MidlandRed.net

Bromsgrove Depot

The Strand, 29 Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove (depot code: BE)

• Purpose built, two bay, steel-framed garage with red brick frontage and stone facings, with brick built offices and workshops. Initial capacity of 24 vehicles.
• Opened by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) on 26^th July 1920, with an original allocation of 10 vehicles.
  
• Allocation of 17 vehicles by October 1922.
  
• Extended at the rear, and an additional mini-bay at the side, increasing capacity to 47 vehicles from Thursday 4^th December 1930.
• 5,000 sq.ft. of the building requisitioned by the Ministry of Aircraft Production from their regional base at Castle Bromwich from September 1940. Production work was contracted to the Austin Motor Company who manufactured Sterling bomber parts and fuselages at the site until late-1944 or early-1945.
• Depot allocation of 43 vehicles by June 1947.
• Depot allocation of 54 by late 1952, with a nearby car park being used as an overflow bus park.
• Extra land acquired, allowing the building to be expanded with an extra spur at the rear, behind the offices. Also, the mini-bay built in 1930 was removed and replaced with an additional bay to the main building, with all the changes increasing overall capacity to 65 vehicles from 1^st February 1956.
• Depot allocation of 39 vehicles in February 1967, made up of 18 double-deck and 19 single-deck buses, with 2 coaches.
• Depot closed on Friday 31^st December 1971, with vehicles and services being divided between Redditch depot, Worcester depot, Digbeth depot, Stourbridge depot and Bearwood depot.
• Building sold in 1972.
• Depot repurchased and reopened by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) on Monday 3^rd December 1973, due to West Midland Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) takeover of other garages.
  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.
• Company renamed to Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited (MROC) on 29^th March 1974, with a depot allocation of 17 vehicles and approximately 36 staff at this time.
• Site used by the Southern Division Body Department for repairs and overhauls from September 1976, following the closure of Malvern depot.
• Depot control passed to Midland Red (West) Limited when the Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited split up on 6^th September 1981.
• Depot closed by Midland Red (West) Limited on Friday 16^th September 1983, with vehicles and services moved to other Midland Red West depots.
• Used for vehicle storage until c. 1987.
• Building demolished in 1987.