Herefordshire, Worcestershire, south and east quadrants of West Midlands (the Reddibus, Severnlink, Wanderward, Wayfarer and Wendaway operations) Midland Red Express, later renamed Midland Red Coaches: central coach and express services division, became part of Midland Red West in 1984 Midland Red Engineering, later renamed Carlyle Works: central engineering workshops at Carlyle Road, Edgbaston Privatisation As part of the privatisation of the National Bus Company, the companies were sold: Midland Fox, formerly Midland Red East, was sold on 18 August 1987 in a management buyout. The operations of the Swadlincote depot were purchased by Stevensons of Uttoxeter. Today all have been reunited as part of Arriva Fox County. It is a division of Arriva Midlands. Midland Red North was sold on 27 January 1988 to the Drawlane Transport Group. It was included in the sale of Drawlane to British Bus which in turn became part of the Cowie Group. Today it is part of Arriva Midlands. Midland Red South was sold on 10 December 1987 to Western Travel Limited who also owned the Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company. Today it is part of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire and Stagecoach in Warwickshire. Midland Red (South) Ltd. is the legal name for Stagecoach in Warwickshire. Midland Red West was sold on 22 December 1986 in a management buyout led by managing director Ken Mills to Midland West Holdings It who also took over Midland Red Coaches on the same date. Today it is part of First Midland Red but only has one surviving depot in Worcester. The Kidderminster and Redditch operations were sold to Rotala while the company withdrew from operating in Hereford. Carlyle Works, formerly Midland Red Engineering, was sold to Frontsource Limited, who also purchased the engineering divisions of an initial eight and later nine National Bus Companies. It closed in October 1991. Bus manufacture In 1912 the company bought its first Tilling-Stevens petrol-electric vehicles. Tilling-Stevens became the main supplier of bus chassis to the company which, under its Chief Engineer LG Wyndham Shire, adapted and developed the designs to its own requirements, finally designing a vehicle it intended to construct itself. Between 1923 and 1969, the BMMO built most of the buses it operated: up to 1940 these were called SOS (rumoured to stand for Superior Omnibus Specification), and some models were supplied to other bus companies associated within the British Electric Traction (BET) group, namely Trent, PMT and Northern General.