Manchester Corporation/Selnec PTE Buses

[aidanorourke]

Here are a few of my bus memories. Can you help me to identify the buses? You've already mentioned many of them previously, but I'm not sure which is which.

I lived on Edgeley Road and just outside our house was the waiting point for buses. I would look out the window to see either a red and cream Stockport number 30 or a blue Ashton livery, also the 30. What types would these buses have been, around 1963, 1964.

The suspension of the Ashton buses was always very hard. Any reason for this?

The 92 was my 'friend' for many years, taking me in and out of Manchester. That was jointly operated by MCTD and Stockport.

My other 'friend' was the 74, a lifeline as it provided a direct link into and out of Manchester from right outside our house. I still often retrace the route down Talbot Rd and Parrs Wood Rd, and remember the sound of the wheels going over concrete sections of the road, What type was used on the 74 route around this time? Was it the PD2?

My father always used to talk about the 161 to get to Christie Hospital. He loved buses, though like me, he hs an enthusiastic amateur without detailed knowledgle.

He did mention one time though that many Mancheser buses were originally intended for India, but the order had not gone through and they were used in Manchester. That was the reason, he reckoned, they were so rugged and solidly built. Is there any truth in that, do you think?

I'll leave it at that for now.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

Route #30 in 1963/64 would normally have been serviced by Stockport's PD2s from any of the batches in service at the time, including the 1951 all Leyland batch on short workings to Hyde and the odd full length trip.

Ashton would mainly have used its PD2/40s with Roe bodies from batches delivered from 1960 onwards. Charles H Roe was a Leeds based body builder which built distinctive 4 bay rear entrance double deckers with straight stairs, seating 65. These would be replaced from time to time by members of the 1955 Crossley bodied batch.

Any perceived hardness of the suspension would be due to the way the bodies were mounted compared to other makes.

SHMD also operated the route with their green and cream Daimler and Leyland double deckers bodied by Northern Counties.

The 92 at that time was mainly operated for MCTD by Birchfields Rd based Daimler CVG6s with Burlingham bodywork. Stockport would supply various Leyland vehicles - though rarely the Crossley bodied PD2s - and the route was the home, even in the early to mid 1960s, of the 1949 and 1951 batches of all Leyland PD2s.

The 74 was the last all day turn for Parrs Wood's Leyland 1949 batch of PD1s with MCW postwar standard Manchester bodies and they stayed on the route well into the mid 1960s, Stockport using Crossleys of a similar vintage.

Later the route passed to Parrs Wood's Burlingham bodied PD2s and any of Stockport's East Lancs bodied PD2s.

There is no truth in the story of Manchester buses being originally intended for India. Manchester was both a major customer for chassis and body builders and a leading innovator in the industry and could command good good delivery slots with its own orders.

Whilst the chassis were generally the makers' standard products - although Leyland assigned designation PD2/37 to Manchester - bodies, from the early 1930s were, with few exceptions (the MCW Phoenix, the earliest Orion bodies, the first batch of Atlanteans and Fleetlines being cases in point) very much Manchester's own designs or the makers' standard product, much modified to accommodate Manchester's needs.

The only buses that MCTD operated which had not been specifically ordered for them from new were a Crossley 6 wheeler double decker ex-demonstrator, withdrawn in 1946, the Crossley 2960, as mentioned in my narrative, a small number of ex Yelloway single deckers and one double decker which were acquired when Yelloway's stage carriage service was taken over in 1944. The single deckers were sold without entering service, the double decker entered service and was later rebodied.

Manchester's last 5 front engined Daimler double deckers, (CCG6s 4650-4654) delivered in 1963 were not specifically built for Manchester and were an oddball (thus the CCG rather than CVG designation by Daimler). They had been built speculatively and Manchester got them at a knock down price for reasons that will become clear when I deal with Manchester's fleet policy between 1958 and 1969.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

North Western Road Car Company Ltd was, in 1958, part of British Electric Traction – a company with roots in electric tramway systems (the last tram it owned ran in Gateshead in 1951) which owned many of the non-municipal and non-nationalised bus companies in the UK between 1948 and 1969.

At the time BET also owned a bus company in Jamaica and had spawned Rediffusion which used its power cables in towns where it supplied electricity to supply BBC radio, under licence, as early as the 1920s.

It began early TV manufacture in the 1930s, was a TV broadcaster in the 1950s and, after the loss of its bus empire and TV franchise arrangements was absorbed with its partner ABC into Thames TV.

Initial Hygiene and Towel Systems was part of the group and BET owned 51% of Wembley Stadium. Eventually Rentokil, looking to purchase Initial, bought out the companies left operating as BET in 1996.

As the largest non-nationalised bus operator in the country, BET tried to standardise its fleet and exert purchasing power but, compared to, say, the much smaller MCTD, it had mixed fortunes.

This was partly due to the fiercely independent stance of many of the constituent companies and the wide variety of chassis and body builders’ products it had inherited – many of which had only just been withdrawn when the company sold its assets to the National Bus Company.

Of its constituents, North Western was one of the most independent (as we have seen with its bid to introduce the Atkinson Alpha single decker on a large scale) and there was resentment at Charles St, still palpable in the early 1960s, that by not being nationalised, Bristols were denied to them.

The North Western fleet in 1958 was a mixed stage carriage (double and single decker), dual purpose and coaching fleet (all single deckers) plus the fleets of Altrincham Coachways and Melba Motors which took vehicles from the main coach fleet and ran them in their own liveries until 1967.

Chassis types were Double deckers: Bristol, Guy and Leyland
Single deckers: AEC, Albion, Atkinson, Bristol and Leyland

Bodywork was a real mixture and there were many pre-war chassis in the fleet that had been rebodied in the late 1940s/early 1950s and a handful of body swaps had taken place on some of the Bristol single deckers.

Body types were: Double deckers: ECW, Leyland, Weymann and Willowbrook
Single deckers: Brush, Burlingham, ECW, Leyland, MCW, Weymann and Windover.

The fleet was too diverse to fully catalogue here. Most of the older single deck buses were half cab rear entrance Bristols with 35 or 38 seat bodies by Brush, Burlingham, ECW, Weymann and Willowbrook.
The Atkinson Alphas had Weymann and Willowbrook bodies, the two Leyland Olympians had Weymann bodies but, from 1953, BET had managed to instil some order by imposing its standard Weymann single deck bodies, to a BET design on “acceptable” AEC Reliance and Leyland Royal Tiger and Tiger Cub chassis – although in 1957 six Albion MR11Ls lightweight chassis identical to those foisted on A F Neal at MCTD appeared with the “regulation” Weymann body.

The Bristols were a diverse group and each body bestowed different ride qualities on the L5G chassis that North Western had specified from 1938 to 1948 (though the last weren’t delivered until 1950). The Gardner engines were all fairly raucous but, within the confines of their speed limiters, could accelerate well and maintain a fair speed.

The Atkinsons were smoother and quieter but looked old fashioned from the start as all but two were rear entrance. The Royal Tigers and Tiger Cubs were much more modern, had the standard front entrance BET style Weymann body but were quite bland – only the handful of AEC Reliances and the Albions offering any variation or interest. They had 44 seat bodies with a through aisle leading to an emergency door at the back, the window of which formed one of a set of three rear windows.

In amongst this standardisation in 1955 Charles St had placed 10 Reliances in service with Burlingham single deck front entrance bodies. Compared to the Weymanns, these had Burlingham’s rounded window corners, looked smaller as they were 7 foot 6 inches wide – as had been all the fleet’s single deck buses up until the BET standards which were 8 feet wide – and had a tendency to rattle badly at tickover.

1957 had seen the introduction of the first dual purpose single deckers since some post war Bristols delivered with Weymann bodies in 1950 – most of the Bristols had, by 1958 become indistinguishable from the bus versions.

The new arrivals had a body half way between the “old” BET Weymann standard and the new. They were AEC Reliances with 42 seat bodies, an improved passenger seat, side emergency exit and a single rear window and were visually stunning with black upper parts, red lower parts and a cream band below the windows between the colours. In every respect they were an improvement on anything that had gone before – comfortable, quiet to ride on and fast away from stops.

The coaching stock was almost as much of a mish mash as the bus stock. The oldest vehicles in stock were front engined half cab Bristols and Leylands with forward entrance Windover bodies from 1949 and 1950. 1952 and 1953 saw deliveries of two batches of all Leyland centre entrance coaches on Royal Tiger chassis replete with superb interior trim, plenty of exterior chrome and excellent ride and performance characteristics.

All the Leylands and Bristols were coming to the end of their front line coaching life by 1958 and were aided by 1954 Leyland Royal Tigers with Burlingham Seagull Mk 1 bodies with a front entrance and 41 seats and a solitary AEC Reliance with MCW Fanfare body with a front entrance and equipped with 37 seats for long distance and Continental touring – though by 1958 it was doing as many school runs as it was tours!

1955 saw more Seagulls on Royal Tiger chassis and 1956 saw five more Fanfares, again on Reliance chassis. The Seagulls were the standard Burlingham front entrance version of the famous body which, with its curves, was one of the most recognised coaches of its day. The Fanfare, with an ovoid rear window and a curved rear profile with large unglazed rear corners looked heavy by comparison and had almost a stooped appearance from the rear.

1957 brought the last of the Seagulls, thirteen in total, twelve on Tiger Cub Chassis and one on AEC Reliance. These had the latest version of the body with even more exaggerated body curves – in fact, from some angles they could almost have been called voluptuous!

The double decker stock comprised the post war rebodied prewar Bristols with Willowbrook bodies accompanied by wartime Guy Arabs similarly rebodied.

The Bristols seemed far more brutish than the Guys – partly because of the style and position of the radiator. They were also much noisier, had a harder ride and were slower.

Post war deliveries had been entirely Leyland, 24 in 1948 - a mix of 10 PD1s with ECW and 14 PD2s with Leyland bodies, 14 PD2s in 1949 with Leyland bodies, including six with manually operated rear doors for the Blackpool express service which, when used on stage carriage service in later life were the bane of the conductors. The year also saw 10 PD2s with Weymann bodies identical to those supplied to London Transport on AEC Regent chassis as the RLH class.

1952 brought a single all Leyland PD2, 1953 6 Weymann bodied Leyland PD2s and the final deliveries were the 10 Weymann bodied PD2s with Orion lightweight bodies and rear doors in 1956.

The ECW PD1s were very much the standard Leyland/ECW combination many non-municipal operators were taking at the time prior to the nationalisation of ECW. They were solid, reliable but, with the E181 engine and a heavy body, were by no means sparkling performers. The all Leyland PD2s were much livelier and included the odd ball one off delivered in 1952 which was built for an independent operator who cancelled, the interior being much better finished than the 1948/1949 batches.

The Weymann bodies on the 1949 PD2s had the roof ridges, flared lower panels and all the other touches to be found on the RLH class in London.

The 1956 PD2s were just appalling. Noisy, rattling, poorly finished and, like all the other double deckers, they were of lowbridge construction with an offside sunken footway and a platform with a four seat bench on the top deck. Bad enough under the best of conditions, hell on a cold, wet winter morning with the top deck riders carrying colds, coughing and smoking.

So we come to 1958. The company is in the process of a colour scheme change for the bus fleet. Cream and red – applied in a similar way to Stockport’s - is giving way to a more yellow shade of cream and a slightly deeper red. The red is overall, relieved by cream around the upper and lower deck windows on the double deckers and around the windows on the single deckers. There are many variations over the coming years, on new vehicles and re-sprays. All single deckers have red around the rear corner panels at window level – most have the rear window(s) outlined in cream.

Double deckers should have had cream around the whole of the lower deck at window level but many have the front bulkhead window surround above the bonnet in red. The rear upper deck corner pillars are always red but some vehicles have the rear upper deck window surround in cream, some in red. The front corner pillars should be red with cream around the front and side windows. Some pillars are cream.

To be continued.....

[Phil Blinkhorn]

As we have seen, the dual purpose fleet – which hadn’t had a distinctive scheme before – now had a classy black and red scheme, relieved by a cream dividing band. This first appeared on the 1957 Weymann bodied Reliances and, in 1958, appeared on some of the downgraded all Leyland coaches from 1952/53, though without the cream band and minus the backhand sloping fleet name with which the Reliances were delivered, the ex-coaches retaining the traditional underlined fleetname.

The coaching fleet which, in general, had had a mainly cream scheme relieved by varying amounts of red depending on the body style (from trim flashes on some bodies to the whole lower half of the body on some of the all Leyland coaches) continued to vary but an indicator of future standardisation for, at least, the express (as opposed to touring) fleet came amongst the delivery of the first batch of Leyland Tiger Cubs with the latest BET style Willowbrook bodies. The body was very similar to the 1957 batch but had a more upright front profile with a set in, sloping, driver’s windscreen.

This design became a UK classic on Tiger Cub and Reliance chassis with many BET, municipal and independent fleets.

The first North Western batch of these bodies appeared as a mixture of dual purpose Reliances and Tiger Cubs followed by the Tiger Cub coaches in overall cream with a single red band below the windows and the fleetname in the sloping script (766-775).

These were 41 seat vehicles and also appeared on stage carriage services but were really designed for some of the expanding express services – though the Tiger Cubs didn’t have the larger fuel tanks which would be needed once the motorway network started to grow which allowed North Western and its BET partners to offer a wide range of new services across the UK, so they only saw a few years in coaching service.

Officially they were meant to be the only Tiger Cubs in the cream scheme but memory (though I’ve no photo proof of this) says some of the dual purpose 43 seat batch also appeared in cream – or were later repainted in cream. What is certain is that none of the Reliances with this body style appeared in the coach scheme.

This batch carried LDB series registrations – North Western reserved LDB 701 – LDB 800 and used the allocation between mid 1957 and mid 1960 – by which time Stockport was issuing RDB.

Both the Reliances and Tiger Cubs were efficient and reliable performers though some of both batches had early problems with the air operated jack knife doors.

Before they appeared, a batch of Reliances arrived from Weymann for the touring fleet, this time with 41 seats and a new style of body (741 - 745)

1959 saw only 4 vehicles delivered – all Reliances, 3 with 41 seat bodies for the express coach fleet, one with 37 seats for the touring fleet. The bodies were from a supplier that hadn’t been used for 21 years – Harrington – and were that company’s final variant of the Wayfarer design.

Whilst 1959 saw a lack of deliveries it did see the start of an interesting experiment. 555 a 1953 PD2 with, for North Western, unique four bay Weymann bodies of handsome proportions was taken out of service and its 0600 engine was replaced by a Ruston Hornsby air cooled engine. This entailed widening the bonnet and providing air inlets at the front which formed one of the ugliest, “tin fronts” ever designed. This was modified a couple of times with no improvement in looks. The engine was noisy and the experiment was brought to an end and the original engine was put back where it belonged.

As the new decade dawned, North Western was again at odds with BET policy. Double deckers were a necessary part of the fleet, not only in the part of the operating area that fell within what was to become Greater Manchester but also in Macclesfield and Northwich. With low bridges on a good number of double decker routes and the need to move vehicles around the system there was no alternative to the compromise that was the lowbridge double decker with all its inherent faults.

This need not have been the case by 1960 had not the Conservative government, which had been in power for almost 9 years at that juncture, consented to the continuity of a number of nonsenses which, when in opposition in 1948, it had opposed. Had nationalisation of three essential services been conducted in an integrated manner, there would have been an excuse for Macmillan to preside over its continuation but there was no co-ordination – indeed there were areas of crazy duplication and competition within the overall organisation – the BTC.

The British Transport Commission was, in effect, an arm of government which oversaw the nationalised railways, bus operation and road haulage.

The story of the railways under nationalisation is well known – and the ridiculous form of privatisation brought in by a later Tory government has little to recommend it.

In vast areas of the country the Tilling Group bus companies that had been nationalised served many of the railway stations and could have been co-ordinated with train arrivals and departures. More often than not, they weren’t - with trains scheduled to arrive minutes after the departure of an hourly bus service or buses arriving minutes after the departure of a twice a day train. It sounds unbelievable but many commentators have stated that the sweeping Beeching closures would not have been so widespread had bus and train services been integrated and complementary.

As it was the bus companies were used to replace rail services, often with a timetable and fare structure designed to end not just the train service but the bus route as well.

In road haulage the BTC had British Road Services which competed on long haul deliveries against the private sector with its red fleet whilst its green parcel fleet competed on local drops. It also competed against itself as British Railways operated a comprehensive delivery service in most towns with its well known Scammell three wheel tractors pulling articulated trailers.

To add to the nonsense the Bristol chassis making concern was nationalised as was Eastern Coachworks – both of which had supplied many BET companies and even some municipalities. As part of the nationalisation sales to non nationalised companies were banned and Tilling companies were tied to ECW for bodies. This meant that the Brislington works produced chassis which then had to be driven clear across the country to Lowestoft to be bodied.

Whilst Bristol did produce engines, its chassis frames, axles and wheels were generally powered by Gardner engines – though Leyland 0600 engines were specified by some operators – and the same situation existed when it came to building trucks for BRS, which it did extremely competently, with proportionately more of the trucks powered by Leyland than was the case with the buses. Interestingly BRS, unlike the bus companies, was permitted to buy any make of truck.

With by far the bulk of rural bus services under nationalised companies the need within those companies for a workable low height double decker became urgent.

The Brislington engineers had been looking for a solution since the mid 1930s and came up with a complex arrangement known as a drop centre rear axle which appeared on a traditional rear entrance, front engined double decker in 1949.

The early prototypes had traditional exposed radiators but production examples all had Bristol tin fronts which developed over the years into more refined shapes.

The Lodekka became the staple BTC double decker in 27 foot 6 inch, rear entrance (with and without doors), 30 foot forward entrance and even some 31 foot 6 inch long coach standard forward entrance vehicles before production ended in 1968.

Allied to some excellently proportioned ECW bodies, the Bristol Lodekka was a tough dependable and long lived workhorse. Non nationalised companies could only look on with envy as they had nothing to match and struggled – as did some municipals – with the cramped conditions of the traditional lowbridge design.

AEC, Daimler and Leyland were all looking at the same problem. Leyland, in its search for rear engine/front entrance double deck designs produced a rear engine powered version of a drop centre rear axle on both of its Lowloader concept vehicles but though this was perfected and incorporated into the first prototype Atlantean (a design much modified before production began) it was abandoned as too complex for production vehicles and early lowbridge Atlanteans had a raised floor at the back of the lower deck and the last three or four rows of the upper deck were on a raised platform with a sunken gangway.

Real low height Atlanteans had to wait until Leyland acquired a license from Daimler in 1964 to use the Coventry company’s axle design, even though Leyland’s acquisition of Albion had spawned the Lowlander, a front engined, front entrance double decker with a drop centre rear axle which was built between 1961 and 1967 and sold to a wide range of operators as an Albion in Scotland and a Leyland in England. Basically a low height PD3 the type was seen by many BET companies as “the answer” and Ribble and Yorkshire Woollen being among a number to order batches. But the Lowlander disappointed – especially when Leyland fitted air suspension and North Western kept well clear.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

BET thought it had the answer as early as 1957 when AEC announced the Bridgemaster – a true low height double decker – part of the design work for which was carried out at the Crossley works at Errwood Rd, indeed one of the prototypes was badged as a Crossly Bridgemaster. BET encouraged its constituent companies to look closely at the type which could be ordered either as a low or full height vehicle.

North Western took a look and walked away. The bus looked and was modern – if a little top heavy. What put North Western off was the fact that, whilst it was based on the well proven Regent V, it owed a great deal to the Routemaster, including its integral chassis less construction using a Park Royal body and Charles St had seen enough of chassis less vehicles with its two single deck Olympics.

North Western obviously got it right as the Bridgemaster, in both its forms, sold only a total of 179 and was deleted from the catalogue in 1961.

Daimler waited until the Fleetline to introduce its low height, stepless floor vehicle and provided the bulk of BET companies, including North Western, with their long term answer. But in 1960 the Fleetline was in prototype form and North Western was looking to replace its prewar Bristols and wartime Guys sooner rather than later.

Down in Hampshire, Aldershot and District Motor Traction had been long term customers of Dennis, based in Guildford. Just as North Western wanted to specify Atkinson chassis, A and D wanted to continue buying Dennis – who were not volume bus chassis makers but were famous in the 1940s and 1950s for their fire engines which almost every British fire brigade bought. This put A and D at odds with BET policy but their persistence was to benefit North Western.

A and D were equally in need of low height double deckers and Dennis came up with the answer. Whilst Bristol could not sell complete chassis to non nationalised operators there was nothing to stop them licensing their designs. Dennis approached Bristol and came away with a license to build the Lodekka in its rear entrance form –albeit 30 foot long which was not a Lodekka standard. The prototype appeared in 1957 and A and D bought 34 Loline Mk1 chassis and sent them to Blackburn for bodying by East Lancashire – they were delivered in 1958.

North Western watched developments with interest and when Dennis said they would produce chassis frames suitable for forward entrance bodies, the Loline Mk 2, North Western presented their case and the A and D precedent to BET and received approval to order 15 with East Lancs 71 seat forward sliding door entrance bodies with a mix of Gardner and Leyland engines. At last the double deck bus fleet had some modern vehicles and they were pressed into service on the #71 and #80 where they provided a smooth and blessed relief from the Bristols and, once they had proved themselves, they went further afield on the #28, #29 and #30. With modern grey and white interior trim, quiet engines, smooth suspension, heaters, doors and normal access to upper deck seats many Manchester and Stockport passengers intending to travel relatively short distances on routes along which the buses operated would time their journey to avoid a #16, or a #40, a #89 or a # 92 and board a #80, a #29 or a #28.

Back in Hampshire A and D needed more Lolines but wanted a beefed up version. They borrowed one of North Western’s batch direct from the Blackburn body builders and, in return, sent one of their 1958 batch which spent much of its time on the #71 and #80 where its two shades of green and cream colours, its massive Aldershot and District Traction Company oval logo attracted much comment – as did the dark green upholstery and the five across rearward facing bench seat across the front of the bus behind the engine/driver’s cab bulkhead. No doubt conductors who had had to cope with the manual platform doors on the old express PD2s were happy to see that the Loline 1’s sliding rear door was driver operated.

The outcome of the Aldershot trial with the North Western vehicle was the Loline 3 and we’ll come to that.

Whilst all this was going on, two more batches of dual purpose Tiger Cub/Willowbrook single deckers appeared with four similar Reliances and they used up the last of the 1957 batch of LDB registrations, the remaining 11 being registered in the RDB series, of which the first was RDB 801 (801), the whole of RDB 801 – RDB 900 being allocated to North Western which took 19 months to use them.

The touring coach fleet was added to again in 1961 with the transfer of 2 AEC Reliance/Harrington Wayfarers delivered new to Altrincham Coachways as LDB 776 and LDB 777 in 1959 and they took up fleet #s 776 and 777 which had been left spare for them. At the same time, my records show 2 further Reliances transferred to the main fleet from Altrincham – 827 and 828 (RDB 827/828). These had Willowbrook 41 seat front entrance bodies and are designated as coaches. As I can’t remember or find any photo evidence of these and fleet #s 829 – 831 are unallocated I will have to wait until a definitive North Western history arrives – due to be published this year, as are definitives on both Stockport Corporation and Manchester Trolleybuses – to confirm their type.

The long distance express coach fleet was modernised in 1961. The adjoining BET company, Ribble, had been making headlines in the press with its Gay Hostess coaches (try that branding today!!) based on Atlanteans with Weymann coach seated bodies with toilets and snack catering on board. They mainly operated under Standerwick titles, though Ribble was used from time to time and were capable of – and were timetabled to run – at sustained speeds of 65 mph on the M1. This speed was often exceeded. I vividly recall the suction and consequent “throw” when my father’s Minx was passed on the M1 by one of Standerwick’s finest passing us with the Minx’s speedo – which went to 90 mph – well past the 75 mph mark. The thought of that makes me cringe, although in the early 1960s with much less traffic, it was much safer. Midland Red timed its Birmingham – London service on sustained 70 mph running and 85 – 90 mph was often achieved with their superb, home made, BMMO turbo charged C5Ts, even though “officially” their top speed was 76 mph.

North Western’s ambitions were more modest. They bought 20 AEC Reliances with front entrance 41 seat coach bodies with roof quarter lights along each side. Painted cream with one red band under the windows and with reverse sloping script, they were bodied by yet another non standard maker – Walter Alexander of Falkirk. The coaches were employed on tours (for which they were suited) and express work where they struggled.

At the same time, the final batch of Willowbrook bodied Reliances (852 –871) arrived in the dual purpose scheme. The big news of 1961 was the arrival of a large number of chassis with Gardner engines and a new style of tin front with Dennis badges which were stored around Charles St and left in dribs and drabs, returning with Alexander forward entrance 71 seat bodies in no particular order. The new tin front already offered a much more macho appearance than the Loline 2s and, when married to Alexander’s current balloon roof design, their frontal appearance was massive.

Again equipped with sliding doors – which in early service had a tendency to stick halfway if the driver tried to close them when climbing a hill, almost a daily occurrence around Stockport – they continued the interior theme of grey and white.

RDB 872 – RDB 876 came first, with corresponding fleet numbers, though in no particular order. The year ended with RDB 882 – RDB 891 arriving with no sign of RDB 877 – RDB 881.

The missing buses arrived in 1962 closely followed by 892-900. When 901 arrived it, and the remaining 5 were registered in the sequence VDB 901 – 906. These were the final Lolines. The vehicles of both marks served the company extremely well and all passed to SELNEC or Crosville. They not only modernised the double deck fleet but also laid the foundations for the next stage in development. North Western took no less than 50 Lolines out of a total production of 280, 141 going to Aldershot and District which ignored the rear engine way out of the problem and continued to buy Lolines until 1965 when it stopped buying double deckers.

The final delivery of 1962 was a true beefing up of the express coach fleet by the purchase of 10 36 foot long Leyland Leopards (907 – 916) which were capable of sustained 60 mph running, had large fuel tanks capable of taking the coaches over 250 miles at speed and went into service on the London and Glasgow routes. They had Alexander 49 seat bodies which were a stretched version of those supplied on the 1961 Reliances and included the roof quarter lights and sliding ventilator windows which had a tendency to rattle – a pain on the overnight service if trying to sleep,though the last two had fixed windows and forced air ventilation. As it turned out these were a stop gap vehicle but, for all of that, were excellent performers.

It was 1963 that was to see some major changes, but that is for later in the coming week.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

Having received its first 36 foot long vehicles in 1962 in the form of the Alexander bodied Leyland Leopard express coaches, North Western then turned to the single deck bus fleet and ordered twenty 36 foot long AEC Reliance chassis.

Since the first Royal Tiger deliveries, all single deck buses had conformed to BET body standards and it was the same builder, Willowbrook, that received the latest order. Once again, however, North Western was seen to be non standard.

BET had not finalised its 36 foot long single deck body which eventually had wrap round windscreens and rear windows, peaked front and rear domes, most with six side windows, four of full length with the remaining two being the emergency door window and a small rearmost side window on the offside with a matching arrangement on the nearside.

Prior to the North Western deliveries some BET companies received vehicles with the front peaked domes and wrap round windscreens and the curved rear dome and window shape taken from the 30 foot long design that appeared in 1958. They had seven side windows, the emergency door window and short trailing window on the offside plus five further bays with a matching nearside arrangement.

The North Western vehicles were different to any others. The front was totally standard. The sides had the seven windows but the rear had a shallow curved dome which ended in a cut in of about an inch or so, forming a very shallow canopy over the rest of the rear panels which contained a rear window to the 1958 design.

Hybrids they may have been but they were very handsome vehicles. Delivered in the early months of 1963, 917 – 931 were finished in the standard bus red and cream and the second batch, 932 – 951 were expected to be 51 seat dual purpose vehicles, as against the 53seats of the first batch – an amazing increase in capacity from the 35seat buses they replaced - indeed they could have almost replaced any of the double deck fleet, prior to the Lolines, on a one for one basis.

When the dual purpose batch arrived they were just a little disappointing. Having seen the first batch most enthusiasts were anticipating just how good the second would look in the black, cream and red livery but, yet again, the company changed its colour scheme. This time the colours were applied in a red, cream, red style with the red on the roof extending to just below the windows, below that a broad cream band of around 2 feet six with a chrome and paint trim band separating the cream from the red of the lower panelling. This was not the last dual purpose livery but the batch was the last single deck bus delivery for six years – all the North Western bus eggs were about to go into the double deck basket.

1963 will go down as the year Charles St came back into line with BET policy and continued the modernisation of the fleet with vehicles that were both dramatically different and up to the minute in design and facility.

The next deliveries came in the late summer. We have seen the problems created by the lack of availability of an acceptable flat floor lowbridge bus prior to the Loline. AEC, having had little success with the Bridgemaster and BET having not really taken the Loline on board – though both Aldershot and District and North Western had excellent value from their batches – got together again and came up with a traditional chassis/body combination which took an old AEC name – Renown. Whilst many body builders pitched to build bodies on the new Renown chassis the BET (and AEC) preference was the Park Royal forward entrance 74 seat body.

North Western ordered an initial batch of 18 (964 – 981). Whilst the body design was born of the Bridgemaster the proportions had been improved and, in the case of North Western, when placed next to the Alexander bodied Lolines, the Renowns looked very subtle and, for a front engined vehicle, very modern.

Prior to their arrival the coaching fleet had been receiving new vehicles, mainly to cater for the expanding range of long distance express routes the Tiger Cubs couldn’t satisfactorily service. A batch of 8 Leyland Leopard 36 foot chassis were dispatched to Falkirk where Alexander fitted their latest Y body style.

Numbered 952 – 959 the vehicles featured wrap round front windscreens, wrap round rear windows (both below curved domes, the front one containing a combined destination and route indicator) jack-knife front doors and, most impressively, only five windows per side – from the rear there was a short window (emergency door on both sides) a short bay and then three long bays separated by forward sloping pillars – American style.

Finished in overall cream with a red band below the windows which widened below the most forward bay, the vehicles also featured forced air ventilation with individual air vents as in aircraft, partially reclining seats, a pink finish to the interior ceiling, fluorescent lighting plus individual tungsten reading lights and illuminated panels on the exterior in the wider part of the red bands, containing the company name.

A further two (960-961) arrived and these had twin speed rear axles which was to be the norm for future deliveries. All future express coach deliveries were to be Leopards with Y bodies. There were some detail changes in later batches, the pink ceilings were eventually replaced by a very light grey and the illuminated panels also were eventually dropped though they remained on vehicles which were so fitted – Crosville fitting their own panels on the vehicles they inherited.

I spent many nights on these later deliveries in the period between 1963 and 1967 on visits to London when I couldn’t afford the £2/10/6d each way stand by fare on BEA. Student return on the coach was £2/8/6d.

In those days the X5 would leave Lower Mosley St between 22.30 and 23.30 – there were often three or four workings, some routings varied from the one I’m going to describe. The trip would leave Manchester via Stretford and Altrincham to Knutsford from where Congleton would be reached. The first major stop would be Newcastle under Lyme’s PMT depot. After this there was a chance of some extended dual carriageway running via Stafford to Birmingham so, if fitted the higher gearing of the twin speed axle could be used. Birmingham’s BMMO bus station would see the passengers decanted for a quick cuppa at around 02.00 after which the Leopards came into their own. With only a few reading lights illuminating the interior the coach would travel past Birmingham Airport, through the outskirts of Coventry to the start of the M1 (nowadays the M45). Depending on the working, the next stop would be one of Watford Gap, Newport Pagnell or Toddington (sometimes the stop would depend on how many were asleep/if a toilet stop was needed). Before the M1 was opened south of what is today the M10 junction, the M10 would be taken and the coach would gain Victoria Coach Station at around 06.00 via the A6, once the M1 extension reached Hendon the route would be via the M1 and Swiss Cottage. Whilst the vehicles were capable of sustained 65 mph running – and sometimes made 75 mph – night time journeys were more often conducted at around 55 – 60 mph.

Travelling overnight as a teenager I didn’t find the trips uncomfortable. The recline was enough to enable sleep, there was good sound proofing, the ventilation and heating system was good, there was nothing – apart from the odd bit of luggage in the overhead racks – to rattle and the engine note could be soporific. As a 60 year old my view might be quite different!

I also travelled on these (and Western SMT’s black and white versions) to Glasgow where they were more than capable of dealing with the A6 over Shap and the A74 over Beattock.

At the same time the touring fleet received 962-963 which were 36 foot Lopards with single speed axles and yet another make of body – Plaxton – who supplied their brand new Panorama I body, which featured very long and deep window bays, forced air ventilation and a good deal of chrome trim enhancing the cream with red trim colour scheme.

All of the above was, however eclipsed by the next arrivals.

We have seen how, over at Heaton Lane, the arrival of the 1963 batch of PD2s registered YDB 1– 10 started a new numbering series and a range of changes for the Stockport fleet. The autumn of 1963 saw the arrival of YJA 1 – 22 at Charles St and the two batches in which they were delivered not only completely changed the look of the double deck fleet but, with the exception of a second batch of Renowns, standardised the double deck fleet until the very last order – which in any case was delivered in SELNEC Cheshire colours.

BET constituents had been taking rear engined Atlanteans since they first appeared – PMT, abutting North Western in the Potteries, had built a fleet and had taken some of the newer Daimler Fleetlines. All the Atlanteans had received the low height version of the bodywork whilst, to the north, Ribble had batches of Atlanteans of both heights. North Western had not ignored the developments, in fact in the mid 1950s it had used the second Leyland Lowloader demonstrator in service for a couple of weeks, but it was aware of the problems with the breed, wanted a more robust vehicle and had found its answer in the Loline.

In the summer of 1962 it had tried out the prototype Daimler Fleetline, 7000 HP, its Weymann body in Birmingham colours as it had been when demonstrated to Manchester in 1961 but this time as it proceeded along Kingsway on the #29 and #30 it was powered by a Gardner engine rather than the original Daimler unit as tested by Parrs Wood.

The North Western trial was satisfactory and the twenty two chassis were sent to Falkirk and returned with something on board which immediately made everything else in the double deck fleet – and much in the surrounding fleets – look very dated.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

When the Atlantean hit the streets it was, to the general public and most operating crews, sensationally different. In 1958 most passengers would not have experienced riding on a 30 foot long double decker or one with doors of any sort. Most fleets were made up of 26 and 27 foot 6 inch long front entrance, rear platform vehicles, the design of which had been laid out prior to 1914 and had been refined gaining roofs, enclosed stairs, cabs and even, in some cases, heaters and a few platform doors, over the following 44 years.

To see for the first time, as I did in Stoke on Trent in 1958, a large bus looking from the front like a double deck coach and from the rear like nothing else seen before, with the engine in a bulge across the rear, was a head turning experience - and public heads turned. To ride on such a vehicle, boarding through doors by the driver, climbing stairs set behind his cab or sitting on the rear bench seat with the engine behind was something totally new, as was the comfort of the vehicle in winter when the heaters and doors guaranteed warmth to passengers and conductors, though the drivers had to get used to not being encapsulated next to a warm engine.

I will look at the development of such vehicles in a later article on MCTD, for the moment suffice to say Leyland “bottled it” dropping many features of the prototype Atlantean including the much needed drop centre rear axle.

In hindsight, given the problems the design threw up over the next ten years and Guy Motors’ problems with the Wulfrunian which went full tilt at every solution to the problems the industry wished to overcome, Leyland’s decision was not a bad one.

If Leyland shied away from too much innovation, the body builders shied away almost completely. MCW and Weymann (offering basically the same product), Alexander, Northern Counties and Northern Coachbuilders all offered their standard products – most of which were offered for 30 foot front engined vehicles – adapted for the new engine and boarding arrangements and the new low driving position. Even when Ribble bought coach variants they only added toilets, catering, some chrome and barely changed the body.

So, whilst the sheer size and re-arrangement of the planform turned heads, it would be four years Liverpool and Glasgow ordered in bulk and came up with designs more worthy of a vehicle that, fifty years on, would still be the template for double deck design.

Glasgow’s Alexander bodied Atlanteans had hall marks of the standard Alexander body but the front profile was radically altered with the upper deck front windows being replaced by a deepened version of the rear window from the Y style coach body. The lower deck windscreen was a deep, curved, single piece and the panel below contained lights, in an area defined by an indentation in the panelling and a ventilator. The effect was radically different even if the rest of the exterior was standard Alexander fare, including the two bay rear upper deck emergency exit. Inside, wide use of plastics gave the bus a light, modern feel.

So, when North Western’s Fleetline chassis, the first Daimlers ordered by the company (it had inherited a number of Daimlers on formation in 1923 and picked up a few more second hand in 1927), departed for Falkirk there was great anticipation – an anticipation that was not to be disappointed. As Charles St had ordered the low height version of the Glasgow body, the balloon roof effect was further reduced and the lower deck rear window was shallower making the engine bustle look larger. The overall effect was very much in tune with the spirit of the times – “state of the art” well before the term was invented.

Inside the 75 seat body there was a great deal of black around the cab and platform area. Nightime reflections had plagued earlier Atlantean and Fleetline drivers and the large windscreen offered greater problems which the black went someway to reduce. The bulk of the finish was light grey plastic. What was a shock was that the top deck ceiling had been finished in pink. If Stockport’s green ceilings were daring, pink was positively revolutionary. What was going on, of course, was a determined effort to reduce the effects of cigarette smoke. The ceilings also contained two fixed, opaque roof lights.

These vehicles were, with minor variations, to become the company’s double decker standard until 1967 and the type eventually replaced all the double deckers delivered prior to 1956. They were excellent performers, although they lacked power steering; from a passenger point of view were light, airy and seemed to be smoother than rear engined buses in other fleets and were a world away from the Bristols and Guys they replaced.

A further batch of 15 arrived in 1964, sans pink ceilings and with deeper route number boxes at the same time as a second, and final, batch of 15 Renowns, which had some rather strange black trim along with the grey interior finish, had fixed windows, apart from two quarter lights on each deck, and forced air heating and ventilation. The Fleetlines were numbered 100 - 114, the Renowns 115 – 129 (for some reason 22 - 99 were not used). The Renown, as a design, was pretty much killed off in BET fleets by the modernity of Fleetline which group companies purchased in both low height and full height versions.

The next batch of vehicles certainly kept up the level of interest in the goings on at Charles St. The Bristol single deck fleet was all but retired. Advantages of the design were a low height compared to the underfloor engined single deckers which had, for the previous ten years been inexorably replacing them and a 7 foot 6 inch width.

There was one particular bridge under the Bridgewater Canal at Dunham Woodhouses that most of the Bristols could manage. It had a very curved stone bore and no underfloor engined single could negotiate it. As the last Bristols were coming to the end of their useful lives something had to be done.

The solution came from an unexpected and unorthodox source. The Bedford division of General Motors had long produced truck derived coach and light bus chassis. In 1962 it launched its first ever specifically designed chassis for coach operation. Light in weight, 36 foot in length and at a price far cheaper than the competing Leyland and AEC products, the VAL chassis had a feature that mad it unique – 3 axles, one at the rear was powered the other two at the front steered the vehicle. A further feature was small 16 inch wheels. Bedford touted the safety of twin steer vehicles when a tyre blew out (something Tyrell looked at with their twin steer Formula 1 car).

The VAL sold extremely well to coach operators all over the UK and abroad. Also in its favour was the same Leyland 0400 engine that powered the Tiger Cub. What made North Western look at it was that the engine was positioned between the front entrance and the driver (as was standard on Bedford coaches derived from trucks) and this, with the small wheels gave a height low enough for the bridge to be worked through – except that the VAL was an 8 foot wide chassis and the bodies available would not fit the curve of the bore.

North Western persuaded Strachans, a builder of van bodies and specialist bus bodies – including hundreds for the Ministry of Defence – to build a standard BET design single deck bus body on the VAL chassis and change the roof to a curved profile above the windows to mirror the bridge bore. This produced a slightly odd looking but effective vehicle. The Bristols could retire! Whilst vehicles for the service under the bridge had been drawn from an extensive Bristol fleet until the time came when a handful of vehicles were retained, it wasn’t possible to build a very small number of such a "special" so ten of the 52 seat VALs arrived, were based primarily at Altrincham and served on various routes - including the #80 Stockport to Altrincham on both running in turns and off peak service from time to time. With the engine by the driver and a lightweight body which rattled, the Bedford/Strachans product (numbered 130 – 139) was noisy, not very comfortable and only lasted seven years in service.

Also that year a further ten Leopards with Alexander 49 seat Y bodies (140 – 149) were added to the express coaching fleet and 150/151 were delivered as short length Leopards with Harrington Grenadier touring coach bodies seating 41.

The remaining three of the batch arrived in 1965 numbered 152 – 154, plus a further ten Leopards with the now standard Y body (155 – 164) and twenty four Fleetlines (165 – 188), now with black trim interior window surrounds. 187 and 188 had the third bays on the lower deck shortened and a very wide pillar separated them from the fourth bay. This was to allow for trunking for an experimental heating/ventilation system and it made them look most odd. The last of the batch (189) was different inasmuch as it was powered by a Cummins engine.

1965 was significant as, that year Bristol chassis and ECW bodywork came back onto the open market when Leyland bought a percentage of the Transport Holding Company – though it was to be almost three years before North Western returned to the Brislington fold.

1966 saw another 15 Fleetlines (190 – 214) enter service all with Gardner engines and a further ten express Leopards (215 – 224) whilst the touring coach fleet received five short length Leopards (225 – 229), this time with Duple 41 seat bodies, Duple having taken over both Burlingham and Willowbrook.

Finally the year saw yet another version of the dual purpose livery on down graded Alexander bodied Reliance and Leopard coaches from the 1961 and 1962 batches. This time the roof and windows were cream, the panels below the windows were red – almost exactly as the pre 1957 single deck bus livery. Also, more double deckers received red surrounds to their upper deck rear windows.

[aidanorourke]

I was a frequent North Western user, travelling on the 71 (later 371) from Edgeley Rd via Cheadle and Sharston to Altrincham. I regarded them as being 'pretty' both from the front and rear, giving a new meaning to the term 'a face like the back of a bus'.

I remember the engine noise could be intense when sitting on the rear bench seat. It was great to bound up the stairs and sit at the front seat, with a great view of the road ahead. I imagined when I grew up I would live in one of these, converted into a house. The upper front section would be my bedroom!

I seem to remember there was a single seat, or maybe two single seats next to the stairs upstairs allowing people to pass.

At Altrincham however, I was utterly transfixed by the sight of what Phil has just identified as the VAL single decker, with its engine mounted between the driver and the entrance, and six wheels. They operated the circular route around Hale and Hale Barns, giving an extra air of exclusivity to an already affluent district.

On the return to Stockport, I remember the Bristol with the low roof and the lowered platform running along the upper deck on the right, with bench seats on the left. It was always a bit awkward asking people to move when you were getting off.

I have such vivid memories of these buses, they were as familiar as people and part of my years of growing up. It's great to get a very belated chapter and verse about them.

Here's an interesting picture by Anselm Keogh of buses on the Pier Head Liverpool. To view in more detail go to http://www.aidan.co.uk/data_sheetLiv...h1960s.jpg.htm

[Phil Blinkhorn]

There were two single seats on the Fleetlines next to the stairs.

I once used the circular Hale service to get to a party - me and 30 others from Stockport. Gave the driver quite a shock as his usual Saturday evenings were quite quiet! The route was another regular haunt of the VALs and was a one man operated service.

[Phil Blinkhorn]

In terms of vehicles, it was a case of more of the same for North Western in 1967. The second half of the batch of Leopards with Duple 41 seat coach bodies arrived (230 – 234) followed by 235 – 244 ten more Leopards with 49 seat Y bodies.

245 – 254 were Fleetlines with the now standard Alexander bodies and these were to be the last Fleetlines delivered.

The major event of the year was that BET sold its shares in North Western – and all its other UK bus holdings – to the Transport Holding Company, the nationalised group, formed from the Tilling group. North Western was now back in what it saw as its natural “home” from which it had been excluded in 1948. The rejoicing was to be short lived, however.

The first Bristols since 1950 (270 – 290) arrived in 1968. These were short length rear underfloor engined single deck buses (RESL) with Marshall bodies to the BET 1960s standard. Fitted with 45 seats they were followed by a second batch later in the year (291 – 309). A further five Leopards with Duple coach bodies arrived (255 – 259), the first four with 41 seats, the last with 37.

Another ten Leopards with Alexander Y type bodies replaced the first ten 36 foot long Alexander express coaches delivered in 1962, the latter were demoted to dual purpose vehicles. The new vehicles were the last with illuminated fleetname panels. These panels were smaller versions of a very 1960s phenomenon, the illuminated between decks advertising panel on double deckers. Many fleets had these as the initial cost of the equipment was soon recouped in revenue from the higher fees charged for ads that could easily be seen day and night. The revenue was such that London Transport were prepared to pay more than other operators to have such panels fitted to new and in service Routemasters, the cost being higher due to strengthening needed to accommodate these as part of the Routemaster’s integrally constructed body.

North Western had fitted illuminated panels to Lolines of both body types, Renowns and Fleetlines. Born out of the optimism and modern outlook of the early 1960s, by 1968 the economic situation caused even big users such as Littlewoods and Vernons football pools and the breweries to withdraw their patronage. Many vehicles ran for months, some even years, with blank panels until a major overhaul gave the opportunity for the equipment to be removed and normal panels to replace the additional framework.

Five more Y bodies on Leopard chassis were delivered in 1969 (310 – 314) and the bus version of the body (with long windows and sloped pillars, as opposed to short windows as specified by many companies) appeared on no less than 30 Bristol RELL chassis (315 – 344). Almost identical to the express coaches in outline, they differed in having a different panel below the front windscreen to allow for the RE’s front radiator. This changed the position of the lights. The buses also had two piece windscreens, the glass being divided by a very thin metal strip.

Introduced on these vehicles was the final single deck colour scheme – overall red with a cream stripe below the windows. This stripe varied in depth depending on the body style. It was applied to older vehicles at repaint – including appearing on some Tiger Cubs from 1956/57.

January 1st 1969 had seen the setting up of the National Bus Company and November 1st saw the formation of SELNEC. Both developments would have far reaching effects on the company.

No new vehicles arrived in 1970 but 1971 brought more Bristol single deckers. 345 – 362 arrived in two batches and were RELLs with 49 seat bodies by Marshall, being the long length version of the REs delivered in 1968. The next batch brought into the fleet the chassis/body combination that had once been the hallmark of North Western – Bristol/ECW.

373 – 381 were Bristol RELLs with ECW 49 seat bodies similar to the standard ECW product but these had their tops cut off above the windows and replaced by very shallow, curved roofs to allow passage through Dunham Woodhouses bridge. They replaced the time expired Strachens bodied VALs which were well past their best. A further seven (382 –388) arrived with standard ECW bodies.

Leyland deliveries comprised of more Leopards with Y type bodies. These came in two batches (363 – 367 and 403 – 407). These had split windscreens in a similar manner to the Y bus bodied Bristols of 1969 and also had a new style of front panel and lights.

There were also two batches of Leopards with the latest version of the Plaxton Panorama body. 368 – 372 had 45 coach seats, 408 – 412 had 49.

These were the last deliveries to the Charles St company. Over half the stage carriage services operated by the company were in the SELNEC PTE area. For most of its life the company had fought the various municipalities for running rights and had come to arrangements with most though as late as 1966 it was still fighting Stockport regarding access to Brinnington. In 1971 it was agreed that SELNEC would absorb all the routes within its area and the oddly named SELNEC Cheshire Bus Company was formed – in effect the South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire Cheshire Bus Company! This took over operations on January 1st 1972. The National Bus Company took over the rest by means of its constituent companies, Crosville and Trent

Crosville took over operations of routes in Cheshire outside of the SELNEC area, bringing its green vehicles onto routes #29 and #30. Trent took over the Derbyshire operations and the vehicles were divided between SELNEC, and the two operators.

The NBC operators swiftly painted the vehicles in their respective liveries so we were at least spared the horrors of North Western titled vehicles in NBC’s awful poppy red colours – though the NBC green Crosville used suited many of the buses, especially the Renowns and Alexander bodied Lolines. Again the SELNEC colours seemed to sit well on the low height Lolines, Renowns and Fleetlines.

Many of the vehicles had much shorter lives with their new owners than they would have had had Charles St still been in charge. SELNEC had instituted a 15 year life, reducing to 12 and many of the modern chassis, Fleetline apart, were “cuckoos” in what was to rapidly become a standardised nest. The vehicles that went to a predominantly Bristol/ECW Crosville were hopelessly out of place – only Trent took vehicles similar to those already in their employ.

What was left was the coaching operation. In 1972 this took delivery of 413 – 417 Bristol RE coaches with ECW 49 seat coach bodies which were very similar to the Plaxton Panorama body at first sight. These were the first new vehicles since 1926 not registered in Stockport, having Cheshire marks. The final deliveries arrived in 1973 (270 – 274) were Duple bodied 49 seat Leopards which were numbered in a National Travel sequence and were registered in Lancashire.

February 1974 saw the company fully absorbed into National Travel Northwest, the coaches taking up the overall white livery.

So ended 51 years of a company that somehow never realised its potential. Like many BET operators it had a mixed operating area and found itself at odds with its municipal neighbours. Unlike Midland Red which dominated vast swathes of the Midlands its arrangements with the municipalities always seemed to place it in a junior position. Its presence on joint routes into Manchester was often spasmodic, enough only to justify its share of the revenue – for instance on the #64 which in the 1950s and early 1960s used to alternate from Piccadilly to the Airport and to Styal, North Western would normally only operate to Styal – then only for so many weeks per year and then throw in a few days where the Airport would be served – much to the confusion of patrons along Wilmslow and Palatine Roads as well as in Northenden and Gatley.

With a large fleet of single deckers and many thin rural routes ideally suited to one man operation, the company was an early experimenter (buses equipped for one man operation had the letter A added to the fleet number) but both a lack of enthusiasm and union opposition meant that most buses were still dual manned well into the late 1960s and no advantage was taken of the relaxation of the rules on one man double deckers for which the Fleetline was adapted by most fleets by 1969.

The company had some even odder quirks. The company was officially the North Western Road Car Company Ltd. All the staff referred to the vehicles – be they buses or coaches – as “cars”. The wholly owned subsidiaries, Altrincham Coachways and Melba Motors both taken over in 1958 were operated as independent units until 1967. When I used to obtain quotations for coach hire for hiking parties or Blackpool illuminations trips I found that each company was happy to quote and would happily undercut its sister company if asked.

Until the purchase of Setright ticket machines in the late 1950s, the company’s tickets used to be around five or so inches long, came in a variety of colours for different purchases and were punched to the cost of the fare (all fares being pre- printed on the ticket) taking away a portion of the ticket, kept by the conductor, leaving the passenger with a ticket with a profile not unlike the Beetham Tower.

Finally the company did place a last order for double deckers. Taking a leaf from Stockport’s book it ordered 25 Bristol VRTs with ECW double deck bodies. SELNEC could not afford to cancel these but specified SELNEC standard destination and route indicators, SELNEC standard seats, SELNEC colours and SELNEC Cheshire fleetnames.

Delivered in late 1972 they were the only VRTs in the fleet and the only new buses delivered to SELNEC Cheshire but gave 13 years excellent service. With Charles St closed, Daw Bank eventually received VRTs!

Next time I’ll look at MCTD from 1958.