At the bus terminus, July 1961 |
Now I can be fairly certain of that because beside me I have the Corporation Maps of Manchester and District for 1963.
With the 81X |
And I have no doubt that someone will point out that the 81X had a slightly different route to the 81 but until then I shall continue to assume that our bus followed the 1963 route travelling along Barlow Moor Road, Manchester Road and Upper Chorlton Road into town.
At which point I might just be accused of being a little obsessed by a Manchester bus in the 1960s.
But not so for the picture and the bus map offer up a rich source of history.
It starts with the bus livery which is the red of Manchester Corporation and is a reminder that back then both the cities of Manchester and Salford and the surrounding local authorities ran their own public transport services.
Bus routes through Chorlton in 1963 |
What is more these different Corporation buses ran along the same roads and for some way at least shared similar routes.
And like that bus timetable there is much history in the picture.
A lost scene |
That said the small police station has yet to be built and there is a clear view across to the houses on Beech Road which in turn points to the absence of those first two houses on the even side of Beech Road.
So not perhaps a story that encompasses the great dramatic sweep of history but one that lots of people will relate to, and that is good enough for me.
And within a few hours of posting the story, Steven commented
" Lovely! The X usually suggests a shorter route than normal.
In 1960 the 81 only ran to Albert Square so the extension beyond must have been quite recent. I suspect the bus terminating at Hightown is the reason for the X as the whole route went to Crumpsall Green."
And a late correction to the story Annette Roberts has written in that "the police station was there when I lived in Claude Road from the 1950s.
My dad was a police constable based for a while at the station and the first few houses on Beech Road behind the station were police houses.
I used to play with the children who lived there. The station had an air raid siren on the roof which they used to test once in a while.
Think the picture is N awkward angle as the station would definitely be there in 1961 as I used to go there."
So another piece of collective history. I just love it.
Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
Pictures; Chorlton-cum-Hardy bus terminus, 1961 from the collection of Sally Dervan and Maps of Manchester and District, Manchester Corporation, 1963, courtesy of David O’Reilly
*Manchester Buses, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Manchester%20Buses
Not forgetting the price bus company A Mayne & Son, running a service between Manchester and Ashton-under-Lyne along Ashton New Road passed their depot and workshops in Clayton.
ReplyDeleteUncle Jack worked all the 80 numbers services around Chorlton in the 60's and 70's as a conductor.
ReplyDeleteAh Ken I remember the bus which the 217 often passed on our way from Ashton ..... always preferred the Old Road
ReplyDeleteUsed to love the different routes depending on which part of town you wanted to get to, or which part of Chorlton you wanted to end back in.
ReplyDeletePC Gill lived at the first house on the left in Claude Road
ReplyDeleteBrought back many memories . I lived in Firswood until marriage so was a regular
ReplyDeletepassenger on 81/82/94 .to get around .I had crooked teeth and at that time theomly
I never took that bus, but loved the old days of Manchester, so miss jumping buses, happy days. Xxx
ReplyDelete