Taff-Ely AEC Reliance Willowbrook JNY 367D

Formerly Pontyridd a Taff-Ely AEC Reliance bearing a very dated BET style of bodywork by Willowbrook trundles into Caerphilly in about 1980.

First Potteries YN05 HCO in Newcastle

With their red painted fronts these Potteries branded First buses remind me of similar buses with these Wright bodies in the N.Exp West Midlands fleet. There was a time when I could have told you just from the number whether it was a Volvo or a Scania but these days I'm quite happy just to get decent photos. On this occasion I wanted to keep away from the bus station whilst Victoria got her nails done in Newcastle and this town is quite undulating which makes for interesting views. First doesn't share it's new buses very fairly and just about everything has been cascaded down from 'more important' operations including this ten tear old bus with a Yorkshire marque.

Rossendale Leyland PD3 at Asda in Rawtenstall

Rossendale Transport was a bit of a safe haven for traditional half-cab Leyland PD3's with East-Lancs bodies as they retained a few when elsewhere they were normally getting rare. Indeed one could catch them hard at work even during quieter periods for they found suitable employment for at least a pair of them doing the Asda free shuttle.

Grahams on Breezy Blackpool Prom

With it's wealth of interesting Independents Grahams from the Potteries tends to get overlooked but they had a smart fleet which as well as Leylands included this Plaxton bodied Volvo B10m D456 ERF.

Preston Bus East-Lancs Atlantean 121

Like Ribble also based in the town Preston Corpoartion was for many years a Leyland stronghold. Built in the next town this Atlantean's East-Lancsbodywork was also a local Lancashire product. It was pictured one wet Saturday in the town, I ended up not paying for my ride as I didn't have the correct money, still it was only a couple of stops from the bus station.

FBV 504W North Western on Merseyside

The seemingly endless developments that too place following Deregulation were interesting at the time and indeed quite colourful even if the end game with virtual monopoly left many of us with a bitter taste in our mouth. But it was a good time to go out with a camera as there was always plenty to see.

154 Neuchatel FBW

In the late Seventies the planners in Switzerland as elsewhere wanted to put everything in tidy little boxes and decreed that all the town buses should have their individual liveries replaced by this orange and white. Some dragged their feet so that by the time it was abandoned few buses had suffered this curse. Others on the other hand like Lausanne adopted this livery as standard. I don't care for it much and thankfully attractive towns like Neuchatel went back to it's cream livery.