Author: admin
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Manchester Buses – A Retrospective – Tailpiece
Phil Blinkhorn All the articles published over the last few months were originally written between 2006 and 2009 for a Manchester Forum dealing basically with local history. They have been updated and corrected with new or better information that has come to light in the meantime. Re-writing these articles has been both a trip down…
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Manchester Buses – A Retrospective – Part One
Phil Blinkhorn In 1958 MCTD was working closely with MCW, its “preferred” body supplier, to overcome its objections to and problems with MCW’s Orion body. Albert Neal, General Manager, whilst always looking to keep costs down, could not do with the Orion in its original and early forms and the “improved” bodies he had taken…
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Durham District Services Ltd – Darlington
Stephen Howarth Durham District Services was formed on the 1st August 1950, (the first day of DDS operations under its own name was 12th November 1950). It was not as sometimes thought a subsidiary of United Automobile Services Ltd. (UAS), but was wholly owned by the British Transport Commission (BTC) and placed under United for…
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The First PTEs – Part Four – Salford City Transport
Phil Blinkhorn Not read from the beginning, click here In 1946, Salford Corporation Transport was in a mess. John Blakemore, who had started with the Department as a Points Boy was about to retire and his operation was a testament to his lax management style and lack of organisation. A reasonably modern bus fleet was…
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The First PTEs – Part Three – Stockport Corporation
Phil Blinkhorn Not read from the beginning, click here On October 31st 1969 Stockport Corporation Transport had a fleet of 148 buses plus a handful of service vehicles. The next day all had been transferred to the Southern division of SELNEC whose management may have been rather surprised to find they had taken on charge…
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The First PTEs – Part Two – SHMD Board
Phil Blinkhorn Not read from the beginning, click here There were no fewer than 11 operators absorbed by SELNEC. Eighth in size and possibly the most odd in many respects was the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Transport and Electricity Board, so a few paragraphs about the operator are in order. Set up by an…
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The First PTEs – Part One – Ashton under Lyne
Phil Blinkhorn and Roger Cox Not read from the beginning, click here With its blind already set for the next outward journey, LTC 768 a 1950 H30/26R PD2/3 travels along Warrington Street, unrecognisable today, towards the bus station. Route 128 was originally trolleybus route 217. Haughton Green was a small village beyond Denton which lost…
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The First PTEs – The Beginning of the End for the Corporation Bus – SELNEC – Introduction
Phil Blinkhorn and Roger Cox For almost 80 years the Corporation Bus was a fixture in many cities, towns and even rural areas around the United Kingdom. A low cost social transport service providing for many councils a nett income generator, the colour schemes and coats of arms carried were as much an identifier of…
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Fascinating Aspects of Scheduling at Samuel Ledgard
Chris Youhill Have you ever wondered how the buses and the crews reached their home depots at night?? Well usually there was no problem as the service timetable worked out suitably, but occasionally some interesting little tricks had to be devised and could be incorporated into the duties at any available time of the day.…
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Northern General Transport Percy Main Depot – Part Three
Ronnie Hoye Not read Part Two click here A handful of Percy Main’s service vehicles carried the Wakefields name, and we’ve seen a couple of examples, but we turn now to the other side of their operations, they also had a superb fleet of coaches. I don’t think it ever exceeded twenty in number, but…