A United Olympian leaves Newcastle for Middlesborough

The last time I went to Newcastle on Tyne I gave myself exactly one hour to take some photographs. Unfortunately the weather also chose that one hour in the day to throw it down with thundery rain so my efforts were restricted to a few rushed views. However the beauty of black and white photography is one can catch the mood of the day and in it's bright red and white dual-purpose livery this ECW bodied United Leyland Olympian A233 GHN with the weak sun fighting through the clouds looked rather splendid on the still damp roads.

Leopards are becoming a rare breed

Tigers might be getting rare in the jungle but at least twenty-year old Leopards on our streets are a very much an endangered species. So it was good once more to hear the roar of one as this late example ABW 82X of Thomas Bros sometimes passes my house on school journeys. It is on loan to Roger Middleton of Rugeley who uses it as a spare.

DB Autobus in Giessen

Today not only in Britain are buses all colours of the rainbow that applies to countries like Germany too. Somehow though I rather miss the boringly reliable image of the old DB with it's dull maroon painted Mercedes and Setra buses like this one seen on a rather grey day in Giessen.

All change at Wolverhampton

It just exists! Maybe it's something about being a child with little memory to fall back on that makes everything seem so static with no past and just a narrow future. But as we get older all these memories unfurl like an endless magic carpet of events. This view of Wolverhampton Bus Station was taken about fifteen years ago which for a child is more than a lifetime but to me as an adult it still seems just like yesterday. It's hardly surprising then that everything has gone even if most of the noticeable changes are quite recent. The eye catching Midland Red North East-Lancs bodied Dennis Dart L510 BNX became an Arriva liveried bus long ago and no doubt withdrawn by now whilst an immaculate Warstone's Green Bus Leyland Leopard also bodied by East-Lancs is another memory and even the last indestructible West Midland's Travel Metrobus has finally recently gone too. To cap it all the bus station is closed as well as it gets a total makeover. Arriva wont be using the new one though as even the big operator's will do anything to save costs and prefer to use local streets.

AWB Bern: Once the heart of the PTT Post Bus Empire

Opened on 3rd February 1941 the head works at AWB in Bern was busy especially in winter when seasonal drivers with no work were drafted in from their local garages to help service the fleet. At one time there were over fifty buses in here being serviced out of  a fleet of400-500, but by the Nineties despite the fleet growing well above the five-hundred mark much of the big jobs was being done by local contractors. Most of the activity was confined to keeping the local allocation of about 33 plus cars etc in good shape like this Mercedes-Benz O405G articulated bus P27709.

Stagecoach-Ribble 333

A Stagecoach-Ribble Leyland National2 leaves Bolton on it's way to Burnley. Ribble had plenty of it's own but these were joined by buses like FUH 33V from I think Taff Ely (Pontypridd) where Stagecoach made heavy inroads into the various companies with buy-outs.

Shearings: Behind the scenes

Tour operators have been refining their skills for many years and no doubt once out on the open road the driver gives his customers the personal touch. However the Shearings central coach station near Coventry is run with the high-tech efficiency of an airport, so no doubt everyone on coach No.401 should have a good trip but the only thing you can't plan for is the British weather.

32 YKK has an uncertain future at Garston in 1982.

This style of bodywork was to be found on the early thirty-six-foot buses built to BET specification in 1962-63. Most were built by Willowbrook like former Maidstone and District 32 YKK who took two dual-purpose examples SC31-32, plus five as buses S1-5. Sadly only one of these long looking elegant beasts has survived into preservation, one of the similar 100 examples delivered to Midland Red No.5212 Reg. 5212 HA.

An easy one to remember: ABC

Probably as forgettable as it's name Independents like ABC seen here in Bolton in about 1999 quickly came and went in the Nineties.The Eastern Coachworks bodied Leyland Leopard UKE 828X once belonged to East Kent.

1984: Market Day in Caldas

There were plenty of comings and goings of RN buses in the busy little town of Caldas da Rainha where they stopped at the market place. In those days the majority were AEC's with Portuguese Utic bodywork like 4523 although these were not the most attractive.

Amsterdam: NKH 4533

A rather angular Volvo bus of NKH bound for Zaandam meets a tram near the main railway station in Amsterdam.

Sunshine in Torquay

The Devon General Bristol VR's in their NBC colours were not half as nice as dark red and cream AEC Regents but we still miss them. This operator had open-top VR's but no doubt covered No.1228 LFJ 875W still provided an enjoyable ride along the Torbay coast.