BUSWORLD PHOTOGRAPHY

I AM CHRISTOPHER LEACH THE ARTIST. I started this blog so that I can share with everyone my vast collection of transport photographs showing a personal and nostalgic view of the industry with images that span some 45 years taking in the U.K and some of Europe. I have no darkroom and so rather than being the perfectionist after tidying them up I upload the images warts and all, and even those that won't scan squarely or are scratched. In a way it adds age and character. You are all free to download these for your personal use but please remember I still own them and you are not just free to use them without prior permission for any knd of publishing. Click on images to enlarge them and if you want to see more leave your comments or visit my website for the mother-site with galleries including those Buses & Girls: PICTUREWORLD

Friday 6 February 2009

More snow: Maidstone 1968

Well I think this snow was turning to slush but who cares when here are two of Maidstone and District finest buses from the fifties. Firstly one of a batch of thirty-six vehicles delivered in 1951 this Leyland PD2/12 carried a Farrington body and some of these survived till 1970. Slightly newer but looking rather more modern was this even more elegant Park Royal AEC Regent V of 1956, one of fourteen similar buses in the fleet. These older buses were preferred on M & D's longer country routes like the 5 Service from Maidstone to Hastings which took almost two and a half-hours. The rear-engined Atlanteans and Fleetlines on the other hand tended to be found working on more urban routes such as as around Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells and particularly Hastings and the Medway Towns. It was not until 1957 that this operator made an effort start matching registrations with fleet numbers and as the AEC's numbers ran from DH 476 to 489 carrying registrations VKR 468-481. It was easy to confused forgetting as to which was which especially in the following years when some sort coordination became the general rule.

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