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 30 September 2018

Birkenhead Corporation MCW Orion bodied Leyland PD2 DCM 990 at Laird Street

From my perspective it seems that when applied to modern buses old heritage liveries don't always seem to look quite right. Enthusiasts hated them but  hardly elegant I never found the MCW Orion particularly ugly and not only did the straightforward design suit any application the more attractive the livery the better it looked and Birkenhead was a good example of how nice they could look especially as a cream band beneath the upper deck windows always did wonders. They bought many Leyland PD2's and they all had the traditional no-nonsense exposed radiator which perhaps made them look a bit more dated but it added a touch of class. This one  No.370 at Laird Street Garage dated from 1955 and was by this time twelve years old.
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3 comments:

Mick said...
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1 October 2018 at 08:02
Mick said...

I agree with your comments re livery style Christopher. However, the deeper lower deck windows on the Orion didn't lend to the attractiveness of the adjacent Massy Bro. body adjacent. I suppose I'm a tad biased being raised in Great Yarmouth where Massey bodies in a blue and cream livery reigned supreme during the mid to late 50s.
I've mentioned before that I really enjoy your blog and your wide selection of photographs which mostly are a bit out of the norm. Keep up the good work, please.

1 October 2018 at 08:04
christopher said...

Thanks Mick, I am a big Massey Bros fan myself and even of the later more upright designs, I liked the sort of Municipals that ran them:- Maidstone, Exeter, Birkenhead, Wigan etc. Of course the likes of Northern Counties, East Lancashire and even Willowbrook could turn out a more elegant half-cab bus but at least the MCW buses were usually better proportioned than the similar efforts from Park Royal and Strachens. I understand why Great Yarmouth gives you as I grew up with BMMO MCW bodied D7's.

1 October 2018 at 14:41

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