday 31st July 2016

chason wrote: ↑

08:46 Sunday 31st July 2016

The picture of the National is a reminder for me that the MRW livery probably suited them better than any other that I can recall. As for talk about birthdays, I think I will pass on that one except to say that when I used to use that particular stop regularly, it was to catch a Malvern 'M' local service usually operated by a 'SON' of the CHA variety!

Very glad you've re-joined the new forum chason !
For me, very old photos of Great Malvern are the "epitome" of nostalgia, but I've seen very few that include buses (other than 1960s onwards at the Malvern Wells terminus).

Good Health !

Thanks DD12- it's like I've never been away!

I only wish I'd been more into photography in my youth. As a schoolboy, I was given a second hand Kodak Box Brownie but in those days there were only 8 exposures on a film and after a trip to the chemist, and a wait of several days to get them developed and printed, it was generally a disappointment with some not coming out at all and the rest blurred and unrecognisable in faded black and white and it did make deep inroads into my limited pocket money!

By the time I could afford a half decent camera, I'd rather lost interest in buses in favour of railways which didn't return for many years. By then of course photography had been transformed but when I think of what might have been.................... Ah well.