The 2548 Group

Birmingham City Transport No. 2548

Guy Arab IV

Background History

Between 1947 and 1954 Birmingham City Transport purchased 1748 new buses to replace its entire fleet of trams and trolleybuses, along with buses built to inferior standards during the Second World War (known as 'Utility' buses), and all except 40 or so of its pre-War fleet. They were built by five different chassis manufacturers; Daimler of Coventry (926 buses), AEC of Southall (15 buses), Crossley of Stockport (270 buses), Leyland of Leyland (236 buses) and Guy of Wolverhampton (301 buses). The mass use of public transport at the time is reflected by the fact that only 35 of these vehicles were single-deckers.

2548 was one of a batch of 100 double-deck vehicles built for BCT in 1950 and 1951 with chassis by Guy Motors Ltd of Fallings Park, Wolverhampton and 54 seat bodywork by Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Co Ltd of Birmingham, the bodies being built at the Elmdon plant, Bickenhill Lane. The buses were equipped with 8.4 litre six cylinder Gardner 6LW diesel engines developing 102bhp at 1700rpm. They were constructed to a design specifically developed for BCT by Guy Motors incorporating a new frontal style dubbed the 'New Look', which concealed the radiator. Eventually 902 buses were built to this design for BCT by Guy, Daimler and Crossley and were known as Birmingham Standards. The Guy buses were a development of the 'Arab III' chassis modified for BCT with fluid clutch, pre-selective four-speed gearbox and automatic chassis lubrication system. This updated model gained the designation 'Arab IV'.

From new, this batch was divided between the newly opened garage in Ridgacre Road, Quinton which had the first 40, numbered 2526 to 2565 (Registrations JOJ 526 - JOJ 565), and Acocks Green which had the remaining 60, numbered 2566 to 2625 (JOJ 566 - JOJ 625). 2548 (JOJ 548), chassis number 71023 entered service from Quinton Garage on 1st October 1950 fitted with engine number 82315.

BCT was very particular about coordinating the registration numbers of its buses with the fleet numbers. Accordingly, they reserved registrations JOJ 1 to JOJ 999 for a large part of the post-War replacement fleet numbered 2001 to 2999. Most of the 'New Look' buses were JOJ registered with the remainder in the series MOF 3 to MOF 227, fleet numbers 3003 to 3227 and just three of them registered LOG 300 to LOG 302, fleet numbers 3000 to 3002.

The Passenger Service Years

When new, 2548 had a starring role in experiments carried out by BCT in Quinton Garage with a variety of recovery apparatus, and a photographic record was made of the arrangements. In all probability, the fittings used during the trials were to be put to good use over the ensuing years as it would appear that 2548 was either very unlucky in its early years of service, or else the standard of driving in the 1950's and early 1960's left a lot to be desired. The record cards reveal that she was sent to BCT's central repair works at Tyburn Road, Erdington, no less than seven times between 1950 and 1962 for rectification of serious frontal collision damage and once in 1964 for a rear collision. These visits occurred as follows:

• 12th January to 1st February 1951
• 8th December 1951 to 11th January 1952
• 29th June to 8th July 1952
• 5th April to 9th May 1955
• 5th to 25th March 1957
• 30th December 1959 to 21st January 1960
• 12th to 28th November 1962
• 16th to 29th October 1964

The most serious was in December 1951 when the repair card shows a long list of panels and fittings replaced, internally as well as externally, structural repairs, repair or renewal of upper and lower saloon front bulkheads, a new front axle, steering box and radiator.

However, her luck seemed to improve after 1964 because no further works visits were needed as a result of collisions and she settled down to a steady routine of service work punctuated by time off duty for BCT's rigorous programme of 'special cleans' carried out approximately once every 4 to 6 weeks and preventative maintenance of body, electrical and mechanical components based on mileage. This would involve time spent on the pits in Quinton Garage, for example, after 50,000 miles for fuel sprayers to be changed, after 75,000 miles for propeller shafts to be changed, 100,000 miles for dynamo and main brake servo change, 150,000 miles for front brake servos and steering box, 200,000 for front axle change, etc.

In April 1964, she received her third engine, No 71055, replacing No 82665, which had been in since July 1954 that had powered the bus over a distance of 262,411 (recorded) miles.

Apart from four days spent at Selly Oak and three weeks working out of Harborne Garage in early 1965, 2548 remained a Quinton bus until Spring 1968, covering the following routes:

• 3 City Centre to Ridgacre Road/Lane
• 6 City Centre to Sandon Road
• 9 City Centre to Quinton
• 10 City Centre to Quinton Road West, Gorsy Road
• 11 Outer Circle
• 33 Quinton to Kingstanding, Finchley Road
• 34 Kingstanding, Finchley Road to Quinton

The final annual 'dock' carried out at Quinton at the beginning of February 1968 must have revealed a problem that afflicted most of this particular class of buses after so many years of service. A weakness in the chassis rails where the front hanger brackets of the front springs were fixed resulted in cracks appearing. The remedy was to cut a groove in the chassis where the crack occurred, weld it up and then weld a heavy box section over the affected area. 2548 was taken off the road and eventually sent to Tyburn Road Works for this treatment.

Re-allocation to Hockley took place in April 1968 when the bus was still out of action and it was not until week ending 18th May 1968 that she once again entered traffic, now becoming a regular sight at Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Dudley on the West Bromwich Corporation & BCT joint services as follows:

• 71 City Centre to Handsworth, New Inns
• 72 City Centre to The Hawthorns
• 73 City Centre to Carters Green
• 74 City Centre to Dudley
• 75 City Centre to Wednesbury
• 76 City Centre to Great Bridge
• 77 City Centre to Dartmouth Square, West Bromwich
• 78 City Centre to Dudley Port
• 79 City Centre to Hill Top

Other services worked whilst at Hockley were:

• 8 Inner Circle
• 15 Hamstead to Yardley, Whittington Oval
• 16 Yardley, Whittington Oval to Hamstead
• 29 Kingstanding, Kings Road to Hall Green, Highfield Road
• 30 Hall Green, Highfield Road to Kingstanding, Kings Road
• 69 City Centre to Lozells, Wheeler Street
• 70 City Centre to Handsworth,Oxhill Road
• 83 City Centre to Soho
• 90 Hall Green (Baldwins Lane) - Pheasey Estate
• 91 Pheasey Estate - Hall Green (Baldwins Lane)

Around this period, Quinton's original allocation 2526 - 2565 were dispersed to other garages. At Hockley, 2548 joined sister vehicles between 2539 and 2563, whilst 2526 - 2538 went to Harborne and 2564 - 2565 went to Liverpool Street. Strangely, some of the former Acocks Green vehicles of the same batch, 2581 - 2584 and 2586 - 2601, were subsequently moved in to Quinton.

From 1st September 1969 Birmingham City Transport became the largest constituent of the newly formed West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE). The old city coat of arms carried on the sides of the bus since delivery was replaced by the new PTE logo although it was not until 11th June 1971 that she was out-shopped in the new livery incorporating royal blue rather than the original deeper Prussian blue. With the arrival of the PTE, reorganisation of routes meant that Wolverhampton was added to the list of destinations to which 2548 operated - in fact she was noted working the 79 to the town on its first day of operation, February 28th 1971.

Another effect of the formation of the PTE was that many buses were re-allocated to garages previously owned by other operators. Numerous worn out yet newer buses owned by Walsall and Wolverhampton Corporations were withdrawn and the sturdy and well maintained Birmingham Guys were moved in to take over. Additionally, many newly delivered vehicles were allocated to these garages meaning that there were fewer available to replace Birmingham's massive and aging post-war fleet. Although 2548 continued to work at Hockley, many other members of the 2526 - 2625 batch were sent to 'foreign' garages. This all meant that 19 year old buses like 2548 which BCT had begun to scrap in the last few months of its existence suddenly had a new lease of life.

BCT's high standards of preventative maintenance continued under the PTE's South Division and 2548's record cards show many new or overhauled components fitted as a matter of routine at each annual 'dock' carried out in preparation for the MOT test. In addition, an overhauled engine, No 92509, was fitted between 10th and 13th May 1971 and a replacement gearbox was fitted on 12th January 1972. After all this attention 2548 appeared to have many miles of regular service in front of her when she was sent to Harborne to be 'docked' in January 1972. She passed her MOT test on 28th February and returned to Hockley at the beginning of March 1972. However, with the rapid onset of 'one man operation' through the West Midlands, half cab buses only suitable for conductor operation were often withdrawn en masse regardless of condition as each route was converted and so just two months after this final dock she was withdrawn from service on 30th April 1972.

A New Lease of Life

This might well have been the end of the road for 2548, as she was stripped of her destination blinds and surplus fuel and driven to Lea Hall Garage where she was left parked in the yard at the rear of the garage at the mercy of the weather and the local vandals. Luckily the youth of the day were not quite as destructive as they now can be and so, in September 1972, when suitable candidates were sought for reinstatement to carry out a special role, 2548 was one of five vehicles in good enough condition to be chosen. WMPTE was launching its 'Travelcard' and four of the buses selected were to undergo conversion to mobile sales offices and photo booths. The buses so treated were Guys 2555 and 2607 and Daimler CVG6's 2819 and 2820.

Fortunately 2548 was subject to less radical alteration as she was to be used as a publicity vehicle and mobile cinema. The upper saloon windows were paneled over, a projector screen was mounted at the back of the top deck and the seats turned round to face it. The lower saloon was not altered. This work was completed on 12th October 1972.

Over the next year and a half 2548, now renumbered 197 in the ancillary vehicle fleet, spent time at Acocks Green and Perry Barr Garages before 'coming home' to Quinton on 11th May 1974.

Its last MOT test under WMPTE ownership was carried out on 13th November 1975 and there is little evidence that the bus saw much use in the latter years of its role as a promotions vehicle. From 1976 it sat gathering dust in the middle of Quinton Garage along with the other Travelcard buses.

Escape from the Cutter's Torch

When the last of the original batch of 100 Guys was withdrawn from regular use after 27 years passenger service in October 1977 it seemed inevitable that 2548 would join them on the long haul to the Yorkshire scrap yards but it appeared that she had been forgotten about.

In the Autumn of 1978, a small group of local enthusiasts got together with the aim of saving for preservation one of the few remaining Birmingham Standards that had not been disposed of by WMPTE. 2548 was not the initial choice due to her shabby appearance and the alterations from the normal layout.

However as the other options rapidly disappeared, it was decided to investigate the potential for restoration of the bus to working order and so on 2nd December 1978, after checking the fuel pump was fully charged, jump leads were connected and the starter motor engaged for the first time in many months. The engine immediately fired up and after an initial blast of white smoke, the exhaust rapidly cleared to a healthy blue haze, remarkable for a cold Gardner engine dormant for so long!

Inspection over a pit in Quinton Garage revealed the bus to be in very good mechanical order and the bodywork basically sound. The records revealed that the engine had run less than 19,000 miles since rebuild and the gearbox only just over 6,000 miles. In all, the bus had run a recorded total of 545,000 miles since 1950, very low compared with buses that survived longer in passenger service.

The decision was made to buy the bus and the purchase price of £891.51 including tyres and VAT was paid in April 1979. Within three weeks of becoming the property of the 2548 Group, the bus had the changes made for Travelcard promotion reversed, external paintwork was cosmetically restored to WMPTE colours and an MOT test was passed. On May 13th 1979, 2548 attended the Sandwell Historic Vehicle Parade in Dartmouth Park West Bromwich, to the surprise of many enthusiasts present.

The Active Years in Preservation

Once 2548 had left the security and protection of Quinton Garage, a new home had to be found. The first place she went for parking was probably the least suitable place she has ever been kept - a farmyard, though thankfully for only three weeks. The farm near Arley in the Severn Valley was home to a variety of livestock, cats, dogs etc., which found the bus of interest, either as a shelter from the weather or something to rub against and a considerable amount of cleaning was required when the bus was taken away. The other problem with this location was its remoteness, not being served by regular public transport. The principal active owners of the bus at that time were too young to have driving licences and those that could drive did not have enough spare time.

A move was urgently needed and one of the leading members of the group, Rob Handford, was fortunate enough to live at his parents' house in Quinton that possessed a large drive area fronting onto Ridgacre Road. The question was asked of his parents as to whether they would be willing to have a double deck bus parked in front of the house which also contained the Doctor's surgery run by his father David. One can imagine they were not too keen on this idea. However, the access to the drive was via a gate which was set at an angle to it and the drive then rose steeply round a short curve before levelling off as it ran along in front of the house. The brick gateposts were positioned only a few inches further apart than the width of the bus. Confident that these constrictions would prevent the bus from reaching its intended parking place, David Handford agreed that if the bus could be driven through the gate and up the drive, then it could remain parked there in the short term, until a permanent home could be found.

Rob was equally confident that 2548 could be manoeuvred onto the drive and so the bus was collected from Arley on 6th June 1979 and arrived at the gate to the drive. The front of the bus was moved gingerly between the gateposts until the rear wheels were level with them. The steering was turned to full left-hand lock and with an inch or so to spare on either side and between the platform and the ground, 2548 edged forward to the spot that she would occupy for most of the next 2 years. Not surprisingly, the arrival of the bus on the front drive was the subject of much local interest. Being the local General Practitioner meant that Dr Handford had to field numerous questions at his surgery as to the presence of the bus. Many rumours went round the neighbourhood with regard to the reason for it being there. Amongst the more amusing suggestions overheard in the waiting room or in the queue at the nearby bus stop, were:

• The driver got lost and took a wrong turning
• It got stuck there when WMPTE were experimenting with a new bus terminus
• The Doctor bought it to turn into a mobile surgery
• A passenger was taken ill and the bus diverted into the Doctor's drive
• The Doctor's going to convert it to a mobile home and go on holiday in it
• It's an over-spill waiting room for busy days
• The Doctor's going to collect his elderly patients from home and bring them to the surgery

A photograph even appeared in the local newspaper with a plea for information as to why it was there. A reply was sent in by one of the Group members, Edward Chitham. At the end of the letter, which was published, he asked whether anyone knew the whereabouts of "a lower saloon front bulkhead handrail" which was missing when the bus was bought for preservation. These were unique to the 100 buses of the batch and so other members of the Group were sceptical about the likelihood of a reader happening to have one of these extremely obscure articles knocking about their home, especially as it was over a year since the last few intact examples had been sent for scrap. To their utter surprise, a couple of days later a man appeared at the front door of the Handford's house in Ridgacre Road bearing the required item! It fitted perfectly.

For two weeks in July, 2548 was moved to covered parking at the depot of Storage and Haulage in Doulton Road, Cradley Heath before moving on 29th July to Aston's Transport yard at Whitlocks End, just south of Birmingham. The bus was moved back and forth between Whitlocks End and Ridgacre Road until the end of September 1979 when she was left at Whitlocks End, staying there until 14th December. From that date she moved back to Ridgacre Road where she was based until 14th March 1981.

During this latter period the first proper restoration of the bus took place. The lower saloon ceiling was taken down and all the decorative wood cappings were removed and stripped of the many coats of varnish and brown paint. The marine plywood ceiling panels were then prepared for spraying with white paint. At this point a set-back occurred when builders carrying out repairs to the house and surgery at Ridgacre Road saw the panels stacked in the garage and decided to help themselves to one of them (the most complicated shaped one, of course) and chop it up for use in one of the jobs they were carrying out. Following strong protestations, the panel was replaced with a new one, but it required many layers of paint and hours of flatting with 'wet and dry' paper to bring it up to a standard near to that of the one destroyed.

The freshly painted ceiling and varnished wood was refitted, considerably improving the look of the bus for its travels during the 1980 season. Destinations reached by the bus in that year included:

• Tatton Park, Cheshire - 18th May
• Weston Super Mare - 15th June
• Whitley Court, Worcestershire - 13th July
• Bristol - 17th August
• Crich Tramway Museum, Derbyshire - 24th August

Despite the great convenience of having the bus parked at Ridgacre Road, the 8 tons 2cwt of 2548 were having a detrimental affect on the driveway, which was only intended to bear the weight of cars. On top of this, the bus cut out much of the light getting through the sitting room windows of the house and Rob's mother was getting fed up with having to put the light on in the middle of the day so that she could see to play the piano!

Deterioration in the condition of the vehicle prompted a search for under cover accommodation and this was found on an industrial estate at Lifford near Kings Norton, in a unit leased by bus preservationist Colin Hawketts. From March 1981, 2548 joined former BCT vehicles 1486 (1947 Daimler CVA6), 2231 (1949 Leyland PS2), 2489 (1950 Crossley DD42), 2707 (1951 Daimler CVD6) and 117 (194x AEC Matador recovery vehicle) which were also kept in the small industrial unit.

For many years after the departure of 2548 from its unusual position in Ridgacre Road, locals still referred to 'the house with the bus on the drive' as a landmark in the area.

The Start of Full Restoration

Due to the damaging effects on the paintwork of outside storage during the first two years in private ownership, the initial intention had been to strip off the many layers back to bare metal and repaint the bus. Stripping of peeling paint from the worst areas started whilst the bus was based at Lifford. However, it was soon found that mere repainting was not going to be adequate to achieve a good standard of restoration back to BCT condition. The most severely affected section was around the off-side front wheel arch which was badly corroded. The 'new look' front had been damaged in a minor shunt prior to preservation and the near-side front wheel arch was corroded and badly fitted. Most of the lower panels were found to be too dented for filling and all the screws holding the beading, gutters and drip-strips to the outside of the bus were either rusted or insecure or both.

In 'patched up' condition, 2548 continued to attend events during 1981 and 1982 but the bus was taken off the road in February 1983 to allow more in-depth repairs to commence and almost the whole exterior of the bus was stripped down to bare metal. In April 1984 re-location to Pensnett Trading Estate took place. The spacious unit here allowed full access around the bus for heavy work to take place at times convenient to the Group. By this point, the 2548 Group had spawned further groups that had rescued other BCT buses. The 'umbrella' organisation became known as the Birmingham City Transport Society (or BCTS) and the other buses acquired were:

• 2707, Reg. No JOJ 707, 1951 Daimler CVD6
• 3436, Reg. No. 436 KOV, 1964 Park Royal bodied Daimler Fleetline
• 3472, Reg. No. BON 472C, 1965 single-deck Marshall bodied Daimler Fleetline
• 3730, Reg. No. KOX 730F, 1967 Metro-Cammell bodied Daimler Fleetline
• 3880, Reg. No. NOV 880G, 1969 double-door Park Royal bodied Daimler Fleetline

The result of all this was that the membership grew, increasing the potential workforce for restoration, but it was rare that teams worked on more than one vehicle at a time. With a total of six buses to look after, there were long periods when 2548 did not receive any attention. However, much useful work was completed at Pensnett, especially renovation of the lower parts of the body pillars and the exterior of lower deck stress panels, cleaning and painting of parts of the chassis exposed during this work and exterior re-panelling where panels were too badly damaged for body filler to be used.

The Wilderness Years

Sadly, the owners of the industrial unit at Pensnett decided in spring 1985 that storage of preserved vehicles was not providing enough income and gave notice to the vehicle owners to quit the building.

This ended a particularly enjoyable spell in the project and lead to a very bleak period in 2548's history. With finances stretched due to the large number of vehicles to look after, equivalent covered space for parking and restoration could not be afforded and it was necessary to move the vehicle to an open-air site at Brockmore, near Brierley Hill on 23rd June 1985. The bare aluminium began to suffer and water leaked in where-ever it could, causing some of the work already completed to be undone.

The search to find somewhere under cover went on, but even following an appeal in a local newspaper it was not until seven months later that a less exposed place was found, although it has to be said, it was not a big improvement. The bus was moved on 9th February 1986 to Tower Farm at Essington, near Wolverhampton where is occupied a muddy spot in a barn surrounded by farm machinery and bales of straw. There were holes in the barn roof, which allowed rain to pour in, splashing mud up the sides of the bus. Two winters in these damp inhospitable conditions took an even greater toll on the exposed bodywork and other than occasional visits to take the batteries away for charging or to turn over the engine, the bus received little attention.

During this time, BCTS had become involved in the setting up of a transport museum in the former tram depot at Witton and the hope was that it would eventually become home to its collection, which by this time had been reduced to three vehicles. As far as 2548 was concerned, this ambition became reality on 20th August 1988 when she became the second bus to arrive in the newly repaired building. She made a very sad sight and work on restoration immediately re-commenced with the damage done over the previous three years beginning to be rectified.

The Second Phase of Restoration

It was decided this time not to leave any stone un-turned and all signs of rot or corrosion would be eliminated before repainting and a return to active use. On completion of each task, the bus would be better prepared to withstand the worst that the weather and the British roads could throw at it.

With projects of this nature, one thing often leads to another and whilst major surgery to one part takes place, the opportunity to carry out other associated repairs or preventative protection needs to be taken to avoid having to disturb at a future date sections already completed.

The first major rebuilding project in Witton, which was spread over several years, was a full repair of the front wheel arches. Ultimately, these repairs resulted in the following work being carried out:

• Removal of the off-side front wheel arch come cab floor to allow cutting out of rotten sections and welding in of patches
• Replacement of rotten cab and wheel arch framework
• Replacement or repair of all off-side front corner steel panels
• Replacement of cab floor treads
• Overhaul of handbrake
• Overhaul of gear selector box
• Cleaning and painting of chassis and all components beneath cab and engine compartment
• Replacement of 'new look' front
• Removal, overhaul and repair of near-side front wing prior to re-fitting
• Renewal or renovation of cab facia panels
• Overhaul of cab heater
• Complete re-wire of cab and engine compartment
• Repaint of engine compartment
• Removal, overhaul and refitting of windscreen pan
• Overhaul of driver's seat
• Stripping, renovation and repainting of cab interior and all cab components
• Re-chroming of all cab bright-work
• Repair and refitting of off-side front wing
• Replacement of exterior strapping/beading

Other major work now completed on the bus includes:

• Repairs to and protection of all body exterior framework and structure panels prior to replacement or renovation of all external panels and fittings
• Replacement or renovation and re-sealing of all exterior strapping/beading to bodywork
• Replacement of all exterior screws with brass or plated ones
• Servicing and cosmetic restoration of engine

Work in progress:

• Renovation of lower saloon floor, seat frames and battery boxes
• Renovation of rear wheel arches, luggage rack, jack storage compartment and used ticket bins
• Renovation of destination and number blind gear
• Restoration of lower saloon decorative woodwork and replacement of leather-cloth trim.
• Overhaul of radiator

Future projects:

• Removal and rebuilding of platform
• Rewiring of tail lights, saloon and destination lights and bell pushes
• Repainting of lower saloon ceiling
• Renovation of staircase
• Renovation of upper saloon
• Re-upholstering of lower saloon seats (using moquette made to the original pattern in a project organised by the BCTS involving several other owners of BCT 'Standards')
• Overhaul of brakes
• Overhaul of 'auto-lube'

To many, the restoration of 2548 has, up to now, been a long drawn-out process, but the pleasure and satisfaction obtained by those involved in the work has been considerable. The work has not been continuous over the last eighteen years whilst the bus has been in residence at Witton for a number of reasons and several breaks in the process have occurred. The situation has not always been easy to manage with access reliant on key-holding directors of the museum, meaning that work has mainly had to be carried out at weekends when the public are present, thus restricting noisy or dusty processes. As the principal members of the restoration team have been shift workers for most of these years, often working at weekends, the number of hours put in to the project has been a lot less than they would have wished.

However, a recent change has resulted in the group having much greater access and the pace of work has speeded up since the spring of 2003.

No date can be set for the completion of this painstaking task, but once the job is done, it is hoped that it will set a standard to which others will aspire. That you will have to judge for yourselves!