In the second part of my Midlands adventure, I focus on National Express West Midlands bus operations in and around Walsall, tracking down some of the older vehicles still in service.

The very last Trident Alexander ALX400 in public service with Nat Ex West Midlands (4590) ran from Walsall Garage on Friday 21st August 2026. As a tribute to the class, we see no 4621 (named “Nyasha”) in happier times, laying over amid the sylvan surroundings of Chelmsley Wood on Route 97 on a previous visit back in July 2023.

*This route was one of the last with a signifcant Trident allocation to operate in Birmingham City Centre, being based at Birmingham Central Garage.*

Transport in Walsall

Walsall is a large market town and administrative centre about 9 miles north-west of Birmingham, formerly in Staffordshire but becoming part of the new West Midlands county in 1974. The name derives from “Walh halh” meaning “Valley of the Welsh”, a reference to the Celtic Britons who first lived in the area. The Industrial Revolution had a major impact, the original village growing into a large town, known for manufacturing industries largely based around leather products, together with nearby limestone quarrying. After WW1, new estates began to be built away from the town centre, with reconstruction post WW2 considered as ugly due to many tower blocks blighting the area, although most of these have since been demolished and replaced with low rise developments. Today, Walsall is the home base for major retailers like Poundland & One Stop Stores, although local factories still produce metal products and components for the automotive and aerospace industries.

In terms of public transport, Walsall operated trams between 1904 & 1930, then trolleybuses from 1931 to 1970, one of the last such systems in the UK. Motor buses began running in the town in 1915, with Walsall Corporation and Midland Red becoming the main operators. In 1969, Walsall Corporation became part of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE), who in 1973 assumed control of Midland Red operations within the county. This changed to West Midlands Travel in preparation for deregulation in 1986. Compared to other cities, like Manchester, Liverpool & Newcastle, which saw their bus services split between companies, Birmingham saw its services unusually retained under its one principal operator, initially under a management and employee buy-out. Acquisitions by West Midlands Travel included Westlink in London and County Bus in Hertfordshire, although both were sold on after a short time.

The National Express Group purchased West Midlands Travel in 1995, with the company rebranded as Travel West Midlands. In 2008, the name was changed again to National Express West Midlands. Coming up to date, National Express changed its name to Mobico Group in 2023, then in August 2026 announced it would sell its UK Bus business to the West Midlands Combined Authority, with the deal expected to close in November 2026, ahead of the West Midlands Mayor’s proposal to bring local bus services into public ownership under a franchising model.

In terms of my personal bus rides in the area, I first visited Walsall in the late 1990s when local operator Chase Coaches operated a large fleet of secondhand Leyland Nationals, including former London LSs, on routes throughout the Black Country. Many of these lasted until the sale of the company to Arriva in 2007, probably the last significant use of the type in the UK. I then returned to the area on annual visits to ride MCW Metrobuses with Nat Ex West Mids, after the type had been withdrawn in London but continued in service in this part of the country until 2010.

More recently, I visited the West Midlands to ride some of the last Trident Alexander ALX400 and Volvo B7TL Wright double deckers in service, with the Walsall area featuring in a July 2023 trip. A subsequent visit prior to this one was covered in my article “Nearly Done in Brum” dated 6/12/24.

***An extract from the Public Transport Map for the Walsall area, published by Transport for West Midlands. This shows part or all of the routes I travelled on and referred to in this article.***

*Whilst maps for all areas of the West Midlands are available to view or download on line, printed versions are sadly no longer published.*

Route 8: Lichfield - Walsall

My day began bright and early in the City of Lichfield, famous for its three-spired Cathedral, which I had visited the previous day from Tamworth whilst riding Arriva buses in the area and the subject of my previous article. Although situated in Staffordshire, Lichfield has two bus services operated by National Express West Midlands which cross the border from that county - the double deck X3 to Birmingham City Centre and the single deck 8 to Walsall. I was after the latter route, which operates every 30 mins M-S daytimes and Hourly Sun daytimes, with an Hourly evening service over the Walsall - Brownhills section only.

The normal allocation on the 8 comprises the Volvo B7RLE Wright type and fleet no 2116 (named “Danuta”) was already on stand at Lichfield Bus Station when I arrived. Bang on time, we departed with a single digit load, although we picked up more as we progressed around the edge of town. After leaving the outer environs of Lichfield, we had a fast run through open country to the small town of Burntwood and then around estate roads to Chasetown. Despite being named after its proximity to Cannock Chase, the place developed in the 19th Century as a coal mining village. Today, the mines have long closed and Burntwood/Chasetown is virtually a continuous built-up area with overspill housing for the wider “Black Country”, which takes its name from the soot, smoke and slag of its coal mines.

After negotiating the narrow main street of Chasetown with parked cars preventing easy progress, we sped up as we reached more countryside before crossing into West Midlands county through Ogley Hay and Brownhills. At the roundbout where we turned into Brownhills High Street, we passed the 40 feet tall stainless steel statue of a coal miner, which was created in 2006 as a commemoration of the industry in the area. It is known as “Jigger” after a local man who was killed in a mining accident in 1951.

The final section of route from Brownhills into Walsall is largely urban, although the route turns off from the main road to serve Clayhanger Village, now a suburb, passing under a low bridge which restricts this service to single deck. We picked up a good few short-riders at Pelsall Common, a large grassy area lined with trees, before continuing through Rushall into Walsall itself. Arrival at the Bus Station was after a decent run of 1h5m, more or less on schedule.

I began my day aboard Nat Ex West Mids Volvo B7RLE Wright no 2116 of Walsall Garage with a trip on Route 8 from Lichfield to Walsall. Upon arrival at Walsall Bus Station, the driver changed the blinds for its next trip on Route 41 to Willenhall, which is between Walsall & Wolverhampton.

*In the background, part of the facade of the Grade II listed St Paul’s Church, built from local sandstone in the 19th Century.*

Route 32: Walsall - Lower Farm - Walsall

Walsall Bus Station is one which I am very familiar with, holding memories for me of rides in past years on Leyland Nationals with Chase Coaches, then Mk II Metrobuses with Nat Ex West Mids. On my last visit to the town in 2023, I had concentrated on seeking out the last Tridents with the latter company, the final one of which had ended public service, appropriately at Walsall, just a couple of weeks before this trip.

Now, the oldest double deck type in service here is the classic Enviro400, of which Nat Ex West Mids still has a large fleet. However, with new electrics continuing to arrive, it is likely that inroads will soon be made into the older diesels, although a driver told me that Walsall Garage does not yet have any charging infrastructure due to local grid capacity issues, so it may be a while before electrification reaches this particular depot.

Turning to the rides, my first route was the local 32. This, together with companion route 31, run together out to Bloxwich, a market town north of Walsall, where they split - the 31 running to Mossley and the 32 to Lower Farm, both nearby estates. Unusually, the service is jointly operated by Nat Ex West Mids and Diamond Bus, mostly with single deckers, although with a few double decks out to play. The 32 runs every 15 mins M-S daytimes, 20 mins Sun daytimes, 30 mins Evenings, although over the common section with the 31, an impressive service of up to every 5 mins runs M-S daytimes, 10 mins Sun daytimes and 15 mins Evenings.

I had covered the 31 last time on a Trident, so on this occasion it was the 32 on an Enviro400, fleet no 4875 in maroon and red livery. A gentle suburban amble on a typical town service, reasonably well used throughout. After the main road section to Bloxwich Town Centre, it was out the other side and on to the slightly newer housing estate at Lower Farm, where there was a scheduled “hesitation” of 3 mins before returning via the basic “out and back” route. 45 mins for the rounder.

Nat Ex West Mids Enviro400 no 4875 of Walsall Garage is seen at the Lower Farm terminus of Route 32 between my trips on it from and to Walsall. This location is just north of the nearby town of Bloxwich.

Since the withdrawal of the last Tridents, this type is now the oldest in service with the company, apart from a couple of Volvo B7TLs at time of writing. As with many buses in the fleet, this one is named, in this case “Trevor Murden”, after a long serving employee.

Route 6: Walsall - Sutton Coldfield

So far, so good. However, my next route, the 6 out of town to Sutton Coldfield was looking a bit problematic. I had noted earlier from “bustimes.org” that buses were running very late, with delays of up to 30-40 mins on buses returning to Walsall. It emerged that this was due to roadworks on the outskirts of Sutton Coldfield Town Centre, with temporary 4-way lights causing horrendous congestion at peak times. Nevertheless, being mainly Enviro400 operated, it was a route I wanted to sample, also providing a bit of country running out of town.

The 6 runs every 30 mins M-S daytimes, Hourly Eves & Suns, although between Walsall and the intermediate town of Aldridge, it runs in tandem with the 7 to Castlefort, which running at the same intervals gives double the frequency over that section. Once again, having done the 7 on a Trident last time, I wanted to cover the 6 on an Enviro this time.

With the late running seemly reduced to 10-15 mins by the time I returned to Walsall Bus Station, I resolved to give the 6 a go and boarded Enviro400 no 4869, which departed only around 10 mins late on the schedule. At first, we had a charmed life, an easy run out of Walsall and through the countryside to Aldridge, where we served the shopping centre, before parting company with companion route 7 and striking out at speed through more countryside, serving Little Aston, before reaching suburbia again at Four Oaks. Downhill to Mere Green, before the final main road section into Sutton Coldfield, on paper a 10 min run from here. Passing Four Oaks Station, all was good until the outskirts of Sutton Town Centre, when we hit the queue for the roadworks! A frustrating crawl with periods completely stopped, which cost us around 15 mins. We eventually arrived at the terminus after a 55 min run, scheduled at 40 mins, but after leaving 10 mins late, we were now 25 down. Annoyingly, all caused on the last mile of the journey.

Seen in Sutton Coldfield on a previous visit in July 2023 is Volvo B7TL no 4518 of West Bromwich Garage, which I had ridden to this point from its home town. This example is in the older tomato red and white livery.

At the time of my latest visit, just two of the type were left in service with the company, one at West Bromwich and the other at Acocks Green Garage, so the class is likely following the Tridents into oblivion shortly.

Route 6: Sutton Coldfield - Walsall

I had planned to return on the following bus, but as it looked to be running even later than us, I reboarded 4869 for its return run, a large crowd joining me after a significant gap in service. Luckily though, with a “Bus Only” lane from the town centre, we managed to skip much of the traffic queue in this direction and were only held for one complete cycle of the temporary lights. Once through the affected section, we were off like a bullet and traversed strangely empty roads back through Mere Green and up to Four Oaks. In the other direction, I noted the next 6 only going to Mere Green, with the number 6E - this being the traditional suffix used in the West Midlands for “Exception”, indicating in this case a short-working. Obviously running so late as to warrant a turn, I thanked my lucky stars that I had not waited for it in Sutton Coldfield!

Our driver did his best to make up time, as we continued at pace through the countryside back to Aldridge and then on to Walsall, arriving back at the Bus Station after a 40 min run - more or less the scheduled journey time, although running about 20 mins late throughout. At least we didn’t lose any more time, although I it was the middle of the day and I was dreading to think what the delays might be in the coming afternoon peak!

Back to my latest trip and here is Enviro400 no 4869 (“Amy Elizabeth”) of Walsall Garage on arrival at Sutton Coldfield after a protracted run on Route 6 due to roadworks causing severe delays on approach to the town.

*Although most of the class I saw were in this maroon/red livery, some examples are in the old red & white colours, whilst others are in the latest grey colour scheme.*

Back at Walsall, buses for Birmingham City Centre depart from the stands adjacent to the main Bus Station. Another Walsall Garage bus, Enviro400 MMC no 6732 is on the X51 West Midlands “Platinum” service which has just arrived from Central Birmingham.

The X51 is the Express version of trunk route 51 between Birmingham & Walsall, although some journeys on the former continue to Cannock. I had travelled both routes on previous visits. The “Platinum” concept was introduced in 2015 as a premium brand offering high-backed seating, extra legroom, plus free Wi-Fi and USB charging on selected routes, with a grey & red livery.

Route 29: Walsall - Bloxwich - Walsall

It was then back to the local routes, with a ride on another one that I had missed on the previous trip, the 29. This also runs out to Bloxwich, but on a more easterly route than the 32 I had ridden earlier, via Blakenall Heath. A 15 min service operates M-S daytimes to Bloxwich, with shorts Walsall - Blakenall Church providing a 7-8 min frequency over that section. On Sun daytimes, there is a 15 min service to Blakenall Church only, with a daily evening service every 30 mins also over this part of the route only.

Whilst mainly single deck operated, one or two double deckers seem to appear and I was fortunate that Enviro400 no 4876 was next to turn up at the Bus Station for a through trip to Bloxwich. Some delays appeared evident on the route, as buses seemed to be running in pairs on the scheduled 7-8 min section to/from Blakenall. Nevertheless, we were on time as we proceeded out of Walsall and through the suburbs of Ryecroft, Coal Pool and Harden. At Blakenall Heath, we passed around the green where short-working buses terminate, before continuing on into Bloxwich, serving the Hospital and the Town Centre.

After traversing the High Street, 29s continue in a loop working via the Lower Farm area back to Blakenall Heath, then the reverse of the outbound route in typical “lollipop” style. School chucking-out time affected us on the return run, causing us to drop a few minutes and we arrived back at Blakenall Church just as the next short-working bus was leaving. The two buses then “worked the road” back to Walsall, repeatedly overtaking each other and more or less serving alternate stops to pick up. I arrived back at the Bus Station after a 55 min trip.

My third Enviro400 of the day was no 4876 (named “Ocea”) on Route 29 between Walsall & Bloxwich via Blakenall Heath. The bus is seen entering Walsall Bus Station before pulling forward to the 29 stand at the other end.

*This is another of the local services to the north of town, operated by Walsall Garage.*

Route 36: Walsall - Alumwell - Walsall

Before leaving Walsall, there was just time to fit in another short local, this time the single deck operated 36, which serves the main Hospital and the Alumwell area to the west of the town centre. One bus provides a 30 min service M-S daytimes only, although in M-F peaks, a second bus enables a 20 min frequency at those times. Another route new to me.

As the afternoon peak frequency was just beginning, Enviro200 no 853 (named “Linda”) arrived out of service from the garage to commence its duty. Due to an ambulance being on the scheduled stand to deal with a sick passenger on another bus, we had to move forward to the 29 stand to board, with another driver kindly advising those of us waiting for the 36 of the change. A reasonable number as we left the town centre, following at first the trunk 529 route which links Walsall and Wolverhampton, operated with electric double deckers out of Wolverhampton Garage.

However, we soon turned off onto the Inner Ring Road, before reaching Walsall Manor Hospital, where several alighted. Proceeding through the Car Park, we entered the back streets, before embarking on a long loop working. This involved a circuit back up to the main Wolverhampton Road, before turning off to serve Alumwell, an area of densely packed housing, narrow streets and the usual parked cars to slow down traffic and make bus operation generally difficult! Eventually, we completed the circular section, arrived back at the hospital to pick up a few more takers, before making our way back to the Town Centre. 35 mins in all.

***My second single deck route of the day was the 36, a short local to the west of Walsall Town Centre, which loops via Walsall Manor Hospital and the nearby Alumwell area.***

*Here is Enviro200 no 801, first of the class, at Walsall Bus Station, although I rode the second bus on the route, sister vehicle no 853.*

Route 10: Walsall - Brownhills West - Brownhills

It was now time to leave Walsall and head back to Lichfield, but I was able to do this in two moves and thereby fit in one final route, the 10 to Brownhills. This was the only route that I had covered on my previous visit that I rode again this time, but whereas I had taken a Trident on the last occasion, on this trip it was an Enviro400 - fleet no 4862 (“Lola”) in a special wrap for Sky Broadband. The 10 is another frequent mainly double-deck service, running every 12 mins M-F daytimes, 15 mins Sat daytimes and 30 mins M-S eves and Sun daytimes, dropping to Hourly Sun eves.

As the afternoon peak was getting under way, a good number boarded with me at the Bus Station and despite traffic being quite heavy leaving Walsall at this time of day, it was moving, if slowly in parts. Plenty on and off at the various stops along the main Lichfield Road through Rushall and Walsall Wood, before turning off towards Brownhills. Most alighted by the time we reached the Shopping Centre in the High Street, after which we continued past the Miner Statue Roundabout once again and onto the fast terminal loop. This proceeds through a wooded area up to another roundabout at the “Rising Sun” in Brownhills West where, due to late running, we skipped the few minutes scheduled “hesitation”, continuing straight on after picking up the handful of passengers that were waiting. This location is very close to Chasewater Country Park, which includes the Chasewater Railway, a standard gauge preserved line that runs for approximately 2 miles from Brownhills West to Chasetown. Despite its short length, it is worth a visit for a steam train ride across heathland and beside a lake, with pleasant vistas.

Back on the bus, we zoomed along the A5 dual carriageway without stopping due to lack of takers, before hanging a right back down to the centre of Brownhills, arriving back at the Miner Statue from the other direction and turning back into the High Street, where I alighted, having completed the terminal loop section.

My last local route of the day was the 10 between Walsall & Brownhills West. I rode Enviro400 no 4862 in Sky Broadband wrap, but to illustrate the route, here is Trident ALX400 no 4360 which I took on the previous occasion I sampled this service back in July 2023.

*The 10 was one of the final haunts of the Tridents before they ended their days at Walsall (and with Nat Ex West Mids) in August 2026.*

Part Route 8: Brownhills - Lichfield

Crossing the road, I only had about 5 mins to wait for my final bus of the day on the 8 back to Lichfield, which I had ridden the whole way in the other direction earlier at the start of my trip. By coincidence, the bus was Volvo B7RLE no 2116 again, the same one I had been on that morning. A reasonable number on board returning to Chasetown and Burntwood, although at the latter we were a little early on the schedule so waited a few minutes for our correct time. On the final country section into Lichfield, we ran virtually in tandem with a Volvo B8RLE Evora on Chaserider Route 60, which runs between Cannock and Lichfield. After just a 35 min run, we reached Lichfield Bus Station, where my rides ended for the day and for the trip, it then being time to return home.

Watton

Fly on the Wall in Walsall

Small Mercies in Mercia