Going to the Zoo

Actually I did that yesterday, and with the BCLM closed for 2 weeks I may be going there again very soon! The BMMO (Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus company) was better known as the Midland Red, for reasons that are obvious in this photo. They were quite unusual in that they made many of their own buses (though they did buy standard ones sometimes when there was shortage of capacity, as with the GD6 and LD8), and this beautiful D9 model was one of their own. I think it appeared in the late 1950's or possibly early 1960's and was the first of their double-deckers to do away with the long, clunky, mechanical gear lever. I was amazed to discover, during bustitution on the way back from the Lake District last year, that the young lady driving the coach was still having to use a clunky mechanical gear shift on what seemed a quite modern coach! Apologies for any inaccuracies if this is read by real bus enthusiasts!