Author: admin
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Why I Became a Bus Enthusiast or “Buses Galore on Route 54” Part 1
Paul Haywood In the 1950s, use of public transport was a daily experience for most people. As a child, I obviously used the buses, trams and trains in my area for school and leisure, but to understand why this daily use converted into enthusiasm is not easy to answer. However, I’m convinced that a major…
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Visiting Grandad
Stephen Ford When I was about 4 my grandparents moved from the Nottingham suburb of Mapperley to Hucknall – now the northern terminus of the Nottingham tram system, but then way outside the precincts of Nottingham City Transport. Hucknall was a mining “village” and my grandmother always referred to it disparagingly as “Mucky ’Uckna’ ”.…
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An Amusing Memory
Roy Burke There are many things about old buses that interest us fans, and for me this includes memories of the people who worked them. As a student, I worked as a conductor for West Yorkshire for about ten months in total, and so met lots of fascinating staff. A recent posting on the Old…
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Wanted an AEC, but ended up with an Albion
Ian Thompson From 1933-4 until 1949-50 Reading Corporation ran a batch of eight Park Royal 6-bay L26/25R AEC Regents, some petrol (mostly later coverted to 7.7 oiler) and some with 8.8 oil engine. The lowbridge bodies were most unusual in having straight staircases, of which you can see a skeletal view on p71 of Alan…
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The Stowaway
Chris Youhill …one of many happy memories from ‘On the Buses’ One night when I was a young conductor for Samuel Ledgard we arrived in Leeds (King Street) at 10.45pm and nipped along for a coffee at ‘The American Coffee Bar’ beneath Wellington Street. Returning to the bus at 11.00pm we found the usual full…
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Penny wise, pound foolish
Ian Thompson A pioneer in the the teaching of English to foreign learners once declared that he never taught proverbs; he felt they were folksy and old-fashioned. Well, I thoroughly disagree with him. The anecdote below exemplifies at least the following handful: “A penny wise and a pound foolish.”“Better safe than sorry.”“Many a true word…
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An Arresting Experience
Chris Youhill As a conductor in the Spring of 1960 I was off duty one fine Sunday and decided to visit a friend in Leeds for the evening. When I got on the bus in Burley in Wharfedale it was full to capacity with day trippers from Ilkley and so I rode on the platform…
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My memories of A Mayne & Son
N Mather I lived along with A Mayne & son most my life now being 53. I have a tape recording in the loft of an AEC ride from Stevenson Sq to Sunnyside Road, I loved the sound of the AEC engine, the only other AEC’s were LU?s I lived in Shakespeare Rd just off…
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“’Arf a day trip she’s paid for…”
Stephen Ford Round about 1956 my uncle, aunt and cousin booked a half-day pleasure tour with Trent from Nottingham to Dovedale. I guess it would cost about 4/6 in those days. I haven’t a clue what the vehicle was, but it had a central entrance, and uncle and cousin managed to snaffle the front nearside…
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A Really Great Guy
Chris Youhill It was during the dark days of World War 2 and in November 1943 The Ministry of Supply allocated to Samuel Ledgard two Guy Arabs with rare Pickering utility bodywork. One was an FD1, with a short flush fitting bonnet (JUA 762). This vehicle had little connection with Otley and Ilkley but the…