The End of Worcester to Birmingham 144 !!

[DC54]

Ahhhh…TfWM, the final piece of the jigsaw.

[DC54]

Not brilliant quality due to poor light, but here is 69449 (WX59 BZC) ‘Ceres’ at Rubery - The final First bus to depart Birmingham city centre on the 144.

12D296A7-38EC-4418-9E4E-61F2808390EA.jpeg

7249483D-9CF2-4421-81B0-5DD4F4843FE4.jpeg

[DC54]

…meanwhile at Wythall.

D402D38E-7A07-4EF3-AE5C-2E5647DA30A1.jpeg

[TimBrown]

Thanks for the picture of 544, it was based at Worcester for the whole of its 19 year working life so this destination is correct for the vehicle and very relevant today, now that Midland Red buses no longer work into the Second City. In common with other members who contribute to this forum I drove this bus from Worcester to Birmingham on the 144 on numerous occasions in the 1980s/early 1990s and have many memories of the foibles of this bus! Wonder how many tens of thousands of miles it clocked up along the A38. Good that it survived and is kept in excellent working condition by the volunteers at The Transport Museum..

[MattW]

I was a bit late for the Nationals, but certainly enjoyed the 144 more than most.
If you had the right vehicle, the run down from Bromsgrove to Wychbold could see some pretty high speeds, although I suspect my priorities were a little different to others!

[Adam V]

Does anybody have any recollections of a minibus operating a full route 144. I seem to remember catching a 144 early one Sunday morning from Worcester to Birmingham years ago and it was one of the Mercedes Varios. I'm sure it was 505 but my memory may be playing tricks on me.

[AdamH]

Yes, on Sundays during the winter and evenings on Monday to Thursdays the 144 would be run with a minibus. I remember driving a Mercedes L608D and later the O.814 Vario into Birmingham and being totally ignored by people at bus stops as they had no idea!

Not my best efforts with a camera as it was very early days snapping for me, but here's one... http://midlandred.net/vehicles/photogra ... 03&image=1

[AdamH]

…meanwhile at Wythall.

Nice to see they have put the Worcester blind back in. I was up there a few years ago and helped fit a Redditch blind. This was totally incorrect for that bus for the reasons Tim stated above, but the Worcester blind is so long it's diameter is too large when rolled up and it rubs on the metalwork, causing damage to the blind. The Redditch blind is smaller and can be wound without fear of damage to the rare exhibit.

[Rich82]

A few photos from over the last few years of the different type of vehicles that have been by Worcester on the 144. The only one I would liked to have had was 33404 in Birmingham but that one never appeared whenever I was in Birmingham.

2022-05-02_03-42-42_edit_486593928172625.jpg

2022-05-02_03-44-50.jpg

2022-05-02_03-44-29.jpg

2022-05-02_03-44-04_edit_486623001381996.jpg

2022-05-02_03-43-25_edit_486607762723144.jpg

2022-05-02_03-45-22.jpg

2022-05-02_03-45-29.jpg

2022-05-02_03-45-44_edit_486639919843973.jpg

2022-05-02_03-47-02.jpg

2022-05-02_03-49-11.jpg

2022-05-02_03-48-56_edit_486654353685637.jpg

2022-05-02_03-48-01.jpg

2022-05-02_03-47-24.jpg

2022-05-02_03-49-38.jpg

2022-05-02_03-49-57.jpg

2022-05-02_03-50-25.jpg

2022-05-02_03-50-40.jpg

IMG_20220421_172107.jpg

[AdamH]

Did you not see any gladiators when you were on the bus?