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Worcester,
home of Elgar and the sauce, sits proudly on the banks of the River
Severn, about 30 miles south west of Birmingham.
It is a true county town, with a wide selection of city centre bus
services as well as trunk routes serving such places as Malvern and
Birmingham. The main
operator is First Midland Red, with only a handful of smaller operators
providing links to rural villages.
Some local express services still exist, although many have been
abandoned or cut back and it is a National Express backwater.
A visit to the newish bus station reveals lots of Mercedes
minibuses, and Dennis Lances as well as the odd veteran coach.
The main attraction is that it is almost totally Barbie-free -
surely an incentive for any enthusiast. |
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Photo
Facts
 | Right: First Midland Red 254
(M254MRW), one of a large batch of Paxton Verde bodied Dennis
Lances that operate from Worcester depot. It is seen in
Worcester bus station in August 2002, on the trunk Malven Link
service. |
| Upper left: Malvern
hosts one of the stages of the Milk Race for cyclists, June 1993. |
| Lower left: Great Malvern Priory, June 1993. |
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Photo
Facts
| Left: A plethora of Nationals
in Worcester Town Bus station in November 1984. |
| Right: The NBC only bought a
few Alexander bodied vehicles, such as this Midland Red Daimler
Fleetline 6285 (YHA285J)
seen in Worcester bus station in July 1978. |
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Photo
Facts
| Upper left
Midland Red were a major body builder from the 1950's to the
1970's. Their distinctive looks are displayed by this BMMO
S21 5862 (JHA862E) heading for Cheltenham in July 1978 on the only
recently discontinued 373 service. |
| Lower left: During the 1980's
the local express services of all the Midland Red companies were
marketed under the Midland Express banner. Rather
unusually, Midland Red West had a batch of dual purpose Nationals for
these routes including A202YWP seen in Worcester Bus Station in
November 1984. |
| Right: Worcester Cathedral in
August 2002. |
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Photo
Facts
| Top left: Old coaches don't
die, they fade away in the Midland Red West fleet. Plaxton/Tiger
1003 (B103JAB) is almost 20 years old, having started life as a
toilet coach. However it is seen here in August
2002 in Worcester Bus Station heading for Droitwich. |
| Top middle: After the
flood of city centre minibus conversions in the 1980's, many services
subsequently reverted to big bus operation. Worcester is
one of the few exceptions, which can be seen in this March 1994 view
of Mercedes 1339 (C339PNP) and 1315 (C315PNP). |
| Top right: Midland Red
West adopted a variation of their traditional livery in the 1980's as
seen on this fine Plaxton/Leopard PHA336M, basking in winter
sunshine in November 1987. |
| Right: Midland Red West JOX451P,
a Plaxton/Leopard on National Express service (773) from Wolverhampton
to Bristol in November 1984. |
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Click to enlarge photos. |
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