Many Thanks for creating this site - it's brought back many memories of my child hood.

My earliest memories of buses would be when I was about four or five, when my mum would take me shopping from Wordsley to Brierley Hill and Stourbridge. This would be around 1974/1975 ish, which WMPTE had taken over the Midland Red services. We would play a game guessing whether the bus would be red or cream and blue! And that game led to an interest in buses and public transport that has stayed with me till this day!

Any info on the old 282 route, which passed through Wordsley to Brierley Hill? I would presume this would be a Harts Hill route. My new found interest with buses found me gazing out of the classroom at Lawnswood School, Wordsley as a five year old at the double-deckers on this route - I think they were Alexander bodied Fleetlines. Occasionally, my mum would take me from Stourbridge to Dudley for a treat on a 245/246 - classic D9s!!

Many thanks for the memories - great site!!

I also remember the first time I saw a Mk.1 Metrobus - inside Stourbridge Garage! I think it must have been 2055 or something around that number. I was enthralled by the comfy "coach like" seats and air suspension.

Goodness knows what the year would be - 1980 perhaps??

I was also a fan of the DP Leyland Nationals - I think Stourbridge had one?

The 282 ran from Brierley Hill to Wallheath via Wordsley and Kingswinford (operated by Harts Hill Garage). The route, the same as the 264 from Brierley Hill to Wordsley, then via Lawnswood Road, Cot Lane, Summerhill, Kingswinford, Moss Grove, Dudley Road, and Enville Road to the Wall Heath Blaze Park Terminus.

It was eventually replaced with the 231/232 services, which were extended from Brierley Hill to Stourbridge (231) and Cradley Heath (232), which operated until de-regulation.

From October 26th, 1986 the 231 was replaced with a new service 266 which operated from Stourbridge via Amblecote Road to Brierley Hill, then via Bromley Lane and Kingswinford to Wall Heath. The 232 was revised to operate between Brierley Hill and Cradley Heath only.

In 1987, the 266 was revised to operate from Cradley Heath to Wall Heath via the newly opened Merry Hill Centre, Brierley Hill and Bromley (replacing service 232). The Stourbridge section was replaced with the new "mini buzz" services 291/292 which operated from Harts Hill Garage to Stourbridge via Brierley Hill, Merry Hill Centre, Amblecote Road(291) and Withymoor Village (292).

In 1992, the "mini buzz" network in Stourbridge was sadly withdrawn and replaced with a fleet of Leyland Nationals. The 291/292 was merged with the Pedmore Fields circular services 298/299 and extended through to Brockmoor. These services remained until "Metrowest" took over several WMT routes and they decided to split the routes and the Stourbridge to Merry Hill sections became the 296/297.

On the Wordsley side, in 1986 the routes operated by WMT were the 287 (Dudley to Ashwood Park via Brierley Hill) and the 265 (Dudley to Stourbridge via Kingswinford and Ashwood Park). In 1988, these routes were revised as follows:

Service 287 was extended from Ashwood Park via Kingswinford and Russell's Hall Hospital to Dudley (made a circular route) and renumbered 264. Service 265 was revised to operate from Ashwood Park via Brierley Hill to Dudley (again a circular route). The Ashwood Park to Stourbridge section was renumbered 267 and operated by "minibuses".

The 266 was replaced with the 258 (Wolverhampton and Birmingham via Brierley Hill and Merry Hill) with the Cradley section withdrawn.

FACT: The 264/265 routes have been operated from Harts Hill Garage; Wolverhampton Garage; "Metrowest"; Wolverhampton Garage (again), "Travel Merry Hill" and now Pensnett.

I have just read the memories page on SBI Past and it's great. Just a couple of points about Phil Tonks' entry. The Metrobus he refers to is likely to be one of Harts Hill's first five 2055-59 BOK V, which were delivered in 1979. The bus station opened in 1979, so as it was coming out of the garage, it is unlikely to be any of the later ones.

Stourbridge had two Dp's, 6852-3 (later 1852-3) TVP S. 1852 went to Harts Hill and 1853 to Dudley when Stourbridge closed. I think they both ended up at Walsall.

In his reply about the Wordsley routes, Mark missed out the 566, which ran after the withdrawal of the 266 and 557 (Wolverhampton to Merry Hill). The 566 (Wolverhampton to Merry Hill) was jointly operated by Wolverhampton and Harts Hill.

Just a quick one about Daimler and Leyland Fleetlines. They became Leyland after Leyland took over the Daimler operation. For WMPTE this meant 6630 onwards. Stourbridge only ever had the 'proper' Fleetlines (i.e. Daimler) apart from 6691, 6693 and 6694 that were transferred in a few months before closure.

We had two Dual Purpose Leyland Nationals at SE.

6852/3 I took on on NP duty to London one night when I was on late spare at SE, loved it.

That's because the 566 wasn't a Wordsley route. the closest it got was Bromley Lane. On the other hand there were the 555 which went direct between Himley and Penn, 556 served Himley Village and Wombourn, and 551 which served Cot Lane between The Cat Wordsley and Kingswinford Cross and Swindon and Wombourn.