Now I remember the limited stop service that Manchester and SELNEC operated with a mix of fondness and frustration.
They were fine if you were at the start of the service and could sail happily through the city streets and on to your destination in half the time.
The 153 from the top of Penny Meadow in Ashton at 6 in the morning would get me into the heart of the city in a fraction of the time the 218 would take.
And if I was lucky, I might catch one of the limited stop buses onto Wythenshawe and work.
But of course, on a cold wet grey day, somewhere on the Ashton Old Road the sight of a limited stop bus was just a frustration as it zipped past without a second thought to those passengers waiting at the bus stop.
I seldom travel on the bus now, preferring the tram, so I am not even sure that the limited stop service still operates. I could of course go and look, but where would the fun be in doing that? Instead Reginald of Heald Green will offer up chapter and verse.
And in the meantime, I shall just reflect that Andy Robertson’s trip out to the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester on Sunday provided me with some excellent pictures of buses. *
Here be fine examples of Corpy blue buses from Ashton-Under-Lyne, the brash SELNEC livery and my own favourite, a red Manchester Corporation bus, from 1963.
And here for one moment I must confess I was confused, because I grew up in London with Routemaster buses, and travelled on the 161 from Eltham to Woolwich, and for one moment Andy’s picture took me back 40 years.
But this red Routemaster is a Manchester one, the livery is slightly different and those in the know will point out the technical differences.
All this I know because the Museum has a full list of its collection, and thus I know the details of all those Andy photographed. **
Location; Museum of Transport Greater Manchester
Pictures, from the collection of Andy Robertson
*Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, http://www.gmts.co.uk/index.html
** RM1414 - 414 CLT - AEC Routemaster 2R2RH - Double deck bus, from 1963, Manchester Corporation Transport,
44 - PTE 944C - Leyland Titan PD2/37 - Double deck bus, from 1965, Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Passenger Transport, 5871 - KJA 871F - Leyland Titan PD3/14 - Double deck bus, from 1968, Greater Manchester Transport
The 153 from the top of Penny Meadow in Ashton at 6 in the morning would get me into the heart of the city in a fraction of the time the 218 would take.
And if I was lucky, I might catch one of the limited stop buses onto Wythenshawe and work.
But of course, on a cold wet grey day, somewhere on the Ashton Old Road the sight of a limited stop bus was just a frustration as it zipped past without a second thought to those passengers waiting at the bus stop.
And in the meantime, I shall just reflect that Andy Robertson’s trip out to the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester on Sunday provided me with some excellent pictures of buses. *
Here be fine examples of Corpy blue buses from Ashton-Under-Lyne, the brash SELNEC livery and my own favourite, a red Manchester Corporation bus, from 1963.
And here for one moment I must confess I was confused, because I grew up in London with Routemaster buses, and travelled on the 161 from Eltham to Woolwich, and for one moment Andy’s picture took me back 40 years.
All this I know because the Museum has a full list of its collection, and thus I know the details of all those Andy photographed. **
Location; Museum of Transport Greater Manchester
Pictures, from the collection of Andy Robertson
*Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, http://www.gmts.co.uk/index.html
44 - PTE 944C - Leyland Titan PD2/37 - Double deck bus, from 1965, Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Passenger Transport, 5871 - KJA 871F - Leyland Titan PD3/14 - Double deck bus, from 1968, Greater Manchester Transport
Niw you've made me homesick! I still lived in Manchester back then and those were the buses I used!
ReplyDeleteHow come the Routemaster in the photo has a London registration?
ReplyDeleteNo idea ...... perhaps Manchester Corporation bought it from London Transport?
DeleteThe 153 of course started in Mossley when there were hardly any trains from Mossley into Manchester. It became much less popular as train frequency increased
ReplyDelete