Old bus photos

Tag: Neville Mercer

  • Burlingham’s flock of Seagulls – Part 3

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    To read Part 1 click here or Part 2 click here Not Really Seagulls Burlingham’s bodywork for front engined chassis evolved from the “full fronted” Sun Saloon model of the late 1940s (some later versions of which carried the Seagull “tank” moulding on their sides) into this nameless “Seagull lookalike”. The 1953 body on this…

  • Burlingham’s flock of Seagulls – Part 2

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    Not read Part 1 Click here The move to lighter designs (by both bodywork and chassis manufacturers) had been occasioned by tumbling revenues as operators felt the pinch from increasing private car ownership. Similar economic pressures led operators to demand a front entrance version of the Seagull which could be one-man operated on scheduled express…

  • Burlingham’s flock of Seagulls – Part 1

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    The original Mark 1 Seagull was a beautiful machine and is represented here by PSU1/15 Royal Tiger HAW 579. Delivered to Whittle of Highley in 1951, and painted in their stylish dark blue and red livery, it was a 39 seater. It was later sold to Buckminster of Leighton Buzzard.(R F Mack via G R…

  • Lower Mosley Street Manchester – Part 3

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    To read Part 1 click here or Part 2 click here The South Side To the south of Great Bridgewater Street things were less precise. The central “island” shelter carried signs indicating stands 18-21, but as far as I can remember there were no destination signs. Generally speaking the area to the west of the…

  • Lower Mosley Street Manchester – Part 2

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    Not read Part 1 Click here The modern era The declaration of war in September 1939 brought a temporary end to the expansion of services from Lower Mosley Street. Most services were suspended for the duration although the Bradford via Halifax service and the number 6 to Glossop continued to run at a reduced frequency…

  • Lower Mosley Street Manchester – Part 1

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    North Western’s 237 (CDB 237), a 1949 Leyland PD2/1 with Leyland L53R bodywork, is seen awaiting departure for Macclesfield in the middle lane of the western roadway. Behind it is the main building of the bus station, and in the background the enormous train-shed of Central Station. The roof of the shelter for stands 10-17…

  • The Metalcraft Story 1946-1954 – Part Two

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    Not read Part One click here The listing which follows includes 102 of the approximately 110 complete PSV bodies produced by Metalcraft, and is intended to stimulate further research. If you can add any of the “missing” vehicles please get in touch via the Old Bus Photos website. I am also working on a (by…

  • The Metalcraft Story 1946-1954 – Part One

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    By 1945, after six years of warfare, the nation’s bus and coach fleets were in desperate need of renewal or replacement. PSV production during the years of the conflict had been limited, by and large, to two types of vehicle – a double-decker available in highbridge or lowbridge forms (initially on Guy Arab chassis but…

  • Buses and coaches in Sale – Part 4

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    Not read from the beginning click here Part Four – Local Coach Operators When I lived out in the middle of Cheshire and made monthly shopping trips to Manchester with my parents, the number 36 passed the garages of three coach operators as it travelled along the A56 through Altrincham and Sale. The first was…

  • Buses and coaches in Sale – Part 3

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    Not read from the beginning click here Part 3 – Express Services The A56 trunk road entered the Borough of Sale from the north at Crossford Bridge, where the River Mersey marked the boundary with Stretford (and Cheshire’s boundary with Lancashire), and was known as Chester Road until the junction with Dane Road. It then…