Midland Red West (First Midland Red)
Ford R192 / R1014 — Overview
Shortened Fords operated by Midland Red (West) Limited
370–372 (R/Nos: PHA370M–372M)
Between 1977 and 1980, Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited (MROC) shortened a number of Ford R192 & R1014 buses, converting them to type code M2 or M3, but by the time the company split up on 6th September 1981, nearly all of the Fords, both standard lenght and the shortened examples, had been withdrawn. However, two examples of the type M3 vehicles, fleet numbers 370 and 372, survived at Evesham depot and therefore passed to the Midland Red (West) Limited fleet.
Both these vehicles were withdrawn by Midland Red (West) by the end of 1982, but they were later refitted and put back into service, as follows…
- Fleet number 370 (registration number PHA370M) was painted into overall white livery, had its one-man operation equipment removed and was re-seated to DP23F+Tables using seats that were salvaged during the reseating of some of the Leyland Leopard coaches. It re-entered service in September 1983.
- Fleet number 372 (registration number PHA372M) was fitted with a wheelchair lift on the nearside between the axels as B19FL and put into service in a modified “Midwest” livery in March 1985, at Worcester (Padmore Street) depot. It was later repainted into red and cream bus livery and was mostly operated on services 25 and 27. The chair lift was rarely used, mostly on private hires.
Both these vehicles were withdrawn again in February 1990, with 372 being stripped for spares and scrapped, while 370 was passed to Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust (“The Transport Museum”—BaMMOT), Wythall, for Preservation.
A third vehicle, fleet number 371 (registration number PHA371M), was kept by Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited at their Central Works after the company split in September 1981. This vehicle was later loaned to Midland Red (West) Limited who operated it at their Evesham depot until December 1983.