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

Sunday 8 March 2009

No it's not Sunday in Reading


In the early Eighties a bit like with Doctor Beeching and the railways the National Bus Company undertook a nationwide survey of it's network. Of course the effects of the Market Analysis Project (MAP) did not necessitate the pulling up of the roads as well but it did rid a lot of fleets of all their slightly older more interesting buses. Alder Valley was a good example as the former typical BTC Bristol/ECW operator Thames Valley merged with it's more charismatic former BET Group neighbour Aldershot and District. But after MAP there were no AEC Reliance buses or the locally Guildford built Dennis Loline left. Instead it was just the poppy-red Bristol VR, white Leopard Coaches and of course the ubiquitous National. The collection area for unwanted stock was the large yard beside Lower Thorne Street Garage with Bristol RE's very much in evidence.

4 comments:

Andy R said...

Thanks Christopher,

A friend and I once skimed, eh, took a minor detour that is, of our school cross-country run to visit this site. I can't recall the exact year but it must have been in the mid 1980s. There wasn't as much to be seen as on your photograph though. But for an imüpressionable schoolboy even a handful of fairly normal buses were something worth seeing. Thanks for sharing.

Andrew

christopher said...

And there were one or two gems in there too and I have other one or two closer views too to come at some time. thanks for your comments Andrew, I knew you would like this one.

tonyoz30 said...

and a wartburg on the car park

christopher said...

Yes Wartburg cars were quite common in the Uk but not as numerous as the LADA and Skoda.