Coventry Buses - past and present

Anything which was built in Coventry is now a "classic"

Have been walking around the city centre today, first time in many many years. Grew up in Cov, 16 in 1960, left to join the R.N. in 1960, finally left completely in 1968 on marriage. Only living in Northampton, so not far away. Thought that much of centre, Lower Precinct, Market Way etc. seemed quite vibrant. First time in Broadgate for many, many years. Not sure why they had to change it really, although it will probably be ok when it's finished. Lots of happy memories for me, catching last No.22 bus home at 2310hrs from Broadgate, in the late 50's, early 60's. Happy days. Sure that someone can tell me when the No.22 bus started. 1958/9 would be my guess. It must be very difficult to get the balance right between change and sticking with the old. Wouldn't want to be responsible for those decisions. We oldies do have to understand that things cannot stay the same for ever, they probably never did in our youth. Drive past the Devonshire Arms whenever I venture to Cov (still have relatives here). When I see the Devon painted white, I think that my Dad and his drinking buddies must be turning in their graves.

There's a history of the service here: LINK My guess is the Willenhall route was instigated to coincide with the building of the council estate circa 1956.

I think this subject has arisen elsewhere, but thought it might be worth putting a half-pennorth in! I remember well going to school, or returning from it, on some of the 'alien' buses like the wartime utility ones mentioned by Innis Road in his post. Coventry had 3 Crossleys that often served on the No 9 route (Chapelfields-Stoke Heath) Two were reverse colours (99 and 100), the third I remember as being in normal colours (I think it was no 39). All were distinctive due to the large Autovac fuel supply device mounted on the front bulkhead, over the left-hand front wing, and the whine it made when running. They were smoother than the ubiquitous Daimlers, and did far more mileage - one did, as I remember, 1 1/2 million miles before being scrapped, adn the other two over a million miles. Almost all the utility buses that I remember were on the No 13 route, and I remember they were Guys (painted radiator shell, with the Red Indian Chief mascot also painted), crash gearboxes, and no power steering. Drivers and passengers alike disliked them - they were very hard work to drive, particularly if the two front seats upstairs were occupied. The inner cladding upstairs stopped before the segmented rear "curve". More in a minute. I also remember an AEC, an old model, and I don't know where it came from or went to, but it wasn't around long. In the early 50s or late 40s, Maudslay were almost broke, and gave the Corporation some Maudslay 'Regent' buses in lieu of rates on the factory. They had London-spec bodies; the poles were wrapped with plastic, and window-frames were aluminium, either cast or extruded and shaped (I've a vague recollection they were part of a cancelled order). Instead of the slatted wooden platform of the Daimlers, they had rubber sheet, with a truncated-square-cone finish,in about 3/4 inch squares. They were unreliable, and weren't in use for many years. I remember the Maudslays - appropriately - being used on the No 11 route, which went up Maudslay Rd, past the gates of Maudslay's factory. There was in the earlier post a comment about when the slatted seats in the utility buses were replaced with normal upholstery, and 1952 was suggested; I think it was earlier, because I don't remember any of them having slatted seats. However, about 1952 or 3 they were relegated for use as 'workmen's buses', going into the large factories for moving workers from home to work and vice-versa. They were generally filthy - if you sat on the seats in decent clothes, they weren't decent for long! And they were dreadfully rough and noisy, and vibrated like nothing else. Re the question about where the wartime buses came from: I believe that some were on a sort of lease-lend from Guy's directly, and probably went back after the war for refurbishment and updating to a more 'normal' spec, after which they could be re-sold. Some, I believe, were sold to e.g. India or African countries.

Hi. Bus No 99 (GKV99) I believe was a modified AEC in the pattern of London Transport layout. I never remember it in reverse livery, whereas No 100 (GKV100) was always reverse livery, but had several different experimental engines along with crash change gearboxes. I remember it with the crash-box Crossley. Most of Coventry's fleet from 1945 had pre-selector gears. Hope that helps & I welcome further comments. We are a bit upside-down at home just now, but when we get straight again, I have some Telegraph pics of No 99 & 100, which I will scan & post. The Maudslay batch were JKV Nos117-125* I think*. The former drivers that I have spoken to over the years, who drove for Coventry Transport detested them.

The "White Lady"

I also think that the No 9 route was Earlsdon to Copsewood. The Chapelfields to Stoke Heath was No1 service throughout the fifties & sixties.

I have a book on Coventry Transport 1940-1974 and can confirm some of the information here. There was an AEC RT type chassis which should have had a prototype MCCW body fitted but it was never built. So the chassis was eventually fitted with a Regent London Transport-type 56-seat body at the Keresley works. This became GKV99. No. 100 (GKV100) was a Crossley DD42/7T fitted with Brockhouse turbo-transmission and a 58-seat body. It was in reversed livery and became universally known as the 'White Lady'. It initially ran on the 14 Inner Circle route, and carried advertising for Brookes Sempar furniture shop in Queen Victoria Road, which was on that route. 99 and 100 were introduced in 1950/51. Nunbers 117-125 (JKV 117-125) were Maudslay Regent MkIII with 58-seat bodies. The book makes reference to the number of buses hired in wartime from other authorities following destruction of many of the fleet. They came from places as diverse as Great Yarmouth, Southend, Bolton, Nottingham and Hull. But it appears that there was a huge programme of new buses in the later war and postwar years. It also makes reference to the livery of the buses, which in some cases was wartime grey, and to the type of seat fitted which was indeed in some cases wooden slats, prior to being replaced with maroon rexine seating.

Ah, 99 my favourite bus. It always made my day if it pulled up at your stop. When we lived in Banks Road there was usually a good chance that it would be on the no. 5 service. It was the wind down windows that was much of the appeal for small(ish) boys.

Coventry's bus fleet was garaged according to their fleet number. The even numbers were at Harnall Lane whilst the odds were at Sandy Lane. Each garage was responsible specific routes. The Inner Circle route 14 & 14a was the only route where the two garages shared responsibility. The clockwise was Harnall Lane. Each garage had about 5 buses kept as floaters in case of over-running maintenance or breakdowns. GKV99 & 100 were kept as such.

NOW A STORY, you will like this, not a lot. Travelling to school one morning aboard the No7 on its way to the city centre, as we passed under the railway bridge on Walsgave Rd, I saw 99 on the anti-clockwise inner circle. So, I got off the No7 at Swan Lane and boarded the 14a. The bus conductress queried the validity of my school bus pass, but when I told her (being honest) that I had got on to enjoy the 'wrong way round' ride on No99, she was ok. When we got to the railway station, the bus driver explained to me what I have told you in my last post. ps. The bus driver now in his eighties is still alive & I sometimes see & speak to him around the museum. I will not give his name away, only to tell you that he is Welsh, and started driving for Coventry Transport in the mid fifties. He had previously driven buses in Wales but the terms of employment at Coventry were far better. A very nice man to have as a friend.

Hi Philip, The No.9 Earlsdon to Copsewood was the bus I used the most. Three minutes walk from home and I could catch it to go to school at Green Lane, changing buses in Broadgate (1955-1958). Then I used it to go to work at the GEC (Stoke works) in Copsewood in 1958. But best of all, I used it to go into the city centre to go to dances, or sometimes to visit friends in Earlsdon,

Hi Does any one know where I can get a photo of the old Corporation Bus Depot on Harnall Lane? Dad used to work there from the 50s to the 70s as a driver then in the offices. Thanks Bof

Your lovely, thank you for that. I also have a special reason to remember the No 9. Picture my diddy face, squashed against the inside of my mum's shop door glass (Marcia Gowns) after school, waiting for her to arrive from a manufacturer. Outside of her shop in White St. was the No 9 bus stop. My Aunt also had a shop in White St. Melton Products. Travel goods. I might have been there also when you travelled by. What a treat I missed! ps. Anytime from 1954 to 1963, I would board the first bus from Broadgate going past King Henry. The No 17 Baginton village or the 16/16a Green Lane, and also whatever turned up first at the school to go back into town. I will always remember the aroma of coffee coming from the Lyons cafe that was near to the bus stops, before nine in the morning.

I got on the bus at Grayswood Avenue to go to school, and came back on it, getting on at Spencer Road (or was it Spencer Avenue?); strange because I remember some of the buses were given a '9' or '9a' routeboard, and I had to be careful to make sure I got on the right one - or I got dumped quite a way from home. Some routes were partially shared, which could be confusing. I remember coming home from school in the smog in the early 50s and the bus driver was completely lost, he couldn't see the stops. He stopped at a point where he obviously thought he'd reached Grayswood Avenue, and a number of people got off, including me, only to discover it was actually Billings Road! So I had to walk home about a mile in the pea-souper, and a rather unpleasant experience it was, too!