Transport Museum Wythall Twilight event brings the 2021 season to a close

Published: 08/11/2021

Sunday October 31st dawned brightly to welcome Transport Museum Wythall’s Twilight Running Day event following the monsoons of the previous day. This annual event is always well attended and this year was no exception with 500 visitors, reasuringly twice that of 2020, enjoying the atmosphere of night time rides. Buses running into the evening always provide a nostalgic spectacle as the tungsten bulbs bring a days gone atmosphere to today’s world of LEDs.

Highlights of 2021 included Stephen Morris’s magnificent 1935 Leyland Tiger TS7 WS 4522 (with Cowieson body from 1934 AEC Regal FS 8584). Birmingham City Transport was represented by Leylands Standard 1685 (out for the first time since a full repaint) and single deck PS2/1 2245, supported by BCT Daimler Standard 2707. Several of TMW’s older Midland Red vehicles including S12 3744 and SON 2718 were joined by now unique Midland Red D10 prototype 4943, also making a welcome appearance to end the year alongside D12 Fleetline 6015. 1937 Trent AEC Regal 714 (with 1948 body), newly returned to service in 2021 after decades as a static exhibit, completed the TMW list.

A range of visiting vehicles made up the fleet for the day including Volvo B10M/Badgerline D113 GHY owned by Malcolm Holmes, ex NatEx Dennis Trident 4126 Y717 TOH with ‘Bus Driver Jade’, Jade Cox at the wheel and Roger Burdett’s Midland Red D9 EHA 424D which ran the museum service from central Birmingham alongside the Leyland TS7. NatEx West Midlands, always a welcome TWM supporter, brought along their Pride liveried ADL Dennis Enviro 4905 BX13 JWE.

TWM’s Twilight event always includes an intensive ‘round trip’ service enabling enthusiasts to ride on a number of vehicles in quick succession and mostly in total darkness, bringing back fond memories of returning from work or a family visit on a cold damp winter’s evening of decades past.

TMW’s season is now over for 2021 but exciting developments face visitors in 2022 with a new extension to the Scania Hall underway and a focus on BCT/TWM vehicles in the year of The Commonwealth Games in the city. New event themes include a London Bus weekend on June 18th/19th and an all new event in partnership with the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on July 2nd which will include the 50th Anniversary of the Leyland National.