Maidstone: Massey Bodied Atlantean

Maidstone took two deliveries of eight Leyland Atlanteans with Massey bodywork Nos.26-42 in 1965 and 1967 to replace it's small trolleybus system operating between Barming on the Tonbridge Road on the one route which became two in the south of the town with one branch going to Loose and the other Sutton Road. The sixteen new seventy-five seat buses not only replaced twenty-four smaller trolleys, they also introduced a new light blue livery to replace the former warm ginger-brown colours which had suited Maidstone well with it breweries of brown beer and a toffee-factory, all of which created a wealth of interesting smells. Not everyone liked the Atlanteans though as they were heavy on the steering and not the most elegant products to leave the Massey Brothers works in Wigan, but they were certainly well put together and relatively free from the usual rattles. I for one mourn the passing of these traditional Municipal Operators like Maidstone for not only did the buses carry neat proper sign-written advertisements for small businesses in the Borough, even after the frequencies were reduced because of the extra seats provided, one still only had to wait three or if you were unlucky four minutes for a bus up towards Barming during normal hours. You couldn't grumble at that could you!