Midland Red -Evolution or Revolution

Ashley Wakelin takes you on an excursion into the nostalgia and magnificence of the friendly Midland Red, once the biggest provincial UK bus and coach operator. Topics covered include the D9, sometimes known as the Midlands. Its ‘curvy’ bodywork appealed to passengers, and its technical advancements were the envy of many. “The Revolutionary Motorway Express” explores the fascinating story of making a coach especially for a purpose which at the time did not exist. Even at the end of their lives, these coaches were still requested by drivers, even when new Leyland coaches were available. The book is also a study of the social history of transport in the Midlands, the people who were responsible for its rise and its fall, and those who, from day-to-day, made 2,000 buses and coaches travel around 12,000 square miles of the Midlands and throughout the UK. He also compares modern day bus operation to that of fifty years ago and takes a look into the recent increase in bus fires and considers how accidents were handled in times gone by. There is also a fascinating chapter on how the UK had an opportunity to have electric buses over 120 years ago, which was missed by fraud and mismanagement on a grand scale.