Buses, coaches, & lorries

A Leyland Atlantean, new to Wigan Corporation, and now part of Greater Manchester Transport
passing along Lime Street in Liverpool on route 320. The orange and white colour scheme was
never popular with most people in Wigan, they preferred the original Corporation colours of
Carmine Red and white, known locally as "Cherry & White. NMP.

Wigan Atlantean 320 Lime Street.jpg

The red car in the foreground must be a Renault 16. My Dad’ had two, when we were in London; a '69 and a '72 model. Fine, reliable and comfortable cars!

Froggy55:
The red car in the foreground must be a Renault 16. My Dad’ had two, when we were in London; a '69 and a '72 model. Fine, reliable and comfortable cars!

Spacious, comfortable and the first proper hatchback.
Oily

Wigan Corporation fleet number 20, DJP 468E, a Leyland Panther Cub, seen here at Melverley Street depot
on delivery from bodybuilders Massey Bros at Enfield Street, Pemberton, just 2 miles away.
The chap sat behind the wheel is Inspector Tom Taylor, who was the PSV driving instructor.
The date is July 1967, and one month later, fleet number 22 arrived, its reg number was EEK 1F,
it was the time when the change of “Year Letter” moved from January 1st to August 1st.
I believe that number 20, above, went to Malta after service at Wigan, and I have heard that
it is now back in the UK and being restored.
Picture is by local photographer, Frank Orrell.

Ray Smyth.

Liverpool Corporation bus fleet was almost an entirely double deck fleet of over 1000 buses.
In the early 1950s, 6 Leyland Royal Tiger single deck buses arrived, 3 of them with normal
bus bodies, and 3 with special bodywork to carry passengers and luggage to and from the
airport at Speke, and to and from the main railway stations and hotels in the city centre.
As required, these " AIRPORTERS ", as they were known, took passengers to and from the
Princes Dock near the Pier Head to connect with the Atlantic liners of Canadian Pacific,
and Cunard White Star which arrived and departed on a regular basis. This bus XL172 is in
Skelhorne Street at the side of Lime Street railway station. NMP.

XL172 Airport.jpg

Ray Smyth:
Wigan Corporation fleet number 20, DJP 468E, a Leyland Panther Cub, seen here at Melverley Street depot on delivery from bodybuilders Massey Bros at Enfield Street, Pemberton, just 2 miles away. The chap sat behind the wheel is Inspector Tom Taylor, who was the PSV driving instructor. The date is July 1967, and one month later, fleet number 22 arrived, its reg number was EEK 1F, it was the time when the change
of “Year Letter” moved from January 1st to August 1st.
I believe that number 20, above, went to Malta after service at Wigan, and I have heard that it is now back in the UK and being restored.
Picture is by local photographer, Frank Orrell. Ray Smyth.

Wigan Panther Cub 20 (DJP468E) was brought back to the UK from Malta by a group of bus preservationists based in Wigan. Initially, it was housed
at Freckleton where restoration work commenced. The group later acquired their own premises (closer to Wigan) and No20 was re-located there.

No20 on arrival at Freckleton:

No20 being towed out of the shed at Freckleton on its way to its new home:

sorry - double post

Wigan town centre in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The 3 Wigan Corporation buses are Leyland PD2,
two of them have bodywork by Massey Bros, and 1 with Northern Counties bodywork. The Ribble bus
heading this way is an Albion Lowlander with bodywork by Alexander of Falkirk. NMP.

Ray I believe this is Wigan Corporation Leyland Panther No 20 DJP 468E along with former Doncaster Corporation Tiger Cub 434 MDT which I photographed circa 1983 at the Malta Department of Education depot at Pembroke. Some of this information has been confirmed by Maltese Flickr members.
Cheers, Leyland 600.

Wigan No 20.JPG

Wigan Leyland Panther 20  DJP 468E.JPG

This Bristol RE bus of Lancashire United Transport is seen leaving Hope Street bus station in Wigan,
departing on route 557 to Leigh, about 7 miles away. On the left is the Ribble Motor Services office
and travel agency. NMP>

Arrive double decker bus arriving in Wigan town centre on route 375 from Southport
earlier this month. I think it is a Volvo, but I am not certain. Ray Smyth.

Ribble fleet number 510, a Leyland Leopard is on route X99 to Barrow.
I am not certain of its location, but I think it could be Lancaster. NMP.

Ribble fleet number 679, a Leyland Leopard on route 74 to Penrith. NMP

Ribble 679.jpg

Ray Smyth:
Arrive double decker bus arriving in Wigan town centre on route 375 from Southport
earlier this month. I think it is a Volvo, but I am not certain. Ray Smyth.

Alexander Dennis E400

Ray, Route 74 was a joint operation with ■■■■■■■■■■ Motor Services from Keswick to Penrith. This photo location is Keswick bus station in front of the garage.
Cheers, Leyland 600

Dennis Javelin:

Ray Smyth:
Arrive double decker bus arriving in Wigan town centre on route 375 from Southport
earlier this month. I think it is a Volvo, but I am not certain. Ray Smyth.

Alexander Dennis E400

Dennis, Thank you for the info, a lot of buses are difficult to identify unless you are close by. Cheers, Ray.

Leyland600:
Ray, Route 74 was a joint operation with ■■■■■■■■■■ Motor Services from Keswick to Penrith. This photo location is Keswick bus station in front of the garage.
Cheers, Leyland 600

Gerald, Thank you for the route 74 info, what a lovely journey that is, some amazing scenery,
I would have done that journey for free. :smiley: Cheers, Ray.

Ray Smyth:

Dennis Javelin:

Ray Smyth:
Arrive double decker bus arriving in Wigan town centre on route 375 from Southport
earlier this month. I think it is a Volvo, but I am not certain. Ray Smyth.

Alexander Dennis E400

Dennis, Thank you for the info, a lot of buses are difficult to identify unless you are close by. Cheers, Ray.

Compounded by the fact that the same chassis could have been bodied by a dozen different bodybuilders. Although the bus in the pic is called an ADL E400 that doesn’t necessarily mean that all buses like this have an ADL chassis as this kind of bodywork is also used on Scania and Volvo deckers. Confusingly though the chassis is also described as an E400 by ADL.

In the late 1940s, Liverpool Corporation purchased 100 Daimler bus chassis. The first 50 received
bodywork by Northern Counties at Wigan, and the remaining 50 were fitted with body framework
by Weymann at Addlestone in Surrey, and were completed at the Corporations massive bodyshop
at Edge Lane in Liverpool. This Daimler, fleet number D587 was one that had Weymann framework,
and is seen on route 81, a cross city journey from Speke to Bootle. It looks like it was a warm day.
the driver has its windscreen open. NMP.

Former Ribble bus, fleet number 1329, a Leyland Atlantean, is seen in Miry Lane, Wigan, now in the colours
of North Western, soon after De-regulation in the late 1980s. To the right of the picture is the back entrance
of what was the Wigan depot of Ribble, and behind the wall to the left was my transport depot from 1985
until 1990. NMP.