Geoff’s Pages 26 August 2007 Click the thumbnails for a larger picture and caption; use the slideshow and back / forward controls to navigate Old Birmingham Buses... Bank holiday weekend - no plans, and we try to avoid going out on the Monday - but Sunday was fine and clear - a good day for photography? We decided on a new destination (but, again, one I'd been aware of for some time) - the Transport Museum at Wythall, just south of Birmingham, home of BaMMOT - the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust. (By curious coincidence, the first clue in today's Guardian crossword was "Large volume one may take to work (7)". You've got it!) I'm not sure what I'd expected - something akin to some of the smaller railway preservation schemes perhaps, with lots of rotting old vehicles strewn around? Quite the opposite - this is a fine collection of well-restored, clean and shiny vehicles (apart from a few clearly undergoing restoration in the workshops). As a student in Birmingham in the early 70s, those old Guy half-cabs were a distinctive feature of city life - as were the slightly odd-looking Midland Red vehicles used on the longer routes. And here they all were again - wonderful! And not just to look at - regular bus rides are available throughout the day. We took a great trip in old JOJ 976, dating from 1953, out of the museum to Maypole in the south Birmingham suburbs, almost ten miles round trip - for just £1.50 each! A bit more than the 6p and 8p fares we used to pay, but excellent value for a little bit of nostalgia (and yes, we had the front seats at the top...) Link: The Transport Museum, Wythall