MidlandRed.net

Bearwood Depot

571–583 Bearwood Road, Bearwood, Birmingham.

Bearwood depot is considered by many to be the spiritual home of Midland “Red”, having been used from the very first days of operations as stabling and storage for horse omnibuses, being the company’s headquarters and registered offices from 1914 to 1953, and home to the traffic and staff departments until its closure in 1973.  The site was also used to produce the very first SOS chassis in the early 1920s, with engine design, construction and testing, as well as the company’s famous experimental department being housed at the site until the early 1950s.

• Site acquired by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO — Midland “Red”) at the formation of the company.  Initially only used for stabling and accommodation of horse buses acquired with the site from the City of Birmingham Tramways Company Limited, with motor omnibuses operating from the former Birmingham Motor Express Company Limited site at Ladywood Road, Edgbaston.
• The whole of the company’s motor omnibus fleet is allocated to Bearwood depot from 16^th February 1906, after the expanding fleet became to large too be housed at the Ladywood Road garage.
  The Ladywood Road garage is used for vehicle overhauls from this time.
• All motor omnibuses withdrawn by the company on 5^th October 1907, due to unreliability.
• Operation of horse buses declined from mid 1912 following the reintroduced motor omnibuses on 25^th May 1912, all operating from the newly acquired Tennant Street garage.  The last horse buses were withdrawn by the company on 5^th September 1913.
• Bearwood garage modernised with the removal of stabling and horse bus accommodation, and the building, in 1914, of new two-story office accommodation on the frontage featuring twin ornamented employee entrances and narrow vehicle entrances in the centre and at both ends.
• Tennant Street garage and 30 motor omnibuses sold to the Birmingham Corporation in October 1914.  At this time, administration duties, all remaining motor omnibuses, and staff transferred to Bearwood garage, which became the company headquarters.
• Site expanded with the purchase of adjacent shops for use as a booking office by the Private Hire department.
• Bodywork matters transferred to the newly acquired Carlyle Road Works in late 1920, while Bearwood garage received improved facilities for vehicle overhauls, chassis construction, and engine building and testing added in the early 1920s, allowing the company to start construction of their own vehicles.  Adjacent property was also acquired, allowing the booking office to be demolished and replaced in 1923 by a new 4-story office block, with additional garaging facilities at the rear.
• Chassis construction transferred to Carlyle Road Works in early 1925.
• Engine testing building replaced with a new building in 1928.
• In the late 1920s the two-story office block from 1914 was expanded with a third floor of offices, which extended at the rear over the garage area.  The three vehicle entrances on the frontage were also rebuilt to accommodate taller vehicles.
• Site further expanded in 1930 with the acquisition of two shops next to the 1923 office block, and a large amount of land to the rear.  This allowed the installation of new dock inspection pits in 1933, followed by a new garage entrance with white concrete offices above, opening in August 1935.
• Many non-operational departments, such as development and experimental work, transferred to Carlyle Road Works in 1953/4.
• New canteen built in 1955.
• Depot allocation of 68 vehicles in February 1967, made up of 37 double-deck and 19 single-deck buses, with 12 coaches.
• Site closed for operational duties on 3^rd December 1973, with bus services wholly within the West Midlands County boundary, along with necessary vehicles and staff, passed to the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE).  Cross-boundry and coach services transfered to other BMMO depots, and remaining administration work moved to Central Works or Midland House.
  See the “Transfer of BMMO Services and Assets to the West Midlands PTE” page in the “History” section of this website for further details of the transfer.
• Used by BMMO for non-operational duties until February 1974, when it finally closed and all remaining staff transferred to Midland House.
• Garage used temporarily for an indoor market in 1976.
• Site sold c. 1977/8.
• Whole site demolished in February and March 1979, being replaced by the Bearwood Shopping Centre which opened in 1981.