First Leyland Lynx D502 LNA in Bolton

Like the other PTE's with the exception of West Midlands, Greater Manchester PTE didn't take to the Leyland Lynx so this example which had passed to First Bus at Bolton was something of a rarity in the fleet. Nevertheless the were quick and I have another photo of this bus at Manchester Airport on the 500 and these would have been ideal for longer what were termed express services.

Maidstone & District Atlantean LJA 635P at Gillingham

Greater Manchester PTE ran a well kept fleet and with the coming of Deregulation it's redundant buses were a popular choice with operators large and small including long early Atlantean operator Maidstone and District which had a large fleet at Chatham and here at Gillingham on the Medway.

Stevenson's Olympian on the 112 in Burton.

Stevenson's of Spath was a canny buyer of used buses which always made it paricularly interesting. As it grew following Degregulation it was able to buy sufficient numbers of new buses and coaches for it's most important jobs like when it bought two Alexander bodied Leyland Olympians which were well suited for the long 112 from Burton to Birmingham.

Stagecoach: The White Ladt Rides Again

Stagecoach reminded us of it's local Ribble heritage at the Morecambe Running Day in 2018 with this Dennis Trident converted to an open-topper and marketed as The White Lady. Though I doubt if the general public would have guessed why but for the enthusiast the silver stripes were a nice reminder of the metal beading which adorned the original Leyland Titan PD1 and PD2 buses built between 1948 and 1951. Indeed Stagecoach has one of the Burlingham bodied PD1's in preservation and I'm sure a lot of people would have liked to have seen the two together.

Wypte: Former Halifax Roe bodied Leyland PD2 CCP 162C

The changes that occured during the early Seventies put me off buses and more importantly bus photography. It wasn't quite as dramatic as the end of steam on the railways but  as we reached the end of the Seventies I felt a whole part of my life was disappearing with the old half-cabs. It didn't matter if they often looked a bit scruffy I had spent many an hour sitting upstairs on the front seats as they made stately progress and I had started to love them again. So as I went about the country doing my job I tried to find time to visit the towns I passed. I was lucky to visit Halifax that day as the driver of this Roe bodied Leyland PD2 said he would miss them and there were just two left at his depot.

Midland Fox SHE538S: She's a Lady

I think a lot of people think of vehicles as being either male or female but this former South Yorkshire PTE Alexander bodied Daimler Fleetline by then with Midland Fox at Leicester has already made up their minds. Of course this was taken in the Nineties long before Coronavirus but looking at the Cadbury's advert today not so much a chocolate treat but instead the unwelcome finger of fate.

NUH 41m Ryymney Valley in Caerphilly

Rhymney Valley was the ammalgamation of three small welsh municipals with Caerphilly being the biggest and because of that it seems that it dictated vehicle purchases as it was very much Leyland orientated especially with Leopards. But there were Atlanteans as well such as this example with an East Lancs body.

Rally On?

Hopefully by the end of the Bus Rally Season in November when we go to Lincoln we'll be back in the pubs and joking because in the end Coronavirus was nothing major to worry about, but yes many would argue that it already is but nothing is certain which makes it seem worse than it really is.

West Midlands BX12 DJO to Castlecroft on The 3 in Wolverhampton

It looks like I won't be able to get into the middle of a crowd  to get my bus scenes for a while. Wolverhampton has seemed to be dead foe a while anyway but the opening of the new market certainly created a good gatherering to add a bit of interest to a rather mundane Wright bodied Volvo 2013 carring route branding for the 3 and 4 Services.

First South Yorkshire Dennis Dominator SDT 240Y in Sheffield

The Dennis Dominator tended to sell in small numbers to the Municipals but thankfully South Yorkshire PTE and embraced it and bought a large number of them mostly with Alexander 'R' Series bodies. Apart from carrying it's new First logo No.2240 in Sheffield looked little changed

"Skiddow" Cumberland Leopard RRM 636X at Top Rank Hilton Park

Cumberland was one of those bus companies that didn't seem to stray far beyond it's operating area. I hardly ever saw them but I caught this one taking it's break at the Top Rank  Hilton Park Services on the M6. This ECW bodied Leyland Leopard was working a National Express contract to London on the 901.

Arriva LJ51 DLX: Running Late into Northwich

I go to Northwich quite often but as I don't get out and visit the town properly I see it as a challenge to stop at various locations at the side of the road and try to snap anything coming along. I was told a bus was due and as the sun was right waited ages last week for it to come towards me from the town. It didn't turn up and annoyed I was about to give up but it must have been late and came hurrying in from the opposite direction and good quite a good photo. This is a nice spot as coming in from the direction Davenham it's all fairly recent development whereas this is definately the old Northwich I remember. Actually two buses came together but this one is quite interesting as with it's Alexander 400 body it looks like a Dennis Trident but I'm pretty sure it's a DAF as they had some of this batch from London too at Wednesfield.

MRJ 8w Wycombe Bus Company

The Wycombe Bus Company ran this rather typical ECW bodied Bristol VR which had in fact come from an Independent Mayne of Manchester.

Appleby's Open-Top HWJ 700J on Scarborough Sea Front

The open-top seaside double-decker going along the prom is a long established British tradition. Of course as well usefullness the scenery adds to it's appeal and in this respect the more traditional and breezy Scarborough must be one of the best. When I was there in the Nineties East-Yorkshire and Appleby's which had expanded following deregulation northwards from it's Lincolnshire roots was busy competing for custom. As well as operating this Park Royal bodied Daimler Fleetline which started life with Sheffield Corporation as No.700 Appleby's also had it's Southdown Queen Mary PD3 out as well.

Playing With Numbers: Arriva VDL Plaxton YJ57 BWE

In the UK operators taking a pride in their fleet is very much a thing of the past instead they just keep them going. To a true tradesman it might annoy them so much they would have to pull it all off and do the job properly. I am talking about the fleet number alteration on the front of this Arriva VDL as it must have been something like 3145 but when they tried to change it to an eight there was not enough space so they used a small sized number instead. I don't suppose the passengers will take too much notice they will just be glad to see the Stafford Hospital bus turn up. At least unlike the 825 from Lichfield which didn't always bother to finish the last leg of it's journey the H shuttle service is fairly reliable and runs to time. 

OVG MAN in Oranienburg

West Midlands Trident 4259 at Bradford Place

4259 a West Midlands Dennis Trident awaits time at Bradford Place before heading back to West Bromwich via Bescot Stadium in 2018.

FJ13 EBC. National Express Levante leaves Liverpool for London

A National Express Caetano Levante bodied Volvo leaves a damp Liverpool for London one Sunday Afternoon.

Blackburn East-Lancs bodied Leyland PD2 PCB 30

There are still plenty of Blackburn East-Lancs bodied Leyland PD2's to be seen in this picture taken in the bus station in about 1980 or 1981

Get Knotted!

This First Potteries Omnicity Scania 65041 used on the Hanley to Stafford 101 Service has appeared in a brash new livery featuring the Staffordshire Knot. It looks a bit too colourful for my tastes even a bit like a sickly chocolate wrapper. However what the bold new branding doesn't tell you is First now offer a poorer service as the basic frequency has now fallen to every thirty-minutes instead of every twenty and no doubt a lot of  101 regulars will not be too impressed.

Capital Citybus Volvo B6 L675 RMD

Although Stagecoach bought a lot of them the Volvo B6 was not as reliable or as common as the Dennis Dart. But carrying an attractive Alexander Dash body this Volvo of Capital Citybus seen at Finsbury Park could have been either.

Peterborough Sunday Service Stagecoach SN64 OKL

One of the arguments for not running a bus service in Staffordshire is nobody used them. But just like here in Peterborough the shops are all open on a Sunday and enough people seem to use the fairly regular Stagecoach  buses to make it worthwhile. I think when locally operators like Arriva and First give a shoddy often unreliable service it really does put people off using buses.