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

Monday 19 March 2007


I suppose bus enthusiasts tend to fall into groups and take sides depending on what they grew up with. But as with football teams they tend to take sides whether it be Scania or Volvo, or Wright or Alexander. As for me I was always a Leyland man as opposed to AEC, but the Southall manufactures always came a close second. I just liked the Leyland image with it's Zoo Family and animal badges and those big chunky wheel trims. But most of all it was the sounds particularly the exhaust roar of the Leopard or crackle of the PD Series. So it was something of an Indian Summer for me when in the Eighties Leyland once more freed from British Leyland control tried to bring back some of that old Leyland Magic. The buses and coaches looked like proper Leylands again but in truth that is as far as the magic went for they still relied on old products and new ones like the Lynx were not developed to a sufficient standard. The Tiger wasn't a bad coach, but it wasn't as reliable as the old Leopard, and more importantly it wasn't as good as a Volvo. Larger operators still bought them as they were British. I used to visit Blackpool occasionally during the Summer with the express purpose of photographing buses and girls together and smart looking coaches like this Plaxton bodies Tiger belonging to 'Coachline' part of Sheffield based SYT.

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