Ray Smyth:
I drove this Leyland Leopard many times during my 2 years with Ribble from early 1968.
ECK 900E, fleet number 900 was a fine machine to drive.
Ray Smyth.
Hi Chris, Thank you for posting this picture of Ribble 900. I agree with your remarks regarding the NBC livery.
The location looks very much like Lytham Road in Blackpool. Early in 1970 I left Ribble and joined Robert Baillie
Transport of Portsmouth, based at their Wigan depot, from which time I rarely remember seeing either of Ribble
Wigan based 899 or 900. Other than a couple of weeks in the Summer, we didnât do any Coach work, and these 2
machines were used on Stage Carriage work as âOne Man Busesâ. I assume that they were transferred to Blackpool
or one of the Liverpool depots. Another of my favourite machines was 1760, Leyland PD3. Ribble at Frenchwood
always referred to a bus or coach as a âMachineâ. Kind Regards, Ray
Leyland600:
Hi Ray, I can never understand why the Ribble PD3/4s 1500s & 1700s were never tried as OMO buses at least there was plenty room over the bonnet to issue fares not as cramped as a half cab. They were a lot more reliable than the early Atlanteans.
Cheers Leyland 600
GeraldâŚYes, the 1500s & 1700s PD3 Leylands would have been more suitable for âOne Man Operationâ, and also
the Albion Lowlanders, 5 of which were based at Wigan during my time at Ribble. The drivers of the Half Cab
buses on OMO must have gone home after each shift with a âCricked Neckâ, after all, the passengers he was taking
fares from, and issuing tickets to were not on his left, but stood behind him. Perhaps the drivers seat had some
means to swivel to the left, so that he could see what he was doing. Kind Regards, Ray.
Found this morning on a French Forum. The one on the right is obviously Perkins-powered, but surely some of you will say more about these two Tappins coaches.
Froggy55:
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Found this morning on a French Forum. The one on the right is obviously Perkins-powered, but surely some of you will say more about these two Tappins coaches.
Remember them well from my Reading days, a distinctive orange and black livery and Didcot (which back then was still in Berkshire!) based. I believe they are still in business, somebody will know?
Froggy55:
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Found this morning on a French Forum. The one on the right is obviously Perkins-powered, but surely some of you will say more about these two Tappins coaches.
Bonjour Froggy, The coach on the left could be an Albion, judging by the Saltire badge
on the radiator grille. Probably a Perkins P6 in the coach on the right. I donât know much
about Tappins, but they both have Berkshire County Council Reg. NumbersâŚRX, which
became Reading in the 1974 re-organisation. Kind Regards, Ray Smyth.
Hello Froggy, The coach on the left GRX 932 is an Albion Victor FT37 model built about 1952-3 with Plaxton bodywork with a full width partition behind the drivers seat. I travelled in an identical Plaxton bodied AEC Regal Mk III from â â â â â â â to Devon and back on a school geography trip circa 1955-6 and was fortunate enough to ride on the passenger seat in the cab most of the time. The coach belonged to Kirkpatricks Coaches of Brigham near Cockermouth. Photo attached disembarking the Torpoint ferry, Note the baulks of timber under the back wheel to avoid the tail end of the coach grounding on the ferry ramp. Ferry lifts were away in the future back then.
The Bedford JRX 129 with Duple 36 seat body dates from May 1954.
Cheers Leyand 600
Another one of several unpainted Liverpool Corporation buses, a Leyland PD2, seen here in
Water Street, between The Royal Liver Building on the left, and The Cunard Building on the right.
Hope Street, Wigan, early 1970s, Leyland Leopard 206 is passing the Ribble Office
on its way to Lower Adlington, 206 was based at Wigan Depot. It has just had a
repaint into NBC âPoppy Redâ, whilst the Leyland PD3, fleet No.1547 on route 320
to Liverpool is still in Ribble deep red. 1547 was based at Liverpool Depot.
The building above the rear of 206 shows a signâŚâWHELANSâ. David Whelan was
a local man who was a professional footballer with Blackburn Rovers, this was one
of several shops that he owned. He later owned JJB sports shops which numbered
up to nearly 300 stores throughout the UK and in Europe. He was, until recently,
the owner of Wigan Athletic F.C.
Valkyrieâs picture of an Army Leyland Retreiver in the first picture has reminded me of passages in John Duttonâs âThe Forgotten Punch in the Armyâs Fistâ. This recalls the amazement of the US troops in Korea when they encountered some of the vehicles REME still had in use. The Scammell Pioneer created amusement but the second hazy picture shows the Divisional Commonwealth Telecommunications Workshop Mobile Inspection Teamâs Z Wagon.
âŚ" built onto a Dennis chassis, which carried a brass label engraved ârenovated in 1927â, [it] dated from the pre-windscreen era, probably of WW1 vintage, with a top speed of of 15mph via two gearboxes. At that speed in a normal European climate, windscreens were not necessary, but here they most definitelt were! On one occasion as an American convoy passed them on the road, the whole lot ground to a halt, open mouthed, as the Yanks took in the vehicleâs unique features."
In 1929 Eddie Howe started his OK bus service from Bishop Auckland via Spennymoor. An hourly service but because it was the year of the Great Exhibition in Newcastle he soon found he couldnât cope with the amount of passengers. So he approached Emmersons of Bishop Auckland and they ran the service between them. Emmersons went on to name their business as OK Motor Services Ltd, and soon greatly exceeded Howe in size.
One week Howe would run one bus (Which usually needed a second for duplicate) and Emmersons ran two and next week Howe ran two with two required for duplicates.
Howeâs garage was in Marmaduke Street Spennymoor just up from ours and in fact my Grandfather who had established our haulage business in 1919 taught Eddie Howe to drive. Howe ran orriginally RIOs & then went onto AECs which he ran exclusively until as he was approaching retirement he bought three Bedfords.
He always ran 6 busses. 2 service busses, 2 semi-coaches & 2 Coaches.
When in the late 60s Eddie decided to retire he sold the business onto OK.
Here is a selection of his busses.
Ribble Albion Lowlander fleet No. 1855, about to depart from Victoria Square, St Helens,
on the 45 minute journey to Wigan. It appears that 1855 has just returned from Frenchwood,
Preston, having been repainted, and received the new type of fleetname in lower case letters.
Ray Smyth:
Hope Street, Wigan, early 1970s, Leyland Leopard 206 is passing the Ribble Office
on its way to Lower Adlington, 206 was based at Wigan Depot. It has just had a
repaint into NBC âPoppy Redâ, whilst the Leyland PD3, fleet No.1547 on route 320
to Liverpool is still in Ribble deep red. 1547 was based at Liverpool Depot.
Ray Smyth:
Ribble Albion Lowlander fleet No. 1855, about to depart from Victoria Square, St Helens,
on the 45 minute journey to Wigan. It appears that 1855 has just returned from Frenchwood,
Preston, having been repainted, and received the new type of fleetname in lower case letters.
Ribble Leyland PD2 Fleet No. 1461 leaving Victoria Square in St Helens for
the 45 minute journey to Wigan. The number blinds are in need of some
attention. The bus should be showing 352 on the number blinds.
Untitled by Chris Roberts, on Flickr
